Catalyst

A CATALYST TOWARDS AN EASY FUTURE

Th ere has never been a better time to seek mortgage advice. Th e pinch has been fi erce, and many of us are walking a fi nancial tight-rope. We caught up with Jonathan Valentino from award winning mortgage broker, Catalyst, to fi nd out how their services can help.

Who is Catalyst? We’re a team of locally based, highlyqualifi ed mortgage brokers dedicated to providing holistic fi nancial services to real estate-focused clients. Our offi ces are in the Sydney CBD and Dee Why.

As leading experts in our fi eld, we settle many transactions each year, giving us a deep knowledge of the lending landscape. Our intimate relationships with our lender partners allow us to achieve superior results for clients.

What services do you provide? It can be a tricky process to borrow money, but we can help. We will navigate you through the process of purchasing a home, investment property, or commercial property.

We can also help with refi nancing and accessing equity within your property for renovations or future investment opportunities. We offer fi nance assistance to businesses as well as clients looking to buy within their SelfManaged Super Fund (SMSF).

What are the main benefi ts behind seeking professional advice before buying property? We are able to access the same systems and calculators that banks use to determine your borrowing capacity. We use this fi gure, as well as the savings or funds you can access, to work out your maximum purchase price by factoring in all of the associated costs that come with purchasing property (i.e. stamp duty, legal fees etc.).

We advise working with a good conveyancer or lawyer to review the Contract of Sale, strata reports and building and pest inspection reports. They’ll be able to spot any potential issues in those reports that could be a big factor when purchasing a property.

Thirdly, you’ll want to get opinions from local real estate agents on what they think the property is worth and what’s happening in the area or suburb where you’re considering buying. They can also advise on similar properties recently sold in the area so that you know your price is fair compared to those sold recently.

What are the key differences between borrowing from a bank or a non-bank? The only real difference between banks and non-banks is that banks have a branch network, although most banks are progressively reducing the number of branches available.

All banks and lenders have different niche policies that suit specifi c fi nancial positions, goals and objectives. Our role is to analyse our client’s fi nancial position, discuss their goals and objectives, then review against the various bank and lender’s policies to see which is the best fi t for our client.

We have a great relationship with all our banks and lenders which allows us to negotiate the best outcomes for the client.

How do you calculate how much an investor can and should borrow? “How much can I borrow.” That’s the million dollar question! The fi rst thing we do is work out how much the bank will lend based on our client’s fi nancial position and work out what their maximum purchase price is.

We then put together a property purchase budget, which will outline the holding costs and lending costs versus the income being generated from the property. This will give our client an accurate picture of what their ‘out of pocket’ expenses may be.

Affordability is a key consideration in this process as the client needs to be comfortable that they can meet the monthly repayments. In assessing the client’s borrowing capacity lenders will apply a buffer of around 3% over and above the actual interest rate to ensure that the loan repayments can be met if rates should rise during the term of the loan.

Expert advice certainly pays. If you are thinking of moving, investing or refi nancing, head to the Catalyst website to book a consultation now. •

872 PITTWATER ROAD, DEE WHY 2099 INFO@CATALYST.COM.AU // 1300 411 455 // catalyst.com.au