Banks are cutting off self-employed homebuyers, and non-bank lenders are looking to help
Home loan provider RESIMAC has announced a number of enhancements to its lending policies, including sweeping interest rate reductions and several policy changes for self-employed home lending. These changes will make it easier for self-employed workers to access lending options, which banks are typically reluctant to provide.
This comes in response to tighter lending conditions for the self-employed segment of the market, which RESIMAC says is ‘being pushed out of mainstream lending options as banks adopt a ‘risk-off’ approach.’
Enhancements announced include a three-month special interest rate offer from Prime and Specialist Alt Doc lending, which follows a series of interest rate cuts announced the previous week. RESIMAC has seen significant growth in its specialist lending offering over the month of April, and says that more and more advisers are developing a niche expertise in the area.
“The majority of our reductions are for the specialist borrowers,” says RESIMAC Home Loans general manager Adrienne Church. “It’s a growing sector, and a lot of new entrants that have come into the market. We take the view that if we can pass on value to our customers, and the advisers that support them, we will.”
RESIMAC has reduced interest rates on Specialist lending by up to 33 basis points, and has reduced Prime interest rates for lending over 80% LVR by up to 91 basis points.
In addition, the company is offering a further 25 basis point interest rate reduction on new application for Prime and Specialist Alt Doc lending for self-employed borrowers.
“We’re very pleased- for the first time since operating in New Zealand- to offer lending on our Prime Alt Doc product for business purposes when secured over residential property,” Church continues. “We look forward to helping self-employed borrowers with both their home and work life lending needs.”
“These are just two of the enhancements we’re making for self-employed borrowers this year,” she says. “We’re focused on what we can do for this segment, and as always, we welcome any points of view from advisers.”
