Buying a home or investment property is rarely an impulse decision.
Property buyers usually spend months researching suburbs, attending home opens, comparing properties and discussing possibilities with their family. By the time they find the right property, they already know what they want.
Ironically, many spend less time understanding whether they’ll actually be able to buy the property they’ve set their sights on.
That’s understandable. After all, most people assume the loan is simply something that gets organised once they’ve found the property.
For business owners, it is rarely that simple.
The conversation usually starts in the wrong place
When a business owner contacts us about buying residential property, they often expect the conversation to begin with:
“How much do you need?”
It almost never does. Instead, we usually ask:
“What are you hoping to buy?”
It might seem like a subtle difference, but it changes the conversation.
The property is the main goal, the finance is simply the tool that helps you achieve it.
We want to understand what you’re trying to achieve before we work out the best way to get you there.
- Is it your family’s next home?
- An investment property?
- A lifestyle change?
- Or perhaps a property that gives you room to grow over the next ten years?
Once we understand the destination, we can determine the best way to get there.
Sometimes the answer is exactly what you hoped.
Sometimes it isn’t. That’s why having the conversation before you start making offers is so valuable.
Many business owners are surprised to learn that their borrowing capacity isn’t always linked to how successful their business feels.
Different lenders can assess exactly the same business in different ways. Understanding that before you start looking at properties gives you more options.
When we have that conversation early, we have time to explore different lenders, different structures and the best way to present your application. If your borrowing position isn’t where you’d like it to be today, you still have options. Once you’ve signed a contract, many of those options become much harder to pursue.
You can also learn more about our approach to Business Owner & Self-Employed Home Loans and how we help business owners prepare before they begin looking for property.
Good preparation creates more choices
One of the biggest advantages of speaking with a broker early isn’t simply obtaining a borrowing figure.
It’s understanding how lenders are likely to assess your circumstances and what information will best support your application.
For some business owners, the latest financial statements will present the strongest position.
For others, where the business has continued to grow since year end, more recent BAS returns may help demonstrate that growth.
We also need to understand how your business is structured and what existing business borrowings exist, as many lenders consider both personal and business commitments when assessing borrowing capacity.
Having the conversation early gives you time to address any issues before they become obstacles to buying the property you want.
The best time to have the conversation
The smartest business owners don’t just prepare to buy a property.
They prepare to finance it.
That doesn’t mean obtaining a formal pre-approval months in advance.
It means understanding your borrowing position, identifying any issues that could affect your application and giving yourself time to address them before you’re negotiating on a purchase.
Buying residential property should be exciting. Knowing where you stand before you start looking helps keep it that way.
You can also learn more about Business Owner & Self-Employed Home Loans.
