Specialists in Home Loan & property Investment Consultation.

If you have complex lending needs, we have a strategy!

What is complex lending?

Loan applications are typically approved according to stringent criteria, but what is known as complex lending requires a more flexible approach.

When lenders consider a loan application, they follow a set of boxes to tick which determine whether the application is declined or approved. The application process can be more complicated when businesses are involved, like partnerships or multiple properties and intricate income. It can take a lot more time and paperwork with complex lending; therefore, experienced, specialized lending professionals should help.

Lafin Group has over 5 years of experience, and we understand complex lending needs and have the best contacts when finding an alternative lender for non-standard loan applications. We can source loans from lenders who are used to assessing loan applications on a case-by-case rather than following strict guidelines.

Complex loan structuring

When you have a straightforward loan and contact a mortgage broker, you will often receive a loan quote immediately, suppose you reach out to multiple different brokers. In that case, you will quickly receive similar quotes from each person you speak with, and this is because they have the same loan products and financial institute relationships. It is easy to assume that there is little to no variation or flexibility with the finance options.

At Lafin Group, we completely understand that the proper structure for your colleagues and friends may not be best suited for your financial situations, needs and wants.

Our team takes every step possible to get to know and understand your financial needs, goals and plans before we work on a strategy and quote loan terms. This involves working closely with you to gather the essential details needed so we can provide an effective loan structure. With our focus and knowledge of complex lending structures, we can present you with a unique structure that is suitable for your goals and circumstances.

For example, suppose you are a self-employed individual selling your existing home, purchasing a larger home, and requiring a bridging loan. Your financing needs are more complicated than a straightforward borrower. While we focus on helping you set up finance that gets you your dream property, our focus is equally on setting up a structure that enables you to achieve your financial goals.

Reasons you might need complex lending include

• Bad Credit File
• Poor home loan repayment history
• Self-employed – unable to show history
• A smaller deposit then required
• Complicated business set-up
• Needing cash flow for your business
• A shortfall in property purchase
• Marital separation or multiple borrowers
• Complex debt consolidation
• Pushback from banks and other lenders
• A trust structure
• Working in a high-risk industry

You’re a first home buyer; what assistance can you get?

There are three ways you can get assistance in Victoria when purchasing a house. These include First home owner grant (FHOG), First home buyer duty exemption, concession or reduction and land transfer duty waiver for residential property.

The perks of having a broker are that they can assist you in checking your eligibility and the application process. Each assistant type has different terms, conditions and eligibility requirements. Below is a very brief description of each grant/saving program.

First Home Buyer Duty Exemption, Concession or Reduction

When you purchase your first home in Victoria, you may be eligible for an exemption from paying stamp duty or a concession. Stamp duty is a tax on purchasing your property (land, home or investment). The discount you receive depends on the value of your home.

First Home Owner Grant (FHOG)

When building or buying a new home in Metro Melbourne, you may be eligible to receive a $10,000 grant to purchase your owner-occupied home.

Land transfer duty waiver for residential property

The Victorian Government announced in November a stamp duty waiver that is up to 50% on residential properties valued at $1 million or less.

How can our broker team help first home buyers?

It can be a daunting and overwhelming experience for first home buyers with little to no knowledge of the products, services and processes. Our broker team can put their
expertise to play when assisting you in purchasing your first home. We understand your situation and help you achieve your goals by helping you from start to finish. Our brokers can help to ensure you are ready, and when you are, they can help in crafting the perfect home loan application.

Process of buying a property

So you’ve decided you want to purchase your first home, but where do you start, and what’s the start to end process?

• Eligibility & Affordability:
  Firstly, you need to check your eligibility and affordability, which is when your broker will get to know you deeper. The broker will understand your financial situation, including your current income, expenses and outgoings, credit history and other details needed when applying for a home. The broker will determine if you are ready to purchase a home based on your financial check and deposit amount and discuss either step needed to ensure you are ready or proceed to a pre-approval application.
• Pre-approval:
  A pre-approval is essentially completing an application without pressing the submit button. A pre-approval does conduct an enquiry into your credit history and will determine whether you are eligible to proceed with a formal application. The pre-approval will also give you your borrowing capacity based on your affordability and deposit amount, so you know your budget when looking for a home.
• Choosing A House:
  Looking for a home is the exciting part. You can begin to look for places on realestate.com.au and attend auctions and inspections. You may decide that you want to build, so this would be the time to look at display homes and discuss your needs with your preferred building company.
• Making an offer:
  Once you have your heart set on a house that you want to purchase and have had your broker discuss every little detail regarding the application, building inspection and so on, it’s time to make an official offer! If you decide that you want to build your first home, this is when you would sign documentation.
  
• Complete Settlement:
  It’s time to finalise property settlement by paying stamp duty and land transfer fees, signing the entire home loan contract with the vendor, receiving transferred title deeds and documents and getting home and contents insurance.
• Move-in!

Costs when purchasing a home

There are several different costs involved when purchasing a home, and these will be discussed with your broker and more in-depth when signing your home loan documentation. The fees include but are not limited to Stamp duty, mortgage application fees, conveyancer and legal fees, inspection fees, mortgage registration fees and more.

Tips for first home buyers

1. There’s no rush when making the most significant commitment of your life.
2. Educate yourself on different loan types, investigate the costs involved, and think about your financial goals.
3. Ensure you are well informed throughout the entire process and don’t leave any questions unasked.

Common mistakes

1. Having an unrealistic understanding of the costs involved.
2. Rushing into a decision
3. Skipping the building inspections
4. Having not enough savings
5. Borrowing your absolute limit
6. Incorrectly reading and or lodging an application
7. A false understanding of how much you can borrow

How do I know which property is best for me?

When you know, you know! Trust your gut feeling and ensure that you are very knowledgeable before making an informed decision. Factors to consider are the purpose of the purchase, property price and type, whether the purchase is a good investment and how you intend to live in it.

Purchasing a property is an inspiring but serious commitment, so it’s crucial to ensure you are entirely prepared. It takes a lot of discipline and determination to save for a house deposit, so don’t feel deflated if it takes longer than you initially expected. Getting your finances sorted is the first step; you must identify your budget to determine how much you can save for the deposit.

The next step when buying a home is saving up for the deposit unless you have been given the funds or are looking at a loan set up such as a family pledge. The standard deposit usually is 20% of the total purchase price, although there are many benefits to saving over 20%. The higher the deposit, the lower your mortgage repayments will be.

If you have trouble saving for a deposit, you can take many different steps. Talk with your financial institute to see how they can help you achieve your savings goals, as they may be able to help you with partial access to your account. Sometimes, they can take processes, like putting a block on your account, so you no longer have access to transferring funds out of the account on online banking. Having only access when you enter a branch and sign may deter you from taking money out of your savings account. Alternatively, you could put a two to sign block on your account, where you and a second person would have to attend a branch and physically sign to make withdrawals.

Below are questions to ask yourself before purchasing a property and a checklist.

Do you know what you want to buy?

Reflect on your goals and what property aligns with those goals. Do you plan to grow a family? Are you happy to renovate an older home? Get clear on your goals, and this will help narrow down your property search, saving you time.

What are your absolute must-haves and nice-to-haves?

Make a list of things you MUST have – those you can’t live without. These include the property size, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, nearby schools and transport. Nice-to-haves are things you could do without for now, like the fittings, outdoor area and pool.

What is your price range?

If you have received a pre-approval for $600,000, don’t bother falling in love with properties advertised at $800,000. If the suburbs you are looking in are outside your price range, it’s essential to keep an open mind.

Have you done enough research?

Never make hasty decisions when purchasing a home. It’s vital to speak to experts in the field and listen for advice. There are plenty of free resources online, or you can talk to real estate agents, attend property inspections and explore what’s currently on offer. Always remember to pace yourself; the research phase could take months.

Below is a checklist when purchasing a property:

• Calculate your budget
• Complete a personal financial check and understand your goals
• Organize a pre-approval
• Decide on a preferred location/suburb
• Determine the features you want in a property, like the number of bedrooms
• Look at recently sold properties in the area on realestate.com.au to find out how much they sold for
• Learn the differences between a private sale and an auction and decide if you would like the help of expert assistance like an estate agent, conveyancer or buyers advocate.
• Establish if the property requires a building inspection
• If purchasing a home at an auction, agree with the vendor on conditions in the contract
• Have your conveyancer or legal practitioner check the section 32 and the contract of sale
• Understand the cooling-off period
• Organize your deposit, so it’s ready to go when required
• Check all items at the property are in good working condition unless stated otherwise in the contract of sale
• Checked any items listed on the final inspection

How can a broker or a buyer agent save your money in a transaction?

A broker can help you save money purchasing a home in more than one way. Below are five ways a broker can save you money throughout your relationship.

• Finding you low-interest rates
  Securing a low-interest rate can save you thousands over the life of your loan.
• Tailoring finance to you
  Adding helpful loan features to suit your budget and goals, saving you money in the long term.
• Managing the entire process for you
  Your broker can save you hundreds of hours by managing the whole process, which saves you money.
• Helping you negotiate
  With the substantial knowledge and experience brokers have, they can guide you when putting an offer in to purchase a property, which can sometimes save thousands.
• Research
  Brokers can research the market, suburbs, and properties to ensure you aren’t wasting time and money searching for a property.

What you need to know about buying a second home

Expanding your property portfolio is a massive achievement, but it’s essential to ensure it’s the right move for you and isn’t going to set you back.

• Firstly, you can explore this option by revisiting your expenses and income and working out if you have available equity.
• Secondly, it’s time to work out how you will pay the deposit, as 20% of the purchase price will be required. The most common option is accessing equity from your current mortgage.
• Lastly, it’s time to decide whether your second property will be owner-occupied or investment.

Will you be living in the property or leasing it out?

What is refinance?

Refinancing is taking out a new mortgage to repay a current loan; this is often done due to a financial or personal situation change. Often people will refinance their mortgage to receive a better deal on their home loan that allows them to pay off their loan sooner.

Refinancing could be with the same lender, or it could be with another provider. It is very common to refinance your mortgage to another provider for a new customer offer such as a cashback or attractive fixed rate.

Refinancing is relatively straightforward, but it can be overwhelming to shop for deals online or contact different financial institutes. Once a provider is chosen, it can be further overwhelming to gather all of the paperwork and documents needed for an application. Working alongside a broker can take away all of those stresses as they assist you with all of the above.

Why refinance?

• Manage your money and save on interest:
  Refinancing is smart if you want to manage your money and save on interest or pay your loan off sooner. It could allow you to consolidate debts, secure a better deal, access equity from your current property or restructure your loans. Refinancing is increasing, decreasing, or keeping the loan the same amount, depending on your situation and financial goals.
• Increasing your loan:
  May be the option you choose if you want to consolidate debt or access equity for renovations or other expenditures. This is generally the best option as home loan rates are lower than personal loans or credit cards.
• Decreasing your loan:
  May lower your monthly repayments, reduce your loan term and get you a lower interest rate. If you are putting a lump sum into your home loan, it is not always essential to refinance it, so check with your financial institute.

If you keep your loan balance at the same amount, it indicates that you are seeking a better deal on your mortgage. Receiving a better deal may mean different things, such as a better rate and shorter loan term or features such as redrawing and a credit card with no annual fee. Either way, it always pays to compare your current home loan and see what else is being offered. Remaining loyal to the same financial institution does not always have advantages and can sometimes do you more harm in the long term.

How does it work?

1. Before you look at refinancing internally or to another financial institute, you must check in with your current lender and get across all of your current details. Find out your interest rate, forecasted loan term, any break costs that may be involved, etc. The costs involved in refinancing will vary depending on the terms and conditions of your current loan.
2. The second step is to compare your home loan products to see if you can find a better deal than your existing mortgage.
3. These steps can often be removed when you contact one of our brokers and receive expert advice on what options are currently available. Our brokers will be able to help you through every step of the application process and with any documentation that is required.
4. Once you are approved by your new lender (or existing), you will receive a letter of offer and arrange a settlement. When settlement day arrives, your loan with the previous provider will be ceased, and you will begin your repayments with your new provider.

Things to check before refinancing

• Your credit score:
  Refinancing requires a credit application, and the outcome will depend on your credit score. Going for a pre-approval is considered a credit enquiry and will also reflect on your credit file; therefore, it’s essential to check your credit history and score before proceeding with any enquiries or applications. There are many free online resources you can use to check your credit score.
• Your home available equity:
  Equity is the difference between the value of your home and your loan balance. If the value has risen since you first purchased it, your loan to value ratio will be lower, meaning you will have available equity. If your available equity is less than 20%, you will have to pay Lenders Mortgage Insurance, the same as if your deposit was under 20%.
• Fees involved in refinancing:
  Depending on the loan type and financial institute, there can be many fees charged, such as an application fee, discharge fee, break cost on the current loan and valuation fees. It’s important to factor in all of these costs when you’re looking at refinancing your home loan elsewhere.