Pauline Bignell is a passionate, enthusiastic and committed professional who truly wants to help her clients achieve their dreams in a safe and measured way. Ensuring that any loans they arrange for their clients are manageable and achievable, regardless of what life throws at them, is really important for Pauline and her husband and business partner Derek, who co-founded We Know Loans in 2010.
We Know Loans is a family owned and operated mortgage brokerage located in Somerville on the Mornington Peninsula, and it really is a one-stop-shop for all lending requirements. It is Pauline and Derek’s commitment to delivering high standards, integrity, honesty, a strong customer focus and superior service has built a reputation that sets them apart from the competition.
Both Derek and Pauline are Mornington Peninsula locals. Derek has lived in the area for over 50 years, and Pauline moved to the Mornington Peninsula as a child and did all of her schooling locally. After working in the adult education sector for many years Pauline made the brave decision to make a complete career change so she could combine her strengths of problem solving, customer service and communication. She embarked on her mortgage broking journey at Aussie Home Loans in 2004. Derek joined her there in 2006 and a few years later they decided it was time to open their own business. After a few years as franchise owners with The Mortgage Gallery, they established We Know Loans.
Completing the team are Kelly Martin, who joined Derek and Pauline as admin support in 2018 and has since progressed into the Lending Services area. Leanne Christie joined the We Know Loans team last year and provides customer service support to the team and their clients.
“Many of our clients are first home buyers,” explains Pauline. “We find that they will listen to Derek and my advice about responsible lending and being able to manage a mortgage if financial circumstances change. Perhaps it’s easier to take on our advice rather than their parents, even though that advice may be exactly the same, because it’s objective and delivered without emotion.”
Saving for, buying and paying off your first home can seem like a daunting process, but buying a home is really quite straight forward if you have the right advice and support. Pauline and Derek are the ideal professionals to talk to – for yourselves or for your children.
When it comes to subsequent property purchases, having already purchased a home means before you probably already have a good idea how the process works. We Know Loans offers a range of options, including a portable home loan - where you take your loan with you to the next house and retain your existing home as a rental property. They also manage bridging finance if you have found the perfect home but haven’t sold yours yet, and can assist with pre-approvals to make sure you are in the best place to buy.
If you are looking for a loan to buy or build an office, retail or industrial space for your own business or as an investment, or you’re keen on purchasing or developing a restaurant, caravan park, childcare centres or hotel, Pauline and her team can help secure commercial finance for you to build your unique space or renovate an existing one. They can even help you find the funding for the capital growth of your business or investment portfolio.
For many of We Know Loan’s more senior clients, a seniors equity release home loan or reverse mortgage allows you to access the equity in your home. The loan is secured by your property and the amount you can borrow is determined your age, by the property value and any loan that already exists. The money can be used for any ‘worthwhile’ purpose – buying a new car, organizing a care facility or take that big trip you’ve always talked about. Whilst you can make voluntary repayments, you’re not required to make payments as the interest will be capitalized onto the original loan amount. The money can be paid to you in a lump sum, an ongoing regular payment to supplement your income or a combination of both.
In terms of the current housing market, Pauline says that she and her team have never been so busy setting up mortgages. Says Pauline, “In fact Australia’s housing market is in the midst of a broad-based boom, with the national home values surging 2.1% higher in February - the largest month-on-month change since 2003. We haven’t seen this kind of fast-paced growth since Guy Sebastian robbed Nollsie to win Australian Idol, Roger Federer won his first of 20 grand slams (against the Scud at Wimbledon), and people primarily used their mobile phones to make calls (well, and play Snake)!”
The February surge, which was recorded by CoreLogic’s national home value index, was spurred on by a combination of record low mortgage rates, improving economic conditions, government incentives and low advertised supply levels.
And as for interest rates? Pauline explained, “House prices could jump 17% in 2021, and the ANZ Bank has tipped that mortgage rates are set to rise much sooner than expected with fixed-mortgage rates already reaching their lowest point, or close to it. Fixed rates are becoming increasingly popular, with the community aware that cheaper funding may not available forever and that will feed through into variable mortgage rates too.”
After the relative hibernation of last year, there’s certainly a lot going on in the world of property and finance right now. So, if you’d like to chat to We Know Loans about financing a new home you’ve got your eye on, or refinancing your existing loan, get in touch today and they’ll help sort out that FOMO for you.
WE KNOW LOANS TIPS FOR PAYING YOUR MORTGAGE OFF AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE:
- Pay fortnightly (with 26 fortnights in a year, you’ll pay the equivalent of an extra month’s repayment – without feeling the pinch)- Make extra repayments- Make your lender a one-stop-shop (having all your financial needs serviced by one lender is more than just convenient – it can also save you money.- Get an Offset account (it’s like earning a tax-free return on your cash)- Give your mortgage an annual health check
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