Your Trusted Mortgage Broker on the Gold Coast

Two types of calls, depending on where you’re at. If you need loan approval within the next four weeks, we go straight into your numbers and personal situation so we can map the quickest, safest path to approval.

If you’re three to twelve months away, we cover how much you can borrow, how much you need to save and the exact steps to get your application ready. Most people find the confusion clears up immediately. After the call, we send through a personalised action plan and follow up along the way.

Borrowing capacity depends on lender credit policy, not just income and savings.

Key factors include:

• income type (PAYG or self-employed)
• existing debts such as credit cards, car loans and HECS
• living expenses and dependants
• deposit size and loan-to-value ratio
• the type of property being purchased

On the Gold Coast, things like floor space in high-density buildings, flood overlay classifications and holiday letting arrangements can also affect how lenders assess a loan. We calculate borrowing capacity using current lender policies so the figures hold up when it counts.

A pre-approval is an early assessment of your financial position. It helps you understand your price range and negotiate with more confidence, but it still requires nearly a full application and isn’t a final decision.

Formal approval happens after you’ve signed a contract. The lender assesses your full application, reviews the contract of sale and completes a valuation on the specific property.

We focus heavily on preparation before either stage so the formal approval is as smooth as possible.

Timeframes vary depending on the lender, the complexity of your situation and their current queue. A straightforward application can come back in one to two days. More complex ones like self-employed income and unusual property types can take ten days or more.

Once we submit, we manage all communication with the lender, respond to credit questions and follow up on valuations. Careful preparation before submission is what reduces delays.

Lenders need documents to verify identity, income, assets, liabilities and credit history.

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PAYG**

• Two most recent payslips
• Bank statements for all accounts
• Driver’s licence, Medicare card and passport

Self-employed

• Two most recent financial years of tax returns and financials
• BAS statements
• Bank statements for all accounts personally and for the business
• Driver’s licence, Medicare card and passport

We tell you exactly what’s required based on the lender we’re using so you’re not asked for unnecessary paperwork.

In most cases, nothing. Lenders pay us after settlement, similar to how banks pay their own lending staff. You don’t pay the bank’s lending manager when you walk in, and you don’t pay us.

If a fee ever applies due to a specific or complex situation, we explain it clearly before any work proceeds.

Yes. Comparing lenders is only part of what we do.

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We help with:**

• Getting you home loan ready before applying
• Selecting lenders that fit your situation
• Choosing the right loan type and structure
• Setting up offsets and repayments correctly
• Considering how the loan should work over time

We also factor in how different lenders assess properties commonly found on the Gold Coast, including waterfront homes, high-density apartments and properties with holiday letting arrangements.

Yes. We regularly help Gold Coast clients review existing home loans to see whether refinancing or restructuring will save money or open the next step toward a property goal.

This may include comparing rates, negotiating with your current lender, assessing switching costs and reviewing how the loan is set up. The aim is to make sure your loan still suits your circumstances.

FIFO income is generally accepted by most lenders, but how it’s assessed varies. The key factors are whether your contract is ongoing or fixed-term, whether the income includes allowances and overtime, and how long you’ve been in the role. Short-term contracts or income heavily reliant on allowances can be discounted or excluded entirely by some lenders.

Lender selection matters here. Some are more experienced with FIFO applicants and will assess the full income picture more fairly. We work through your contract structure and income breakdown before choosing a lender, so the figures hold up rather than getting reduced at assessment.

Yes, and the Gold Coast has more of them than most markets. Flood overlays and insurance costs on canal properties, proximity to high-voltage power lines, serviced and holiday-letting apartment buildings, high-density units under 50 square metres, FIFO and non-resident income situations, and renovations without council approval can all influence lending decisions.

We identify these early so they don’t become problems at the valuation or approval stage.