Tag: self-employed

Categories
Home Loans Self Employed

How To Get A Home Loan Self-Employed

how to get a home loan self-employed
Are you self-employed and worried that you don't have the documentation required to get home loan approval?

Being self-employed, while rewarding, takes a lot of work and commitment. When it comes time to purchase a home as a self-employed individual, it can be incredibly daunting. Traditionally, banks do not favour those who are self-employed. Preferring those who can demonstrate a sure and steady income from a third party. How to get a home loan self-employed is possible though, and you don’t have to settle for a less competitive rate. 

What Types Of Loans Are Available To The Self-Employed?

If you do a search for home loans as a self-employed individual the chances are that the first results you’ll see references to ‘low doc’ loans. Low doc loans or low document loans require less paperwork than traditional home loans. They are offered to the self-employed as they require less proof of conventional income. There are other reasons lenders will promote lo doc loans such as:

  • Higher interest rates. Low doc loans always incur higher interest, meaning more profit for the lender.
  • Cheaper to process than standard loans.
  • Easier to process as less paperwork.
  • Less for lenders to check or comprehend about your business. 

Of course, with a little more work and attention to detail, you can gain access to other standard home loans such as:

self employed home loan

Why Can It Be More Challenging to Secure A Loan When Self-Employed?

Ultimately, any lender determines the success or failure of a loan application based on the borrower’s ability to pay it back. For those employed by a third party or PAYE borrower, it is easy to demonstrate income. Both amount and consistency of earnings. 

When you are self-employed, this is much harder to quantify. Not only will you have fluctuations in income, but your business will incur profit and loss. Additionally, they will try to determine the future viability or issues your business may face and how this would impact your ability to service the loan. 

It is a lender’s legal responsibility to ensure a loan can be repaid by the borrower. So while the mountain of paperwork may seem excessive, it is done with both yours and the bank’s interests at the forefront.

home loan

How To Get A Home Loan Self-Employed

If you are self-employed and want to pursue a home loan, there are some steps you can take to make this an easier process. Just as you would pay attention to detail and be prepared in business, so should you be in your loan application. 

  1. Engage the help of a specialist broker such as the Australian Lending Centre. They will do the leg-work and shop around different banks and lenders to find you the best offer. Avoid going straight to your personal financial institution as they may not have the best option.
  2. Get your financial paperwork in order. This is one of the major steps in how to get a home loan self-employed. You will need at a minimum the last two-years financial statements, tax returns and notice of assessments. Ensure all of the information has been lodged with the tax office or it may not be counted as valid. 
  3. Read up on the process. Applications can take significant time and each lender may approach the criteria and assessment differently. Understanding how you will be assessed can help you prepare and feel less frustrated at changes or delays. 
  4. Plan ahead. To the best of your ability try to forecast your earnings and expenditures. Avoid overextending yourself and having to try to refinance later should the worst happen. This would mean more paperwork and counts as a new application to most lenders. 
  5. Credit History if you have a bad credit score, as with any loan, this will create issues. Do a check on your credit rating and implement some simple steps to improve it in the short term and boost your chances of success. 
  6. Cash flow. Think about where you ‘park’ your funds for payment of GST and invoices. Utilise these funds to save interest prior to submitting to the ATO. 
  7. Clarify your employment status. If you are a contractor or sub-contractor it can change how you are perceived for loan purposes and make life easier. 
  8. Itemise your add-backs. Add-backs are business expenses that are once off or ‘go-away’ if the business is sold. Examples of this would be insurances, facilities upgrades, or loan interest. Itemising these can help to better assess the profitability and income of the business. 
  9. Proof of ABN registration for a minimum of two years. 
home loan self-employed

Make Your Dream A Reality

Don’t let being self-employed put you off from pursuing your dream home. With careful planning and expert advice from the Australian Lending Centre, your loan application can be easier than you think. If you’re unsure about how to get a home loan self-employed and are looking for guidance, competitive rates, and support, contact us today.

Categories
Low Doc Loans

Low Doc Loans – A Solution for the Self-Employed

low doc self employed||low doc business loans||low doc loans for businesses

Low doc loans can offer a quick financial fix for your problems without having to go through all the bureaucracy required by other loans. At a price, of course. In this article, we discuss how low doc loans for the self-employed can be a great option for you.

As the name suggests, low doc loans don’t require too many documents. This can come in handy especially if you are self-employed and need to present more papers than usual; papers that are normally quite difficult to get a hold of. It is important to know that this kind of loan is only ideal for self-employed borrowers. The reason why such a loan was created is that these people can almost never prove their actual income since their pay might rarely be regular or consistent.

Low doc loans are available in Australia at the most important financial institutions, but they are also offered by smaller banks and other alternative lenders.

So, let’s see how low doc loans can help the self-employed and discuss whether or not they are worth your time.

What Documents Do I Need for Such a Loan?

When you want to apply for low doc loans, your lender will require your ABN, your business activity statements for the last twelve months or so. In addition to that, he/she will request proof that you have been working in the same industry for a minimum period that varies from a lender to another. You will also need to present your registered business name and a signed borrower’s income declaration. And that’s all. You can finally say goodbye to bureaucracy. Flexibility is key when it comes to this specific loan.

The lenders will take into consideration the income they calculated with your BAS or the smallest income provided by you in the low doc declaration.

high-rates

What’s the Catch?

Well, for low doc loans you do have the advantage of providing less documentation than you would with other loans, but… There is always a “but.” These loans have a higher interest rate than your standard loan. So, you have to work less to get this special loan, but you will pay more in the form of interest rates. We recommend getting the best of both worlds and shop for the best low doc loan you can find. Doing a little bit of extra research now might save you a lot of money later.

If you find a low doc loan with a low-interest rate, consider yourself lucky. Don’t expect to find interest rates similar to standard loans, though. However, you may try talking to us at the Australian Lending Centre. We have a few great low-doc loan options even for those who are stuck in a peculiar situation. You’ll most likely find our advice constructive and our offers quite attractive.

How Can Such a Loan Benefit My Business Needs?

When you run a business, no matter how small, the chances are that you can’t afford to spend your time looking for all the documents necessary for the loan. You will most probably get your secretary or other employees do it for you. So, you won’t necessarily feel how time-consuming this step is.

But you are self-employed, so you will have to spend a lot of time running from place to place to get your complete documentation ready. So instead of applying for a standard loan, you can save some time, avoid stress and apply for low doc loans. This means no more fooling around with business documents.

You can do plenty of things with a low doc loan; you can finance your company car, equipment, pay your employees, buy products for your store (if that’s your business) and so on. Investing in your business means that you will be able to produce more and at a better quality. The idea is that you will get a decent sum without wasting too much time like you would with a regular loan.

benefits-for-business

Some lenders can give you a loan that values somewhere around two hundred thousand dollars. With that kind of money, you can cover most of your expenses not only as a self-employed person but also as a businessman who owns a small company.

Conclusion

If you are self-employed and looking to apply for low doc loans, then the next step is to look for the right lender for you. You might have to do some calls here and there and spend some time searching the Internet, but finding the best deal can help you and your business in the long run.

So, are low doc loans worth your time and can they help your business improve? The answer is “yes.” Still, before you apply for low doc loans, you can search for other alternatives, so you won’t have to deal with high-interest rates, but still bring that boost to your company. On the other hand, if you manage to find a lender with low-interest rates, you should consider yourself lucky and take full advantage of this opportunity.

Categories
Refinance and Refinancing Self Employed

Guide: Refinancing for Self-Employed Aussies

refinance for self employed
refinance for self employed

Being self-employed means that you’re going to have to put in a little more effort into finding the right refinancing solution for you. That’s exactly why we’ve put together a self-employed refinancing guide to help you get a clearer picture of what you should pay attention to, how to choose a loan and most importantly, how to find the best option for your needs.

Self-employed borrowers encounter difficulties when they’re looking to refinance their loan. This happens because financial institutions will take a closer look at their income and are sceptical due to not knowing how their business is going to progress.

This refinancing guide will tell you how to start when you’re self-employed.

Talk to a Lender

Finding the right refinancing package relies on how much you earn. According to your income, you’ll know the amount you can borrow and the limit.

Without taking to time to assess the situation, you may end up disappointed, so start slow and talk to a lender that will be able to give you some points on how to proceed and what you should know.

Do the Math

The second part of this refinancing guide is to calculate exactly how much you’ve made in the last couple of years. Two years is usually the amount of time relevant when discussing self-employed people.

Go through your records and place all your receipts in order.

Fill the Paperwork

Get your paperwork in order by gathering financial statements, a notice of assessments and income tax returns. Unfortunately, having a successful business doesn’t get you a free pass on all of these.

Although it’s time-consuming, without the necessary papers, it would be harder to convince a lender that your business is doing well and you can afford to refinance.

Are You Really Self-Employed?

Many people confuse being self-employed with sub-contracting deals or being a contractor. Some lenders might think that as long as you work for others, you might pass as an employee, which could help you skip some steps involved in this refinancing guide.

Be Honest about Your Expenses

A new piece of equipment, a few more employees or a training course might have raised your expenses the last year. Don’t try to hide them from your lender and explain the situation. There’s always a solution, even though it may not be obvious to you just yet.

Adequate Taxable Income

Unfortunately, this is one of the hardest requirements for a self-employed person. Saying and proving that you can afford to refinance a loan are two different things.

An adequate taxable income is a sort of like your green pass when looking into refinancing. Try to get the necessary paperwork to also prove it.

This guide to refinancing for self-employed contains the significant steps that you’ll have to make to refinance your loan when you are self-employed. There are benefits and drawbacks when you work for yourself, but seek professional advice if you’re having doubts about how to proceed.