The Australian Home Loan is a wonderful thing! If you have a residential property with some equity in it, the possibilities are almost infinite!

It must be said however, one of the greatest features of the Australian Home Loan is the government regulations that they have to abide by. It is these regulations that in part kept Australians somewhat safe from the GFC. Our American friends over the pond with their heavily de-regulated market weren’t so fortunate! Well as of July 2010, things down under tightened up further! This is because it was this date when ASIC took over the Finance industry. Financial institutions now have to prove suitability of the loan product as well as make sure that there are no foreseeable circumstances in the future that could possibly affect an applicant’s ability to pay their mortgage.  ASIC have also removed one of the loopholes that banks and brokers used to use. Previously if a deal was sketchy, you could put it through as an investment property loan which was unregulated. Under ASIC these loans (along with consumer/personal loans) are now regulated! So how has this changed the market place? Low document loans (self certified income) have changed the most! If you are PAYG, don’t even think of getting a Low Document loan. If you are self employed? There are products out there, but their requirements vary greatly! Some require BAS and trading statements, others require an income declaration from your accountant and some may even require both! To add to the complexity of the situation, some lenders whilst having a Low Document product don’t really want to do business in that market. With these guys submitting an application usually results in a decline. The good news is that some of the lenders out there are still producing great niche products. So in most cases, there is still a product to fit your situation.  This is where a home loan brokers services become invaluable to you!