If you’ve approached a few lenders or brokers about taking out a home loan, but have been declined or have been laughed out of the room, you shouldn’t despair. The staff at Smartline Rockingham are trained experts in making sure we find the right deals for you to be able to move into the home of your dreams.

Being able to borrow as much as possible from your bank isn’t necessarily the best idea. However, if you are looking to increase your borrowing power so you can afford a particular property, there are a few things you can do to increase the amount you are able to borrow. Some of them are relatively easy to sort out and should be done the moment you decide you want to borrow.

First things first, you should understand what can affect your ability to borrow. This is especially important if you are a business owner or self-employed as having your finances in order and tax returns up to date is the first thing a potential lender will look at.

If you do happen to be self-employed and struggle to keep every little thing up to date and organised, it’s definitely worth looking at hiring a mortgage broker to help. Something else to consider is your living expenses and any potential debt you have incurred like credit cards. Some people choose to pay off their debts completely (including car loan and any credit cards) before they apply for a home loan so they don’t have any other debts that have to be deducted from their borrowing power. On the other hand, you can choose instead to consolidate your debts into one loan, which would also be taken into consideration when applying for a loan.

In saying that, a good place to start when you’re looking at increase your borrowing power is savings, savings, savings! Every dollar that you save up as a deposit is one you don’t have to put onto your mortgage – which gives you a better chance at qualifying for a loan.

It’s also important to realise that even though you might want to purchase a property right now, you might be better off waiting a year, paying off your debts and saving as much as you can to try and increase the amount you are able to borrow. If you are able to show you have been steadily saving for more than a year, it looks a lot more favourable than only saving for 6 months.

Increasing your income will also help improve your borrowing power. Asking for a raise or a promotion will help you be approved for a higher loan as it proves that you have the ability to make the repayments.

Something else to consider is looking at a variety of different lenders and seeing one that suits what you’re after. One might offer you a higher loan amount but at a much higher interest rate than one that offers less but also in turn less interest. Our Mortgage Specialists compare the market for you, so it’s really easy to ask us for the most competitive offers. If you’re unsure how to maximise your borrowing power, why not ask one of our expert who can help you every step of the way?