This week in WA lending: a mortgage broker’s Sunday wrap

Sunday morning, coffee in hand, and here is the week that was. As a mortgage broker working across WA and nationally, we published five new pieces this week. They cover mining town property, equipment finance, commercial deposits, low deposit lending in regional WA and investment rent. Each one answers a question we get asked on the phones every single week. Here is what went up and the one thing worth knowing from each. If one of these is the thing you have been meaning to sort out, this is a good Sunday to start.

Is buying in a WA mining town a good idea?

It depends on which game you are playing, and knowing that before you buy is the entire skill. Our feature on high rent versus high risk in WA mining towns weighs both sides with real numbers. The rents are extraordinary. The volatility is real. Both facts belong in the same conversation. We live in these towns and we have watched the cycles firsthand, so it is written honestly.

The equipment write-off is now permanent

The $20,000 instant asset write-off is permanent law. That ends years of Budget-to-Budget guesswork for business owners planning gear purchases. Our guide on equipment finance for WA businesses covers what that means in practice. The finance structures, what lenders look for, and why financing the machine while your cash stays in the business is often the sharper move. If the work is there and the gear is the bottleneck, start here.

What deposit does a commercial property actually take?

Less mystery than you have been told, and more variation than a single number suggests. Our guide on commercial property deposits shows what the middle of the market looks like. It also shows why the answer moves with your circumstances and your lender. This is where a mortgage broker earns their keep. With more than 60 lenders on the panel, the deposit question has more than one answer, and the job is finding yours.

A 10 per cent deposit with no LMI across regional WA

This was the week’s biggest surprise for a lot of readers. Some lenders now lend in WA’s larger regional centres with around a 10 per cent deposit and no lenders mortgage insurance. And it is not a first home buyer scheme. Upgraders, second-time buyers and existing owners qualify too. Our guide on the minimum deposit in Karratha and Port Hedland runs the numbers for every eligible centre. Pilbara, Kalgoorlie, Geraldton, the South West, all of it. If you have been saving towards 20 per cent, read it before you keep going. The gap between those two numbers is years of saving.

How much Hedland rent does your lender actually count?

Port Hedland leads regional WA for rent on REIWA’s latest quarterly data. But the number on the lease is not the number in your loan assessment. Lenders differ enormously here. Some count every dollar of the rent towards your borrowing power. Others shade it or cap the yield they will assess, and end up seeing barely half. As mortgage brokers we map exactly that spread for clients every week. Our guide on what rental income lenders count in Port Hedland puts those settings side by side. For anyone weighing an investment up north, it is ten minutes well spent.

The thread running through all five

Notice the pattern. The write-off works hardest with the right structure. The commercial deposit moves with the lender. The 10 per cent pathway is open at some lenders and closed at others. The Hedland rent counts in full at some and barely half at others. In every single piece this week, the outcome turned less on the borrower and more on where the file landed. That is exactly what a good mortgage broker is for. We compare the options across the panel and give a solid recommendation based on your circumstances. We do it for clients across WA and Australia-wide, from our home base in the Pilbara.

Whatever you are working towards, the right lender for it exists. A first home, the next one, an investment, new equipment, business premises or a better deal on the loan you already have. Finding that lender is our job, and a phone call is how it starts. Twenty minutes, no paperwork to begin, and an honest read on where you stand. Have a good Sunday, and we will see you next week.