Private Mortgage Lenders in Australia

A private mortgage lender provides a property-secured loan using private or investment funding, with the legal lender and mortgage terms identified in the facility documents. For an Australian broker, the useful comparison starts with the provider’s identity, the client’s purpose and the security ranking. It ends with enough net funds, a cost the client understands and an evidenced repayment exit.

What a Private Mortgage Lender is

Private mortgages can use the lender’s own money or funds supplied by individual investors, an investment fund or institutional funding partners. The borrower owes the legal credit provider named in the contract. An arranger can find the funding, while a separate servicer manages repayments and account enquiries.

A non-bank lender is a broader category. Its funding and products can differ substantially from a short-term private mortgage, so the non-bank label alone does not describe the facility. Use the Australian mortgage lender categories to distinguish those routes before comparing offers.

Clients consider private mortgages for a time-limited funding need, an unusual property or circumstances that do not fit a bank’s standard assessment. Private bridging finance can cover a purchase before a sale completes. A self-employed applicant still needs evidence that fits the proposed facility, including the repayment source and any income used to support repayments.

“Hard money lenders” is another label used for short-term property-secured lending. The words do not establish Australian licensing status, a lending limit or approval without income evidence. Classify the legal lender, property, purpose and contract terms exactly as you would for any private mortgage.

Record whether the proposal replaces existing mortgages and takes first-ranking security, leaves another mortgage in place or has an unspecified ranking. Also record the actual use of the money. A home used as security does not by itself make a business loan a home loan.

Verify and Shortlist a Private Mortgage Lender

Verify each party’s legal identity and authority before comparing its proposal with another provider’s offer. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) maintains official register searches. A company registration identifies an entity, while a credit licence or representative entry addresses a different question.

ASIC’s credit licensing guidance explains when credit activities require licensing and the available exemptions. Its Regulatory Guide 203 explains the National Credit Code’s coverage, including consumer purposes and residential investment lending. Identify the borrower and actual purpose before deciding which authorisation applies.

1. Match the trading name to the legal credit provider in the proposed contract. Record the company identifier and the lender’s official website.
2. Identify the arranger and servicer separately. Record who issues the offer, receives repayments and can approve a variation.
3. Search the applicable official registers under those legal names. Match claimed licence or representative numbers and record the status and search date.
4. Reconcile the register entries with the facility documents. Obtain an explanation for any different lender name or claimed exemption before progressing.
5. Compare written proposals using the same borrower, purpose, property and settlement date. Separate conditions still to be met from terms already confirmed.

Use one comparison sheet so an attractive headline rate cannot hide a smaller cash advance or a different repayment structure.

Comparison field	Record for each proposal
Parties and access	Legal lender, arranger, servicer, broker route and relevant authorisation
Purpose and security	Actual use of funds, property details, proposed ranking and existing mortgage treatment
Valuation	Accepted value, valuation date, property assumptions and who orders it
Funding	Gross facility, deductions, existing payout and cash available to the client
Cost	Interest calculation, all fees, minimum interest and early repayment terms
Timing	Offer expiry, conditions, settlement requirements and maturity date
Exit	Repayment source, evidence, expected date and fallback

The best private mortgage lender for the file is the provider whose available proposal meets the funding need and repayment evidence. A familiar name or a higher maximum loan does not answer those questions.

Broker Access and Private Lender Verification

Establish the broker’s access route and who controls the application before describing a private lender as available to the client. A route can be direct accreditation, an aggregator panel, a mortgage manager or another authorised intermediary. Access through one route does not establish access through all of them.

For a current example, Funding’s broker page, as at October 2026, provides accreditation and broker-login links. It also lists broker@funding.com.au for scenario submissions and directs brokers to its business development team or aggregator for accreditation support. These are published contact routes, not confirmation that a particular broker or client has been accepted.

Funding’s homepage, as at October 2026, identifies Funding Pty Ltd as a consumer/personal lending entity and lists Australian Credit Licence 483665. Match the legal lender in the actual offer to the relevant official entry. The name of the website, fund or intermediary alone cannot establish which entity will lend on the file.

Give the contact person enough information to respond to the actual request. Supply the applicant’s legal identity, purpose, property address and type, existing debt, requested amount, timing and proposed repayment source. For private land loans, distinguish a vacant lot from a completed home and describe its current condition and intended use.

For equity release, explain what the released cash will fund. For a self-employed applicant, identify which income records are available and whether repayments rely on ongoing income or a dated exit. Funding’s broker page, as at October 2026, lists residential, commercial and vacant-land security and describes rates and fees as tailored to the client’s loan needs.

Retain the current product guide and written scenario response with the contact route and date. Record the intermediary’s mandate, who owns the application and who can answer policy questions. An indicative response must remain distinct from formal approval, committed funding and cleared settlement conditions.

Private Mortgage Refinance Checks

A private mortgage refinance works only when the new loan clears the required existing debt and leaves enough money for the stated purpose. Reconcile the existing lender’s dated payout with the new gross facility and every settlement deduction. Confirm how the existing mortgage will be discharged and the proposed first mortgage registered.

Consider this hypothetical first-mortgage refinance, with all amounts assumed in Australian dollars. The property valuation is $800,000, the existing payout is $400,000 and the new facility is $500,000. The client needs $60,000 cash after settlement.

Assume a six-month term with simple interest at 12% a year on the full $500,000, retained at settlement. Assume a $10,000 establishment fee, $3,000 legal costs and a $1,000 valuation fee, also deducted. These invented terms illustrate the calculation and are not a lender quotation.

Settlement item	Assumed amount
Gross new facility	$500,000
Existing mortgage payout	-$400,000
Six months of retained interest	-$30,000
Establishment fee	-$10,000
Legal and valuation costs	-$4,000
Cash remaining for the client	$56,000

The facility leaves a $4,000 shortfall against the client’s $60,000 requirement. The gross facility is 62.5% of the assumed property value, but that ratio alone does not solve the cash shortfall. The example assumes the full $500,000 principal remains repayable at maturity because the interest is retained from the advance.

For an actual refinance, use the payout valid for the settlement date and the lender’s accepted valuation. Identify whether interest is retained, paid monthly or added to the debt, then reconcile the maturity balance separately. Do not count retained interest both as a settlement deduction and as additional maturity debt unless the contract actually requires both.

When refinancing a private mortgage into a longer-term loan, identify what makes the exit lender’s assessment achievable by the repayment date. That could require income evidence, completion of a property condition or resolution of an existing credit issue. A hoped-for change without evidence is not a refinance exit.

If the proposed private loan leaves the first mortgage in place, move to the second-mortgage assessment before proceeding. Keep the existing payout and common provider checks with the file.

Price, Term and Exit

Calculate the cost over the expected repayment period and test what happens when the exit takes longer. The quoted term is a contractual deadline. A provider’s longest available term does not establish that the borrower can repay safely within it.

For interest, record the balance used, annual or monthly rate, calculation period and compounding method. Apply any minimum-interest period even when the client plans to repay sooner. Compare all proposals on the same gross facility and actual cash received.

Include establishment, legal, valuation and management costs. Read the default-rate clause, arrears charges, enforcement-cost provisions, discharge fee and early-exit terms separately. Record whether each fee is deducted, financed or paid outside settlement, with any tax treatment shown in the documents.

In the hypothetical refinance, normal six-month interest is $30,000 and assumed fees total $14,000. The base borrowing cost is $44,000, excluding any costs not listed. If the contract permits three more months at the same simple rate, those months add $15,000 interest.

That extension is an assumption, not a contractual right. Default interest, extension fees or further legal costs could change the result. Obtain the actual extension and default terms before relying on a delayed exit.

Stress the exit using evidence relevant to the proposed repayment source.

• For a sale exit, move the settlement date back and reduce the available proceeds. Account for sale costs and any other amounts that must be paid before the mortgage can be cleared.
• For a refinance exit, test a lower accepted valuation and a smaller approved loan. Include the time needed for documents, valuation, assessment and settlement.
• For a cash-flow exit, delay the receipt and reduce its amount. Identify the records supporting both the expected receipt and any reserves covering repayments until it arrives.

Moneysmart’s refinancing guidance explains why switching costs and loan terms belong in the comparison. In a private mortgage file, keep the current payout, projected maturity balance and exit proceeds together. If the stressed exit leaves a shortfall, identify an evidenced source to cover it or change the proposed structure before recommending the facility.

Hand Off Second Mortgages and Business Private Credit

Route a proposal to the specialist assessment once its security ranking or business purpose is clear. Carry the verified lender identities, access route, property details, cost documents and exit evidence into that handoff. This avoids repeating the common checks while preserving the facts needed to assess the different structure.

When another mortgage remains ahead of the proposed loan, use the second mortgage guide for equity, consent and priority assessment. Use the second-mortgage lender comparison after the second-ranking scenario is established. A general private-mortgage shortlist does not resolve those additional requirements.

For explicit business-purpose property lending or a commercial facility, use the private credit assessment. Retain the actual use of funds and borrowing entity with the common evidence. A residential property address alone does not decide that classification.

For a general or first-ranking private mortgage, the completed file must reconcile the provider, funding available, settlement conditions and repayment source. Progress the proposal when its documents explain who lends, how the client receives the required funds and how the debt is repaid by maturity.