When the bank says no, the file is usually fine
Self-employed income, trust and company structures, SMSF borrowing, bridging and commercial security. These files fail on presentation far more often than on merit.
Six situations a branch cannot place
Each is a full service page with its own eligibility notes and lender list. We hold the accreditations for all of them.
Self-Employed Home Loans
Alt-doc products, one-year-returns policy and add-backs argued with the financials attached.
Non-standard income 02Complex Income Loans
Bonus, commission, overtime, foreign income and trust distributions read properly rather than discounted.
Superannuation 03SMSF Loans
Limited recourse borrowing arrangements for residential and commercial property inside a fund.
Structures 04Trust & Company Loans
Discretionary and unit trusts, corporate trustees, and company borrowers with director guarantees.
Timing 05Bridging Loans
Buy before you sell, with an agreed end date, a peak-debt calculation and a costed fallback.
Commercial 06Commercial Property Loans
Owner-occupied premises and commercial investment, from retail strata to industrial sheds.
The declines we see most often
Select a situation — the panel shows what usually blocks it and how we place it.
Two years of returns is not the only path
Company structures, retained profits, trust distributions and a recent year of growth all confuse a standard assessment. We know which lenders read financials properly and which just want the notice of assessment.
Self-employed lending →- —Only one full year of trading figures
- —Profit retained in the company, not drawn as salary
- —Add-backs ignored by a bank credit team
- —Alt-doc lenders accepting BAS or an accountant declaration
- —Add-backs argued with the financials attached
- —One-year-returns policy where trading history supports it
Complex files need a different broker
Most brokers place vanilla residential loans and refer anything unusual on. We keep them.
We read the credit policy, not the rate sheet
Specialist lending is decided on policy detail — how a lender treats retained profits, whether a corporate trustee is acceptable, what liquidity an SMSF must retain. We track those rules across the panel and check them before we submit.
The file is built for the assessor
A complex file presented well is often approved where the same file, submitted raw, is declined. Financials, structure diagrams and a written explanation go in with the application, not after a query.
We tell you early when the answer is no
If your file will not place at a sensible rate, you will hear that in the first conversation rather than after three weeks and a credit enquiry. That honesty costs us applications and keeps our approval rate where it is.
Accreditation across the specialist panel
SMSF, commercial, bridging, alt-doc and credit-impaired funders each require separate accreditation and volume to maintain. We hold and use all of them.
Understand → Compare → Apply → Settle
Tell us the whole story
Including the decline, the credit event or the structure you think is a problem. Nothing is placed until we understand it.
Credit impact — noneStructure and match
Financials reviewed, the entity structure confirmed, and the file matched to funders whose policy it genuinely fits.
Credit impact — soft enquiry onlySubmit with the argument attached
The application goes in with financials, add-back workings and a written explanation for the assessor.
Credit impact — enquiry recordedSettle
Specialist files run longer. We manage valuations, legal review of trust deeds and the settlement booking.
Credit impact — account reportedVerified, licensed, accountable
Lender names shown are placeholders pending brand approval. Being on panel does not imply endorsement by that lender.
Before you apply
If yours is not here, ask it directly — you will get a straight answer, not a callback form.
Ask a broker →A recorded credit enquiry is visible to the next lender, but a decline itself is not published. What matters is that the next application goes to a lender whose policy you actually meet — which is why we do not submit until we have checked. Multiple enquiries in a short window do read poorly, so the second attempt should be the last one.
Often yes. Several lenders assess a single full financial year where the trading history and industry support it, and alt-doc products accept BAS statements or an accountant declaration instead of full returns. The rate is typically 0.3 to 0.8% above a standard product, and can usually be refinanced to a mainstream lender once you have the second year.
Yes, though the major banks exited the market. Nine specialist funders on our panel currently write limited recourse borrowing arrangements for residential and commercial property. Expect a lower maximum LVR — typically 70 to 80% residential and 65% commercial — and a liquidity requirement the fund must retain after settlement.
No, but it narrows the list. Roughly a third of the panel writes discretionary and unit trust lending with a corporate trustee, and their pricing is close to standard. What changes is the documentation: the trust deed is reviewed by the lender legal team, which adds a week or two.
Bridging is typically 0.5 to 1.5% above a standard variable rate, with interest usually capitalised so you are not servicing two loans in cash. The larger cost is time — if the sale runs past the bridge term, penalty rates apply. We model peak debt on a conservative sale price and agree a written fallback before the bridge is drawn.
Sometimes. Residential specialist lending is usually still lender-paid. Commercial and SMSF files often carry a client fee because the work involved is substantially greater and lender commission is lower. Where a fee applies it is quoted in writing and agreed before any application is lodged.
Tell us the situation. We will tell you what is possible
Including the decline, the structure or the credit event. Nothing here touches your credit file.