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Mortgage broker in Inverell: the questions locals actually ask me
Bayley Clarke · Mortgage broker on the road · Last checked 25 August 2026 · 4 min read
The short answer
If you're in Inverell and your bank's number is the only one you've got, you've seen one answer out of a whole panel. Talk me through where your mind's at and I'll tell you straight if I can do better or not.
I lived in Inverell, Glen Innes before that, and around 30 local households have done their loans with me since. Most after I'd left, nearly all through someone they know. Phone and video call, wherever the van is. The lender pays me for the work, not you.
The bank in town said no and wouldn't say why. Is that it for us?
No. One no is one lender's policy not fitting. You might like the person at the front counter, but they're only ever going to show you their bank's rules. I don't care which bank we go to, I'm impartial.
Does the bank count my overtime, and what if I'm casual?
The bank's going to go, okay, your contract says 38 hours, that's what we count. Another lender counts the overtime off the same payslips. Some count all of it, some a slice, some want a few payslips first. Casual at the hospital or in disability support, same story. No rule says you can't. It's time in the job and who we go to.
We clear the card every month and we've got HECS. Do they still count?
Yes, both. More on the card, less on HECS. For every thousand dollars of limit, times it by five. That's roughly what comes off your borrowing capacity, so a $20k limit you never touch is still in the way. Dropping it normally helps. One phone call to your bank. HECS comes off the top of your income, but it knocks less than most people think.
Can Mum and Dad go guarantor with the farm, and what do they actually risk?
Normally yes, if there's equity in it. They put up a slice of their place as extra security, so you can normally skip mortgage insurance. Their risk is that slice, secured against their place, not your whole loan. Once your loan gets to eighty percent of what the property's worth, we normally take them off. A five-year game plan.
Same bank since you bought. Are we being taken for a ride?
Maybe. Your bank has no reason to move you. Bring a statement to the call, it takes maybe five, ten minutes to see how you're sitting. If I can beat it, we move. And you know what? If it's not right in the future, I'll move you again.
Why won't the bank lend on a kit home or shed home on our block?
Because if it all goes wrong the bank has to sell it, and a half built kit on a rural block is hard to sell. Most want a licensed builder on a fixed price contract. Owner builder narrows the list a lot. Land you don't own yet isn't a deposit.
Acreage with a big shed. Does the bank see a house or a farm?
A house on a few acres normally gets treated as a house. Push the size up, or run income off the block, and some lenders start calling it rural. That normally means a bigger deposit.
We live in the house that comes with the job. Can we buy an investment property first?
Yes, normally. The bank's going to go, okay, no rent, but we'll pencil one in anyway. That's notional rent. The ute and fuel normally don't get added to your income either. So on the investment side, capacity sits a bit under what your pay suggests. Have a plan for where you'll live when the job ends.
The honest bit: sometimes it's not yet, or not me
- If I can't beat what you're on, I'll send you on your merry way. Sometimes the branch in town is the right answer.
- Some builds. Kit homes and transportables narrow the list fast, and some builds nothing on the panel will touch. You'll hear that in the first ten minutes, not after three weeks of paperwork.
- Overtime that isn't on enough payslips yet. Not yet is different from no. Give me the date it ticks over and I'll call you that week.
- I'm not in town most of the year. Maybe three or four client meetings in person, ever. If you need a desk on Otho Street, I'm not that.
One from an Inverell client
"We seen bayleys van getting around town, decided to give him a call and have a chat on buying another property. Within days we were approved, within a few weeks, our new property settled."
More reviews, word for word.
Want to know how you're sitting?
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Inverell home loan questions
Do you still take on clients in Inverell?+
Yes. Around 30 Inverell households have done their loans with me, most after I'd moved on. Inverell, Ashford, Bundarra, Tingha or anywhere in the New England, it runs by phone, video and email.
What does a mortgage broker cost in Inverell?+
For standard home lending it costs you nothing, because the lender pays me for the work, not you. If your situation ever fell outside that, I'd tell you upfront.
Can we meet face to face?+
If I'm back through Inverell, yes, we'll grab a coffee. Otherwise it's a phone or video call, which is how most of my Inverell loans have been done.
The bank in town said no. Is that it for us?+
No. One no is one lender's policy not fitting. Probation, overtime, casual hours and acreage all get read differently lender to lender, so the next step is finding whose rules fit you.
Does a credit card limit count if we clear it every month?+
Yes. Lenders look at the limit, not the balance. Roughly five times the limit comes off your borrowing capacity, so dropping it before you apply normally helps.
Do banks treat acreage and kit homes near Inverell differently?+
Often. A house on a few acres is normally treated as a house. Bigger blocks, income off the land, kit homes and owner builds narrow the lender list and can mean a bigger deposit. Checked August 2026.