Most people I help buy a home have been quietly worried about it for months before they call me. They’ve put their numbers into a calculator on a bank website, got a figure back, and have no idea whether it’s real.
Usually it isn’t. That figure doesn’t know about your HECS debt, the car loan, the credit card you never use but never closed, or that one of you is going to four days a week next year.
So we start there. I’ll work out what you can actually borrow and what the repayments really look like, and you’ll have it before you start going to inspections rather than after.
What usually brings someone to this page
- You’re buying your first place and nobody has explained what the deposit really needs to be once you add the costs on top.
- You’ve outgrown where you are, and you need to know whether you can buy before you sell.
- Your fixed rate is ending and the new repayment has landed with a thud.
- You’ve been pre-approved somewhere online and you’d like a second opinion before you rely on it at an auction.
- You’re buying with a partner and your two financial lives look nothing like each other.
- A parent has offered to help with the deposit and nobody is sure what that does to the loan.
What a lender is actually looking at
None of this is secret. It’s just rarely written down for the person it’s being applied to.
- Your income, and how steady it looks
- Payslips, how long you’ve been there, and whether you’re still on probation. If part of your pay is overtime, bonus or commission, how much of it counts varies a lot between lenders. That one difference can move your borrowing capacity by more than anything else on this page.
- What you already owe
- HECS, car finance, personal loans, buy-now-pay-later, and credit cards. Cards are assessed on the limit, not the balance, so a card you never use still costs you borrowing capacity. Closing one before we apply is sometimes the single most useful thing you can do.
- Your deposit, and where it came from
- Most lenders want to see savings you’ve actually held for a few months. A gift from family is fine, but it usually needs a short letter saying it isn’t a loan. If you’re using a first-home scheme or a state grant, that has its own paperwork and its own timing.
- How you spend, honestly
- Usually three months of statements. They’re reading the shape of a normal month, not judging you. What does cause trouble is a mismatch between what the form says and what the statements show, so it’s better to tell me the real number and let me put it in properly.
- The property itself
- The lender values it independently, and their number is the one that counts. Small apartments, unusual builds and some postcodes have their own rules. It’s worth knowing that before you bid, not after.
What I’ll ask you for
- Your last few payslips, and a recent employment contract if you’ve started somewhere new
- Two years of tax returns and notices of assessment if your income varies or you work for yourself
- Everyday account and savings statements, usually three months
- A list of what you owe, with the limits rather than the balances
- A rough idea of what you spend in a normal month
- Anything relevant to a first-home scheme or grant, if you’re using one
What you get back from me
- What you can borrow and exactly how I got to that number, in writing, before anything goes anywhere.
- What the repayments actually look like, including at a rate higher than today’s, so the number still works if things move.
- The lenders I considered, the ones I ruled out, and the reason each one was ruled out.
- A plain list of what you’ll be asked for, in the order you’ll be asked, so the file goes in complete.
- What I’m paid on this loan and by whom, before you commit to anything.
Questions worth asking any broker
Including me. If you’re comparing brokers, these five separate a file somebody has read from a file somebody has forwarded.
- What’s my actual borrowing capacity, and can I see how you worked it out?
- Which lenders did you rule out for me, and why?
- What happens to this number if rates go up a percent?
- Is this pre-approval one I can rely on at auction, or is it system-generated?
- Who pays you on this loan, and does the amount change depending on the lender?
If you’re not sure whether now is the right time, that’s a perfectly good reason to call. I’ll tell you honestly, and if the answer is wait, I’ll tell you what’s worth doing between now and then.
A 30-minute call, no fee and no obligation. Commercial and specialist files may attract a fee, and I’ll tell you before any work starts.