Strathfield mortgage broker
Strathfield mortgage broker
A mortgage broker
who knows Strathfield.
Big land, big loans, and household costs that most suburbs never put in front of a lender. We compare 35+ lenders and it costs you nothing.
35+
Lenders
10+
Years experience
1,000+
Clients helped
$0
Cost to you
About Strathfield
What the 2135 market actually looks like
History of Strathfield
Laid out in the 1880s as a suburb of large estates for merchants who wanted land and a rail line, and the pattern never really changed. The blocks stayed generous, the gardens stayed mature, and a conservation area now covers much of the older core. The schools came early and stayed, which is a good part of why families keep arriving.
Strathfield property market
Two markets with very little in between. Substantial family homes on land through the older streets, many of them in a heritage conservation area, and apartments concentrated around the station and along the highway. Buyers are mostly families moving in for the schools and the land, and first home buyers coming in at the apartment end. Extended households are common, which changes how a lender reads the application.
Strathfield property prices
Houses sit well into the millions and the range is wide, because a semi near the highway and a large home on a garden block are both Strathfield. Apartments sit far lower. The postcode blends several markets, and one figure on this page previously understated the house median by a very long way. Treat any single number as a guide rather than a price.
Borrowing in Strathfield
Loan size matters, because purchases here sit past the point where lenders apply their own internal limits. The other thing, and it catches people out, is expenses. School fees, extended household costs and card limits all come off your assessed capacity before a lender looks at the property. In a suburb built around private schools, that is not a small detail.
Strathfield is one of 20 suburbs we cover across the Inner West, and the one where your household expenses shape the answer as much as your income does.
Paying private
school fees?
Lenders count them as an ongoing commitment, and it comes straight off what you can borrow. Better known before you apply.
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.
Run your own business
and been told no?
Lenders differ enormously on what they add back to your taxable income. One no is not the answer.
Client stories
How we helped
Three real situations, all of them about what a lender counts against you.
The limits were the problem.
They had three credit cards between them, two of them barely used, and could not work out why their borrowing capacity kept coming back short. Lenders assess a card on its limit rather than what you owe, so an untouched card with a high limit is treated as though it is drawn to the top. We went through which ones to reduce or close before the application, not after. The capacity moved enough to change what they could buy.
The add backs were there.
A business owner had been told by their own bank that the income did not support the loan. The bank had read the taxable figure at the bottom of the return and stopped there. We went through the financials and identified what could be added back, including depreciation and one off costs that had reduced the taxable number without touching actual cash flow. A different lender counted those. Same person, same business, very different answer.
Clearing it changed the sum.
Their application had been declined elsewhere, because a study debt was cutting into what the lender counted as available income. We went back through it. Part of the deposit went to clearing that balance outright, which lifted their assessed capacity, and we placed the loan with a lender offering a mortgage insurance waiver at 85% of the value. Nothing about their income had changed, only what was sitting against it.
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 Strathfield 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 Strathfield plan
First home
Learn more
Next home
Learn more
Refinancing
Learn more
Construction loans
Learn more
Guarantor loans
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 Strathfield loan sizes that is a very 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 is a maestro with a wealth of experience in home lending business, mixed with excellent people skills. His professional and supportive approach is a safe pair of hands to work with to get the required funds for your goal in the property market."
FAQ
Strathfield questions, answered
Why use a mortgage broker in Strathfield?
Because two things decide it here and one of them is rarely explained. Loan size, since Strathfield house purchases sit past the point where lenders apply their own internal limits. And expenses, because school fees, extended household costs and card limits all reduce your assessed capacity before the property is even looked at. Brokers also have a legal duty called the Best Interests Duty, which means we have to put you first.
Do private school fees affect what I can borrow?
Yes, and in a suburb built around its schools that matters more here than almost anywhere. A lender treats fees as an ongoing committed expense in the same way as childcare or a car payment, and it comes off your monthly capacity for as long as the commitment runs. Lenders differ on how they verify it and whether they count future years for children not yet enrolled. Knowing the real figure before you apply avoids a number that comes back short with no explanation.
How do lenders work out my living expenses?
They take the higher of what you declare and a benchmark figure based on your income and household size, then add your committed costs on top. Understating expenses does not help, because they also read your statements. For larger Strathfield households the benchmark can be well below what you actually spend, so the honest figure and the assessed figure can differ. It is better to work with the real number than to be surprised by it late.
Do credit card limits matter if I do not use them?
A great deal, and this catches people out constantly. Lenders assess a card on its limit rather than its balance, so a card sitting at zero with a high limit is treated as though it is drawn to the top and repaid at a monthly rate. Two or three unused cards can quietly remove a significant slice of your capacity. Reducing or closing them before you apply is far more effective than doing it afterwards.
We have extended family living with us. Does that help or hurt?
Both, depending on the lender. More people in the household usually raises the expense benchmark, which reduces capacity. Where an adult child or relative pays board, some lenders will count part of that as income and many will not, because it is not a formal lease. If a family member is going to be part of the loan, co-borrowing or a limited guarantee are the two structures worth understanding before you apply.
I am self employed. How do lenders work out my income?
Most 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. Lenders add back items that reduced it without costing you cash, commonly depreciation, one off expenses and additional super contributions. What each lender adds back differs, which is why the same return produces very different answers across the panel.
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 lend, or apply their own internal limits. At Strathfield house prices most buyers are well inside that territory, and combined with a heavier expense load it is the point where the choice of lender stops being about rate and starts being about whether the loan happens.
Does the heritage conservation area affect my loan?
Not for a straightforward purchase. Where it matters is renovating, because a conservation area changes what council will approve and how long approval takes. A construction loan is written against approved plans and a fixed price contract, so delays on the council side hold up the finance rather than the other way round. In Strathfield the period character is generally part of the value rather than a deduction from it.
What if some of my income comes from overseas?
Some lenders accept foreign income and many do not. Those that do usually convert at a conservative exchange rate and count only part of the total, so the figure reaching the assessment is smaller than what you earn. They will also want it evidenced in a form they recognise, which can mean translated documents. The gap between lenders here is wider than almost anywhere in lending, so which one sees your file matters a great deal.
Can I buy my first home in Strathfield with a 5% deposit?
If you are an eligible first home buyer, often yes, and at that deposit it will be an apartment near the station rather than a house. The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme lets you buy with a 5% deposit and pay no lenders mortgage insurance, with Housing Australia guaranteeing the gap between your deposit and 20%. It is a guarantee, not a grant, and the government takes no share of your home.
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. In Strathfield the parent is often sitting on a home bought decades ago that has done a great deal of the work already, and the guarantee can be released once your own borrowing sits under 80% of value.
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 full loan sits on their credit file and counts against anything they want to borrow later. Co-borrowing lifts what you can afford because both incomes count. In a suburb with as many extended households as this one, that distinction decides whether a family member can still buy in their own right afterwards.
How much deposit do I need in Strathfield?
A 20% deposit avoids lenders mortgage insurance, and on a Strathfield house that is a very large number. Apartments near the station are far more reachable. Plenty of buyers 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, the equity in that property usually does the job in place of cash.
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. For a household holding money aside for school fees each term, it is particularly useful, because that money is working against the interest bill right up until the day it is paid out. If your account runs close to empty each month, a package fee can cost more than the offset saves.
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. If there is any chance this property later becomes an investment, offset is usually the cleaner structure, and 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, which appeals when the household budget already carries fixed commitments like school fees. Variable gives flexibility, an offset account and unlimited extra repayments. Most fixed loans do not come with a usable offset, which matters if you hold money aside between fee instalments. Breaking a fixed loan early can be expensive, so the term matters more than the rate on day one.
Can I split the loan between fixed and variable?
Yes, and at Strathfield balances 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. A good rule is to leave at least as much variable as the balance you typically hold in offset, so the offset is doing full work rather than partial. It just means neither decision has to be all or nothing.
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 genuine question and depends on your wider position. The catch is that lenders assess an interest only loan on what the repayment becomes when it reverts, not what you pay now, so it reduces what you can borrow elsewhere. Worth discussing with your accountant as well as us.
When I refinance, does my loan term reset?
Only if you let it, and at Strathfield balances letting it is expensive. Most refinances default to a fresh thirty year term, which makes the monthly repayment look better and quietly adds years of interest on a very large loan. Ask for the remaining term instead, so a loan with twenty two years left stays a twenty two year loan. The saving is smaller that way and it is a real saving rather than a longer road.
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, and on a Strathfield sized balance those can be substantial, so they get checked before anything else is considered.
I live in Strathfield 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 Strathfield owners use the equity in the family home to buy an investment somewhere with a stronger yield, and that lending is straightforward once the structure is right.
Should I use my bank or a mortgage broker?
A bank can only offer its own loans and its own policy. Here that policy decides two things it will not explain: how heavily it treats your committed expenses, and what it will lend at your loan size. Both can move the answer a long way, and you usually find out after you have applied. A broker checks it against many lenders first. Buyvest compares 35+ lenders at $0 cost to you.
Your Strathfield mortgage broker
Your home loan.
Made simple.
Free check. No pressure. 35+ lenders compared at $0 cost to you.
Strathfield sits where the Inner West meets the west, so it draws from both directions. Homebush is next door and Ashfield the next centre east, with Summer Hill and Haberfield along the same line. North across Parramatta Road sit Five Dock and Abbotsford towards the river. South and east the terrace belt runs through Dulwich Hill, Petersham, Marrickville, Stanmore and Leichhardt, with Lilyfield beyond. We cover all of them, so if your search shifts a suburb or two, you are not starting from scratch.