Applying for a home loan: our 7 step process.

When applying for a home loan, perhaps the most important thing you can do is pick a Lending Adviser who really gets to know you and your goals, and isn’t tied to a specific bank or institution.

If you’ve already made the important decision to work with a Kearney Group Lending Adviser, we’ll be by your side – from start to settlement, and beyond.

Applying for a home loan with us moves through a seven step process moves. But never fear – we’ll be there to navigate each one with you.

Step 1 – Getting to know you.

The first step in applying for a home loan: we need (and want) to get to know you. We’ll get you to do a bit of a Fact Find, which will help us identify your lending goals AND your broader financial objectives. This way we can define the criteria we’ll use when looking for  the lender and loan that’s right for you.

Armed with this info, we’ll go away and scan the market on your behalf – looking for the right loan for you. With more than 20 different banks and lenders to choose from, we’ve got lots to consider and weigh up.

Step 2 – Presenting our advice.

Once we’ve established your goals and objectives and scoured the market, we’ll figure out the best way to organise your loans. Getting a good finance strategy in place can save you tens of thousands each year – so this is a crucial step.

When all this is set, we’ll prepare a formal Credit Proposal for you. This is our official lending advice and will outline the lenders we think you should consider and why you should consider them. We’ll discuss this with you in detail and once you’re happy with our proposal, we’ll get your sign off and get cracking with the paperwork.

Step 3 – Completing the paperwork with you.

The third stage of applying for a home loan involves a lot of dotting ‘i’s and crossing ‘t’s… Once we’ve got your approval to proceed, we’ll gather up your supporting documents and fill in all your paperwork with you.

Once we’ve prepared your Formal Application, we’ll lodge it on your behalf with your selected lender. 

Step 4 – Liaising with the lender through to approval.

Once the chosen lender has reviewed your application and supporting documents, they will let us know if you’ve been approved. 

They will issue either a conditional approval or unconditional approval.

Step 5 – Signing off on contracts.

Once our chosen lender has provided their unconditional approval, it’s time to sign off loan contracts. 

We’ll check these over with you to ensure they say what they should. Once you’ve signed your contracts, we’ll return them to the lender and track their progress through to your settlement date.

Step 6 – Supporting you through settlement.

Congrats! You’ve reached the final stage of applying for a home loan and it’s nearly time to settle! 

If your loan is for a new property, your solicitor will be liaising with us and your lender in the background, ensuring that the legal leg work is complete and you’ll be ready to take ownership. 

If you’re refinancing an existing property, then the solicitors acting for your old bank will liaise with those acting for your new bank to ensure they pass the correct documents between themselves.

If we’re honest, however, there’s almost always something that comes up at the 11th hour – documents are issued incorrectly, solicitors haven’t listed the correct purchase amounts, someone forgets to sign something or send a key document to someone else. With our team at your side, we’ll work to avoid these common pitfalls and help you navigate any final hurdles that do arise before settlement.

Then all that’s left to do is sit back, relax and get ready to pop the bubbly.

Step 7 – Checking in.

Once settlement has taken place, we’ll check in with you to make sure everything is going smoothly and that your loan accounts have been set up as intended. 

We’ll also be in touch further down the track to make sure you’re still happy with your finances, that they’re working as expected and your interest rates remain competitive.

For many lenders and brokers, there is no “step 7” in their processes when you’re applying for a home loan. But here at Kearney Group, our goal is to make sure you’re loans are regularly reviewed and still working as intended.