FAQ

We specialise in helping clients build multiple property portfolio's using creative financing, tax effectiveness and asset protection. Our team also have specialist accreditations to advice on Self-Managed Super Fund lending and Reverse Mortgages.

Mortgage brokers play a vital role in the home loan market. They’re experts in the loan process and will help you secure a loan for a home, investment or other commercial purpose.

Our role is to act as an intermediary between the lenders and borrowers, ensuring that you get the best possible loan. We will help you discover the most competitive loan for your needs and guide you through every step of your loan application. Overall, they aspire to help you save money, figure out a suitable loan structure and secure you the best deal.

We at Edge generally don’t charge you a mortgage brokerage service for a home loan as we work on a ‘contingency basis’ whereby the lender pays Edge from their profits once your loan settles. 

Note: Complex lending such as commercial loans, development finance, sophisticated trust loans & SMSF loans may incur a fee due to the complexity of advice and skill required, along with increased workload of the application.

Our panel of lenders is a well-balanced selection of over 30 of Australian’s leading home lenders. Contact us today to see which lender’s we are currently using. 

The interest rates available through a broker are the same as what the lender advertises, although with Edge, you’ll receive our professional service, guiding you through the loan process.

There are a number of different types of loans available, we help you find the one suited to your needs & requirements.

• Standard variable loans: The interest rate can vary throughout the term of the loan normally reflecting movement in the official interest rate set by the Reserve Bank of Australia.
• Basic variable loans: Basic variable rate loans are similar to 'standard variable loans' but generally have reduced features.
• Introductory/ honeymoon loans: These loans carry significantly discounted interest rates for a short period at the beginning of the loan.
• Fixed-rate loans: The interest rate is fixed for a predetermined period – most lenders offer between 1 and 5 years, with some as long as 15 years.
• Line of credit: is an interest only loan that is typically secured against equity in your property.
• Pro Pack: Professional Package (Pro pack) home loans generally offer a heavily discounted interest rate for taking a range of other banking products with a lender. These might include credit cards, savings accounts, and the ability to switch between fixed and variable rates.

When you refinance your home loan to another lender, the existing lender will not release your mortgage until a signed discharge is provided. It is important to return the discharge to our office as soon as possible to process, as discharging an existing mortgage generally causes the greatest delays in settlement.

Making your offer 'Subject to finance' is a standard condition in most purchase contracts. This clause gives you time to organise your finance for the property you're buying. It means that if your loan application is declined, you may choose to end the contract.

Your lender may wish to complete an employment check before approving your loan application. This would generally entail the lender phoning your payroll to confirm your employment status, starting date, standard hours and income paid. 

It is important to get to know your credit file before a loan application is started. Your credit history is part of the report supplied to your prospective lender by credit file monitoring organisations like Veda. Using this report your lender will see all of your financial information and work out how much of a risk you are, assigning you a credit rating. Most lenders, depending on your risk rating, are open to explanations about adverse items on your credit file but a bad rating may limit your lenders willingness to assist. 

There are a range of strategies available for those who have defaulted on a loan. Some lenders will even accept you even though you have defaulted. We treat each case individually and will help you achieve the best outcome for your situation.

Upon your consultation with one of our Broker/Advisers, they will help to incorporate consolidating your debts alongside refinancing or purchasing a property.

If you borrow more than 80% of the value of a property you usually have to pay Lender’s Mortgage Insurance (LMI), which protects the lender if you default on your loan. This does not protect you.

A low documentation (low doc) loan is a mortgage that can be taken out using a lesser amount or different documentation to that required by a full documentation (full doc) loan. This type of loan is aimed at those who cannot provide the usual paperwork such as tax returns and financial statements. 

A Pre-approval can give you an indication of your borrowing limit so you are able to start looking for a property. To apply for a pre-approval you need to provide identification, proof of employment and income and other information as requested from the lender.

A mortgage offset account is a savings account connected to the loan account. The money (or credit) in your account is offset daily against your loan balance, and this will reduce the mortgage interest charged accordingly. So you might have a $200,000 loan and $15,000 in your offset account. Because of your offset account, you will only be charged interest against $185,000.

Where a Trust is borrowing funds, many lenders will require the Trust Deed to be reviewed or vetted by the lender’s solicitors. The purpose of the review is to certify to the lender that the loan or other financial accommodation is authorised under the terms of the Trust Deed among other things

• An Interest only loan means you pay only the interest on that loan for a predetermined amount of time (This can be anywhere between 1-15 years) you do not pay down the principal (actual loan). 
• A Principal and Interest loan means you pay both the interest on the loan and the actual loan down together.
• Depending on your situation, either one may be more beneficial to your needs and requirements. You are able to have both, you can have IO on one split of the loan and P&I on the other.

To switch from one lender to another on your loan, you need to do a refinance. This means you go through the process of an application to ensure you are able to go with different lender that has either better products suited to your needs or a cheaper interest rate and repayments.

A top up is increasing the amount your current loan. The reason for doing this could be for a number of reasons, some including a deposit on another property, renovations/construction, and purchasing a vehicle.

The cost of stamp duty varies depending on the state or territory your property is in and its value. Contact us today if you would like to know more.

Our holistic approach to your financial objectives can only be achieved with the experience of specialists in Finance, Wealth management & Business Advisory Services. We are a single source of quality advice for all your financial needs.

We offer a free initial consultation to discuss your goals and current situation.

We provide personal advice services using a fixed-term agreement. This means that you may engage our services for a 12-month period and we will not charge you fees beyond this time.

A Statement of Advice, otherwise known as an SOA, is a formal document which contains all of the strategies, recommendations and advice from your adviser. 

Superannuation is a controlled way to save for your retirement. The money comes from contributions made into your super fund by your employer and/or yourself.

Risk covers provide a financial benefit in the event of you suffering a serious injury or illness, or death. They include: Term Life insurance, TPD Insurance, Income Protection Insurance and Trauma/Critical Illness Insurance.

Life cover, also known as term life insurance or death cover, pays a set amount of money when the insured person dies. The money will go to the people who are nominated as a beneficiary on the policy.

Total and permanent disability (TPD) insurance provides cover if you are totally and permanently disabled and unable to work. Total and permanent disability cover is almost always purchased together with life cover and can provide a financial safety net if you suffer from a serious injury or illness that stops you from working.

Income Protection is a monthly benefit that pays you up to 75% of your income and covers you for accidents, illnesses or major traumas. There are many variations of Income Protection policies with different waiting period and benefit periods

A Waiting Period is the period of time between when you are first unable to work due to illness or injury and the time you are eligible to receive a benefit payment. It is important to note that payments are made in arrears. This means that payments are accrued at the end of the waiting period and generally the first payment is received one month after your waiting period has finished. Waiting period options vary between 14 days and up to 2 years. A shorter waiting period will normally result in a higher premium.

A Benefit Period is the period of time that you could potentially receive a benefit for each individual claim. This could be a set number of years (ie. 5 years) or to a specific age, such as 65. Shorter benefit periods usually result in lower premiums, as you would be paid a benefit by the insurer for a shorter period of time.

Critical Illness Insurance is also known as trauma cover or serious illness cover. A lump sum is paid to you in the event that you suffer a defined serious illness, such as cancer or a heart attack.

Insurance underwriters evaluate the risk and exposures of potential clients. They decide how much coverage the client should receive, how much they should pay for it, or whether even to accept the risk and insure them. 

Exclusions may be applied to your policy if you participate in a hazardous pastime; have a pre-existing medical condition; have high-risk travel intentions; or a hazardous occupation. Exclusions mean that a claim cannot be made as a result of an excluded pre-existing medical condition or from participating in an excluded activity. For example, if you had a sky diving exclusion, you would not be able to make a claim if you were injured, became totally and permanently disabled or passed away while participating in this activity

A loading is a percentage increase on the standard premium, usually due to a pre-existing medical condition. These increases are relatively common and ensure that people can obtain cover in situations where they may have previously thought they weren’t eligible. A loading is calculated if there is a higher than average probability that you will make a claim in the future, based on the information in your application.

If you hold an Indemnity Income Protection policy, your benefit amount payable is based on your income at the time you make a claim. You will be asked to prove your income before payment is made.

If you hold an Agreed Value Income Protection Policy, your benefit amount is agreed at the time of application. You will not be required to provide further financial information at the time of claim (exceptions do apply).

A Non-Binding beneficiary nomination is a preferred choice only. The Trustee will take into consideration any nomination you make, however, in this case, the Trustee has the final discretion in deciding to whom, from among your dependants and Legal Personal Representative, and in what proportions, to pay your superannuation benefit when you die.

When you make a valid Binding nomination, you decide who receives your benefit when you die, and how much of the benefit they receive.

Stepped premiums are the most common way to pay Life Insurance premiums. They’re calculated on your age, with premiums generally increasing with your age. Premiums are typically higher the older you get, since you’re considered more likely to fall ill or be seriously injured.

With Level premiums, you pay more in the beginning, but the premium costs average out over time so that you can end up saving money. Usually a level premium remains constant until the age of 65, when it reverts to a stepped premium as your risks increase.

Concessional Superannuation Contributions are:

• Before tax employer contributions to super including compulsory employer contributions & salary sacrifice. If you are self-employed these are the contributions you claim as a tax deduction.

Non-Concessional Superannuation Contributions are:

• After tax contributions i.e. money you put in your super that you have already paid the tax on. Example: you receive your PAYG salary. Your employer has already paid the tax on the salary before giving it to you. You then decide to pay it into your super fund.

We are able to assist you through the entire process of creating a SMSF. We are able to:

• Create the super fund (incl. Trust Deed, Constitution of the Corporate Trustee, Apply for the ABN, ACN and register the fund for GST if required)
• Open a bank account and trading account if required
• Initiate rollovers from your current superannuation fund/s
• Purchase investments
• Referral to an accountant and auditor if required 

If you are looking to purchase property inside of your SMSF and require a loan, we are also able to help you apply for the loan.

YES! We are able to review the current superannuation account and risk cover policies you have in place regardless of how they were opened or are currently managed.

If you have multiple superannuation accounts, you may be able to consolidate these into one superannuation fund. We are able to review your current superannuation account/s and assist in consolidating these for you if it is in your best interest.

As a part of the Edge (AUST) Financial Services process we will be able to review the risk covers inside of your superannuation account and provide advice on any shortfalls between this cover and your needs.

• Industry Super Funds are not-for-profit funds designed to cater to people who work in particular sectors, with similar work patterns and benefit needs.
• Retail Super Funds are run by financial institutions and are open for investment by to the general public.

YES! We develop tailored strategies for clients in this position. If you would like to discuss your situation more, please contact us.