Your Local Mortgage Broker for Competitive Home Loans. Whether you’re buying, investing or refinancing, Hardie Finance Group uses deep finance knowledge to create genuine competition and secure the right home or investment loan for your goals.
A Mortgage Broker is a licensed professional who compares home loans from multiple lenders to find a solution that suits your financial position and objectives. Instead of going directly to a bank who can only give you their own products (that may not suit you), you gain access to a panel of lenders and loan products.
Hardie Finance Group has a fee for service model that ensures a full service offering. For PAYG home loans the fee is rebated back to the client at settlement in the way of a gift card meaning nothing out of pocket as long as the deal completes through to settlement. Self employed there is a small upfront fee.
A broker saves you time, negotiates on your behalf, structures the loan correctly, and ensures the application meets lender policy before submission improving approval certainty. This both saves you time and also gets you the best possible deal.
The first home buyer process typically follows these steps:
Initial consultation – We assess your income, expenses, deposit, and borrowing capacity.
Pre-approval – We secure conditional approval from a lender so you can house-hunt with confidence.
Property purchase – Once you sign a contract, we move to full loan approval.
Formal approval & valuation – The lender confirms the property value and loan details.
Settlement – Funds are released and you receive the keys.
We also guide you through government grants, stamp duty concessions, and lender policies that apply to first home buyers.
An investment property loan is structured differently from an owner-occupied home loan.
Key differences include:
Interest may be tax deductible (seek advice from your accountant).
Interest-only repayment options may be available.
Lenders assess rental income and investment risk differently.
Loan features may better support portfolio growth.
Structuring your investment loan correctly from the start can improve cash flow, protect tax deductibility, and make future purchases easier.
Fixed Rate Home Loan
Interest rate locked in for a set period (e.g. 1 – 5 years).
Repayments remain stable.
Limited flexibility and break costs may apply to pay out the loan within the fixed rate period.
Variable Rate Home Loan
Interest rate moves with market conditions.
More flexible (offset accounts, extra repayments, redraw).
Repayments can rise or fall with interest rate movements.
Many borrowers use a split loan to manage risk by fixing part and keeping part variable.
An Offset Account is a transaction account (some banks allow multiple accounts) linked to your home loan. The balance in the account/s reduces the interest charged on your loan daily as if it were paid off the loan, however the funds remain fully available to you at all times.
Example:
If you owe $500,000 and have $50,000 in your offset account, you only pay interest on $450,000.
A Redraw Facility allows you to withdraw extra repayments you’ve made over and above the scheduled repayments. Not all loans have this facility so be sure to discuss with your broker.
An offset account generally provides more flexibility, especially for investment property planning. Used correctly, these features can save tens of thousands in interest over the life of a loan.
To apply for a home loan, you typically need:
Identification (driver’s licence, passport, medicare)
Recent payslips (usually last 2–3)
Financial data such as BAS and/or tax returns (if self-employed)
Details of existing debts
Evidence of savings and deposit
Living expense breakdown
Preparation is critical. The verification checks look back up to 6 months of your bank statements to confirm living expenses against your application. If you are wanting to be fully prepared, you should start living and spending the way you plan to live once you have the loan. Banks do not accept that you plan to change your spending habits after you have the loan to meet serviceability requirements. Clean bank statements, stable employment, and controlled spending materially improve approval strength.
Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) is insurance that protects the lender, not you, if you default on your loan.
LMI usually applies when you borrow more than 80% of the property value.
Ways to avoid or reduce LMI include:
Saving a 20% deposit along with additional funds to cover stamp duty and settlement fees
Using a guarantor structure for additional security
Accessing certain professional or industry LMI waivers
Using equity in another property
In some cases, paying LMI can be strategic if it allows you to enter the market sooner. Talk to your broker to learn more.
es. Equity is the difference between your property’s value and what you owe.
Most lenders allow you to access up to 80% of the property value without paying LMI. You can use the built up equity to help secure the loan for another property.
Example:
If your home is worth $800,000 and you owe $400,000, you may be able to access up to $240,000 in usable equity towards the next purchase (subject to servicing and loan approvals).
This equity can fund a deposit and costs for an investment property, allowing you to build a portfolio without using cash savings.
Refinancing involves replacing your current loan with a new one either with your existing lender or a new lender. Savings: Even a 0.50% reduction in your interest rate can save you thousands of dollars a year and shave years off your loan term.
Common reasons to refinance include:
Lower interest rate and/or less fees.
Debt consolidation.
Accessing equity (cash-out refinance or equity release) to fund other investments, home renovations, landscaping, solar/battery systems, holidays, etc
Improved loan features (fixed rates, interest only, offset, redraw, flexibility).
Ending a fixed rate period or interest only period.
There are online loan calculator tools, however they can be hard to work out and are commonly not very accurate. The best starting point is a preliminary assessment with your broker. We look at your income, existing debts, and living expenses to give you a realistic buying cap. This prevents the heartbreak of falling in love with a property that is outside your financial reach.
With access to multiple lenders we can work with you to maximise your borrowing power.
By law, mortgage brokers must act in your Best Interests. Unlike banks, which can only offer their own products and only have their shareholders best interests in mind, we are legally required to recommend the loan that is right for your specific needs, not the one that benefits the lender.
This means we must:
Prioritise your interests over lender commissions.
Recommend a loan suitable to your objectives.
Justify why the recommended product meets your needs.
Provide clear documentation of our recommendation.
This framework increases transparency and accountability in home loan advice.
