If you are concerned about servicing your loan, you can reach out to us for help. As Australians everywhere take a close look at their financial circumstances, mortgage brokers stand ready to lend a helping hand.

Whether experiencing financial hardship through job loss, a reduction in work hours, or business disruption, an increasing number of Australians may be struggling to balance their books as a result of the Coronavirus, and in many cases are wondering how they will continue to pay the bills.

Difficulty with repayments

According to research conducted by Finder in early 2020, about one in five mortgage borrowers, or about two million Australian households, were struggling to make repayments, despite record low interest rates.

And with the challenging circumstances that have emerged since, it is anticipated that these pressures will only increase forcing more people to require financial assistance.

Financial relief strategies

In this difficult time lenders have responded by announcing financial relief strategies. In an official Australian Banking Association (ABA) statement, CEO Anna Bligh said, “Banks stand ready to support customers and if anyone is in need of assistance, they shouldn’t wait but come forward as soon as possible”.

Different lenders have different assistance options. These may include, waiving fees on early term deposit withdrawals, interest rate freezes on loans, options to defer or restructure home loan repayments, and emergency credit card limit increases.

We have the knowledge, experience and relationships necessary to assist people experiencing or expecting to have trouble paying their home loans as a result of changing circumstances.

In times like these, the importance of mortgage brokers in assisting customers with hardship and facilitating access to credit cannot be overstated. For many Australians – particularly those in rural or regional areas – brokers may represent the only source of assistance.

“Banks stand ready to support customers and if anyone is in need of assistance, they shouldn’t wait but come forward as soon as possible.” – Anna Bligh, ABA 2020

Expertise of brokers is of critical support

Our expertise in helping customers navigate the complex home lending market – and our intimate understanding of your personal circumstances – means we are uniquely positioned to provide support for clients when discussing hardship and available options with lenders.

If you have any questions or concerns about your existing loans, need further guidance on hardship assistance, or have other questions about your loan arrangements, please reach out to us.

“My loan was  declined because the bank said I was getting too many Uber Eats!”

We all have a story that we’ve heard at the office, on the weekend or on our favourite morning tv shows about somebody who didn’t get a loan because of some strange reason. But is this really possible? Can a lender decline a loan for getting too many “Uber Eats”?

Well, the truth is yes and no. 

To help understand this answer, let’s have a look at the lending process a little more closely.

Recently it has become more difficult to get a loan. Increased government regulations and requirements on lenders has been passed onto borrowers through greater scrutiny during the application process.

If we look at the process a little more carefully, we might gain some understanding in what’s happening. When applying for finance (be it a home loan, personal loan, or even a credit card), lenders want to be reasonably sure that you are going to have the capacity to repay the money you borrow. To do this, they assess your application across a number of fronts, but there are two in particular that determine how much you can borrow. These are – how much income you receive and what your personal expenses are. 

Income is relatively easy to assess for most people – we go to work, do our jobs, and finally get a piece of paper showing us how much we have been rewarded for our efforts – also known as our payslip. 

Expenses on the other hand are a little more difficult to assess. That’s because you may not have fixed spending habits and everybody is free to do what they like with their money. So lenders want to understand how much you spend. 

Many people have a component of fixed spending – car loans, credit cards, phones and utilities.

But other expenses, such as your general day to day living expenses – the trip to the double golden archway restaurant, the pair of shoes you need for the weekend or the little flutter you might enjoy with a glass of sherry from time to time – are more difficult to account for.

For most lenders, part of the application process requires borrowers to assess their living expenses. To assist the borrower, there are generally 10-15 categories that can be used to assess living expenses. These include regular commitments (e.g. credit cards and utilities) through to categories such as pets, insurance, entertainment and motor vehicle costs.

Along with the assessment, lenders are asking for evidence. This can include copies of statements of your transaction and savings accounts, credit card bills and any other existing loans you have in place.

When we also take into account that on average, mortgage repayments equate to approximately 30% commitment of your income it becomes clear why a good understanding of living expenses is required. If your living expenses are quite high – for example because you have private school fees, a large weekly food bill or the kids are committed to expensive sports – you may end up putting yourself under financial stress due to not being able to satisfactorily address all your financial commitments. Under responsible lending obligations, lenders are reluctant to approve a loan that results in putting borrowers into financial stress. 

If we think back to the original question, can too many Uber Eats reduce your ability to get a loan? While it probably isn’t due to Uber Eats per se, it is possible, if your living expenses reflect a lifestyle of exuberance with the inability to easily cover future commitments to not have a loan approved (or offered a lower amount than required). However, if you are living within your means and Uber Eats is part of your general living expenses, then no, it is unlikely that your loan will be declined on that basis. Your spending habits show a bit about your character and the potential to repay any loans.

So if you are looking at getting a home loan, you may want to do a self assessment first. Review your expenses and see if there is anything you can cut back. Are there expenses that can be construed as undisclosed liabilities? Do your expenses reflect a character of regularity and commitment? If you were to sell up all your assets, would you still owe money?

Reducing your monthly expenses will increase your loan repayment abilities with the added benefit that you will increase your savings for the purchase. Lower expenses generally means a little more available for repayments, which means paying the loan off quicker or getting a larger loan if required. The other benefit is that cutting back on expenses before getting a loan can result in more savings to contribute to the purchase of your home, which is definitely a good thing!

So the next time you hear a story about a friend having their loan declined due to too many Uber Eats, just ask yourself, was it the Uber Eats or was it exorbitant living expenses.

Increasing cost of living pressures and rising home prices makes it difficult for some people to get into the property market. No matter how much is saved, it seems as if there is never enough for a deposit.

Typically borrowers should look to save a 20% deposit and a further 5% (if you live in South Australia) for government fees and charges (the amount of fees and charges depend on the state of purchase in Australia). When it comes to purchasing a home, many borrowers are shocked to see much of their hard earned dollars disappear in just paying government fees and charges leaving them little for the actual deposit.

You may wonder what the issue is in not having the 20% deposit. It is about appetite for risk! Lenders typically like lending 80% of the value of a property – and in doing so, will also provide some great deals (as you may see advertised). Go above this 80% ratio and some lenders may charge higher rates for the privilege or have more stringent borrowing criteria that need to be met.

A strategy to retain the 80% borrowing ratio is to use a security guarantee. Essentially this is additional property that the lender can lend against to reduce the borrowing ratio. Security guarantees normally come in the form of a property that family members will allow you (the borrower) to use to borrow against along with the property that is being purchased. For many borrowers, the security property could be a family home that parents own.

The family member guarantees a portion of their property (no more than 20%) to be used as additional security for the purchase. By taking the security guarantee and the property to be purchased, lenders will ordinarily lend against this and the borrower may even enjoy the benefits of reduced rates.

The other benefit to using a security guarantee is that borrowers don’t need to save the full deposit before getting into the housing market! With sufficient security guarantee and the property to be purchased, they typically can borrow enough to cover the full purchase price.

What happens if you are not in a position to utilise a security guarantee? In this case, Lender’s Mortgage Insurance (LMI) may assist. LMI allows you to borrow a higher percentage of a property’s value and thereby requiring a smaller deposit.

The maximum borrowing ratio available with LMI is around 95% of the value of the property. At a minimum a borrower still needs to save 10% (to cover government fees and charges and the basic deposit) however this could assist you in getting into the market sooner.

You may be asking yourself if LMI means that you don’t need to save as much, why doesn’t everybody just save the bare minimum and utilise this? LMI is a fee for risk and is calculated using a number of parameters – including the actual loan size and the lending ratio across bands. The net effect is that lenders mortgage insurance could add tens of thousands of dollars to the loan! Lower borrowing ratios typically means a lower premium, but for those borrowing closer to 95% then the premium can increase almost exponentially! Therefore this needs to be carefully considered as a cost to your purchase.

Remember that in any case, you also need to demonstrate enough income to cover the cost of repayments!

If you are looking to get into the property market but feel you are not making headway with the deposit, consider options such as a family guarantee or LMI. They both have pros and cons and need to be considered diligently but this might just be enough to get you into your home sooner!