When the bank says
not this week.

When does private lending make sense?

When the gap is short and the exit is certain. Settling a purchase before a bank approval lands, bridging between selling and buying, clearing an ATO debt before a refinance, finishing a project the bank will not fund, or buying at auction with a settlement the bank cannot meet. It does not make sense as a long-term loan or as a way around a serviceability problem that will still exist at exit.

The question we ask first is how the loan gets repaid and when. If the answer is a sale, we want an appraisal; if a bank refinance, we pre-check that the bank will actually approve it; if a receivable, we want the contract. A private loan with no exit becomes a very expensive problem twelve months later.

What does private lending actually cost?

Three things: the rate, the establishment fee and the legals. A first-mortgage private loan might run 10 to 12 per cent a year plus a 2 per cent fee plus $2,500 in legal costs. On a six-month loan that fee works out at about 4 per cent a year on top of the rate, so the true cost is nearer 15 per cent. We put the all-in annualised cost in writing before you commit.

Watch the quoting convention. Caveat and second-mortgage lenders often quote monthly: 1.5 per cent a month is 18 per cent a year. Default interest runs 4 to 6 points above the contract rate, which is why the exit date matters more than the headline rate.

How does a bridging loan work and what are the options?

A bridging loan carries two properties for a short period. Banks offer it at their standard variable rate for up to twelve months, with interest usually capitalised and the loan assessed on the end debt after your sale. Specialist lenders offer bridging without full income documents when the sale will clear the debt, from about 8.64 per cent in October 2026. Private bridging sits above that again, at 9 to 14 per cent, with no serviceability test and a loan-to-value cap near 70 per cent.

Which one fits depends on whether you can service the end debt and how fast you need to move. We model all three and start with the cheapest you qualify for.

Is private lending regulated?

Often, yes. Under the National Credit Code a loan is presumed to be regulated consumer credit unless the lender can establish it is wholly or predominantly for business purposes, and loans to buy, renovate or refinance a residential investment property count as regulated. A signed business-purpose declaration does not protect anyone if the real purpose was personal, a point the Federal Court confirmed in 2025. We hold the licensing to arrange both regulated and business-purpose loans and will tell you which yours is.

For a regulated loan you receive our credit guide, a responsible-lending assessment and the consumer protections that come with it. For a genuine business-purpose loan the process is faster and the documents differ. We do not paper a consumer loan as business credit, and we steer clear of lenders who do.

How fast can a private loan settle?

Indicative terms within a day, formal approval in two to three days once a valuation is in hand, and settlement in roughly five to ten business days from first contact. Caveat loans can be faster because registration is simpler. A clear title, a recent valuation and a documented exit are what make the fast cases fast.