Self-employed Damien refinanced his loan

Sydney-born Damien has taken his lifelong passion for music and technology and found professional success internationally as the founder and CEO of New York-based Blue Pie Records. But as anyone growing a business knows, things can be tricky financially – and Damien decided it was time to face the music on his home loan.

Damien Reilly is not your average UNO Home Loans customer. He’s not your average real-estate refinancer, either. Sydney-born Damien has taken his lifelong passion for music and technology and found professional success internationally – he is founder and CEO of New York-based Blue Pie Productions, which publishes music and protects artists’ copyright. He also runs DJ Central, a global dance music television show. Both his production company and TV program help independent labels and artists from across the world achieve wider exposure for their music. But back in Sydney earlier this year, Damien faced the music over his pressing property issues. As anyone building a company knows, things can often be tricky financially – especially in a cyclical business such as music publishing. It often means spending part of the year living on scraps – and having the odd scrap as well. Damien admits he found himself with money issues following the Global Financial Crisis in 2008. They were difficult times for his business, with some of his customers not able to pay their bills, and he says this put his credit rating at risk. How much can I save by refinancing?Use UNO's calculator to estimate your savings. Calculate SavingsHaving a poor credit record in business can make it difficult when you’re looking for finance, let alone a home mortgage. “It’s a challenge to find someone that will listen to you,” he says. Damien’s difficulties left him with an unfavourable deal on his mortgage. At one stage he was paying 9 per cent on his loan, then he refinanced and the interest charges dropped – but only slightly – to “8-point something”. So when he was looking to relocate his Australian business headquarters, moving from the city to Moss Vale in the NSW Southern Highlands, it seemed like a good time to refinance the loan on his place in nearby Bundanoon. “My house is old and needs a bit of work, but we’ve got an acre of developed grounds,” he says. “It’s in a really nice area.”

How UNO helped

Given his history with the banks, Damien looked further afield for refinancing options and came across UNO. “Phillip at UNO was amazing,” Damien says. “I’ve never had an experience like that with a lender ever. He rings me up. He tells me what’s going on. He manages everything. “I’ve never in 30 years of business experienced someone like that who genuinely cares.” Given his experience, Damien believes UNO fills a void in the marketplace. “I’ve been blown away by the caring of the company because it’s an emotional journey buying a house,” he says. “The average person out there, they shit themselves at this process. They do. Because I’ve seen it. We’ve all got friends that go, “Oh no, I don’t understand it”. And their brains shut down.” Phillip took great care managing his refinancing journey, Damien says. He describes one encounter while they were both working out the best approach to take … Phillip: Damien, hi, how are you? Damien: Oh, Phillip, it’s so good to hear from you. Phillip: You know, I was drinking my wine last night, and I thought we could do a better deal. Damien: Really? Phillip: Yeah, I think what we’re going to do is this. And I was thinking of you. “Now, after the first call, I told my wife [about UNO] and she goes, “Oh, they’re all full of sh*t”. I said, “No, this guy’s really different.” And then when she spoke to him, all right, from God to my lips, she said, “That guy really cares”. And I went, “I know. Imagine if the banks cared.” Here are other UNO customers who have the benefit of working with Phillip. With Phillip’s help, Damien ended up getting a loan from non-bank specialist lender RedZed. He’s happy with the deal, and he’s pleased to spread the word about UNO. “UNO is a unique business,” he says. “It’s very rare – that very caring approach. “UNO’s going to be a force to reckoned with.” Take 30 seconds to calculate how much you could save by refinancing your home loanhere.Book a call in with UNO

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John Carlo Penaflor
June 24, 2025
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Amazing service from Scott. Efficient, clear and fast. Got my homeloan refinanced in record time.
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Rebekah Tolmachoff
June 24, 2025
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We had a fantastic experience working with Paul at Uno. From start to finish, he was professional, attentive, and genuinely cared about us and our situation. He kept in touch throughout the entire process, always keeping us informed and making everything feel simple and stress-free. Nothing was ever too much trouble, and his support made a big difference. Highly recommend Paul to anyone looking for a reliable and caring broker!
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June 10, 2025
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We chose Uno Home Loans from their impressive web site knowing we were going to find it hard, on many fronts, to qualify for a home loan. We were incredibly fortunate to be assigned Mike Parsons as right from the get-go, despite the complexities, he hit the ground running for us. He was incredibly knowledgeable, with years of experience but what was immediately apparent and impressive was that he was totally invested in getting us over the line, doing absolutely everything possible, including working around the clock. Despite it being a relatively small loan in the order of things, Mike never missed a beat, getting docs ready, following up and answering every request from the proposed funder immediately. He kept us informed on progress the minute anything happened, and again if anything needed to be done, he was right on it. In short, we highly recommend Uno, and Mike, knowing what a remarkable job he did, over many weeks, to get us our loan. He got us a great deal, with far better rates than we expected, so we couldn't be happier. In fact, without doubt, you'd be hard pressed to find a more personable, sharp, hard working, dedicated professional who clearly prides himself on getting his customers standout results.
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May 31, 2025
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Jesse did a great job with helping me secure my loan, will be using him again in the future
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Tom Deal
May 30, 2025
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This is the second time I’ve worked with Mike Parsons, and I wouldn’t go anywhere else for mortgage advice. He’s extremely knowledgeable, responsive, and always happy to help. Mike takes a consultative approach, presenting clear options and making the whole process stress-free. Friendly, professional, and genuinely invested in getting the best outcome. Highly recommend and will definitely use him again!
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May 27, 2025
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Paul was amazing to work with. He went out of his way to help us with every last question. He sorted everything out for us, was a wealth of knowledge in terms of who else to use to support us in the buying process. He made moving from New Zealand so easy. He explained everything to us in an easy to understand way. He really worked for us!!! Plus he's such a lovely funny guy, super approachable. Super responsive, has a great team. Totally took care of us in the whole process. I can't wait to use Paul again and would recommend him to every kiwi moving over and all our aussie friends :)
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May 21, 2025
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Paul from Uno has been amazing. Made it so easy! Highly recommend and made the finance process much more enjoyable experience for us.
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May 17, 2025
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UNO went above and beyond to help my wife and I with our home loan and settlement. Couldn’t recommend them enough - Jake Wood was an absolute legend! Kept us informed during the whole process and was very thorough with his work, even with a very tight timeframe. Thank you again for all your help, and looking forward to continue using your services!
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May 16, 2025
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100% Rockstar. We found Paul and Uno Home Loans from recommendations from people who had used his services. We know understand why he comes so highly recommended. We definitely put Paul and his team under pressure due to an oversight our end which meant that he had to don his superman cape and work miracles for us. We didn't appreciate the very very short window we created for ourselves (think less than two weeks for settlement). Paul was able to wave his magic wand, come up with multiple solutions to our situation and make it all happen seamlessly. It goes without saying then, without reservation that we recommend Paul and his team as our trusted mortgage advisor! Thanks again Paul. *****The limoncello is on route we promise :)
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Paul Davey worked very hard to get us the mortgage we required for our investment property. He is knowledgeable and approachable. Thanks Paul!
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Michael Badham
May 13, 2025
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Our entire process with Uno went very well. We had a unique set of requirements for our loan and our super friendly broker Mike Parsons managed to secure us the perfect outcome. Mike also worked above and beyond our expectations to make sure the whole process of completing the documentation of switching banks went smoothly.
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May 13, 2025
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The service recieved from Paul was fantastic. He made the whole process stress free & easy. We started the process from NZ & Paul had everything ready for approval as soon as we landed in Aus. I would highly recommend Paul if you require a mortgage. You won't be dissapointed.
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