Grant’s Blog

Navigating a home loan application as a self-employed individual has its own set of challenges – but is often very do-able! Banks typically need more documentation from self-employed individuals to verify income. The starting point is usually least two years of financial statements, including 1) a balance sheet which shows the businesses financial position, and...Read More

When making an offer on a property, there are a number of conditions that can be added to the Sale & Purchase agreement to protect you as the purchaser. One of the common conditions is being subject to a “LIM report” check. The purpose of this condition is to protect the purchaser by allowing them...Read More

The below content below is not advice from Grant Stephens or any adviser or staff members of Personalised Mortgages. This content is provided by a qualified accountant from an external accounting firm (Bring On Monday) which has no common ownership with Personalised Mortgages Limited. The purpose of this article is information sharing only and does...Read More

20% is the magic number for banks when it comes to how much deposit or equity goes into the purchase of an existing owner-occupied property. You can still buy a property to live in with less than 20% deposit, but things do get a bit trickier. When your deposit is less than 20% of the...Read More

Okay, you’ve tracked your spending, made savings, and cut corners where you can – even gone without coffee! In the end you’ve compiled quite a nice deposit. It’s a long shot, but you think you’re getting close enough that maybe, just maybe you have enough to become a first-time property owner. You fill in all...Read More

When you are self-employed, buying a house can be more challenging than it is for someone who has a steady income as an employee. The applications are scrutinised so much more closely because the profitability is usually more variable. Often being self-employed means your income varies from year-to-year. This makes you a risk. The banks...Read More

Your credit score is a number between 1 and 1,000 that indicates how likely you are to pay your bills on time. The higher the score, the better your credit rating is. If your score is low, mainstream banks can be reluctant to lend – to both individuals and businesses. Companies may be reluctant to...Read More