Mortgage Broker Inner West Sydney
The Inner West is not one property market. A new apartment near Homebush, a 1960s walk-up in Ashfield and a family home in Strathfield are three different lending problems, assessed under three different sets of rules. Charles Touma works out which lender's rules already fit what you're buying.
Helping buyers, owners and investors across the Inner West
Links Property Finance is a Sydney mortgage broker. We work with clients across the Inner West and Australia-wide, mostly by phone and video, and in person where that helps. There are no branch offices in these suburbs and we are not going to invent any.
What the region has in common is age and density: a lot of the housing is old, a lot of it is attached or strata-titled, and prices in most of it sit above the level where the first home buyer schemes do all the work on their own. What differs, suburb by suburb, is which lender policy bites.
The property is assessed as well as you are
Most people plan around their income, deposit and credit file. That is half the assessment. The other half is the property, and it is where Inner West purchases most often come unstuck: a unit under a lender's minimum size, an old block with a defect history, a company title building, an unapproved extension, or an off-the-plan valuation that lands below the contract price.
Every one of these is checkable before you commit. That is the whole argument for having the finance conversation before you fall in love with a listing.
Six areas, six different lending problems
Each page below goes into the specific issues that come up where you're buying.
Burwood
Apartments around the station and town centre. Minimum unit size, postcode density limits and strata reports.
OpenStrathfield
Larger family homes and a lot of auctions. Serviceability at bigger loan sizes, guarantor equity, valuation risk.
OpenAshfield
Older walk-up blocks and Federation houses. Company title, ageing strata and unapproved additions.
OpenHomebush
Newer and off-the-plan apartments. Valuation at completion, finance expiry and sunset clauses.
OpenConcord
Houses and people who already own. Bridging finance, construction loans and equity release.
OpenCroydon
Semis, duplexes and townhouses. Torrens versus strata title, two-lot schemes and heritage controls.
OpenWhat applies everywhere in the Inner West
Eligible first home buyers pay no transfer duty up to $800,000, with a concession between $800,000 and $1 million. Above that, full duty is a cash cost on top of your deposit. Calculate it.
The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme has a Sydney property price cap of $1.5 million, no income caps and unlimited places, which covers a large share of Inner West stock.
Lenders test you at a rate above the one you will pay, commonly around three per cent higher. That buffer, not the advertised rate, sets your borrowing power.
Credit card limits are usually assessed as if fully drawn. Closing an unused card is one of the few fast ways to lift capacity.
No cooling-off period, no finance clause. Pre-approval belongs before the auction, not after.
Pay above it and you fund the difference in cash. It applies to auctions, private treaty and off-the-plan alike.
Wherever you're buying, start here
Your buying position
Five questions, a realistic range and your actual next step.
OpenBorrowing power
What a lender might let you borrow, from your income.
OpenCan I afford this property?
A listing price in, the full cash requirement out.
OpenDeposit strategy
Five, ten or twenty per cent, and what each one changes.
OpenGuarantor calculator
How much family equity a guarantee would need to cover.
OpenAll calculators
Repayments, offset, LVR, equity, extra repayments and more.
OpenGet your free First Home Buyer Report
Answer a few questions and get a written report: your deposit position, what buying in the Inner West would actually cost you, the government pathways that may fit, and a clear next step. Free, no credit check.
Specific situations we deal with often
Guarantor home loans
Family equity instead of a cash deposit, and how the guarantee is released.
OpenLow deposit home loans
The four routes in with less than 20 per cent, and what each costs.
OpenGifted deposits
Using money from family, and the evidence lenders ask for.
OpenSelf-employed lending
Sole traders, contractors and company directors assessed properly.
OpenRefinancing
Rate review, equity release and whether switching beats staying.
OpenInvestment loans
Rental income assessment, structure and serviceability.
OpenWhy people work with Links
Common questions
Do I need a broker based in the Inner West?
No. Home loans are written the same way across Australia, and the process runs on phone, video and secure document upload. What matters is whether your broker knows the lender policies that affect the specific property, particularly around apartments, older buildings and title types. Links Property Finance is based in Sydney and works across the Inner West, without an office in any of these suburbs.
Which suburbs do you cover?
The pages here cover Burwood, Strathfield, Ashfield, Homebush, Concord and Croydon in detail because those are the areas that come up most often. That is not a limit. Clients buy right across the Inner West and elsewhere in Sydney, and Links Property Finance works with clients Australia-wide by phone and video.
What makes Inner West lending different from the rest of Sydney?
Mostly the age and type of the housing. A high share of attached and strata-titled property means the property side of a lender's assessment matters more than it does in a newer, detached-housing suburb. Minimum apartment sizes, strata reports, company title, unapproved additions and heritage controls all come up far more often here than they do further out.
How much deposit do I need to buy in the Inner West?
There are four common routes: five per cent under the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme if you are eligible, a deposit under 20 per cent with lenders mortgage insurance, a family guarantee that uses a parent's equity instead of cash, or a full 20 per cent. Each has a different cost and a different set of lender rules. The low deposit home loans page compares them side by side.
Can I get pre-approval before I know which suburb I'll buy in?
Yes. Pre-approval assesses you rather than a specific property, so it is not tied to a suburb. The property is assessed separately once you have found it. That is exactly why a pre-approval is not a guarantee: you can be fully approved as a borrower and still have a particular apartment declined as security. More on how pre-approval works.
Is it cheaper to go direct to a bank?
Not usually. There is no broker fee on most home loans; the lender pays a commission on settlement and that is disclosed to you in writing before you apply. Going direct means one lender's policy and one lender's pricing. Comparing across a panel is how you find a lender whose rules already suit your situation and the property, which on Inner West stock is often the difference between an approval and a decline.
Start with your buying position.
Five questions, no credit check, nothing saved. You will see a realistic range, where your deposit sits and what the next step actually is.