We've spent over a decade inside private lending—funding deals, assessing risk, and seeing what works. Now we've built the technology to match you with 80 lenders in minutes, not days.
The problem with traditional loan brokering
Traditional brokers rely on:
Result: You don't know if you're getting the best deal, or just the deal your broker knows about.
Lender matching is a data problem, not an experience problem.
Realization: An algorithm can do this better, faster, and more objectively than a human.
A technology-first loan brokerage:
Result: You get objective, data-driven lender matches instead of subjective broker opinions.
Technology advantages over experience:
Real lending experience behind the technology
11+ Years in Private Lending
Before building Esteb and Co, I spent over a decade working inside private lending—first as a lender funding actual projects, then as Marketing Manager at an ASX-listed private lender. I've assessed thousands of applications, funded developments and projects across diverse client portfolios, and gained deep insight into what lenders look for and what borrowers need.
After 11 years inside lending, I saw the same problem repeatedly: great borrowers struggling to find the right lender. Even experienced brokers typically know 10-15 lenders well. I realized this was a data problem—lender criteria is published, match quality can be calculated mathematically, and technology could check ALL lenders objectively in minutes.
The result: Esteb and Co combines real lending experience with technology to deliver what traditional brokers can't—comprehensive, objective, instant lender matching backed by someone who's actually worked inside the industry.
Actual transactions funded across residential, business, development, and specialized finance
Note: The following are real deals funded during my 11 years as a lender and marketing manager in private lending. Details have been anonymized to protect client confidentiality, but the structures, challenges, and outcomes are genuine examples of the types of finance traditional banks wouldn't touch.
The Problem: Client was purchasing a property through a traditional mortgage broker when his license expired mid-application. Banks refused to approve without a current license—putting his $50,000+ deposit at risk.
The Solution: Secured first mortgage finance against one of his existing properties, unlocking capital to complete the purchase without losing his deposit.
Why It Worked: Banks only see "expired license = reject." With real lending experience, I knew there was another way—use existing equity to bridge the gap.
The Challenge: New business needed a work vehicle but had no trading history. Banks wanted 2+ years of financials. Dealer finance was 12-15%+.
The Solution: Structured business vehicle finance understanding the business model was sound, even without years of trading history.
The Outcome: Business got the vehicle needed to start trading at better rates than dealer finance, without impossible documentation requirements.
The Situation: Business owner needed capital to purchase inventory and expand but traditional business loans were too slow or too expensive.
The Solution: First mortgage against his Surfers Paradise apartment unlocked equity for business inventory at residential loan rates.
The Result: Business doubled sales within 2 years. Owner used residential security for business purposes at rates that made expansion profitable.
The Crisis: Business owners with multiple debts (trade creditors, tax office, high-interest loans) thought they were "going under." Banks won't lend to distressed businesses.
The Solution: Consolidated all debts into single facility, reduced monthly repayments by 40-60%, freed up working capital immediately.
The Turnaround: Businesses avoided bankruptcy, recouped operating funds, and many expanded to multiple locations. Good business with debt problem (fixable) vs bad business (unfixable).
The Strategy: Large house and land in Logan with subdivision potential requiring DA approval (12-18 months).
The Approach: Developer purchased with our finance, rented the house during DA approval (covering holding costs), then subdivided into 4 lots.
The Result: Sold all 4 lots for 3x the initial purchase price. Rental income managed risk while waiting for DA approval.
The Opportunity: Developer in Rochdale, QLD wanted to branch out from his day job with deep industry knowledge but no established company track record.
The Solution: Unlocked $5M+ to settle development block and begin subdivision, recognizing his industry expertise mattered more than company history.
The Outcome: Subdivided into 20+ residential lots, created $20M+ total value, $15M+ profit. Developer successfully launched his own company.
The Challenge: Multi-stage development needed capital to move seamlessly stage-to-stage, but had unsold stock and undeveloped future stages.
The Structure: Rolling finance with first mortgages on both unsold house/land packages AND undeveloped land, allowing capital to recycle as packages sold.
The Success: Developer moved through all 13 stages seamlessly over multiple years without waiting for 100% sell-through each time. This is how development actually works.
The Complexity: High-net-worth client with substantial ASX-listed dividend stock portfolio wanted to purchase family home but was approaching 5% ASX disclosure threshold.
The Solution: Structured open-ended securities lending facility at up to 70% LVR, allowing home purchase while retaining 100% stock ownership, staying under 5% disclosure requirement, avoiding CGT.
Why It Matters: This requires understanding securities lending, ASX Corporations Act Chapter 6C disclosure rules, tax implications, and corporate governance. Traditional mortgage brokers have never done this.
The Sector: Childcare centers combine commercial property, business operations, government subsidy revenue, and long settlement timeframes. Banks treat each center individually.
The Approach: Assessed operator track record, location demographics, government revenue stability, and each center's strengths/weaknesses across the portfolio.
The Outcome: Multiple operators expanded from 1-2 centers to 3-5+ locations by understanding portfolio risk and funding during construction/ramp-up phases banks won't touch.
These aren't theoretical examples from a textbook. These are real deals I was part of funding over 11 years. When you work with Esteb and Co, you're getting someone who's sat on both sides of the table—assessed the risks, structured the finance, and seen what actually works when traditional lenders say no. That experience, combined with our technology matching 80 lenders objectively, gives you the best of both worlds.
Clear about our approach and commitments
Our Different Approach
We combine 11+ years of real lending experience with technology that analyzes ALL 80 lenders objectively in 2 minutes. You get exact match scores, approval probability, and personalized rates—with complete transparency on why each lender was recommended.
No bias. No favorites. Just data-driven recommendations backed by genuine industry expertise.
The rules we operate by
We believe: Lender matching is a data problem that technology solves better than human judgment.
What this means for you:
We believe: You deserve to know exactly how decisions are made and why certain lenders are recommended.
What this means for you:
We believe: You want answers fast, not forced small talk or unnecessary "discovery calls."
What this means for you:
We believe: Every claim should be backed by data, research, or verifiable facts.
What this means for you:
We believe: Real experience and proven results matter more than flashy advertising.
What this means for you:
We believe: Technology should evolve constantly—we're not stuck in outdated processes.
What this means for you:
If another broker finds you a lender that our algorithm missed AND that lender offers better terms, we'll pay you $500.
We're that confident in our matching technology.
Terms: Other broker must provide written confirmation. Lender must have been on our radar (one of our 80). If we genuinely missed them in our algorithm, we'll pay $500 + improve our algorithm so it doesn't happen again.
100% transparent about our business model
When your loan settles, the lender pays us a commission. This is standard in the brokerage industry and costs you nothing. Lenders pay the same commission whether you come to us or go directly to them—the difference is you get our technology and expertise for free.
Typical commission: 0.5-0.7% of loan amount (home loans), paid by lender, not you
Our algorithm doesn't know which lenders pay higher commissions. It ranks lenders based purely on match score (LVR quality, income strength, credit quality, employment, savings, specialty bonuses). Commission rates are not an input to the algorithm.
Our incentive: Get you the best match so you complete the loan and recommend us to others. A bad match that doesn't settle = $0 commission. A great match = happy client + referrals + sustainable business.
A: Bigger doesn't mean better. Our founder has 11+ years of real lending experience—on the lender side, not just broker side. Our algorithm analyzes ALL 80 lenders objectively in 2 minutes. Most brokers (even at big firms) rely on personal relationships with 10-15 lenders and subjective judgment. With us, you get: insider lending expertise + comprehensive technology + direct access to decision makers. No call centers, no runaround.
A: Most brokers have only ever worked on ONE side of the table—helping borrowers apply. Our founder Richard Esteb spent 11+ years on the LENDER side—actually funding developments and projects, then as Marketing Manager at an ASX-listed private lender. He's assessed thousands of applications and knows exactly how lenders think, what they look for, and why they decline. That insider knowledge is now built into our matching algorithm. Combined with our technology that compares ALL 80 lenders objectively, you get the best of both worlds: real lending expertise + comprehensive data-driven matching.
A: We have a $500 guarantee. If another broker finds a better lender that our algorithm missed, we'll pay you $500 AND fix our algorithm. We're confident this won't happen because our algorithm checks ALL 80 lenders systematically. But if it does, we'll make it right.
A: Esteb and Co Pty Ltd (ACN 681 636 056) operates as ASIC Authorised Credit Representatives. Our company credit representative number is 574070, and our principal Richard Esteb holds individual credit representative number 574071. This authorisation gives us full access to all major lenders and the ability to provide comprehensive credit assistance services.
A: We're a real, licensed brokerage that uses technology as our competitive advantage. We handle the full loan process: matching, application submission, lender communication, document collection, settlement coordination. The difference is our matching is done by algorithm instead of manual comparison.
A: If you've already been matched with a lender and submitted an application, that application continues directly with the lender—we're just the introducer. If we close before you settle, the lender relationship continues. Your loan is with the lender, not with us. That said, we're built for sustainability: low overhead (digital-only), strong technology foundation, and growing user base.
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