Providing successful home loans when other lenders say it’s not possible

When someone tells you it can’t be done, it is more a reflection of their limitations, not yours. This is a true story of how ‘it CAN be Done.’ Josie and Jim thought there was NO WAY they could get a mortgage, given their low deposit funds and not having their financials up to date. They joined a bunch of our clients who thought they were stuck in the rental market until coming to see us.

Below are some of the stories OTHER lenders have told our clients. Thank goodness they didn’t stop there, and came to talk to us at Living Home Loans. We work our butts off to find ways through the finance web for all of our clients. We’ve been able to get successful home loans for 99.9% of our clients.

These are some of the reasons we have heard from clients that purchased their own home, thanks to reaching out and having that first meeting with us:

• I can’t buy a home because I don’t have enough deposit
• I can’t get lending because I’m too OLD
• I can’t buy a home because I’m too YOUNG
• I can’t get lending because I am on a pension
• I can’t buy a home because I am self employed
• I can’t get lending because I live overseas
• I can’t buy a home because I am not an Australian citizen
• I can’t get lending because I have a poor credit history, and
• I can’t buy a home because my bank told me I can’t.

Buying their own home became a reality!

We recently helped our motivated clients purchase their own home, even though they were self-employed and did not have their tax returns up to date. We will call them Josie and Jim for the sake of this blog. They are a couple of hard-working Aussies who demonstrated strong initiative and run two successful businesses. Along with raising a family in amongst the demands of their businesses, they had been too busy to get their financials done. They had owned property previously, and they knew their current rent was just paying off someone else’s mortgage, something which was not ideal. They REALLY wanted to be able to buy their own home, even if it was just a very small home.

Living home Loans have over 40 lenders that offer differing policies and niches suited for all sorts of situations. It takes a bit of work at times to find a lender that will work. Josie and Jim had already been knocked back by their bank, and due to being encouraged by their close friends, they came in for a meeting with us to see where they sat.

We have lenders that allow an accountant to verify the income of their clients, even if they haven’t got their tax returns up to date, and this was ideal for Josie and Jim. Also, they only had a small deposit, meaning their lending options were further restricted. We had to work hard to find a lender that would be successful. It turned out, after much due diligence, that they could only borrow what was a relatively small amount of money. However, these clients are go-getters, who really ran with the idea of “I CAN” compared to “I CAN’T”.
We did the work required to show Josie and Jim that they could get a home loan right now. They didn’t want to wait as they felt like the market was slipping away from them. They were flexible about the limitations that the lending amount gave them, in terms of what they could buy. Living Home Loans were especially happy to help our clients that were creative enough to work with what they could borrow for now.

 Josie and Jim were determined to find their own home in an area, and a price tag, that would allow them to make a start. Their goal was to be able to improve the value of the home they purchased, especially as Jim was in the building game. He knew he could make simple improvements and get on top by increasing the home’s value quickly. Their dream was really about getting themselves ahead.

So what was Jim and Josie’s situation?

Jim had a successful business in construction. He had plans to buy something that he could add value to by doing some renovations and home improvements himself. He knew he needed to get his financials and paperwork in order at some point in time. Jim also knew it would take him some time to do this. They didn’t want to wait. They really wanted to stop paying rent, and instead build some equity by improving a property of their own.Josie ran a café business, that had changed ownership from having several owners, to just herself, in the last couple of years. This meant her financials for the business did not fit the standard requirements. Both Josie and Jim felt frustrated and stuck by the timing and situation of their businesses. They were both successful in their own rights, but had trouble showing it in the standard format required.

On top of this, they had saved some funds and they could scrape up some more deposit with the help of family. But the reality was that they still only had a small deposit. This was significant because the lower the deposit you have, the less choice you have of lenders to get a loan through and you often have to pay higher interest rates and fees such as lenders mortgage insurance or risk fees.

How did we help?

We had some conversations with their accountant and got into the nitty gritty of their businesses and the financial histories in each of them. The fact that they had a limited deposit made the lender choice very clear to us, as it really came down to the one lender out of all the possible options. We were able to get the required documents together to ensure we could confidently proceed with their application.

Josie and Jim really understood that it took a specific lender to be able to cater for their needs. They were already told that they would not succeed but had nothing to lose at this stage. The product was not the most competitive interest rate or fees however, it did mean Josie and Jim could look to buy their home right now. We went through all the numbers at length with them and it turned out that they would end up paying about the same amount of money as their current rent was.

Although, the option presented did mean they would pay well above a standard interest rate, along with their relatively small borrowing capacity. However, they could now say WE CAN buy our own home.  The large variety of lenders we have ended up giving them the freedom to cultivate their own dreams. Josie and Jim received their approval and the rest is history.

Ahhh! They found the perfect home!

Many house inspections and negotiations later, the ideal home was located. Josie and Jim purchased a house that we were really impressed with. They had a very limited budget and it seemed like an impossible task to find a suitable house in the areas they had highlighted. The price tag was the part that we could hardly believe. However, we are sure that their CAN DO attitude got them over the line.

The home had lots of capacity for renovations to improve the value, just like Jim wanted. We were a bit worried that the valuation would be an issue, because sometimes valuers have trouble when you cannot compare the sale to anything else in the area. It was a very unique house and a very unique price. Luckily, Jim had the construction experience to be able to know it was cheap, but not falling down. It is usually very important to get a good pest and building inspection done so your biggest purchase has an expert opinion regarding its state of being.

Josie and Jim were able to proceed with their purchase, knowing they had a home that could also be a very beneficial project. It is in a fabulous location, enjoying a bit of country and close to everything else. The purchase went ahead and they were able to move ahead financially. They are now comforted with the knowledge they were working hard to build their own future. No more dead rent money for them.

Where are Jim and Josie now?

It is likely that Josie is busy getting her café back to a new normal, with restrictions continuing to be lifted. She was creative and quick to make changes in her business to keep it positive when the Covid-19 lock down started. Jim has been even faster to get in and start the renovations. It is clear that the house will not be recognisable when Jim finishes. The before and ‘partly’ after photos demonstrate the motivation and style that this couple has. They have been very inspiring and encouraging for anyone who wants to go from ‘we can’t, to we did!’

Have you got a ‘CAN do’ attitude?

At Living Home Loans we pride ourselves on being able to providing property buyers with successful finance so you can enhance your freedom. Have you got a property dream that we can help you with? Whether you want to save money on your current mortgage, consolidate debts, access extra cash or get a home loan, we can help.

 Give us a call on 0439 110 255 or contact us today for an appointment.