Baulkham Hills mortgage broker
Baulkham Hills mortgage broker
A mortgage broker
who knows Baulkham Hills.
A suburb of long term owners who can comfortably afford their repayments, and who often cannot pass the assessment to move to a better rate. We compare 35+ lenders and it costs you nothing.
35+
Lenders
10+
Years experience
1,000+
Clients helped
$0
Cost to you
About Baulkham Hills
What the 2153 market actually looks like
History of Baulkham Hills
Orchards and farms for most of the nineteenth century, named after Baulkham in England by an early settler. The suburb filled in steadily through the post war decades rather than in one wave, which is why the housing spans so many eras. It sits at the southern end of The Hills Shire, and Windsor Road has been the spine of it since long before the motorway.
Baulkham Hills property market
One of the largest and busiest markets in the Hills, with a population near 37,000 across more than 850 streets. Around three quarters of homes are owner occupied and households average three people, mostly couples with children. Both houses and units trade in volume, with houses typically selling in under a month, so there is far more sales evidence here than in most suburbs we cover.
Baulkham Hills property prices
Reported house medians vary between roughly $1.7 million and $2.1 million depending on the source and the sales counted, with units nearer the seven to nine hundred thousands. House yields sit around two per cent while unit yields run closer to four. Median household income is reported around $11,000 a month, with a median mortgage repayment near $2,600.
Borrowing in Baulkham Hills
The assessment rate is what catches people. Lenders do not test you on your actual repayment, they add a buffer on top, so plenty of owners here who service a loan comfortably still fall short on paper. The other is timing, because families upgrading within the suburb often find the next home before the current one has sold.
Baulkham Hills is one of 26 suburbs we cover across the Hills District, and the one where the gap between what people pay and what they qualify for is widest.
Told you cannot afford
what you already pay?
Lenders assess you at a rate above the real one. That gap is why, and some lenders handle it far better than others.
Your broker
Meet Ali Hasani
Ali Hasani is the founder of Buyvest. He has worked in home loans for more than ten years, a lot of it at Commonwealth Bank. We meet clients face to face, or by phone, Zoom and Teams, at night and on weekends as well as work hours. We take your loan to 35+ lenders, compare the numbers, and show you the options. Ali is an MFAA accredited broker with a Diploma of Finance and Mortgage Broking Management and a Post Graduate in Accounting.
Found the next home
before selling this one?
Bridging funds the purchase before your sale settles. In a suburb where families move up within the same streets, that comes up constantly.
Client stories
How we helped
Three real situations, and what actually happened in each one.
Bridging bought them time.
They found the home they wanted before their own had sold, and the choice was to lose it or find a way through. We arranged bridging, which funds the new purchase while the old property is still on the market, so they bought first and sold afterwards with nothing forcing the price down. It costs more while both loans run, and here that was a matter of weeks rather than months.
The buffer was the blocker.
They had paid the same loan without a late payment for years and were told they could not afford to refinance to a cheaper rate. Nothing about their spending was the problem. Lenders assess you at a rate well above the one you actually pay, and on their existing loan that buffer put them just short. We found a lender that applied a smaller buffer on a like for like refinance, and it went through.
The first home was kept on.
A growing family wanted a bigger home and assumed the current one had to go to pay for it. Once we went through the numbers, it did not. We restructured the lending, used the equity they already had as the deposit, and set the loans up so the two properties stayed separate rather than tied together. Because holding a former home has tax consequences, they worked that side through with their accountant.
These are past client stories, with details changed for privacy. Your own result depends on your situation and what the lender decides.
Free guides
What to know before you buy
Three free guides covering how a Baulkham Hills purchase actually runs, from pre-approval to settlement.
Home loan pre-approval
What it covers, and how long it lasts.
Read the guide
Choosing a home loan
Fixed, variable, offset and redraw.
Read the guide
Settlement day
What has to be ready before then.
Read the guide
Read the free guides in the Loan Vault to know how the home buying process works in NSW.
What we do
Home loans for every Baulkham Hills plan
First home
Learn more
Next home
Learn more
Investment property
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Refinancing
Learn more
Construction loans
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Bridging loans
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Guarantor loans
Learn more
No LMI and waived LMI
Learn more
Self employed home loans
Learn more
Not sure where to start? See what a mortgage broker actually does.
When did you last
check your rate?
We compare your current home loan against 35+ lenders. If a refinance saves you money we will show you the numbers, and if it does not we will tell you that too.
Your job matters
Home loans by profession
Some lenders drop lenders mortgage insurance for certain jobs, and professionals make up the largest occupation group here. The lists and the limits differ from one lender to the next, so it is worth checking where yours sits.
Home loans for
Doctors
Learn more
Home loans for
Dentists
Learn more
Home loans for
Accountants
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Home loans for
Lawyers
Learn more
Not sure if your job is on a list? See No LMI and waived LMI home loans, or ask us and we will check every lender on our panel.
Plan ahead
Run the numbers
Free tools that show you where you stand right now.
How it works
Three steps to your loan
1
Financial health check
2
Get pre-approved
3
Settle, then stay in touch
Client reviews
5.0 ★★★★★ on Google
Reviews from clients across Sydney.
★★★★★
"Cannot recommend Ali highly enough. He made a complicated and daunting process incredibly easy, and continually went above and beyond. Would absolutely recommend him to everyone."
★★★★★
"Ali is super knowledgeable, reasonable and personable! He will be realistic with what is possible but always find you the best deal whilst making you feel looked after."
★★★★★
"Ali was very professional and was able to help with our complicated loans to refinance. He kept us up to date throughout the process and made sure my wife and I understood everything before signing and that we had no issues after settlement."
FAQ
Baulkham Hills questions, answered
Why use a mortgage broker in Baulkham Hills?
Because two things come up here more than anywhere. Owners who have held a loan for years and cannot pass a lender's assessment to move it, even though they have paid it faultlessly. And families upgrading within the same streets who find the next home before the current one sells. Both have solutions that differ sharply between lenders. Brokers also have a legal duty called the Best Interests Duty, which means we have to put you first.
Why does a lender say I cannot afford what I already pay?
Because they do not assess you on your actual repayment. Lenders add a buffer on top of the rate, so a loan you are servicing comfortably is tested as though the rate were considerably higher. That buffer exists so borrowers can absorb rate rises, and it is applied to your existing debts as well as the new one. It is the single most common reason a capable borrower comes back short, and it has nothing to do with how you manage money.
What is the assessment rate and how much is it?
It is the rate a lender uses to test whether you can repay, set above the rate you actually pay. Regulators expect lenders to apply a buffer of at least a set margin, and some apply more than the minimum. That means the same income produces different answers across the panel, because a lender using the minimum will lend more than one that adds its own margin on top. Which lender assesses your file matters more than most people realise.
I cannot pass the buffer to refinance. Am I stuck?
Often not. Some lenders apply a reduced buffer where you are refinancing a like for like loan, meaning the same balance and term with no cash out, and you have a clean repayment history. The reasoning is that moving you to a lower rate cannot make you worse off. Not every lender offers it and the conditions differ, so it is worth having checked properly rather than accepting the first no.
How do lenders work out my living expenses?
They take the higher of what you declare and a benchmark figure based on your income, household size and location, then add committed costs on top. Understating expenses does not help, because they also read your statements. For a household of three, which is the local average, that benchmark can sit either side of what you actually spend. Working from the real number from the start avoids a surprise late in the process.
Do my other debts affect this even if they are small?
More than people expect. A car loan is assessed on its actual repayment, a credit card is assessed on its limit rather than the balance, and a study debt reduces the income counted as available. Each of those is then tested alongside the buffered home loan repayment. Clearing or reducing a couple of them before you apply often moves capacity further than a rate difference would.
Can I buy before I sell?
Yes, and in a suburb where families move up within the same few streets it comes up constantly, because the right house appears before you are ready. Bridging finance funds the new purchase while the old property is still on the market. You hold both for a period and it costs more while you do. What it removes is the deadline, so your sale is not run under pressure from a settlement date.
How does bridging finance actually work?
The lender funds the new purchase while the old property remains on the market, so for a period you hold both. Interest usually accrues on the whole amount rather than being repaid monthly, and once your sale settles the proceeds clear the bridging portion, leaving the ongoing loan. Lenders set a maximum period, commonly six or twelve months. With local houses typically selling in under a month, that window is generally comfortable here.
Can I settle the sale and the purchase on the same day?
It is possible and it needs both contracts aligned from the start, since the two settlements have to be booked together and any delay on one holds up the other. Your conveyancer manages that side. From the finance side the new loan has to be ready to draw on the day, and the discharge of the old mortgage has to be lodged in time. It works well when everything runs to plan, and bridging is the fallback when it does not.
Can I keep my current home and rent it out instead?
Often, and it is worth pricing against selling before you decide. What matters is whether your income supports both loans once a portion of the rent is counted, and whether the equity can be released without selling. Keeping the two properties on separate securities rather than tied together preserves your flexibility later. Holding a former home also has tax consequences, so that side belongs with your accountant.
How much of the rent will a lender count?
Not all of it. Lenders count a portion of the expected rent as income, commonly around eighty per cent, to allow for vacancy, management and costs, and they differ on the exact figure. They also assess the new loan at the buffered rate rather than the real one. Local house yields sit near two per cent while units run closer to four, so a unit contributes proportionally far more to an assessment than a house does.
How much equity can I use?
Usable equity is roughly 80% of what your place is worth today, less what you still owe. Go past 80% and lenders mortgage insurance usually comes back into it. With three quarters of homes here owner occupied and many held for a long time, that figure is often larger than owners expect. What limits it is not usually the equity but the servicing, since the new borrowing is assessed at the buffered rate.
Are large loans assessed differently?
Not harder, but they are looked at more closely. Past certain loan sizes some lenders add extra checks, want more documentation, cap how much of the value they will advance, or apply internal limits. At local house prices many buyers are approaching that territory, though less so than in the upper North Shore suburbs. Where it compounds is a large loan tested at a buffered rate, which is where the field narrows fastest.
What happens if the valuation comes in under the price?
The lender lends against the valuation rather than the price, so you cover the gap in cash at settlement. A lender will not order that valuation until there is an exchanged contract, so the buffer has to exist before you sign. One advantage here is volume, since with several hundred house sales a year a valuer has plenty of recent comparable evidence, which makes the number more predictable than in a thinly traded suburb.
Do the schools here affect what I can borrow?
Not the property side, since a valuer does not add a line for a catchment. Where it reaches the loan is expenses, because a lender counts school fees as a committed monthly cost in the same way as childcare or a car payment, and it comes off your capacity for as long as it runs. With a large share of local households being couples with children, that is worth building into the number before you apply.
Can I get a Baulkham Hills home loan with no LMI?
Three routes exist. A 20% deposit avoids it outright. Certain professions attract a waiver from selected lenders at a smaller deposit, and professionals are the largest occupation group here. A family guarantee can also remove it by adding part of a parent's equity as security. Which is available depends on your role, your deposit and whether family support is on the table.
Can I buy my first home in Baulkham Hills with a 5% deposit?
At the unit end, often yes, provided the price sits under the scheme's property cap. The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme lets an eligible first home buyer purchase with a 5% deposit and pay no lenders mortgage insurance, with Housing Australia guaranteeing the gap to 20%. It is a guarantee, not a grant. Local units sit at a level where this is genuinely usable, which is not true of the houses.
How much deposit do I need in Baulkham Hills?
A 20% deposit avoids lenders mortgage insurance. On a local unit that is within reach for many buyers, and on a house it is a considerably larger figure. Plenty of people get in with 5 or 10% and pay the insurance instead, some professions can skip it, and a family guarantor loan can cut the deposit further again. If you already own, equity usually does the job in place of cash.
How does a guarantor loan work?
A family member, usually a parent, offers part of the equity in their property as extra security for your loan. They do not make your repayments and no cash changes hands. Most are set up as a limited guarantee, so only a defined portion of their home is at risk. Around here the parent often owns a home in the same suburb bought decades ago, so the portion needed is a modest share of what they hold.
What is the difference between a guarantor and a co-borrower?
A guarantor supports the loan with their property but is not on the title or the debt. A co-borrower is on both, so the whole loan shows on their credit file and is tested at the buffered rate against anything they want to borrow next. Co-borrowing lifts what the buyer can afford because both incomes count. For a parent who may want to release equity themselves later, that difference decides whether they still can.
Can I get a home loan if I am self employed?
Yes, and the paperwork is heavier. Most lenders want two years of tax returns and company financials, though some accept one year and a few work from business bank statements. The figure that matters is not the taxable number at the bottom, because lenders add back items that reduced it without costing you cash, commonly depreciation, one off expenses and extra super contributions. What each lender adds back differs considerably.
Should renovation money come out of the home loan?
For cosmetic work, usually yes, because home loan rates sit well below personal loan rates and a top up on the existing loan is simple. Once you are changing the structure, most lenders want a construction loan, which releases funds in stages against approved plans and a fixed price contract and values the property on what it will be worth finished. In a suburb where many homes are decades old, that path comes up often.
What is an offset account and is it worth having?
An offset is a transaction account linked to your loan. Every dollar in it reduces the balance interest is charged on, without being locked away. At local house loan sizes the effect is significant because the saving scales with the balance. On a unit loan, check the package fee against the balance you actually hold, since on a modest loan a basic product with no fee can win.
Offset or redraw. What is the difference?
Redraw means paying extra off the loan and taking it back later. Offset means the money sits beside the loan in its own account. The interest effect is similar. What differs is access and treatment, because redraw can be restricted by the lender and money you redraw counts as new borrowing rather than your own savings returning. Given how often a first home here is kept and let, offset is the cleaner structure. Your accountant can explain why.
Should I fix my rate or stay variable?
Fixed gives certainty for a set period, usually one to five years. Variable gives flexibility, an offset account and unlimited extra repayments. Most fixed loans do not come with a usable offset. One thing specific to this suburb is that being locked into a fixed loan makes it harder to move if the right house appears, since break costs land on top of everything else. The term matters more than the opening rate.
Can I split the loan between fixed and variable?
Yes, and on a house loan here it is often the sensible answer. You fix a portion for repayment certainty and leave the rest variable so the offset still works against it and extra repayments stay unlimited. A good rule is to leave at least as much variable as the balance you typically hold in offset. On a smaller unit loan check whether the lender charges per split.
Interest only or principal and interest?
On a home you live in, principal and interest is almost always the answer, because interest only means you owe the same at the end of the period as at the start. On an investment it is a real question, and here the answer differs between a house and a unit given the yield gap. The catch is that lenders assess an interest only loan on the repayment it reverts to, buffered on top, so it cuts hard into your next application.
When I refinance, does my loan term reset?
Only if you let it. Most refinances default to a fresh thirty year term, which makes the monthly repayment look better and quietly adds years of interest. Ask for the remaining term instead, so a loan with nineteen years left stays a nineteen year loan. Worth knowing that keeping the term also helps the assessment, since a shorter term is tested on a higher repayment and lenders sometimes read that either way.
How much does it cost to refinance a home loan?
Usually a few hundred dollars to around a thousand. Your current lender charges a discharge fee, there are government fees to move the mortgage, and the new lender may charge a settlement or valuation fee, though plenty waive them. If you are on a fixed rate there can be break costs, so they get checked first. On a long held Baulkham Hills loan the saving usually clears the cost within months.
I live in Baulkham Hills but want to buy elsewhere. Does that matter?
Far less than people expect. A lender assesses you, then it assesses the property you are buying. Where you currently live barely features. What does matter is the postcode and property type you are buying into, because lender restrictions attach to the security rather than to your address. Plenty of local owners use equity in a long held home to buy an investment somewhere with a stronger yield than a house here produces.
Should I use my bank or a mortgage broker?
A bank can only offer its own loans and its own assessment rules, including the buffer it applies. If that buffer puts you short, their answer is no and they will not tell you another lender uses a smaller one. That is the whole issue for a great many owners here. A broker checks it against many lenders first. Buyvest compares 35+ lenders at $0 cost to you.
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Baulkham Hills sits at the southern end of the Hills, so it draws from both the growth corridor and the older suburbs below it. Winston Hills and North Rocks are closest, with Castle Hill north and Parramatta south. Norwest, Bella Vista and Kellyville run up the corridor towards North Kellyville and Beaumont Hills. East sit Carlingford, Glenhaven and Pennant Hills. We cover all of them, so if your search shifts a suburb or two, you are not starting from scratch.