Five stages of progress payments, fixed-price contracts, builder credentials, lender inspections, the First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) drawdown — construction loans are a different animal from a regular mortgage. We do them constantly and we know each lender's quirks, so your builder gets paid on time and your build stays on track.
A construction loan looks like a regular home loan from the outside, but the mechanics are completely different. The bank doesn't hand over a lump sum — it releases funds to your builder in five stages as the build progresses, and each release requires an invoice, your authorisation, and a lender's inspection that takes 5–10 business days. Miss a document and the payment stalls. Builders get cranky when payments are late. The whole thing can grind to a halt over paperwork.
We've done a lot of these. We know which lenders move quickly on inspections, which ones are sharp on house-and-land package finance, which ones still lend on smaller or regional builders, and how to time the FHOG drawdown so it lands when you actually need it. We coordinate with your builder on every progress claim and chase the lender's inspector when it counts. You stay focused on the colour scheme. We'll handle the bank.
Five progress payments, no delays, builder paid on the day each time. We'd heard horror stories from mates — Pilbara Finance just made it move.
Five stages, five inspections, five rounds of paperwork — and a builder waiting to be paid each time. We coordinate with your builder on the progress claim, walk you through the authorisation, follow up the lender's inspector when they're slow, and chase payment release. If a stage gets queried (variations, cost overruns, scope creep), we handle the lender conversation directly. Your build doesn't stall on documentation.
After the recent run of builder collapses, lenders have tightened up on builder credentials. Registration under the WA Building Services Registration Act, current public liability and home warranty insurance, financial track record — the bank checks more, and they check faster. We pre-vet your builder against the lender's policy before you sign the contract, so you're not stuck with a contract the bank won't fund.
The WA First Home Owner Grant pays $10,000 at the first drawdown if you're building — not at land settlement, not at the end. Stamp duty exemption applies to the land if it's under $300K, with concessions up to $400K. Keystart's 2% deposit construction option works alongside both. We sequence the timing so the grants and concessions land in the right place — and so you're not short of cash at slab stage.
Construction can stretch 12 months from first drawdown. The same broker who structures the loan stays with you for every progress payment, every inspector chase-up, and the conversion to your ongoing mortgage at practical completion. No handoffs, no re-explaining your file.
We sort the loan structure, you choose the build, we manage every drawdown through to handover.
We get your borrowing capacity confirmed and pre-vet your builder against the lender's policy before you sign the building contract. No nasty surprises after the fact.
We coordinate land settlement (if it's a separate purchase), arrange the FHOG application, and prepare the lender's "as-if-complete" valuation. Builder kicks off.
Five stage payments, each managed by us with your builder and the lender's inspector. Loan converts to your ongoing mortgage when the build is done.
Tell us the land price, build cost and a few quick details. We'll model your interest-only payments through each drawdown stage, plus your P&I after handover.
Land cost (or current home value if knock-down) and build cost (fixed-price builder contract).
Total project cost = land + build = $650,000. Most lenders need a fixed-price contract before they'll commit to the build component.
Cash, equity or sale proceeds you're putting in — plus what kind of build it is.
How long until handover, and what term the loan rolls onto for P&I.
Five progress draws — slab (15%), frame (20%), lockup (25%), fixing (20%), completion (20%) — spread evenly across the build period. You pay interest-only on the drawn balance throughout.
Indicative — actual rate depends on lender, build type, and your profile. Owner-builder pricing sits higher.
Same rate during build & after. Some lenders offer a slight construction premium during the build phase; we model a flat indicative rate for simplicity.
Estimate at the chosen rate. Real pricing depends on lender, build type and your profile.
Drawdown profile — slab, lockup and completion. The loan balance grows as each milestone is signed off, and your interest-only payment grows with it. The full P&I repayment only kicks in after handover.
Have a quick chat with a Pilbara Finance broker. We'll match your build to a lender comfortable with the contract, structure the drawdown schedule, and have your construction approval in place before you sign with the builder.
Estimates only. This calculator does not assess credit and is not a credit offer. Build interest is modelled across five even-spaced progress draws (15/20/25/20/20%), with deposit applied to land first then to build. The post-completion P&I figure assumes the same rate continues — actual lenders may price construction phases differently. Pilbara Equities Pty Ltd, CRN 478535, of Mortgage Specialists Pty Ltd, ACL 387025.
Australian construction loans use a standard five-stage drawdown structure. Stage 1 — Slab/foundations (~10–20% of the build cost): site prep, foundations, concrete slab. Stage 2 — Frame (~15–20%): structural framing, roof trusses, windows, doors. Stage 3 — Lock-up (~20–25%): external walls, roof, lockable structure. Stage 4 — Fixing/fit-out (~20–30%): internal walls, plastering, plumbing, electrical, kitchen and bathroom installation. Stage 5 — Practical completion (~10%): final fittings, landscaping basics, certificates, handover.
At each stage, your builder issues an invoice and a progress claim certificate, you sign off authorising the payment, and the lender's inspector verifies the stage is genuinely complete before funds are released directly to the builder. You don't handle the cash.
Construction loans are interest-only during the build period — typically 12 months from first drawdown, sometimes longer for larger builds. Crucially, you only pay interest on the amount drawn down so far, not the full loan. At slab stage you might be paying interest on $80K. By practical completion you're paying interest on the full loan.
Repayments grow gradually as the build progresses, which makes the cash flow workable while you're still potentially paying rent on your existing place. Once the build is finished, the loan converts to a standard principal-and-interest mortgage.
After several major builder collapses recently, lenders have tightened due diligence significantly. Standard requirements: registered builder under the WA Building Services Registration Act 2011 with a current licence; fixed-price building contract (HIA or MBA standard template); public liability and home warranty insurance certificates of currency; council-approved plans and specifications; and increasingly, lender-side checks on the builder's financial stability.
Some lenders maintain approved-builder lists. Some won't lend on smaller or owner-builder projects. We pre-vet your builder against the lender's specific criteria before the contract is signed — too late once you've committed.
Two things will likely happen during a 12-month build: variations (you change your mind on something — different tiles, an extra power point, a wider driveway), and cost movements (materials prices shift, scope creeps). Variations need lender approval if they materially change the contract.
Cost overruns are not the lender's problem — if your build runs over the contract price, you cover the shortfall from your own funds. We model a buffer into the loan structure where possible (typically 5–10% of the build cost) so a few unexpected variations don't blow up the project. The other risk to plan for: builder financial trouble. We monitor lender bulletins and we'll flag concerns if we see them, but you should also keep your contract paperwork tight.
Connor's an electrician with one of the big mining services contractors, Mia teaches at a primary school in Joondalup. Combined income around $165K, savings of $45K. They'd walked through a display village in Alkimos and locked onto a house-and-land package totalling $635K — $215K land, $420K build. The builder steered them to its preferred lender, who quoted them on a 20% deposit basis. They didn't have $127K. Their backup plan was LMI on a 10% deposit, which would have cost around $11K and left them stretched thin at slab stage.
We placed them with a First Home Guarantee-participating lender that allowed a 5% deposit with no LMI on construction. We sequenced the FHOG application so the $10,000 grant landed at first drawdown — exactly when their cash buffer mattered most. We confirmed stamp duty exemption on the $215K land (under the $300K threshold). We pre-vetted the builder against the lender's policy before contracts were signed. Across the build we managed all five progress payments — slab, frame, lock-up, fixing, and practical completion. Each stage went through inspection within 7 business days; the builder was paid on the same day every time. They moved in 11 months after first drawdown, with the loan converted automatically to a P&I mortgage on a competitive variable rate.
Composite scenario built from multiple real Pilbara Finance owner-occupier home builder transactions. Names, locations and identifying details are illustrative; the timeline, structure and pricing reflect the kind of outcomes our 60+ residential lender panel produces in 2026.
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A no-obligation chat with a broker who handles construction loans constantly. We'll structure the loan, vet your builder, sequence the FHOG drawdown, and manage every stage payment through to practical completion.
"Five progress payments, no delays. The team coordinated everything with our builder. We just signed where they told us to."
First time building? Grants, schemes, and the FHOG drawdown timing — we'll walk you through every dollar you're owed.
Learn moreDon't have the 20% deposit for the build? Family equity can bridge the gap — without your parents handing over cash.
Learn moreBuilding an investment property? Different lender mix, different structure — we know the panel for investor builds.
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