Zetland mortgage broker
Zetland mortgage broker
A mortgage broker
who knows Zetland.
The busiest apartment market in the inner south, where several hundred sell in a year and plenty of owners are now worth less on paper than they paid. We compare 35+ lenders and it costs you nothing.
35+
Lenders
10+
Years experience
1,000+
Clients helped
$0
Cost to you
About Zetland
What the 2017 market actually looks like
History of Zetland
Named for a nineteenth century earl, and industrial ground for most of its life, holding the Victoria Park racecourse and later factories and workshops. The Green Square renewal turned all of it over from the two thousands onwards, and the population grew by a quarter in the five years to the last census.
Zetland property market
Apartments and very little else, with well over nine in ten dwellings being units. Towers and mid rise blocks around East Village, Joynton Park and the Green Square town centre, most of them built in the last twenty years and many with pools, gyms and podium gardens. Owner occupancy has been falling while the population has grown.
Zetland property prices
Several hundred apartments trade here in a year, which makes this one of the most liquid markets in the inner city and one of the easiest to value. It is also a market where recent years have not been kind to unit values, and plenty of owners are holding apartments worth less than they paid. That is worth naming rather than glossing over.
Borrowing in Zetland
Two conversations dominate. Buyers weighing a large and well supplied apartment market, and existing owners finding that a lower valuation has left them with less room than they expected. Neither is unusual and both have options, and they start with establishing what the apartment is actually worth to a lender today.
Zetland is one of the suburbs we cover across Sydney, and the one where the most apartments change hands each year.
Worth less than
you paid?
It is more common here than anywhere and it is not the end of the road. There are usually more options than owners expect.
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.
Stuck with your
current lender?
A low valuation or a tight assessment does not always mean staying put. Worth having properly checked.
Client stories
How we helped
Three real situations, and what actually happened in each one.
One lender saw more in it.
The valuation came back lower than they expected and cut what they could do. Each lender uses its own panel, and in a market with this many recent sales the range is narrower than most places but it is not nil. We ordered valuations through other lenders on our panel. One came back meaningfully higher on the same apartment, which changed the options available.
The buffer kept them stuck.
They had paid the same loan without a late payment for years and were told they could not afford to move to a cheaper rate. Nothing about their spending was the issue. Lenders assess you at a rate well above the one you actually pay, and that buffer left them short. We found a lender applying a smaller buffer on a like for like refinance and it went through.
Cards with nothing owing.
Their capacity came back well short and neither of them could see why, because nothing was owing on either card. A lender assesses a credit card on its limit rather than its balance, on the basis the whole amount could be drawn tomorrow. The limits had been raised years earlier and left alone. Reducing and closing them lifted the number without changing how they lived.
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 Zetland 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 Zetland plan
First home
Learn more
Next home
Learn more
Investment property
Learn more
Refinancing
Learn more
Construction loans
Learn more
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, which is worth checking before you set a deposit target. The lists and the limits differ from one lender to the next.
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
Zetland questions, answered
Why use a mortgage broker in Zetland?
Because this is a large apartment market where valuations, lender exposure in particular buildings and the amount of stock all shape the answer. For owners it is also where a lower valuation most often leaves people feeling stuck. We compare 35+ lenders at no cost to you and establish the real position first, under a legal obligation called the Best Interests Duty.
My apartment is worth less than I paid. What now?
It is more common here than in most places and it is not a crisis on its own. While you hold the property and keep meeting the repayments, a lower valuation on paper changes your options rather than your obligations. What it does affect is refinancing, releasing equity and selling. Establishing the current figure properly is the first step.
Can I still refinance if the value has fallen?
Sometimes, and it depends on where the loan sits against the current valuation rather than the original one. If the balance has come down enough, or the fall is modest, there may still be room. Where the loan sits above eighty per cent of the current value, mortgage insurance generally comes back into the picture, which changes the sums.
Does mortgage insurance apply again on a refinance?
It can. If your borrowing exceeds eighty per cent of what the property is worth now, a new lender will generally require it, and any premium paid originally is not transferable. That is often what makes staying put the better answer for a period. It is worth having the numbers run rather than assuming either way.
Why do lenders say I cannot afford the loan I already pay?
Because they do not assess you on your actual repayment. Lenders test whether you could repay at a rate meaningfully above the one you are charged, and they apply the same treatment to your existing commitments. It is the most common reason a perfectly capable borrower is told no, and it reflects the method rather than how you manage money.
If I fail that test, is refinancing off the table?
Not automatically. A handful of lenders will apply a smaller buffer where the loan is being moved across on identical terms to cheaper pricing, with no extra funds drawn and a clean repayment record behind it, on the logic that a lower rate cannot make you worse off than you already are. Which lenders offer it and on what conditions varies, so it warrants a proper look.
What can I do if I am stuck with my current lender?
More than most people realise. Ask your existing lender to review the rate, since they will often move for a customer who asks and rarely for one who does not. Reduce or close unused credit facilities. Pay down the balance where you can. Then have the position rechecked periodically, because both your loan and the valuation change over time.
Should I sell if the value has dropped?
That depends entirely on your circumstances rather than on the market alone, and it is worth working through properly rather than reacting. Selling crystallises the position, holding does not. What matters is whether you can comfortably meet the repayments, how long you intend to hold, and what you would do with the proceeds. It is a decision to weigh with your accountant.
Coming off a fixed rate. What should I expect?
Your repayment moves to the lender revert rate unless you arrange otherwise, and that rate is frequently well above what is available elsewhere. Start looking a couple of months before the term ends rather than after it rolls, because the assessment takes time and a fresh valuation may be needed. That gap is where a lot of money quietly gets lost.
Do valuations vary between lenders here?
Less than in a thinly traded suburb, because with several hundred apartment sales a year a valuer has plenty of comparable evidence. They still vary, since each lender uses its own panel and the buildings differ. On a marginal case that variation can be the difference between a refinance proceeding and not.
Does it matter which building I own or buy in?
It can, and this is where a general answer is no use. How much a lender will advance, how comfortable it is with a particular development, how much it already holds there and how it views defect or building history all differ between lenders and change over time. Send us the address and we will check it across the panel.
Do strata levies affect what I can borrow?
Yes, because levies count as an ongoing commitment in the assessment. In a building with a pool, gym and podium gardens those levies are substantial, and they reduce your borrowing capacity in the same way any other regular outgoing does. Where an apartment has both high levies and a soft valuation, both work against you at once.
What should I look for in the strata report?
The capital works fund against the age of the building, the forward maintenance plan, any special levies raised or foreshadowed, and whether there is litigation on foot. In a building only a decade or two old the question is usually whether early defects have been dealt with. Your solicitor reads it with you before you commit.
Is now a reasonable time to buy here?
That is a question about your own position rather than one anyone should answer for you. What we can tell you is what you can borrow, what a lender will value a specific apartment at and what the holding costs actually are. A market with plenty of stock gives a buyer more room to negotiate than a tight one does.
How much deposit will I need?
Twenty per cent avoids lenders mortgage insurance, and on a Zetland apartment that is more reachable than most of the inner city. Buying with less is common where you pay the insurance instead. Some occupations qualify for a waiver, and if you already own, equity may do the job in place of cash depending on current valuations.
What is lenders mortgage insurance?
A premium charged once, applying when the loan exceeds eighty per cent of what the property is worth, and the protection runs to the lender rather than to you. It is normally capitalised onto the loan. It falls away with a larger deposit, and an occupational waiver, a family guarantee or the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme can each remove it too.
Can I use the 5% Deposit Scheme here?
This is one of the parts of the inner city where it realistically fits, because apartment prices sit under the cap more often than they do closer to the harbour. Under the scheme an eligible first home buyer puts down five per cent, Housing Australia guarantees the difference up to twenty, and no mortgage insurance is charged. You must live in the property, and the apartment itself has to be acceptable to a scheme lender.
How does a guarantor loan work?
A family member pledges part of the equity held in their own home so the lender has additional security behind your borrowing. Nothing leaves their account and the repayments stay yours throughout. The pledge is normally limited to a set figure rather than the whole property, and it can be lifted once your loan has fallen far enough against what your place is worth.
What reduces my borrowing capacity?
Credit card limits regardless of what you owe, existing loan repayments, ongoing commitments, study debts and dependants, and the strata levies on any apartment you hold. Lenders also test you at a rate well above what you actually pay. Clearing small facilities before applying is one of the few quick improvements available.
How long does pre-approval last?
Around ninety days as a rule, renewable with updated payslips and statements. It tells you what a lender will consider based on your position so you can look with a real figure. It is not approval on a particular apartment, because the building forms part of the assessment once there is a contract.
How much of the rent will a lender count?
A portion rather than all of it. Expected rent is discounted for vacancy, management and running costs, with the figure differing between lenders, and the loan is assessed at a rate above the one you pay. Levies come off as an expense too, which in these buildings makes a meaningful difference to the counted figure.
Should I keep the apartment and rent it out instead of selling?
Worth pricing properly rather than deciding on instinct, and it is a common question here. The tests are whether your income supports the loan once part of the rent is counted, whether the levies are covered, and how long you intend to hold. Moving a home to an investment also changes its tax position, so speak with your accountant.
What is an offset account?
A transaction account linked to your loan, where the balance is deducted before interest is calculated. Money held there reduces the interest you pay while remaining fully accessible. Where you are working to bring the loan down against a softer valuation, an offset lets you make progress without locking the money away.
Offset or redraw?
Offset money stays in your own account and never becomes part of the loan. Redraw money has already been paid in as extra repayments and comes back out under terms the lender can change. Offset gives cleaner access, which matters when your options are already narrower than you would like. Redraw generally sits on a simpler loan at a lower rate.
What does refinancing cost?
Generally 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 incoming lender may charge settlement or valuation fees, though many waive them. Where mortgage insurance would apply again, that cost dwarfs all of the above and needs establishing first.
Does the loan term reset when I refinance?
It does unless you ask otherwise, because refinances default to a fresh thirty year term. That makes the repayment look smaller while adding years of interest and handing back progress already made. Where you are working to get the loan down against the value, that reset works directly against you. Ask for the remaining term.
Do we have to meet in person?
Only if you would prefer it. Phone, Zoom or Teams covers the whole process, with documents shared and signed electronically, and most of our clients never sit across a desk from us. Should meeting face to face suit you better, we come to you, weekday evenings and weekends included.
Should I use my bank or a mortgage broker?
A bank offers its own loans, its own valuation panel and its own assessment rules. If its valuer comes in low or its buffer leaves you short, that is the end of it there and nobody has to mention that another lender might reach a different answer. We check across 35+ lenders, at $0 cost to you.
Your Zetland mortgage broker
Your home loan.
Made simple.
Free check. No pressure. 35+ lenders compared at $0 cost to you.
Zetland sits at the centre of the Green Square renewal. Waterloo is north and Beaconsfield west, with Rosebery south and Alexandria north west. Redfern and Eveleigh run towards the university, with Moore Park and Centennial Park east and Surry Hills north. Erskineville and Mascot sit west and south, with Darlington further north. We cover all of them, so if your search shifts a suburb or two, you are not starting from scratch.