“No one else could have done this” – How RedZed helps the self-employed
When the big banks wouldn’t help, Glenn used RedZed to help him get a mortgage fast.
Cash flow variations during different cycles in small business can be viewed as “risky” by the major banks, leaving them uncomfortable when it comes to lending money to people who don’t fit their processes. This reluctance is for no other reason than it’s simply too hard to automate different applications from those who don’t fit the criteria.
Glenn Jacobson has run his small business for 25 years, and found himself in exactly this situation. When he and his family vacated their previous home, they thought it would take around a week to settle on their new property. However, four weeks later they were still living out of suitcases, being put up by family and moving from place to place. “We had various challenges dealing with our existing ‘big bank,’” Glenn says. “We really needed to find a solution.”
Broker George Kapelles from MoneyQuest specialises in helping self-employed people find solutions for their loans, especially when they don’t fit the cookie-cutter mould that the big banks require.
“Glenn was going through a restructure of his business, so he didn’t have the financial documentation that a ‘big four’ lender wants,” he explains. “I was very confident RedZed would be the lender for him.”
Glenn was on an extremely tight deadline – something George knew wouldn’t be a problem for RedZed. “I know how good they are and how quickly they can process an application,” he says.
The loan was turned around in less than 24 hours. “They gave us conditional approval in the morning and formal approval at lunchtime. Incredibly we managed to settle later that afternoon,” Glenn says.
We were very impressed at how well and quickly they pushed it forward and got it sorted on the same day. Relieved!
George adds: “No one else could have done this.”
“RedZed is passionate about helping self-employed borrowers like Glenn,” says RedZed’s Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Loralle Slater.
"We love changing their lives and giving them opportunities that other people wouldn’t give them.”
Housing the various teams under one roof gives RedZed the flexibility to triage urgent applications. “Because our Settlements team is in-house, it means we have the ability to drop everything and take control of urgent loans when we need to,” Loralle explains. “Glenn had settlement within his purchase time frame. He was blown away.”
RedZed understands that self-employed businesses often have very complex forms of income, so we work closely with customers to come up with the right solution. “We help people get loans approved in a really simple way,” says Loralle.
At RedZed, income can be verified in multiple ways. This common-sense approach to lending means there are no specific criteria; every application is assessed individually. While the big banks typically demand income statements from the past two years, RedZed looks at more than just the numbers on your annual tax return. We can verify income using an accountant’s declaration, BAS or trading statements. Plus, we don’t rely on credit scoring, meaning there’s a fair and reasonable assessment of credit history.
In-house assessors allow processes to be efficient, customer-focused and consistent; you’ll get the same answer every time, ensuring peace of mind.
“Once formal approval has been issued by our credit team, we can have documents out to the customer within the hour,” says Loralle.
We’re very mindful there’s a customer at the end of every transaction. Customers like Glenn deserve to have an amazing experience, and that’s what we pride ourselves on.
Founded in 2006, RedZed has a clear vision; to help empower small business owners to achieve their personal and business finance goals. Over the past 17 years, RedZed has loaned over $8.9 billion to more than 20,000 self-employed Australians via their residential, commercial and SMSF finance solutions.
It’s something we never tire of. “We love helping the self-employed with competitive, flexible finance,” says Loralle.
“It’s only right that the people making such a huge contribution to our economy are supported with borrowing processes which are simple, fast and fair."
The above information is a brief summary only and does not take into account your personal needs and is not a substitute for independent professional advice. We strongly recommend that you speak to your accountant as they will be able to provide you the most suitable advice for your individual circumstance and to ensure that you are also always receiving the most up to date information.
