Christine acted as guarantor to give her kids a leg-up onto the property ladder

Like many parents, Christine Freney wanted to help her kids on the path to home ownership. But it’s never been more difficult for young people to secure an affordable home. Find out how UNO helped Christine and her son secure the perfect loan – together.

Christine, who has worked for a long time in commercial real estate in Queensland, knows a property bargain when she sees one. A three-bedroom workers’ cottage in a great street in Clayfield was for sale at a good price. It was an ideal starter property in need of renovation. Ryan, a 29-year-old carpenter, could do much of the rebuilding work himself, and turn the house into an ideal home for his partner and young son. Then, when the time was right, he could sell the property and the family could make a nice profit.

Parents to the rescue

For many Australian families, this is a familiar scenario. A report from research firm, Digital Finance Analytics, shows more than half of all first home buyers entering the market in the last quarter of 2016 had financial help from their parents. Many parents with available cash finance enough of their child’s home deposit so that they avoid paying lenders’ mortgage insurance, which is generally mandatory for buyers borrowing more than 80 per cent of the purchase price. Christine wanted to do more than that. She wanted to buy the property for Ryan and his family, so they had somewhere to live straight away. She moved quickly and signed a cash unconditional contract for $579,100 and then looked to secure finance. But there was a problem: something the energetic grandmother hadn’t considered before committing to the house. What lender was going to take out a 30-year loan with someone about to turn 59? If the loan was in her name, the best they would offer was a 15-year loan. That would have pushed the mortgage repayments to nearly $5000 a month. “I didn’t even think about it,” Christine says. “I don’t think I’m old! But it’s a fact. Am I really going to be working and paying off a mortgage at 90?” Christine needed to find a solution quickly. To make the deal work financially, she knew the mortgage could not be in her name. Ryan’s 26-year-old sister, Leah, who has an excellent credit record, was also happy to be involved. So the plan was for Christine’s children to be co-owners of the Clayfield property. Need a home loan?UNO. The new way to get a better deal. Get Started

A helpful hand

It’s about this time that Christine discovered UNO. “I rang them on a Thursday and someone named Jitarth [Jadeja] picked up the phone,” she says. “Straight away he thought outside the box. I’ve been involved in a lot of property development over the years. You want to work with people who are creative – who don’t follow the script over the phone or find it’s too hard. You want someone to engage with you and go, ‘let’s find a solution’. Right from that initial consultation, UNO really worked hard for me.” UNO mortgage coach Phillip Jiang was soon on the Freneys’ case. “He was great all the way,” Christine says. “He has a great sense of humour and is very, very good at what he does. The whole way along – every time we got a problem – we’d work together to fix it. They didn’t want to know what you had for breakfast seven years ago. They worked with what you had today and how you could go forward with it.” Phillip quickly helped the Freneys find the best deal for their circumstances – a 30-year mortgage through AMP. “The interest rate’s fantastic so you couldn’t ask for a better scenario,” she says. Christine was also impressed with how the team organised all of her documentation through the UNO website. “I had to get verification for some of the documents, of course – a few had to be witnessed or certified and then they had to be scanned back in – but it was a very simple process. UNO gave me an excellent checklist, too. “I thoroughly recommend UNO. After I wrote a feedback report, not only did I have a response from Phillip and Jitarth but the CEO rang me, Vincent [Turner]. I thought that was really lovely. I deal with people all day, every day: banks, finances, solicitors. Very rarely do you ever get someone who has the decency and the respect to their staff, as well as their clients, to pick up the telephone themselves personally and say ‘thank you for the lovely comments you made’. I’m totally impressed with the whole operation.” Christine is also pleased to have helped her kids on the path to real estate ownership. “It’s the perfect start to two young people and a young family to go ahead in the market,” she says. “That was the only way they could afford that little house in a fantastic street in a great suburb. That is their platform to bounce forward.” Contact UNO Home Loans to see how we can help you or your children find the right home loan to suit your family’s circumstances. Book in a quick call with our customer care teamBook a call in with UNO

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Kyle Richards
October 10, 2024
Absolute legend, helped me through the first home buyers scheme, explained everything in a way that made sense, was very knowledgeable and a joy to work with.
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Chloe S
October 8, 2024
Mike Parsons made it possible for us and the in laws to get 2 pretty complicated home loans. He helped us through everything and we'd be happy to use Mike and the team again for anything we needed. Thanks again!
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October 2, 2024
I have gone through 6 different mortgage brokers prior to meeting Andrew Wyers. He is the most patient mortgage broker I’ve encountered and also the most knowledgable about the bank’s lending process and products available. It took me 1 year to find a house I was happy with and Andrew was always there to assist with any issues or questions I had; he always return my phone call, even on the weekends or when his away on holidays. The loan process was smooth and I had no complications. The process with Andrew was again nice and easy, he took the time to find and put together the right package that was suited to my situation. I have recommended Andrew to my family & friends and everyone have been grateful and completely satisfied with his service.
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S Wilko
September 23, 2024
I had not dealt with Scott or UNO before finding them on the internet. Even as an Australian citizen living and working overseas, I knew obtaining a loan would be difficult. However, Scott went above and beyond what I expected from a mortgage broker. I genuinely don’t think you could find another company that works as hard as they did to get my home loan approved. I cannot recommend them highly enough. Everyone I dealt with at UNO were extremely professional and helpful. If you are looking for a broker, you would be mad not to give them a go. Thanks to Scott Wilkinson, Dalby Bajwa, Jena Lasquite and Andrew Pacini. Shaun.
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Shan Liao
September 3, 2024
I had an outstanding experience with Tian Liu. He was incredibly professional and attentive, going above and beyond to meet my needs. His expertise and dedication made the entire process smooth and stress-free. Tian's deep knowledge of the market and commitment to finding the best solutions for his clients truly sets him apart. He was always available to answer my questions and provided invaluable guidance throughout. I highly recommend Tian Liu to anyone in need of a reliable and skilled broker!"
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Nathanael Chin
September 3, 2024
Tian Liu provided exceptional service throughout the entire process. His professionalism and keen attention to detail were evident from the start. Tian consistently kept us informed and offered insightful advice that made us feel confident in our decisions. He truly cares about his clients and works tirelessly to ensure the best possible outcome. We couldn't be happier with his assistance and highly recommend Tian to anyone looking for a trustworthy and knowledgeable broker.
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Patrick Winters
August 14, 2024
For the past three years, it has been an absolute pleasure to work with Mike Parsons. He has consistently helped us navigate commercial property loans with skill and efficiency. Mike’s timely and professional responses to our inquiries have been invaluable. We have built a strong, reliable relationship with him and eagerly anticipate continuing our collaboration in the future. We highly recommend his services.
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Lee Robibaro
August 6, 2024
I am so thankful and grateful to have Scott Wilkinson as my broker. He not only looked after me every step from start to finish he gave me confidence and I was able to trust him and his expertise. My children and I are now happy in our new home and very appreciative of Scott's help. I will definitely be only having Scott as my broker from here onward as there is no mucking around and straightforward answers. Thanks again
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Steve Mav
August 6, 2024
Scott and the whole team at uno have been amazing. Super responsive and helped us achieve a result that we couldn’t have possibly achieved on our own.
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Thien Pham
August 5, 2024
Scott, Dalby and Jena were awesome to work with for my recent Home Loan, they are responsive and knowledgeable - which helped ensure a smooth purchase from pre-approvals to settlement. This is the second property I've purchased with UNO as my mortgage broker and would definitely recommend their services. Thanks again to the UNO Team for the awesome support.
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Scott Hutchinson
August 5, 2024
I am writing this summary in support of recommending Mike Parsons as a Mortgage Broker. At the time of writing this, I have known Mike for 4 years and he has executed 4 mortgages deals for me (including 2 refinances) over that time. Mike has provided me incredible service as a mortgage broker as follows : - Works painstakingly on getting the scenarios together to provide you options that optimize your position. - Works inordinate hours on the detail necessary to support the scenarios. - Mike keeps you updated on the status and progress of the applications and also helps you work through answering questions and any complexities that may arise. -In my cases, given the complexities and timings of my situations , these application processes would take many weeks to finalize . Mike never gave anything other than utter commitment and focus to getting the job done. Mike acts as a true business partner throughout this whole broker /mortgage journey. I simply would only go to Mike for any future dealings on getting a loan from a bank (and as will my kids in the future !) . There is no way a bank (I have seen anyway) would provide this kind of time nor service to a customer. You can rest assured that once Mike has done the deal, you have ended up with the most optimized position taking into account all the variables/scenarios in play. Scott Hutchinson
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Jason Seam
August 5, 2024
I've worked with Scott Wilkinson for my last 2 properties and he's been excellent. He sourced multiple options and didn't push a specific bank, tailoring his recommendations to me based on my requirements. I was specifically requesting a "medico loan" and Scott could navigate that extra requirement with expertise. When I was initially working with Scott, I was also trialling 2 other brokers and neither of those 2 had the same breadth of lenders, or could provide the same deals. I've referred multiple buyers to Scott and his team; one of them said to me after working with him, "how'd you find this guy, he's so good compared to all the other broker's I've worked with!" I'm going into my next purchase with Scott as my broker partner again. I recommend him to everyone
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