Loan Market adds home equity release lender to panel

The non-bank lender, founded by former Westpac chief executive Brian Hartzer and the former CEO of ANZ New Zealand, Dr Jenny Fagg, allows parents aged 55–75 to unlock the equity in their family home to help build up a deposit for their children.

Loan Market brokers can now access the home equity lender’s Equity Advantage product; a five-year fixed-term home equity loan where borrowers can either make interest repayments or capitalise all interest at the end of the product term.

Welcoming the new lender panel addition, the brokerage brand’s new national director Andrew Thompson said the group welcomed lenders that offered “quality solutions for the spectrum of client needs”.

“Loan Market is committed to providing its brokers with the tools and products that answer the many and varied needs of clients in the modern lending landscape,” he said.

“2Be’s specialisation in helping parents provide their first home buyer children with a leg-up into the property adds further solutions to our brokers’ client offering.”

2Be CEO Jenny Fagg added that the lender was “excited to be partnering with Loan Market to enable more first home buyers to access deposit assistance from their parents”.

She continued: “Our solution is an enabler for Loan Market brokers to help their clients into a home sooner. 

“We deal solely with the parent who wants to help the younger generation, leaving Loan Market brokers to do what they do best — guiding and supporting new home owners through the lending process to get onto the property ladder today rather than waiting.” 

While 2Be’s product can be used for any legitimate purpose, it has reportedly found increasing popularity among parents with first home buyer children. Indeed, first home buyers have been facing deposit and serviceability challenges at the moment, as interest rates rise and wages growth stagnates.

2Be’s chair and co-founder Mr Hartzer stated: “We are seeing a lot of interest from parents wanting to help their kids into their first home. 

“In fact, research conducted for 2Be by Evolved Group last year revealed more than 60 per cent of parents were happy to help their children with a home deposit and over 40 per cent were willing to access the equity they have built up in property to do so. 

“This makes 2Be Equity Advantage a powerful new tool that can help Loan Market brokers assist their first home buyer clients to get into the property market today rather than waiting to save the deposit required.”

[Related: Brokers prepare FHBs for end of NSW property tax]