Case study: a commercial solution

From the source: a broker’s first experience with Connective Advance

Having now rounded out the release of our new-look Connective Home Loans product portfolio with the launch of Connective Advance, a commercial property finance solution funded by Thinktank, we will be sitting down with some of our brokers over the coming weeks to understand how the new products are performing at the frontline.

This week we talk to Connective broker, Sandeep Jagtap at FinSource, about his first experience in writing our new commercial property solution and how he was able to secure funding for a client who had been rejected by a major bank.

Sandeep, can you firstly tell us a little about your brokerage?

FinSource is a Sydney-based brokerage, and along with my fellow director, Roopesh Darvetkar, we service the local areas around Westmead.

We predominantly assist clients with their residential finance needs but have more recently diversified our offering to include commercial.

What was your first impression of the Connective Advance when it launched?

I’ve always been a big fan of Connective Home Loans and we’ve typically submitted at least two of their loans every month over the past couple of years.

I knew the new suite of products would be good from the outset. Not simply because of the appeal of the products and their features, but equally the service and sensible approach to credit assessment that sits behind them.

You are one of our first brokers to settle a Connective Advance loan, what were the particulars of your client’s needs?

Our client was looking to purchase an industrial strata unit to run their engineering business from. The property was secured as a ‘Vacant Possession’ so GST was applicable on the purchase price.

The purchase price was $850K plus GST, with the structure as follows;

• Borrowing 75% of the purchase price as a standard ‘Full Doc’ commercial loan of $637,500 and 25-year term
• 10% ‘Top Up’ loan of $85K that amortises over three years
• A GST loan of a further 10%, $85K – a six-month term that self-liquidates when the GST is paid back by the ATO.

So, effectively a 95% LVR lend of the purchase price.

Was it a straight forward transaction or were there challenges along the way?

The client was a long-standing personal banking customer of one of the ‘Big 4’ banks and finance was initially sought through them.

After more than a month of back-and-forth providing financial records and associated information to his bank the deal was eventually declined. Essentially, it didn’t neatly fall into their credit criteria, so it fell over. It was a disappointing outcome and frustrating process for the client.

The Connective Home Loans team on the other hand took a more holistic approach and invested the time and effort to fully understand the client’s business and funding requirements. We submitted a well-supported application and the end result was a commercially responsible decision to approve the loan.

So, did Connective Advance meet your expectations? Was the client satisfied?

The client was pleasantly surprised by the whole experience and, of course, the outcome. No surprises for me – I’ve dealt with the Connective Home Loans team in the past and they are a ‘known quantity’.

Expectations were well-defined on both sides and communication was clear. My client knew what financial information he needed to provide and by when.

The end result was a satisfied client and all three of the new Connective Home Loans products will sit high in the consideration mix for FinSource and our clients moving forward.

Want to find out more?

• Visit connectivehomeloans.com.au/advance
• To get accredited with Connective Advance, visit the Services tab in Mercury.
• For more information on Connective Advance, contact your Connective Home Loans BDM or talk to your Thinktank BDM.