FAQs Our Clients Ask

Look for three things: a broker physically based on the southside, a current credit representative number you can verify, and genuine Google reviews from local borrowers. Evergreen Loan Solutions operates from Office No 5, Building 7, 107 Miles Platting Road, Eight Mile Plains, holds a 5.0-star Google rating, and is run by Gundeep Virk, who brings 15+ years in banking and finance. We compare more than 50 lenders rather than pushing one bank's product set. Ask any broker you shortlist how they are paid, how many lenders sit on their panel, and whether they review your loan after settlement. More about Gundeep Virk.

Yes. Evergreen Loan Solutions is based in Eight Mile Plains, at Office No 5, Building 7, 107 Miles Platting Road, a few minutes from Brisbane Technology Park and the South East Busway terminus. We meet clients in the office, over video, or after hours by phone on 0421 152 859. We also work across the wider southside including Sunnybank, Runcorn, Mount Gravatt and Wishart. Full list of the suburbs we service.

A broker assesses your position, works out which lenders will approve you and at what borrowing capacity, negotiates the rate, prepares and submits the application, then manages the file through to settlement. The key difference from a bank: a bank assesses you against one credit policy, a broker matches you to whichever of 50+ lenders has the policy that suits your income, deposit and credit profile. That matters most when something about your file is non-standard, such as self-employed income, a temporary visa, or an unusual property type.

Nothing, in most cases. Australian brokers are paid a commission by the lender after your loan settles, not by you, and the rate you receive is not marked up to cover it. Evergreen Loan Solutions charges no fee for standard residential home loans, refinances and pre-approvals. A small number of complex commercial or specialist scenarios can attract a fee, and if that ever applies we tell you in writing before any work begins. There is no cost for an initial conversation, no obligation, and no pressure to proceed.

Going direct means one credit policy, one serviceability calculator and one rate. If that lender says no, you start again. A broker runs your scenario across a full panel first, so you find out where you are strongest before an application hits your credit file. Borrowing capacity for the same applicant can vary by well over $100,000 between lenders because each assesses debts, living expenses and income types differently. Lenders also compete harder on price for broker-introduced business. The practical upside is choice plus one point of contact managing the lender for you.

Yes. The federal scheme now known as the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme lets eligible first home buyers purchase with 5% and pay no Lenders Mortgage Insurance. Since 1 October 2025 there are no income caps and no limit on places, and the Brisbane price cap is $1,000,000, which covers most of the southside. You apply through a participating lender, not directly to the government. Check the official property price caps before you sign a contract, then talk to us about which participating lender suits your file. See our first home buyer service.

It depends which pathway you use. A 20% deposit avoids Lenders Mortgage Insurance outright. Most lenders will lend at 90% with LMI, so 10% plus costs. Eligible first home buyers can go to 5% with no LMI under the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme, and 2% under Queensland's Boost to Buy shared equity scheme, though the current Boost to Buy round has no South East Queensland places left and allocations remain only for regional Queensland. A guarantor structure using a family member's equity can reduce the cash deposit to near zero. Budget separately for legal fees, building and pest, and transfer duty if it applies. Start with a pre-approval service.

Three main levers. The Queensland First Home Owner Grant remains at $30,000 for eligible new builds valued under $750,000, after the Queensland Government extended the boosted amount in the 2026-27 State Budget rather than letting it drop to $15,000. The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme removes LMI on purchases up to $1,000,000 in Brisbane. Queensland's transfer duty concessions can reduce stamp duty to zero. Grants are not automatic and each has separate rules. Confirm details on the Queensland Government first home owner grant page and the Queensland Revenue Office eligibility criteria, then let us map which ones you can stack.

Often not. Queensland's first home transfer duty concession reduces duty to zero on an established home valued up to $700,000, with a partial concession tapering out to $800,000 and a maximum saving of $24,525. For a brand-new home or vacant land you intend to build on, contracts dated from 1 May 2025 attract a full first home transfer duty exemption with no price cap. One critical change: for contracts entered into from 1 August 2026, the home and first home concessions are only available to Australian citizens, permanent residents and specified foreign retirees, so temporary visa holders no longer qualify. Established southside stock above $800,000 attracts standard duty, which matters in suburbs like Mansfield and Holland Park. We factor duty into your funds-to-complete before you make an offer.

Yes. Gundeep Virk speaks Punjabi and Hindi and works with Indian families across Brisbane's southside, including Sunnybank, Runcorn, MacGregor and Robertson. That matters for more than conversation: overseas income, gifted deposits from family, 482 and 485 visa applicants, permanent residency timing and business income from family-run operations all need to be presented to a lender in a way that gets assessed properly. See our Punjabi and Hindi speaking finance broker page or call 0421 152 859.

Your borrowing capacity is driven by income type and stability, existing debts, credit card and buy-now-pay-later limits, dependants, living expenses, and the assessment rate each lender applies on top of the actual rate. Two lenders can differ by six figures on identical numbers, which is why a single bank quote tells you very little. We run your scenario across our panel and give you a realistic range plus the specific lender that produces the top figure. No credit enquiry is needed for that modelling. Book a free chat to get your number.

A straightforward salaried application is typically 2 to 5 business days once documents are in, though timing varies by lender and workload. Self-employed and complex files usually take longer because the lender is reading financial statements rather than payslips. Pre-approval generally holds for 90 days and can be extended. Have ready: identification, two recent payslips, three months of bank statements, and statements for every existing debt. Get the paperwork right first time and the timeline shortens materially. See our pre-approval service.

Yes, and treat it as non-negotiable. Auction contracts in Queensland are unconditional, so there is no finance clause protecting you if the loan falls over after the hammer. You need a formal pre-approval with a known maximum and a clear understanding of what the lender's valuation will support for that property type. Southside auction activity is common in suburbs such as Holland Park, Mount Gravatt and Annerley. We also flag which properties a lender may value conservatively before you bid.

Yes. The southside has a heavy concentration of business owners, contractors and trades, particularly around Brisbane Technology Park and the industrial corridors at Archerfield and Rocklea. Standard assessment wants two years of personal and business tax returns plus financials. If you have been trading under two years, or your returns understate current earnings, alt doc lending accepts BAS, business bank statements or an accountant's declaration instead. Add-backs for depreciation, one-off expenses and superannuation above the minimum often lift your assessable income substantially. See our self-employed home loan service.

Usually yes, with a narrower lender pool and tighter loan-to-value limits than a citizen or permanent resident would face. Outcomes depend on visa subclass, remaining term, whether income is paid in Australian dollars, and whether a permanent residency application is underway. Some lenders decline temporary visas reflexively while others assess them on merit. Purchases by non-residents may also require Foreign Investment Review Board approval, which affects both timing and eligible property types. Note too that for contracts entered into from 1 August 2026, Queensland's transfer duty home and first home concessions are limited to Australian citizens, permanent residents and specified foreign retirees, so budget for full duty. We work with visa holders regularly across the southside, and Gundeep speaks Punjabi and Hindi. See our Punjabi and Hindi speaking finance broker page.

Often yes. Lenders weigh the type of credit event, its size, how long ago it occurred, whether it has been paid, and the explanation behind it. A paid telco default from three years ago is treated very differently to a recent mortgage arrears record. Non-bank and specialist lenders on our panel assess these case by case at rates above prime but well below what most people assume, and many borrowers refinance to a mainstream lender after 12 to 24 months of clean repayment history. Get your credit file first, then let us map the realistic options.

There is no universal answer, and any broker who gives you one without seeing your file is guessing. Fixed rates buy repayment certainty and suit tight budgets, but they usually restrict offset benefits, cap extra repayments, and carry break costs if you sell or refinance early. Variable keeps offset and redraw flexibility and lets you exit without penalty. A split loan gives you both. The right structure depends on how long you intend to hold the property, whether you have surplus cash to park in offset, and your tolerance for repayment movement.

The usual trigger is a rate gap of roughly 0.5% or more against comparable current offers. On a $700,000 loan that gap is around $3,500 a year. Other valid reasons: consolidating higher-rate debt, releasing equity for renovation or an investment purchase, moving from interest-only to principal and interest, or restructuring after a relationship change. Weigh the switching costs, which are typically a discharge fee, a new registration fee, and possibly a valuation. We check whether your current lender will match before recommending a move. See our refinance service.

Most lenders want you at 80% loan-to-value or lower to refinance without paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance again. Southside values in suburbs like Annerley, Moorooka and Holland Park have moved enough over recent years that plenty of owners who started with a 10% deposit are already below 80% without realising it. Refinancing above 80% is possible but a fresh LMI premium usually cancels out the rate saving. We order an upfront valuation before recommending anything, so the numbers are real rather than estimated.

Yes, and it is the most common way southside owners fund a second purchase without touching cash savings. The structure matters: we set up a separate loan split secured against your existing home for the deposit and costs, then a standalone loan for the investment property. Keeping them separate preserves clean interest deductibility and lets you sell or refinance one property later without unwinding the other. Usable equity is generally 80% of current value less what you owe. See our property investor lending service and talk to your accountant on the tax treatment.

Rather than chase a single suburb, match the tenant profile to your strategy. Areas near the busway and Brisbane Technology Park such as Rochedale and Mansfield draw professional tenants. Sunnybank, Robertson and Nathan pull demand from families and students linked to Griffith University's Nathan campus. Inner suburbs like Annerley and Moorooka lean toward units and shorter tenancies. Lender policy also varies by postcode and apartment size, which we check before you commit. See our property investor lending.

Yes, through bridging finance. The lender funds the new purchase while your existing property is marketed, typically over a 6 to 12 month term, and you service interest on the peak debt across both properties. Once the sale settles, the proceeds retire the bridge and you are left with the end debt on the new home. The critical test is whether you can carry peak debt if the sale takes longer than expected, and whether your existing property is realistically priced. We model peak debt and the end position before recommending a bridge.

Yes. Construction lending draws down in stages as the build progresses, and you pay interest only on the amount drawn, which keeps holding costs down during the build. Lenders assess the fixed-price building contract, council-approved plans, your builder's licensing and insurances, and the on-completion valuation. Knock-down rebuilds are common on the older post-war blocks through Coopers Plains, Moorooka and Rocklea. A new build may also unlock the Queensland First Home Owner Grant and the transfer duty exemption for new homes. Not every lender handles construction well, so lender selection matters.

Yes, using a limited recourse borrowing arrangement, but it is a specialist area. Only a short list of lenders offer SMSF loans, deposits typically need to be 20% to 30%, rates sit above standard residential, and the fund must demonstrate it can service the loan from contributions and rent. The property must be held in a bare trust and cannot be lived in by you or a related party. You also need your accountant and financial adviser involved, since the strategy has to fit the fund's investment strategy. See our SMSF lending service.

Lenders Mortgage Insurance is a one-off premium charged when you borrow above 80% of the property value. It protects the lender, not you, and on a southside purchase it can run into tens of thousands of dollars. Four ways to avoid it: save a 20% deposit; use the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme if you are an eligible first home buyer; use a family guarantor over part of your loan; or use one of the professional waivers some lenders extend to selected occupations. LMI is also sometimes worth paying if waiting to save 20% costs you more in price growth.

Talking to a broker does not touch your credit file. Modelling your borrowing capacity, comparing lenders and reviewing your options are all done without an enquiry. A credit enquiry is only recorded when a formal application is submitted to a lender, which happens with your explicit consent. This is a practical argument for using a broker: multiple direct applications to different banks each leave a mark, and a cluster of enquiries in a short window makes subsequent lenders cautious. We submit once, to the lender most likely to approve you.

Employed applicants: photo identification, two recent payslips, a recent tax return or PAYG summary, three months of transaction and savings statements, and current statements for every loan, credit card and buy-now-pay-later account. Self-employed applicants: two years of personal and business tax returns and financial statements, an ATO integrated client account statement, and recent BAS. First home buyers also need evidence of genuine savings and any gift or guarantor documentation. Purchase applications need the signed contract of sale. We send a checklist tailored to your lender so nothing gets requested twice.

We are based in Eight Mile Plains and work across Brisbane's southside, including Sunnybank, Mount Gravatt, Upper Mount Gravatt, Wishart, Mansfield, Rochedale, Runcorn, Kuraby, Macgregor, Coopers Plains, Annerley, Moorooka and Holland Park. The full list is on our suburbs we service page. We also settle loans for clients buying elsewhere in Queensland and interstate, since lender panels are national.

Yes. R&A Virk Pty Ltd A.C.N. 673 761 781 ATF Virk Family Trust, trading as Evergreen Loan Solutions, is Credit Representative 555083 and is authorised under Australian Credit Licence 389328. Credit representative and licence numbers can be checked on the public ASIC registers, and you should verify them for any broker you deal with. Australian credit licensees are also bound by a best interests duty, meaning the recommendation must serve your interests rather than the broker's commission. Gundeep Virk has 15+ years of banking and finance experience behind the licence.

Call or text 0421 152 859, email gundeep@evergreenloansolutions.com.au, or book a free chat through the website. The first conversation is free, takes about 30 minutes, and carries no obligation, even if you are 12 months from buying. From there we confirm your borrowing capacity, identify the lenders that suit your file, and send a document checklist. Once documents are back we lodge, manage the lender through assessment and valuation, and coordinate with your conveyancer to settlement. After settlement we review your loan periodically so your rate does not quietly drift out of the market.