Home Loan Process Step by Step

Still deciding? This page covers what happens after you engage a broker. If you are still working out the buying itself, start with the five-part walkthrough.

The steps

Timings are typical, not promises. Every situation is different, and if yours is likely to take longer, you'll know early.

The quick intro chat

5 to 10 minutes

A quick first conversation. Jai gets a brief understanding of your situation, introduces himself and explains how he works. The document review comes later; this call helps Jai prepare for the strategy session.

How he helps: listens, asks a few practical questions, and books the strategy session if you want to go deeper.

The online fact find

Optional before the session, encouraged

Once your session is booked, Jai sends you a link to his online fact-find form, run on a secure platform called Middle. You fill in your goals, income, expenses and liabilities, upload documents and connect bank statements in one place, at your own pace. Doing it before the call is optional, but strongly encouraged. If you'd rather wait, that's completely fine, everything can still be covered in the appointment.

How he helps: a completed fact find gives Jai a clearer picture of your position before the call, so he can prepare properly and come in with the homework done. Less of the session goes to basic details, and more goes to your options, next steps, and what may be possible.

The strategy session

Time to work through your figures

In the free session, Jai takes time to understand your position, explain how lenders assess it and work through your figures.

You can compare the options, ask questions and discuss anything that may affect an application.

1 Understand your situation Goals, timelines, mindset, priorities and trade-offs.

You explain things in your own words: what you know, what you don't know, what's stressing you out, what matters most, and what compromises you're already weighing up. Jai uses that conversation to understand your financial position and priorities.

2 Teach the lending mechanics LVR, LMI, deposits, grants, schemes and lender logic.

Before the numbers, he explains the basics in plain English. How LVR works and why the bank cares about it. What LMI actually is and who it protects. How deposits, grants and schemes interact. It all comes back to two questions: do you have the money, and can you afford the loan?

3 Run your numbers live Price points, funds to complete and practical levers.

With the groundwork done, the numbers mean more. If your fact find is already complete, Jai comes prepared with scenarios. If not, he'll explain what needs to be collected before pre-approval. Either way, you leave with a clearer sense of what's realistic and what needs more work.

Pre-approval

When the timing is right

When you're ready to move, Jai reviews the fact find, documents and bank statements the way a lender's assessor would, so surprises show up now and not mid-application. He then picks the lender whose policies fit your situation and submits for pre-approval, giving you a real budget to house hunt with. Most pre-approvals last around 3 to 6 months.

How he helps: targets one lender likely to say yes the first time, so your credit file isn't marked by unnecessary applications. The fact find also shows document requests clearly, so you can see what's still missing before lodgement.

House hunting and the offer

Your pace

You find the place. When you're ready to make an offer or bid at auction, Jai is on call to sanity-check the numbers first. You can send through properties, ask questions, and talk through whether the place still fits the strategy you mapped out earlier. For a quick self-check before an offer, the free cost to complete calculator estimates stamp duty and the total cash a purchase may need at that price.

How he helps: runs scenarios, checks the property against lender policy, flags anything a lender may question, and can liaise with the agent or solicitor so the finance process is clear before the offer gets serious.

Application to formal approval

Typically 1 to 2 weeks

Jai finalises the loan structure with you (fixed, variable or split, offset account, repayment setup) and submits the complete application. The lender verifies your documents and orders a valuation, then issues unconditional approval: formal loan approval. Loan documents follow for signing, and Jai walks you through them so you know exactly what you're agreeing to.

How he helps: advocates for the application, workshops any issues with the lender where needed, chases the valuation and approval, and balances policy, pricing, experience and your priorities when recommending a path forward.

Settlement and beyond

Then a check-in at least yearly

The lender pays the seller, the title transfers, and you get the keys. Your solicitor or conveyancer handles the legal side while Jai coordinates the lender's side so both meet in the middle on the day. And the job doesn't end there: rates, lender offers and your circumstances change, so he reviews your loan against the market at least once a year, free.

How he helps: confirms the funds, paperwork and timing line up for settlement day, then stays one phone call away for check-ins, loan reviews and future planning conversations.

Where Jai stays involved

Jai can answer questions about properties, lending and changes to your plans while the application is under way.

While you are looking

Send through properties, ask for a read on the numbers, or talk through whether a place still fits the plan. He can check whether a lender is likely to be comfortable with it before you get too far down the track.

When other people are involved

Real estate agents, solicitors and conveyancers all have their own timelines. He can speak with them directly where useful, so everyone has the information needed for the finance process.

When there's a decision

Some choices are about rate. Others are about policy, timing, structure, lender experience or future plans. He explains the trade-offs and gives you his view, but the final decision stays yours.

What can slow things down

Missing or outdated documents

Statements that don't cover the required period, or payslips that go stale mid-application. A running list keeps anything from expiring unnoticed.

Valuation surprises

If the lender's valuation comes in below the purchase price, the numbers may need reworking. Jai will talk you through the options if it happens.

New debts mid-process

A new car loan, a bigger credit card limit or buy-now-pay-later accounts between pre-approval and settlement can change the lender's assessment. Check with Jai first.

Busy lenders

Assessment queues vary week to week. Part of the job is knowing which lenders are fast right now, because speed can be a factor in choosing where to apply.

Related guides

First Home Buyer Guide

Deposits, grants, approvals and what happens next. The full plain-English guide.

Grants & Schemes

Which first home buyer support may apply in your state, and how schemes combine.

Common Questions

Deposits, LMI, offset accounts, credit scores and more, answered without jargon.

Read Jai's public answers

Jai founded r/AskAnAussieBroker, a community where Australian brokers answer buyer questions in the open, with no pitch. Read his answers, ask your own, and come back when the timing's right.

Read Jai's answers

Get in touch

It's 5 to 10 minutes, free, and needs zero paperwork. Tell me what you're trying to do and I'll let you know if a strategy session makes sense.

Tell me what you're trying to do

This page is general information only and doesn't take your objectives, financial situation or needs into account. Timeframes are typical examples and vary by lender and circumstances. Lending criteria, rates, grants and lender policies can change, so speak with a qualified broker before making lending decisions.

How the home loan process works