Home loans
Home loans in Cairns, compared properly.
One application, a wide panel of lenders, and a broker who tells you straight which loan actually suits you.
Who this is for
Buying, building or upgrading in FNQ.
This page is for anyone taking out a loan to live in the place they are buying. Upgraders moving from Edmonton to the Northern Beaches. Families building at Smithfield. Couples buying their second place after outgrowing the first. If it is your first ever purchase, head to the first home buyers page, there is extra help available to you.
The problem with walking into your own bank is simple. They will only ever show you their products, and they are under no obligation to point out that the lender across the road is cheaper. Renaee compares across a wide panel, from the majors to smaller lenders most people have never heard of, and she has a legal duty to act in your best interests. Your bank does not.
How it works
Plain English, start to finish.
It starts with a free chat. You talk through what you earn, what you owe and what you are trying to buy. Renaee then runs your numbers across her lender panel and comes back with a shortlist, usually two or three loans, with the trade offs of each spelled out. Rate, fees, offset, redraw, what it costs over five years, not just the headline number.
You pick. She prepares the application, lodges it, and chases the lender so you do not have to. If the lender asks for more documents, she tells you exactly what and why. Once approved, she coordinates with your solicitor or conveyancer through to settlement day.
Then the part that does not stop. Every year she reviews your loan against the market. If your lender has let your rate drift, she goes back to them or moves you. You will not need to remember to ask.
What Renaee needs from you
The paperwork, in one list
- Photo ID, a driver licence or passport
- Two recent payslips, or two years of tax returns if self employed
- Three months of bank statements for your everyday accounts
- Statements for any existing loans or credit cards
- Evidence of your deposit or equity
- A contract of sale, if you have already found the place
Missing something? Bring what you have. Renaee will tell you what actually matters for your situation.
Common questions
Asked at most kitchen tables
A fixed rate stays the same for a set period, so your repayments are predictable but you may pay break costs if you exit early. A variable rate moves with the market, up and down. Plenty of people split the loan and do both. Renaee walks you through what each would mean for your actual repayments, not in theory.
Every lender calculates it differently, which is exactly why a broker helps. The same income and expenses can produce very different answers across a panel of lenders. Get a rough feel with the borrowing power calculator on this site, then have Renaee run the real numbers.
An offset is an everyday account linked to your loan. The balance sitting in it reduces the loan amount you pay interest on. Whether it is worth having depends on the rate and fees of the loan that includes it. Sometimes a basic loan with no offset wins. It comes down to your numbers.
Yes. It usually takes more paperwork, and some lenders are far friendlier to self employed borrowers than others. Renaee knows which ones, and what they will want to see before you apply, so you do not burn an application finding out the hard way.
Related reading: refinancing an existing loan, repayment and borrowing calculators, or the suburbs Renaee covers on the areas we serve page.