The questions people actually ask a finance broker. Answered straight.

You complete a short online assessment, and our matching engine compares your situation against the lending criteria of our 50-lender panel to show which lenders are likely to suit you. From there, a licensed finance broker verifies the numbers, recommends a structure, and manages the application through to settlement. The service is generally at no cost to you — lenders pay us a commission when your loan settles.

In most cases, yes — no cost to you as the borrower. Like other brokers, we are paid a commission by the lender when your loan settles. That commission does not change the rate or terms the lender offers you. If a fee ever applies to your situation, we disclose it in writing before you commit to anything.

We are technology-assisted rather than paper-driven. Our matching engine screens your profile against the published criteria of 50 lenders in minutes, so the shortlist you discuss is grounded in actual lender policy rather than habit or guesswork. You still get a licensed finance broker on your file end to end — the technology just removes the slow parts.

Home loans (first home buyers, refinancing, investment, construction, SMSF), car and asset finance, business loans (working capital, equipment, commercial property), personal loans (including debt consolidation), and specialist lending such as private and securities-backed lending.

Yes. Esteb & Co operates as a Credit Representative (Credit Rep #574071) of an Australian Credit Licence holder (ACL 389328), accredited through Connective, and complies with the National Consumer Credit Protection Act and responsible-lending obligations. Full details are in our Credit Guide.

Our panel through Connective covers 50 lenders — major banks, regional and online banks, and specialist lenders. We compare products from that panel; we do not compare every product or lender in the market. The full panel list is available on request.

Yes — that is rather the point. The technology handles the comparison work; the advice and the application are handled personally by a licensed finance broker. Call, email or get in touch any time — complex situations are exactly where a broker earns their keep.

The online assessment takes a few minutes, and you will see which lenders from our panel are likely to fit. Esteb & Co provides credit assistance and does not lend money directly. If you decide to proceed, gathering documents and completing a full application usually takes under an hour if your paperwork is in order.

For PAYG employees: recent payslips, bank statements, photo ID and proof of address. For self-employed borrowers: typically two years of tax returns and financial statements, plus BAS and bank statements. Exact requirements vary by lender — we tell you precisely what you need after your assessment, so you only gather things once.

It varies by lender and by how complete your application is. Conditional approval is often a matter of days with faster lenders; full approval and settlement usually run several weeks end to end. Lender processing queues change constantly — part of our job is knowing which lenders are moving quickly right now.

You can, but it usually hurts you — every formal application creates a credit enquiry, and several enquiries in quick succession can drag your score down. The better path is to identify the lender most likely to approve you before applying, then submit one well-prepared application. That is exactly what our matching process is for.

Our initial assessment does not touch your credit file — no enquiry is recorded. A formal application to a lender does create a credit enquiry. We keep that impact to a minimum by showing you which lenders are likely to approve you before you apply anywhere.

The interest rate is what you pay on the loan balance. The comparison rate adds most fees (application, monthly, annual) on top, giving a truer picture of cost. Always compare comparison rates, not headline rates. Note that comparison rates are calculated on a standard example loan, so your own figure may differ.

Advertised rates are usually headline rates for the strongest borrowers — large deposit, clean credit, straightforward income. Your actual rate depends on your loan-to-value ratio, loan size, credit history, income type and loan purpose. We work from lender policy to indicate where you are likely to land, and the lender confirms the actual rate in writing.

Variable rates offer flexibility — offset accounts, unlimited extra repayments, no break costs — but move with the market. Fixed rates give repayment certainty but less flexibility, and break costs can apply if you exit early. Many borrowers split the loan to get some of each. We can model both against your situation.

Most loans carry some combination of application or settlement fees, ongoing monthly or annual package fees, valuation costs and government registration charges. The mix varies widely by lender and product, and some lenders waive fees altogether. This is exactly what the comparison rate exists to capture — and we always look at total cost, not just the headline rate.

Lenders Mortgage Insurance protects the lender — not you — when you borrow more than 80% of the property value. It is a significant one-off premium that grows with your loan size and LVR. Ways to reduce or avoid it: a 20% deposit, a family guarantor, LMI waivers available to some professions, or a government scheme such as the Home Guarantee Scheme for eligible buyers. Scheme eligibility and places change — we check what applies to you.

It depends on your income, expenses, existing debts and each lender's assessment buffers — and two lenders can reach quite different answers on the same application. Use our assessment or the borrowing power calculator for an estimate based on your actual numbers; we then verify it against real lender servicing calculators before you rely on it.

Often, yes — but options narrow and pricing is usually higher. Minor issues may still fit mainstream banks; defaults and missed payments generally mean specialist lenders; after bankruptcy, lenders want to see time since discharge and clean conduct. We can show you which lenders' published policies accept your credit profile before you apply, so you avoid enquiries that will be declined.

Absolutely. Most lenders want two years of tax returns and financial statements; some accept one year, or alternative documentation (low-doc) if your income is newer or complex. With strong, verifiable financials, self-employed borrowers can access the same products as PAYG applicants. Low-doc options typically carry higher pricing.

Lenders "shade" income based on how reliable they judge it. Base salary generally counts in full; bonuses, commission and overtime usually count only partially and need a track record; rental income is counted at less than 100% to allow for costs and vacancy; self-employed income is assessed from tax returns. Policies differ meaningfully between lenders — choosing the right lender for your income mix is often the whole game.

Common reasons: servicing falling short (income versus commitments), too much existing debt, credit-file issues, insufficient deposit, short employment history, or a property valuation coming in low. A decline with one lender is not a decline everywhere — policies differ, and we can often re-position the application with a better-matched lender or show you what to fix first.

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Tell us first — we have an internal dispute resolution process and take complaints seriously. If we cannot resolve your complaint within the required timeframe, you can escalate it to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), a free external dispute resolution scheme. The full process is set out in our Credit Guide and Terms & Conditions.