Considering the rising cost of living, it’s no surprise that many of us are reliant on “Buy Now Pay Later” services – but does Afterpay affect your credit score?

The market for Afterpay’s ‘reverse layby’ model cannot be overstated – especially in the midst of a global pandemic. Founded in a suburban Sydney garage in 2014, Afterpay as we know it is now regarded as one of the pioneers of the ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ (BNPL) payment platforms that have since taken the world by storm. In theory, it’s as simple as receiving your goods, and paying them off later in four fortnightly, interest free installments. 

However, a growing number of financial experts have expressed concerns linked to consumers relying too much on BNPL platforms like Afterpay to support everyday living expenses and overspending. While using Afterpay is quite safe when compared to the hefty interest rates and fees linked to credit cards, personal loans, and payday loans, if you miss a repayment, you’ll be slapped with a late fee. While it’s also worth noting that lending providers pay careful attention to payments made via BNPL platforms on your bank statements when applying for a loan, does Afterpay affect your credit score?

The Relationship Between Your Credit Score And BNPL 

While Afterpay reserves the right to check your credit score, it generally doesn’t unless your identity checks present any red flags. However, if you fail to meet your repayments, Afterpay reserves the right to report any negative financial activity such as late payments, missed payments, defaults or chargebacks, to credit reporting agencies. This information can be logged on your credit report for up to seven years, and can prove tricky to navigate further down the track if you want a mortgage or other sizable loan. 

As long as you’re using Afterpay in a responsible way and making your payments on time, then your credit score and history shouldn’t be affected directly, but it can encourage a debt spiral for consumers who have access to seemingly small amounts of spare cash. The more you shop and show that you can successfully pay back your purchases on time, the higher your approved spending limit goes, and can therefore provide a dangerous window of opportunity for those who are prone to overspending. 

If you’re considering applying for a loan in the not so distant future, buyer beware – “Buy Now, Pay Later” platforms can attract the wrong kind of attention from the banks. Many lenders still regard these types of payment services as a line of credit – essentially, you’re still able to borrow money that you don’t have. Alongside your other debts or expenses, lending providers will take your Afterpay purchasing behaviour into account to form an overall risk profile when deciding whether or not to issue you with a pre-approval. 

While there’s now a medley of other “Buy Now, Pay Later” platforms trying to ride the wave of Afterpay’s success, such as ZipPay, LatitutePay and Klarna, even the big banks are trying their best to keep up, with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia recently announcing its own digital product. The surprising announcement was designed to allow customers to make purchases between $100 and $1000, and repay the money in four interest-free fortnightly installments – just like Afterpay. 

For shoppers, the ease of using the platform is one of the most appealing platforms. To sign up, all you need is to be aged over eighteen, hold a valid Visa or Mastercard debit or credit card in your name, and to be deemed capable of entering into a legally binding contract. Users sign up via a verified email address, phone number and photo identification. Once this is approved – which is almost instant – users are free to get busy shopping either online or instore with selected retailers. 

If you are ready to “level up”, get financially fit and take a step back from BNPL platforms like Afterpay, then it’s never too early to seek professional financial advice. Whether your next goal is to retire early, take a gap year or purchase a home, George Samios and the team at Madd Loans are ready and waiting. 

Partnering With The Home Loan Professionals 

Navigating the complex world of home loans has long been regarded as stressful, frustrating and time consuming – but the good news is that it doesn’t have to be.

Since their inception in 2012, the team at Madd Loans have worked tirelessly in providing over 2,000 Queenslanders with finance options to help turn their dreams into reality. With the entire brand being built on referrals, owner George Samios takes great pride in making the loan process both fun, educational and stress free – and he has a swag of awards to prove it.

If thinking about your financial future strikes a chord with you, then it might be time to speak to a professional. Whether you’re chasing mortgage solutions or a financial fairy godmother, the team at Madd work together as a collective to turn your goals into reality.

Although it might only feel like yesterday to owner George Samios, this month sees Madd Loans celebrating a massive ten years in business as one of the nation’s leading and most innovative mortgage brokers. While the Madd brand has certainly come a long way since it’s early days as a one man band in East Brisbane, the aim of the game has remained the same: to help ordinary Queenslanders bring their financial dreams to life. 

In fact, George has a swag of awards to prove it, along with features on “Ready, Set, Reno!” and numerous television broadcasts. By providing a memorable and fun experience for consumers navigating the realms of finance, George has stuck to this simple formula in order to maintain and elevate his brand to the best that it can be. 

First established in 2012, Madd Loans have managed to kick some serious business goals – all via exceptional customer service and strong industry relationships. In a nutshell, the Madd mission has always been to turn a client into a raving fan. According to George, his diverse crew are the very foundations that have built Madd into an industry powerhouse, and he takes great pride in Madd’s staff retention ratings, education opportunities and career progression. In his own words, the Madd brand came to life after he realised that there was only so much he could do to service clients whilst working in a bank. 

“At 23, I was bright eyed, bushy tailed and working in one of the big banks. Even then, I just loved the fact that I could wake up every day and help people, and within two years I’d already become one of the bank’s top lenders. My friends noticed this passion, but my success suddenly didn’t taste so sweet after one of them told me that in order to be the very best at my job, I needed to become a mortgage broker. 

At the time, I had no idea what a mortgage broker was. The way it was explained to me was that at the bank, I had the power to write one loan – but as a broker, I could choose from hundreds. It dawned on me that I’d been telling my customers that I’d found them the best deal in Australia, but this was a lie. I also realised that pursuing a career as a mortgage broker offered me a way to help all of those people that had previously been declined for a loan with one particular bank, and that there were several other lending providers who could potentially offer an alternative.”

Although saddled with his own half a million dollar mortgage, George left his position with the bank and embarked on the journey to become a mortgage broker. George met with a wide variety of industry aggregators, and soon signed up for a partnership with Connective – a business relationship that is still going strong today. When brainstorming a name for George’s new enterprise, it was his mother who originally coined MADD loans, or “make a difference daily”. 

His newly rented office didn’t exactly have the makings of a state of the art financial institution, so George actively avoided bringing his first customers there and took them out for coffee around Brisbane instead. However, George soon got to work to change this, and painted his workspace green. While this particular hue had long symbolised money and happiness, it also formed the foundations of the Madd Loans branding. 

It’s important to note that a wide variety of George’s earliest partnerships are still rock solid today. Madd has the same IT and marketing consultants that they’ve had since the company’s inception, and the very first clients are still loyal to George and the team all these years later. While all of these unique characters have become integral threads in the Madd Loans tapestry, they’ve also embraced change as George has continued to develop the business model to include full scale financial planning as a means to truly assist Australians to reach their own version of financial freedom. 

By learning, living, watching and experiencing, George knows people. He’s dealt with the extremes in personalities, and consciously practices what he preaches through leading by example. As a result, Madd Loans is now a multi national award winning mortgage broking firm, and George has assembled a team of some of the best in the business. With Madd Loans set to have half a billion dollars in settlements to their name in 2022 alone, it’s safe to say that both George and the entire team at Madd Loans have big things on the horizon, and a bright future ahead through changing the finance game. 

Established in 2012, the Madd mission has been to create raving fans from both our clients and our staff through exceptional customer service and strong industry relationships. Madd Loans owner George Samios describes the business as being built on referrals, and consumers will have a hard time finding a more innovative or dedicated mortgage broking centre in South East Queensland.

In fact, George has a swag of awards to prove it, along with features on “Ready, Set, Reno!” and numerous television broadcasts. By providing a memorable and fun experience for consumers navigating the realms of finance, George has stuck to this simple formula in order to maintain and elevate his brand to the best that it can be.

It would seem that this code of ethics has proved to be a winning formula, as both Madd Loans and George himself have managed to take out yet another batch of awards when it comes to recognising the best brokers in the industry. In September, Madd Loans were awarded the title of “Brokerage Of The Year < 5 Brokers” in Queensland, while George himself has taken out the gong for “Broker Of The Year” at the 2021 Connective Excellence Awards.

Proudly sponsored by some of the biggest lending institutes operating in Australia, Connective Asset Finance are an award-winning business platform in their own right, and hold the awards annually as a means to recognise and celebrate the very best contributors in Australia’s mortgage broking industry. According to George himself, his secret formula is combining innovation with a world class customer experience.

“Our point of difference in the mortgage brokering industry is that Madd Loans actively encourages both our new and existing clients to get behind our brand, and to be as proud of it as we are. We pride ourselves on our independent way of doing business, our second to none customer service, and our engagement within our local community. However, this hasn’t stopped us from pioneering new ways of making the world of mortgages fun, as we’ve consistently embraced technology and innovation to improve how our clients relate to their finances. We ask, we listen and we adapt accordingly, and the results include the expansion of our services into end to end financial advice through the development of Madd Life.

With an ongoing customer satisfaction rating of 98%, Madd Loans continue to obtain the vast majority of new clientele through referrals. Each member of the public that enters the state of the art office is greeted with all staff members standing up to address them, continual refreshments, access to boardrooms and even receive a ‘show bag’ containing branded accessories upon their departure. For this reason, a part of the “Madd” experience is actually the office itself – every single one of the Madd clients are treated like celebrities. However, George is also the first to agree that the strength of the brand is all down to the passion of his team.

“I made a conscious decision a few months ago to start making the next generation passionate about the finance industry. One such example of this is with our other in-house mortgage broker Costa – I seem to have successfully molded someone who is actually better at my job than I am. In every single meeting with a client, he’s fully present, treats his customers like his own family, and ensures that his communication is clear and transparent at all times while still getting real results. He is a sponge for absorbing information, and is on the fast track to one day winning awards like Broker Of The Year himself. Other than helping Queenslanders to kick their property goals, watching our young guns flourish is easily one of the most rewarding parts of my job.”

As a result, there is an enormous amount of respect in the wider community for George not only as an employer, but as a mentor, a father figure, and a friend. It’s not uncommon for the Madd Loans team to spend large chunks of time together outside of the office, such as hikes as a team bonding experience, or birthdays on a Sunday afternoon at the local lawn bowls club.

George steers his Madd ship with complete transparency, and has shifted his focus to cultivating a new generation of mortgage brokers, loan administrators and credit analysts of people from all walks of life. In the eyes of both George and his team, combining this sense of family with razor sharp industry knowledge, tenacity, passion and a world class customer experience is what makes them a multi award winning team.

If you’re one of the many first home buyers feeling disheartened by the current outlook for real estate, here’s how to navigate buying in a hot market.

It’s clear to see that these unprecedented times have contributed significantly to an unparalleled real estate market. Industry experts have indicated that record low interest rates, a change in spending habits and swarms of Australians relocating as a means to escape lockdowns have all heavily contributed to the current boom, with demand far exceeding supply in many corners of our great nation.

While this seems like good news if you are considering selling property, with the way the market is at the moment, it is posing difficulty for those who are trying to tackle buying in this hot market. When it comes to the property outlook around Australia, time on the market seems to be low, settlement turnaround times faster, and auction clearing rates high. On top of this, properties are skyrocketing in price, with Brisbane alone seeing an 18.5% increase in September 2021 when compared to the same time last year. 

Many first home buyers have already done the hard yards when it comes to meticulously saving enough cash for their deposit, curbing their living expenses, and getting all their ducks in a row to be ready to purchase a home, only to be outpriced or not quick enough to make serious offers. However, it’s not all doom and gloom, and there are still many tactics to deploy if you’re buying in a hot market.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGtVr3xLFSo

Five Tips For Buying In A Hot Market

What we refer to as a ‘hot’ market is when there are too many buyers competing over a limited amount of properties for sale, or properties that are selling at prices far higher than they once would have just a short time ago. Key indicators of a hot marketplace can also include the median average price of homes rising in a particular suburb, less real estate advertising, and even properties that go live on the likes of RealEstate.com.au with ‘under offer’ banners already listed.

While buying in a hot market can bend the traditional rules of how real estate works, there are still a few secret weapons that first home buyers can deploy as a means to get into their first home faster while sticking to their budget.

Get A Pre-Approval – The golden rule of buying in a hot market is to have your financials as organised as you possibly can. When there’s 20+ people competing over the same property, many real estate agents are actually ignoring offers from those who don’t have proof that they are armed with a pre-approval from a lending institute.

Prepare To Compromise – Many first home buyers make the mistake of approaching their first property purchase with rose tinted glasses, and get disheartened if they can’t find their ‘forever’ home. Instead, approach the task as an investment and be realistic on things like suburbs, the aesthetics of a property, and think pragmatically like a property baron would.

Be Aggressive – Dithering and ‘umming and aahing’ in a hot market will not do you any favours. Instead, make offers confidently and quickly to show that you’re a serious bidder to avoid missing out. It’s also worth getting to know the real estate agent as well as you can to ensure you are a memorable candidate – even a gifted bottle of scotch doesn’t go astray.

Simplify The Process – When buying in a hot market, always remember that most sellers are looking for the highest price with the fastest turnaround time, and can view certain contract contingencies such as inspections and finance clauses as potential reasons for the deal to fall through. As such, try to minimise your clauses to the essentials whenever possible.

Stick To Your Budget – It’s the role of a real estate agent to favour their seller, not the buyer. Beware of pushy sales tactics that are ultimately there to drive the property’s price up, and don’t fall victim to panic buying. While there’s plenty of things to compromise on, one thing buyers should not budge on is their budget. This will save them from over committing in the long term. 

Now more than ever, it’s important to do your research when it comes to navigating how real estate works in Australia. With some of the more prominent lending institutes such as Macquarie Bank and the Commonwealth Bank approving home loans in under two business days, it’s worth partnering with a reputable mortgage broker to help you make the most of the current interest rates, terms and ultimately finding a pre-approval that’s best suited to you and your lifestyle.

Securing A Pre-Approval With The Professionals

Getting preapproved for a home loan has long been regarded as stressful, frustrating and time consuming – but the good news is that it doesn’t have to be.

Since their inception in 2012, the team at Madd Loans have worked tirelessly in providing over 2,000 Queenslanders with finance options to help turn their dreams into reality. With the entire brand being built on referrals, owner George Samios takes great pride in making the loan process both fun, educational and stress free – and he has a swag of awards to prove it.

If thinking about your financial future strikes a chord with you, then it might be time to speak to a professional. Whether you’re chasing mortgage solutions or a financial fairy godmother, the team at Madd work together as a collective to turn your goals into reality.

You’ve scrimped, you’ve saved, you’ve done the paperwork, and now comes the nervous wait – so exactly how long does it take to get a home loan approved?

Whether you’re a first home buyer or a seasoned savvy investor, dealing with finance to purchase property can be frustrating, intimidating and can leave you with an overwhelming sense of anxiety. After all, while saving for the deposit alone can be quite the arduous task in itself, the wait to find out whether a lending provider has approved your application or not can make you question whether it was all worth it. 

However, it’s never been more important to go property shopping with a pre-approval. If a lender pre-approves you for a loan, they will do so for a specific amount. In turn, this allows you to focus on house hunting for the properties you can afford. While this might provide a humbling reality check, it can also help to speed up the final home loan process when you eventually find your winner. It also means that if you’re bidding at an auction, you’ll have a maximum bid in mind. 

To apply for a pre-approval, you need to submit a completed mortgage application form along with the supporting documents that the bank asks for, such as photo identification, payslips, evidence of your deposit and savings history, and proof of any existing debt.

Ultimately, the time taken from submission to receiving a final answer from the bank can vary depending on the complexity of your situation. By applying through a mortgage broker instead, prospective buyers can save themselves value time and experience, with little to no hassle and have access to a wider pool of loan products. A good mortgage broker will also assess your entire financial situation and steer you in the right direction as a means to maximise your shot at getting pre-approved the first time.

While this all seems hassle free, exactly how long does it take to get a home loan approved? Let’s find out.

A Timeline Of The Home Loan Approval Process

As a general outline, it takes between four to six weeks to get approved for a home loan. This is based on the moment you submit your application, right through to reaching the settlement date on your property. Key influencing factors that can affect this timeline include the type of home loan you’ve applied for, your credit history, your job, the documents you’ve supplied, and even which state you live in.

If you’ve applied for a pre-approval for a home loan, most lending providers will get back to you with an answer within three to seven business days. Applicants who either work full time or part time, and who can easily provide proof of income, can usually expect a response within just three days depending on the lender. This lower hassle process also applies to those looking to borrow less than 80% of a property’s value. Most banks look favourably on a lower borrowing amount, as it can in turn make them a lower risk candidate.

In simple terms, the more complex your situation or the higher the risk associated with your mortgage application, the longer the lenders will take to process your application. Key factors that can blow out the turnaround time of a bank’s credit department assessing your application can include the following:

●       Requesting a loan that is more than 80% of a property’s value

●       Borrowing more than $2 million for a home loan

●       Applying for a home loan using a guarantor

●       Purchasing an ‘out of the box’ property such as one located in a rural area

●       Unusual employment situations such as a new job, contract work or self employed

●       Borrowing via a trust, company or a self managed superannuation fund

●       You identify as a non-resident who is either overseas, or on a temporary visa 

 While the above situations don’t necessarily increase your risk of getting declined, unique circumstances are when the help of a mortgage broker can prove to be invaluable. As they have strong relationships with the key decision-makers and understand how to present your application, using the right broker can mean that they mitigate the risks on your behalf. 

Many people are in a rush to buy a property that they have found, and have no choice but to go for a lender with a short turnaround, end up paying higher interest rates, or get locked into a loan product that may not be the best fit for them in the long term. It’s for this reason that it’s always a good idea to get a pre-approval before you start making offers in order to avoid any nasty surprises, and to minimise any potential delays.

Once you’ve found a property that you would like to buy, have made an offer that’s been accepted, and already have a pre-approval, the lending provider will set up a property valuation to ensure that it meets their lending requirements. 

This process depends on the nature of the property, your application, and if you’re borrowing less than 80% of it’s value. If the latter is the case, some lenders will simply go off your presented Contract Of Sale, while others will simply conduct a ‘kerbside valuation’ to ensure that there is indeed a property located at the address you’ve provided. If a full valuation is required, it could take as long as five to seven business days, depending on how quickly the vendor or real estate agent allows access into the property as well as how many properties are being valued at the same time. 

Once a valuation has been undertaken and you’ve been formally approved, you can sign the Contract Of Sale with help from your conveyancer. It’s at this stage you should negotiate the settlement date, which is usually set for four weeks after signing the Contract Of Sale, but can be sped up if negotiated properly. 

Thus, for those potential property owners who find themselves wondering how long does it take to get a home loan approved, it’s easy to understand how the process can quickly add up to anywhere between four and six weeks. In order to speed this up, the key is preparation, insider knowledge, and working with a reputable mortgage broker – but where do you find one?

Navigating The World Of Home Loans With The Professionals 

Getting preapproved for a home loan has long been regarded as stressful, frustrating and time consuming – but the good news is that it doesn’t have to be.

Since their inception in 2012, the team at Madd Loans have worked tirelessly in providing over 2000 Queenslanders with finance options to help turn their dreams into reality. With the entire brand being built on referrals, owner George Samios takes great pride in making the loan process both fun, educational and stress free – and he has a swag of awards to prove it.

If thinking about your financial future strikes a chord with you, then it might be time to speak to a professional. Whether you’re chasing mortgage solutions or a financial fairy godmother, the team at Madd work together as a collective to turn your goals into reality.