
FAQ's
Getting finance can be a bit of a minefield if you are not sure what you are doing. Some of our most commonly asked questions are answered below. Information is general and won't be specific to you, but it will get you going in the right direction and you can always give us a call on 1300 158 776 or request a call by filling in our contact form, if you have anything a little more tricky!
Contents Table:
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What factors can reduce my borrowing capacity?
How much are the interest rates?
How much does it cost to use a brokerage?
Can I just get a personal loan without a broker?
If I buy an asset, does it have to be brand new?
What types of loans can Great Escape Finance help me get?
What are the hidden extras the lenders add?
List of our most asked questions
How much can I borrow?
This is one of the most important questions you can ask. So, how can you estimate your own borrowing capacity before you go and start looking at things that might be outside your price range? If you are looking to get a personal loan or asset loan, then the theoretical maximum is whatever your household earns in a year. A single person who makes $60k can generally borrow up to $60k for personal or asset loans. What about a mortgage? Make it 5 times (sometimes more) what you earn in a year. There are some things that can reduce your borrowing capacity, though, so keep reading!
Can I get pre-approval?
Not for asset or personal loans, but we can work out what is likely to be achievable well before any loans are sought. This will give you confidence about what you can afford before you go out into the market
For mortgages, yes. (Tiny homes are not eligible for mortgages/'home loans' on their own
What factors can reduce my borrowing capacity?
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This is a pretty big list, so be careful!
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Your age. If you are under 25, most lenders will have a cap on how much you can borrow. If you are nearer to retirement, then lenders may want to have an 'exit strategy'.
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Your credit score. There are three major credit scoring companies in Australia - Equifax, Experian and Illion. There are others, but these three are the main ones. At Great Escape Finance, we use your Equifax score, which you can check for free yourself once every three months by visiting their site.
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​Existing liabilities. This could be a credit card, another existing loan, a buy-now-pay-later account, even a loan you are paying back to a family member or friend that comes out of your account regularly
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Where you live. Yep, if you are renting or own/have a mortgage, then that works best. If you live with parents, board or are transient, lenders each have different restrictions on how they may approach your loan.
How much are the interest rates?
We would love to tell you that there is a one-size-fits-all here, but there isn't, unfortunately. In reality lenders can have rates from around 5.5% all the way up to 48%! What we would advise is that if you are buying, say, a tiny home and you borrow $100k, allow roughly 2% of the amount you borrow as an estimate for your monthly repayments. That is, a $100k borrow will have repayments somewhere around $2k/month (which is about $462/week if you allow for 4.333 weeks in a month). We recommend giving or taking about $100 from that monthly amount as your estimate, so $1900-$2100. About 95% of our clients will fall in that band, with the main influence on that estimate being your credit score and how much you borrow. (If you borrow less, assume a little higher, but not substantially. The great thing is, we can run you a quote/s without impacting your credit score and know exactly what lenders will offer you well before you ever make an application.
How much does it cost to use a brokerage?
When you get a mortgage, the broker will normally not charge you anything at all as they will receive an commission from the bank, plus a small amount of the balance of the loan each month, called a 'trail'
When you get other forms of loans, the brokerage does not get a trail, so needs to charge a fee. At Great Escape Finance, we charge based on what the lender says is acceptable. They base the figure on the amount you borrow. For any personal or asset loan, the most you can be charged is $2,000. For instance, a $20k loan might have a charge of $990, whereas a $50k loan is likely to be $2,000. Multiple loans do cost more, but we will always do our best to get you the most favourable outcomes. You don't get charged these fees up front, either, they get added on (capitalised) to your successful loan. If we can't help, you get charged nothing!
Can I just get a personal loan without a broker?
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Absolutely; however, be very careful to weigh up the pros and cons. The loan you get for yourself may have an interest rate that ends up costing you a whole lot more than what a broker would have cost. We think the best reasons for using a broker (yes, we are biased!) are:
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Wide range of lenders - We have around 70 lenders on our panel and know who the best lender is for your situation (not all lenders will finance tiny homes, for instance)
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Expert knowledge - We know who has the best interest rates (NEVER trust what the companies put up as their headline rates on their websites!)
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Negotiation power - We can talk with the lender behind the scenes to negotiate. You know that extra money that you spent over Christmas? We can explain that this is not your usual expenses. Had some time off sick that reduced your hours? Again, we can help explain that in our conversations with the lenders
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Time - It's the old adage, "time is money". What we can do quite quickly may takes you weeks or months and may not achieve the best outcome.
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Stress​ - When you are potentially spending tens of thousands to millions of dollars, it can be pretty stressful. Using the right broker means you need not worry about which lender is best for your situation
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Ongoing support - We stay with you through the journey and try to build rapport with all our clients. That's how we've become #1 in tiny home finance and why many people find out about us by word of mouth, through social platforms, or via builders who trust us with their most valuable asset, YOU
If I buy an asset, does it have to be brand new?
Not necessarily. If it is a vehicle, like a car, boat, caravan , motorbike, then some lenders only like to give finance for newer vehicles which they know they can recoup costs on if there is a default for any reason. Older vehicles are less saleable (unless vintage or collectible), so they avoid them. That doesn't mean you can't get a loan for it, though, it just means it won't be a loan secured by the vehicle. Which leads us to the question about what types of loans are out there...
If you spot a second-hand tiny home that fits within your budget, no problem! All funds go to you to hand over when you are ready.
What types of loans can Great Escape Finance help me get?
Secured loan - This type of loan is primarily available for newer vehicles. It is the type of loan you get when you buy a car, for instance. You will pay down the loan over time, but the lender will retain ownership until you make the final payment.
Unsecured loan - This type of loan has no security for the lender, so they tend to charge around 1% higher due to the perceived risk. These loans are used for tiny homes as tiny homes can not be used as security in Australia...yet...
Business loan - These are cash injection loans generally. Businesses and directors are assessed based on bank statements and tax documentation. These loans tend to be shorter terms and higher interest.
Commercial loan - This is generally for an asset like a vehicle, heavy machinery etc. Again, businesses are assessed based on banking activity and financial statements, mostly.
Mortgage - The traditional home loan. Great Escape Finance does not do these directly...yet...but we do have some very trusted partners who we can send you to who will help you achieve this drea
What are the loan terms?
Secured loan - Up to 7 years
Unsecured loan - Up to 7 years
Business loan - Generally a maximum of 2 years
Commercial loan - 7 years
Mortgage - 30 years​
Conditions apply for all these, of course!
What are the hidden extras the lenders add?
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Most of the lenders we use have no fees for early or extra repayments, meaning you can pay down your loan early and make substantial savings off the interest paid.
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Other fees (they vary from lender to lender) include: an initial set up fee or a monthly processing fee (not as common as it used to be). There may be other fees, but the ones listed are by far the most common. We will always disclose them all to you before you ever do an application
What is the process for obtaining loans?
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Contact us via our form or by calling 1300 158 776 You are never obliged to work with us once you've made contact. We only ever ask is that you let us know if you aren't proceeding. so that we can archive your file.
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​We ask for you to sign a privacy document. This allows us to reach out to lenders when the time is right and gives us permission to run your credit score on your behalf
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We add you to our client portal, where you fill in your details around expenses, liabilities, needs, assets, income etc. This information is used by us to make sure we understand your finance options. We only ever share with lenders what they need to know!
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We collect your ID and proof of income.
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We collect your bank statements. To do this, we use a third-party provider called Illion bank statements They ask you permission to send your bank statements to Great Escape Finance and we receive a copy which includes a summary of your income, expenses and liabilities, saving everybody a great deal of time!
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Once all this information is collected, one of our trusty brokers will assess all the information and let you know if there are any considerations that need to be addressed before proceeding.
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The broker will get you a quote with an option to sign off if you are happy to proceed.
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If you are happy and do sign, the broker will do the application using the relevant details and information we have collected.
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Once received by the lender, they are likely to also ask you to complete a bank statement link and ID check for them and they may ask if you are happy for Great Escape Finance to continue on your behalf
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It may take a couple of days for the lender to process the application, often with background conversations with your broker, before they give you a final offer. The broker will keep you updated on anything that the lender needs, but more often than not is is something very simple, like the lender wants to check where that lump of cash you parents gave to you came from and whether you have to pay it back!
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Your loan is approved and you sign off on the lender documents.
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The money is provided to you, your company or the vendor of the product your are purchasing.
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Smiles all 'round!