Castle Hill mortgage broker
Castle Hill mortgage broker
A mortgage broker
who knows Castle Hill.
New apartments advertised with a $10,000 deposit, houses at several times the price, and a lot of confusion about what a deposit actually means. We compare 35+ lenders and it costs you nothing.
35+
Lenders
10+
Years experience
1,000+
Clients helped
$0
Cost to you
About Castle Hill
What the 2154 market actually looks like
History of Castle Hill
Named for the government farm established on the hill in 1801, and the site of the Castle Hill convict rebellion three years later. Orchards and poultry farms followed, then the postwar subdivisions that gave the suburb its wide streets and generous blocks. The Metro arrived in 2019, with stations at Castle Hill and Showground, and that has reshaped what gets built here.
Castle Hill property market
One of the largest suburbs in the Hills, with tens of thousands of residents across more than twenty thousand dwellings. Established family homes on big blocks fill most of it, while apartments and townhouses have concentrated around the two Metro stations. Households average three people, the median age is early forties, and turnover of houses is steady rather than fast.
Castle Hill property prices
Houses sit well into the millions and apartments around a third of that, which is one of the widest gaps in the district. New apartment stock near the stations is often sold off the plan, where the advertised deposit and the deposit your lender needs are two different numbers. Established houses and new apartments are effectively separate markets.
Borrowing in Castle Hill
The word deposit does a lot of work here and means different things depending on who is using it. A developer securing a sale, a contract deposit at exchange, and the equity a lender wants you to contribute are three separate things. Understanding which is which before you sign is the single most useful thing a local buyer can do.
Castle Hill is one of the suburbs we cover across the Hills District, and the largest by population on the list.
Seen a low deposit
advertised?
What secures the property and what your lender needs are rarely the same figure. Better to know the real number early.
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.
Downsizing out of
the family home?
Whether you sell first or buy first changes the finance completely. We work through both before you commit to either.
Client stories
How we helped
Three real situations, and what actually happened in each one.
The valuation came in short.
They had bought off the plan and held approval with their own bank. When the building finished, that lender's valuation came in under the price and they had no way to cover the gap, with settlement approaching. We ordered valuations through several other lenders, because each uses a different panel, and one came back supporting the purchase price. Same apartment, different valuer, a different number.
They settled before selling.
They found the place they wanted before the family home had sold. Rather than list under a deadline, we released the equity in the existing home so it funded the purchase, and they settled on the new one first. The old house went on the market afterwards and sold on their own timetable, with most of the proceeds going back against the loan once it settled. No bridging was needed at all.
Seven eighty a month back.
A car loan, two credit cards and a personal loan, all at rates well above a mortgage, and all being paid separately. We rolled them into the home loan at the home loan rate and the monthly outgoing dropped by around $780. The trade off is that a debt spread over thirty years costs more in total unless you keep paying it down at the old pace, and we set the repayment up so they did.
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 Castle Hill 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 Castle Hill plan
First home
Learn more
Next home
Learn more
Investment property
Learn more
Refinancing
Learn more
Construction loans
Learn more
Bridging loans
Learn more
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 at Castle Hill house prices that is a large sum. 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
Learn more
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
Castle Hill questions, answered
Why use a mortgage broker in Castle Hill?
Because two very different things are being sold here at once. Established family homes at one price point, and new apartments near the Metro marketed with headline deposit figures that have little to do with what a lender will require. A bank will price its own loan. It will not walk you through which number is which. Brokers also have a legal duty called the Best Interests Duty, which means we have to put you first.
What does a $10,000 deposit advertisement actually mean?
Usually that a small holding payment secures the apartment while contracts are prepared, not that this is your deposit. The contract deposit, commonly ten per cent, is still due at exchange, and the deposit your lender wants is a separate question again, decided by how much of the value they will advance. Three different numbers, three different moments. Treat the advertised figure as a marketing hook rather than a plan.
What is a deposit bond and should I use one?
It is a guarantee that stands in place of a cash deposit at exchange, so you do not have to release funds until settlement. It is commonly used off the plan, where a long settlement makes tying up cash for a year or more unattractive. It costs a fee and it is not finance, so you still need the full amount at settlement. The vendor has to accept one, which is worth confirming before you rely on it.
How much deposit do I actually need?
A 20% deposit avoids lenders mortgage insurance. On a Castle Hill apartment that is a reachable figure for many buyers, and on a house it is a considerably larger one. Plenty of people get in with 5 or 10% and pay the insurance instead, some professions can skip it, and a family guarantee can reduce what you need again. If you already own, equity usually does the job in place of cash.
Can I buy my first home in Castle Hill with a 5% deposit?
At the apartment 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. On an off the plan purchase, check the lender still writes scheme loans by the time you settle.
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. This bites hardest off the plan, because the valuation happens at completion rather than when you signed, and prices may have moved either way in between. A different lender uses a different panel and can return a different number, which is worth knowing while there is still time to act.
Do lenders treat the apartments near the Metro differently?
Several do. Where a lender classifies a building or a pocket as high density, it lends a smaller share of the value, which means a larger deposit than planned. Some also cap how many apartments in one development they will hold, and in a new building where many buyers used the same bank that cap fills. Neither has anything to do with you, and both are easier to work around before you commit.
Can I downsize from the family home to an apartment here?
Commonly, and the finance question is the order you do it in. Selling first gives certainty about your figure but leaves you needing somewhere to live while you look. Buying first means either bridging finance or releasing equity from the house to fund the purchase. Where the house is worth several times the apartment, releasing equity is often straightforward, and how you treat the surplus afterwards is worth discussing with your accountant.
Can I buy my next home before I sell this one?
Yes, and there are two routes. Bridging finance funds the new purchase while the current home is on the market, and lenders set a maximum period, commonly six or twelve months. Or you release equity from the existing home to fund the purchase and sell afterwards without a deadline. Which suits you depends on how much equity you hold and whether your income supports both loans in the meantime.
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. In a suburb of long held family homes that figure is often much larger than owners expect, since the value has moved while the loan came down. What normally limits it is the servicing rather than the equity.
When is it worth refinancing?
Whenever you have not checked in a couple of years, because lenders price new customers better than existing ones and the gap widens quietly. It is also worth looking when a fixed term ends, when your property has moved enough in value to drop you under 80%, or when you want to release equity for a renovation or another purchase. If a review shows moving does not help, we will say so.
Can I roll other debts into my home loan?
Often yes, and it is worth understanding the trade off. Car loans, personal loans and card balances usually carry much higher rates, so folding them into the mortgage cuts the monthly outgoing considerably. The catch is that a debt spread over thirty years costs more in total, so the saving only holds if you keep paying at close to the old rate rather than banking the difference. Set the repayment deliberately rather than defaulting to the minimum.
How much does it cost to refinance?
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, and on a Castle Hill house sized balance those can be substantial, so they get checked first.
Does my loan term reset when I refinance?
Only if you let it. Most refinances default to a fresh thirty year term, which makes the monthly repayment look smaller while adding years of interest. Ask for the remaining term instead, so a loan with nineteen years left stays a nineteen year loan. This matters most when you are also consolidating other debts, because a reset term and a bigger balance compound each other.
Can I use my equity to buy an investment property?
Yes, and in a suburb of long held family homes it is the most common way people buy a second property. You release equity from your existing home to cover the deposit and stamp duty on the investment, so no cash deposit is needed and your savings stay put. That produces two loans, one against each property. What decides it is whether your income supports both once a portion of the rent is counted.
How should the two loans be arranged?
Generally with each property securing its own loan rather than one lender holding both for the same borrowing. Tie them together and every future request goes through a review of the whole bundle, and selling one becomes far harder than it should be. Keeping the investment borrowing clearly identifiable also matters for tax. Your accountant sets that requirement and we build the lending around it.
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 a rate well above the actual one. Apartments here return proportionally more rent than the houses do, so the same buyer can find the numbers work on one and not the other.
Do we have to meet in person?
No. The whole thing can run by phone, Zoom or Teams, and most of our clients never sit in an office. Documents are shared and signed electronically. On an off the plan purchase that matters, because the process stretches across a long settlement with occasional bursts of paperwork rather than one appointment. If you would rather meet face to face we come to you, including evenings and weekends.
What does a digital appointment actually involve?
A conversation about where you are and what you want to do, then we ask for payslips, statements and identification, which you send through securely. From there we compare the panel and come back with the numbers. If you are buying off the plan we check in as completion approaches rather than leaving you to discover a problem at settlement. We are available weekday evenings until nine and on weekends.
Should I use my bank or a mortgage broker?
A bank can only offer its own loans, its own valuation panel and its own rules. On an off the plan settlement that is a real exposure, because if their valuation falls short or their cap in your building is full, you are starting again with weeks to go. We check it across 35+ lenders while there is still time, at $0 cost to you.
Your Castle Hill mortgage broker
Your home loan.
Made simple.
Free check. No pressure. 35+ lenders compared at $0 cost to you.
Castle Hill sits at the centre of the Hills, so its neighbours run in every direction. Baulkham Hills is south and Norwest west, with Bella Vista, Kellyville and North Kellyville up the corridor towards Beaumont Hills. The acreage begins north through Glenhaven and Dural. East sit Pennant Hills and Carlingford, with North Rocks and Winston Hills south east towards Parramatta. We cover all of them, so if your search shifts a suburb or two, you are not starting from scratch.