Mike Small - Mortgage Broker Annandale, Surry Hills

Mobile: 0404 075 403 Fax: +61 2 9518 6971
Business address: 220 Young Street, Annandale NSW 2038
Trading entity: Petroleum X Pty Ltd

Contact Mike Small, mortgage broker

Considering how long a home loan can stay with you, it should come as no surprise that a great home loan can make a big difference to the quality of your life. Luckily, finding a great home loan doesn’t have to be a long, heart-wrenching experience – it just requires the services of a good mortgage broker. As a former bank manager, I understand the value of a broker’s service. Now working with Loan Market I have access to a full range of home loan products from over 30 bands and lenders. What a choice!

Home loans

My aim is to find the right home loan for you. The mantra I serve by is simply: ‘Make sure your loan is chosen by you. It must be best for you, not for the bank or broker giving it to you’. It’s so easy to make sure this is result when searching for your home loan; all you need to do is tell me about your current and future plans – both financial and the kinds of things that might change your circumstances such as starting a family, taking a holiday from work to study, or even a career change. Don’t be wooed by advertising – you might see a tempting, no-frills, no-fee 3 year fixed rate offer, but if you are potentially earning work bonuses or you are in line for a promotion and pay rise you want to put against your mortgage, it may not be the right loan for you. I will help you do the math in order to make the right decision.

As an expat living in London, purchasing property in Australia, I returned to Mike as he did such a great job on my first loan years ago. Mike outlined the process up front, and sorted all of our pre-approvals, maximum borrowings, refinancing and lender selection prior to our arrival in Australia. That allowed us to focus on just looking for a property, and two weeks later, we’d exchanged and were on a plane back to London. The key thing in completing this deal was Mike’s responsiveness once we were gone and being our man in Oz to push the bank and ensure the loan documents were sent out and signed in time. (giving us the occasional prod as required). Because of this, any hiccups were ironed out immediately taking a lot of the stress out of the whole process. Having a good mortgage broker who takes responsibility for making the calls and looking after the paper work is such a blessing. I greatly appreciated working with a down to earth fellow who really put in the effort to keep his customer happy and informed.  I look forward to doing this again!
Dylan Nguyen, London 

Family equity home loans an option for borrowers

Accessing family equity to assist with your property purchase is increasing in popularity as banks and lenders tighten their lending criteria. It has been particularly useful for first home buyers. This has worked well for a client of mine with three sons.

An engineer, Sarop owns his home outright but wanted to help his sons into their own properties. Using the family equity option, he now has three mortgages on his house for apartments not his own. Sarop first handed the titles for his Maroubra dwelling over to the bank six years ago as a guarantee that his eldest son, then 18, would not default on repayments for a two-bedroom unit in Eastlakes. He has since done the same for his second and third children.

Using the equity from his property, he backed a third of the borrowed value for each son’s apartment and believes that they will repay their debt.

There are two main types of family equity home loans, Limited Liability Guarantor and Income Guarantor.

With a Limited Liability Guarantor family equity home loan, a family member uses some of the equity in their property to fund part of your property purchase, usually up to about 20 per cent of the property value. The main benefits are:

• this is seen as a full 20 per cent deposit payment, eliminating the need to cover Lenders Mortgage Insurance costs
• if you have only a small deposit in your own right, this can also overcome this issue
• the first home owners grant is generally still available
• your family member is only liable for a small percentage of the property in the event you default on your loan
• once you have achieved 20 per cent equity in your own right, the guarantee can be easily removed

An Income Guarantor family equity home loan is much less common and not as widely accepted by lenders. With this type of family equity, a family member guarantees a portion of your repayments. This is most relevant as a short-term cover for a shortfall of funds, for example during a period of maternity leave or if your income doesn’t quite cover your repayments but is expected to rise substantially in the next 1-2 years. It’s important to note that if you were to default on your loan in this instance, your guarantor would be liable for the entire loan amount.

Business and commercial loans

Whether you are a small or middle sized business looking to expand or leverage – or even a start up business with property assets – I am experienced and knowledgeable in all areas of business finance, from equipment leases to loans against business assets and real estate agents’ rent rolls.

Should I choose a fixed or variable rate home loan?

Ideally you should fix your home loan interest rate only at the bottom of the rate cycle and stick with a variable rate home loan at other times. Picking when the bottom of the cycle will occur can be a bit tricky but if you fix somewhere close to it you can make some significant savings. In an environment when interest rates are falling, if you already have a fixed loan and want to know if it’s worthwhile refinancing into a variable loan instead, doing the sums is the best course of action. Depending on the time left in your fixed period, the interest rate you set at and the current interest rate, it may be better to sit tight but you won’t know if you don’t ask. If you are considering fixing your loan regardless of current interest rate movements because you really need repayment certainty now, talk to me about your options.

Problem solving and challenging scenarios

If you are a first home buyer with little or no deposit, self-employed or even someone with a negative credit history who is struggling to secure home finance, I specialise in finding you a solution. While there is a vast range of loans via specialist lenders and even major banks that are designed to cater to the non-traditional borrower, it’s also important to have the backing of a good mortgage broker who can negotiate strongly on your behalf. I have been able to secure not just the loan itself but also a special interest rate or loan conditions that have greatly benefited my clients on many occasions.

Customers

I live and work in Sydney’s inner west area, particularly Annandale and Surry Hills.

 

For more information on home finance or to talk to Mike Small

Contact Mike Small, or call us any time on 13LOAN

• State: New South Wales, NSW
• Broker region: Sydney City
• Suburbs: Annandale, Surry Hills
• Mike Small provides mortgage broking services in suburbs including but not limited to: Sydney, Inner West, Surry Hills, Annandale

Documentation Checklist	Home Loan Approval Process	Mortgage Reduction Tips