Building a financial bridge for brokers and clients

With home builders abandoning jobs and properties taking longer to sell, brokers are creating happy customers with an innovative bridging finance solution that takes the pressure off their clients

Funding, the tech-enabled property finance company, has created an original offering for brokers and their clients. Bridging loans have traditionally involved a long and tedious process that involves full documentation and a terrible customer experience. High rates, exit fees, and strict terms have been industry standard. Some banks offer bridging solutions to their existing clients, but even they are starting to pull out of the market. 

Funding has an end-to-end digital process, a dedicated broker portal, and there’s no need for full documentation. We are able to accredit brokers within one hour, approve deals in two hours, and achieve settlement within three to five days. As a result, we are seeing record accreditation numbers in 2022. 

Financial solutions for brokers

Funding.com.au chief revenue officer Lee Slattery has seen a significant increase in demand for bridging solutions in the past 12 months, primarily driven by issues in the new build sector. 

“Builders are really struggling at the moment as a result of fixed-price contracts, rising cost of materials, and
a skills shortage driving up wages,” Mr Slattery says. 

“There has been plenty of coverage of building companies large and small going under, leaving homeowners in big trouble. We’ve been able to come to the rescue for several clients with incomplete construction jobs by working with their broker. 

“It has become a bit of a sweet spot for us.” 

Funding.com.au is by no means a vanilla mortgage product. It’s a solution that fills a specific need. We have no clawbacks on commissions and work closely with our broker partners to achieve great results for their clients. 

Enhancing broker services

There will come a time in your career when a client requires short-term funding. Mr Slattery says brokers should consider their options now to prepare for the day when bridging finance is required. 

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve spoken to a broker who didn’t think there was any solution for their client,” he says. 

“Some have had clients selling one property and buying another, but more recently, it has been brokers needing help with incomplete construction jobs. Our role is to make you look like a superstar by delivering a solution quickly and helping your clients where they didn’t think help was possible.” 

Client satisfaction in bridging finance 

Most short-term lenders’ loan terms range from days to a maximum of six months. Funding.com.au is backed by a highly regarded venture fund, Equity Venture Partners (EVP), a Sydney- based firm specialising in hyper-growth technology businesses. As a result, we have the flexibility to extend credit for up to three years on loan amounts, taking the pressure off brokers and their clients. 

“We are averaging over 10 months on our deals,” Mr Slattery says. “Another important thing to note is we can extend the loan to the client’s needs. Some short-term lenders can’t go past three or six months, which doesn’t suit the client’s needs or situation.” 

Having flexibility in the loan term is important to clients who are in the middle of a life situation. 

“Nobody wants to create a long-term problem with a short-term solution, so being able to extend loan terms up to three years is a key point of difference for us,” Mr Slattery says. 

More about us 

Funding.com.au was established in 2015. Our Founder and Chief Executive Officer Jack O’Reilly saw an opportunity to revolutionise bridging loans through innovative technology to make this type of lending quick, easy, and efficient. 

In the last 12 months we have received more than $6 billion in applications for more than 7,000 customers across Australia. 

Our innovative approach to bridging finance has led to our nomination for the 2022 Fintech Lender
of the Year category at the Australian Mortgage Awards (AMAs) and seen us achieve a 4.9-star Google rating. 

This award category highlights the best technology-based lender in the mortgage industry based on performance over the past year and considers how they put innovative technology to use for
their customers. 

Working with you, the Funding.com.au broker portal allows brokers to submit and track their quotes and applications, including full visibility of their loan portfolio and commission. It also includes a broker toolkit with product guides, credit manuals, fact sheets, customer guides, and forms. We continue to grow our product education and training modules for brokers to ensure you are better positioned to educate your clients about alternative solutions. 

We recently expanded our experienced business development management team and are growing our credit team in response to significant growth in broker accreditations. 

Our support team is on hand to quote deals instantly, provide credit advice and broker support, deal workshopping, and any product training required. 

Get in contact today on 1300 44 33 19 or visit Funding.com.au

Read the article here, originally published by The Adviser on 21st November 2022

Brokers