Home loans in Como
Self-Employed and Low Doc Home Loans Como
Self-employed and low doc home loans in Como, arranged by Your Mortgage Broker Como, a mortgage broker working under a licensee's Australian Credit Licence. We match tradespeople, contractors and other business owners with lenders who read income properly.
Two Good Years of Trading and Still Declined?
Plenty of Como's self-employed earners, in a suburb where median household income sits near $3,150 a week, hear that their tax returns show too little income. The problem is documentation, not earning capacity, and it has solutions.
Self-Employed and Low Doc Home Loans We Arrange
Every lender defines low doc differently, and the differences decide who will lend to you and on what terms. These are the six variants we arrange for self-employed borrowers around Como and the wider Sutherland Shire, each with its own documentation demands:
Full Doc, Two Returns
Full doc suits self-employed borrowers whose accountants have not aggressively minimised taxable income, using two years' personal and business tax returns, both years' notices of assessment, and interim financials, which unlocks standard pricing and the highest lending ratios generally available.
Alt Doc on BAS
The BAS route verifies income through business activity statements, usually four consecutive quarters lodged with the Australian Taxation Office, with lenders deriving an annualised turnover figure from your GST reporting and checking lodgement history directly rather than trusting a spreadsheet.
Alt Doc on Statements
Bank statement lending substitutes six to twelve months of business account statements for tax returns, with the lender reviewing deposits, turnover and expenses to establish declared income, a pathway some non-banks run quickly and others price very conservatively for risk.
Accountant's Declaration
An accountant's declaration is a signed letter from a CPA or CA confirming your declared income, business viability and trading history, accepted by several lenders as primary verification, though the letter's wording must match each bank's template or it bounces.
One-Year Returns
One-year return lending suits newly self-employed borrowers with a single completed tax return and notice of assessment, offered by a smaller group of lenders who accept shorter trading history, usually with tighter servicing and sometimes a higher rate loading attached.
Contractor and ABN
Contractor and ABN lending treats subcontractors, gig workers and single-operator businesses on their own terms, since lenders read PAYG contracts, invoices and ABN registration dates differently, and the right lender depends quite heavily on how your income is actually structured.
What Actually Substitutes for Payslips
What actually substitutes for a payslip? That question is the whole low doc conversation, and almost nobody publishes the answer. There are three separate verification pathways, each with its own document list, and each suited to a different kind of business:
The BAS Pathway
Lenders using the BAS pathway request your ABN, four to six lodged statements, ATO portal confirmation showing nothing outstanding, and identification, then annualise the turnover and apply an assumed profit margin rather than examining your actual expenses line by line.
The Statement Pathway
Statement-based assessment needs six or twelve months of complete business bank statements, a signed income declaration, your own ABN details and sometimes an accountant's letter, with the lender reconciling deposits against your declared figure and querying anything unexplained or irregular.
The Declaration Pathway
The declaration pathway requires a letter on the accountant's letterhead confirming income, how long you have traded, the business structure and its viability, plus your notice of assessment, and some lenders will call the accountant to verify the letter directly.
How Income Gets Shaded
Whatever the pathway, the lender then shades the declared income, applying a buffer and ignoring negative gearing benefits, which means the number you can service is always meaningfully smaller than the turnover figure your accountant or your statements actually show.
What Lighter Documentation Actually Costs
Low doc lending is not free. It costs in pricing, in insurance and in how much you can borrow, and knowing those costs before you apply is the difference between a deliberate choice and an expensive surprise. Here is what to weigh:
Rate Loading Versus Full Doc
Rate loading is the honest cost of lighter documentation, with alt doc loans typically priced above equivalent full doc products, a gap that narrows as your deposit grows and disappears for some borrowers once two clean years of returns exist.
LMI at Higher LVRs
Lenders mortgage insurance applies above certain lending ratios, and low doc files hit that threshold sooner because lenders cap the ratio for lighter documentation, so the premium can arrive earlier than a full doc borrower with the same deposit expects.
Maximum LVR by Lender
Maximum lending ratios differ sharply by lender type: major banks generally sit most conservatively on low doc, non-bank lenders go further, and specialist lenders stretch beyond both, though every step outward in borrowing power costs you in pricing or flexibility.
When Waiting Pays
Waiting for full doc is nearly always worth it when your next return is months away and the income it will show strengthens your position, because the pricing gap compounds over decades and refinancing later is cheaper than overpaying immediately.
How it works
Our Self-Employed and Low Doc Home Loans Process
A real timeline beats a vague promise, so here is the self-employed loan process as it actually runs, with the weeks named and the documents listed, from the first conversation to the day the keys change hands:
- 1
The Strategy Call
The strategy call runs twenty to thirty minutes, covering your trading history, how your income is documented, your deposit position and timing, and it ends with a written summary of which pathways and lenders actually fit your own personal situation.
- 2
Gathering the Documents
Document gathering takes one to two weeks, depending on which pathway we chose: statements from the ATO portal, business bank statements, the accountant's letter or your returns, and we check every single document against the chosen lender's requirements before submission.
- 3
Conditional Approval
Conditional approval usually lands within three to five business days of a complete file, because we structure the application to the lender's low doc policy from the start rather than discovering its quirks after the assessor has already opened it.
- 4
Valuation and Unconditional
Valuation and final checks take another one to two weeks, with the lender ordering its desktop valuation, confirming your identification and running credit checks, and unconditional approval follows once everything clears, which we chase the lender daily until it does.
- 5
Settlement
Settlement runs two to six weeks after unconditional approval, coordinated between your solicitor, the vendor's agent and the lender, and we stay across every date so nothing slips, because a delayed settlement on a purchase can cost you penalty interest.
Where Low Doc Loans Fall Over
Most low doc declines are predictable, and naming the causes upfront is more useful than pretending otherwise. These four situations account for the majority of the self-employed files that stall around Como, and each one has a workaround or a warning:
Income Minimised for Tax
Income minimised for tax is the classic trap, because every single deduction your accountant legitimately claimed shrinks the taxable income a lender will accept, and aggressive structures that saved thousands in tax can quietly cost you the very loan itself.
Under Two Years
Trading history under two years stops major lenders outright, since their policy requires an ABN registered for the minimum period and returns covering it, and borrowers who went out alone fourteen months ago get bounced before anyone reads the numbers.
ATO Debt
ATO debt is a hard stop at many lenders until it is paid or on a payment plan, and even a small outstanding balance flagged on your credit file can turn a clean low doc application into an automatic decline.
Inconsistent Year-on-Year Figures
Inconsistent year-on-year figures raise questions no lender likes, because a strong year followed by a weak one suggests genuine volatility, and assessors typically average the two or shade the weaker figure harder, which can cut your borrowing capacity back dramatically.
Why Choose Your Mortgage Broker Como
Trust should be earned with specifics you can check, not slogans. These are the four things Your Mortgage Broker Como puts in writing on every file, each one verifiable, none of them borrowed from a brand with a longer history:
A Named, Accountable Broker
A named broker, Your Mortgage Broker Como, is accountable for every file from the first call to settlement, which means one person knows your circumstances, chases your lender and signs off on the advice, rather than a call centre rotating your case.
Panel Lending
Panel lending means we submit your file to whichever lender's policy genuinely fits, from major banks to non-banks, and a decline at the first simply moves your file to the next sensible option rather than ending the whole conversation entirely.
No Cost to You
Most borrowers pay us absolutely nothing, because lenders pay commission on settled loans, and our commission structure is published in writing before you commit, with any fee on complex files disclosed in writing upfront so nothing ever surprises you later.
Process Before Product
Process before product is how we work, meaning we map out your documentation, your structure and your timeline before anyone mentions a specific lender, because the right pathway always depends on your own circumstances and never the other way around.
Areas We Service
Beyond Como, we work with self-employed borrowers across the southern Shire, including Oatley across the old rail bridge, Oyster Bay, Kareela, Jannali and Bonnet Bay, plus the Illawong side of the river. Trading from home makes the commute irrelevant.
Questions answered
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get a home loan without two years of tax returns?
Yes, several lenders accept alternatives such as BAS statements, business bank statements or an accountant's declaration, though the options narrow and pricing rises with shorter trading history, so we map which pathway fits before applying.
How much deposit do I need for a low doc loan?
Most low doc lenders want at least a twenty per cent deposit to avoid lenders mortgage insurance, and some cap lending below that for alternative documentation, so your deposit size partly determines which lenders are open to you.
What does a low doc loan cost compared to full doc?
Typically a rate loading above equivalent full doc pricing, plus lenders mortgage insurance if your deposit is under twenty per cent, and possibly an accountant's letter fee; we itemise every cost in writing before you commit to any application.
I minimise my income for tax. Does that hurt my borrowing capacity?
Yes, because lenders assess taxable income after deductions, so legitimate tax planning can shrink what you can borrow; alternative documentation pathways can work around this, but the structure needs careful lender matching first.
Does ATO debt stop a low doc application?
At many lenders, yes, until the debt is cleared or on an arranged payment plan, and it can appear on your credit file; clearing it or documenting the plan before applying usually reopens more options.
Do you charge fees for self-employed borrowers?
Usually nothing, because lenders pay us commission on settlement, and our commission structure is published in writing; any fee on genuinely complex files is disclosed upfront before you commit to anything.
Mortgage broker for Como and the suburbs around it
Call Today and Get Your Como Low Doc Pathway Mapped in Writing
Call [TRACKING_PHONE] today for a free, no-obligation strategy call with Your Mortgage Broker Como: your documentation pathway mapped, your borrowing capacity estimated against real lender policies, and every cost named before you sign. You can also read about investment property loans, refinancing or about us, or return to the home page.