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When you exchange contracts on a property, the seller expects a deposit on the spot — typically 10% of the purchase price. For most people, that means scrambling to have a lump sum of cash sitting ready in an account doing nothing, waiting for settlement. A deposit bond is a way around that.
A lot of first home buyers assume the bank will just look at their salary, nod, and hand over the money. In reality, there’s a pretty systematic process that happens behind the scenes. The good news is that once you understand it, you can work with it rather than being surprised by it.
The immediate practical effects are real: you can’t refinance to a better rate because no lender will advance more than a property’s current value. You can’t access equity for anything. You’re stuck with your current lender, on your current terms, until values recover.
The 2026 Federal Budget just dropped some of the most significant property and tax changes we’ve seen in years. Whether you’re an investor, a first home buyer, or just trying to figure out what it all means for you — here’s the plain-English version.
Before you start attending open homes, it pays to understand the full arc of the purchase process. Each step builds on the last, and skipping ahead — especially without finance pre-approval or legal advice in place — creates unnecessary risk.
In this scenario, the remaining partner (Partner A) refinances the $550,000 loan into their name only and borrows an additional $175,000 to pay out Partner B’s equity share — resulting in a new solo loan of $725,000. The new loan is assessed entirely on Partner A’s income and financial position. Lenders assess this as a standard refinance.
10 Practical Tips to Pay Off Your Home Loan Faster Most Australian home loans are written over 25 or 30 years — but very few borrowers actually take that long
Refinancing means replacing your existing home loan with a new one — either with your current lender or a different one. The new loan pays out the old one, and you begin repayments under the new terms. It’s a fresh application process: the new lender will assess your income, expenses, credit history, and the current value of your property.
Just because you can reduce your repayment doesn’t mean you should. There are genuine reasons to take either approach, and the right answer depends on your financial situation.
Lenders use LVR as a primary risk indicator. A lower LVR means you have more equity in the property, which protects the lender if you default and the property needs to be sold. A higher LVR means less of a buffer — and higher risk for the lender, which flows through to you in the form of higher rates, stricter conditions, or outright decline.
Having equity doesn’t automatically mean you can access all of it. Lenders typically allow you to borrow against your property up to 80% of its value without requiring Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI). The portion above your existing loan balance — but within that 80% threshold — is called your usable equity.
This is where bridging loans get a little different from standard home loans. Most lenders capitalise the interest during the bridging period — meaning you don’t pay it month to month. Instead, it accumulates on top of your loan balance and is paid off when your old property sells.
However, having both usually means paying for the offset account feature, so make sure you’re actually using it enough to justify the cost. Ideally you would want to have an accumulated amount of $10,000 or more saved across your offset account/s.
