Sarah Froebel - Mortgage Broker - Regional Finance Solutions 0429 544 354

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Bathurst, NSW
Sarah Froebel - Mortgage Broker - Regional Finance Solutions 0429 544 354

Based in Bathurst with very experienced & reliable lending specialists. We travel throughout the central west & look forward to working with you

30/08/2026

Let’s be honest: the first property you buy probably won’t be the one you live in forever. If you are buying solo, it might not even be a detached house.

I know that’s a tough pill to swallow when you have a Pinterest board full of backyard aesthetics and sprawling kitchens. But given the reality of today's market, an apartment or a unit is a much more realistic entry point for a single income and there is absolutely zero shame in that.

Think of your first place as a launchpad, not a life sentence.
Buy what you can afford right now.
Start generating equity.
Let the property market do the heavy lifting.

Fast forward a few years, and you can leverage that growth to upgrade to the bigger house in your ideal neighbourhood. If you wait around until you can afford the "perfect" place, you are just sitting on the sidelines watching property values rise without you.

Buying a unit isn’t giving up. It’s a calculated, strategic move to turn your dream home into a reality.

29/08/2026

What if they look at my accounts and decide I'm just not good enough? 😔

I hear this exact fear from first-time home buyers all the time and it stops so many people from even trying.

Here is the reality: lenders aren't sitting there judging your lifestyle.

They don't care about your weekend coffee habit or your occasional splurge. They are simply doing the math. They are looking at your income, regular expenses, and overall spending patterns to ensure you can comfortably afford the loan without putting yourself under financial stress. 📊

With a little bit of strategic prep before you apply, you can walk into the process feeling completely confident instead of anxious.

📌 Save this post as a reminder for when you’re getting ready to buy, and remember, you are more than your bank statements.

26/08/2026

"Sarah is a gun! Couldn't recommend her enough, she helped us navigate the challenges of regional finance for a construction loan and fought in our corner!"

18/08/2026

Are you a self-employed business owner or contractor waiting for your accountant to finish last year’s tax returns before you can apply for a home loan?

Stop waiting. You probably don’t need them.

One of the biggest misconceptions I hear from self-employed clients is that they can't borrow money without two years of pristine, finalised tax returns.

If you go to a standard Big 4 bank branch, that might be true. Their system needs those specific documents to tick the box.

But as a broker, we have access to what’s called "Alternative Documentation" (Alt-Doc) lending.

Instead of waiting months for your full tax returns to be lodged, we can often secure your finance using:
✅ 6 to 12 months of your Business Activity Statements (BAS)
✅ A simple declaration letter from your accountant confirming your income
✅ Or even just your recent business bank statements

This means if your business has had a great 6 months and you’ve found the right property now, you don’t have to sit on the sidelines waiting for tax season to wrap up.

Your business moves fast. Your finance should too.

If you’re self-employed and want to know exactly what your borrowing capacity looks like today, without the tax return headache— end me a DM and let’s look at your options.

16/08/2026

Ever found the perfect property out of town, only for the bank to knock back the finance at the final hurdle?

If you’re dealing with a metro-centric bank, you’re often dealing with an algorithm that panics the second it sees anything other than a standard suburban block.

Here are 3 regional property "quirks" that often trigger an automatic decline, or severely drop your borrowing capacity with the big banks:

🌳 Land sizes over 10 hectares (Because to them, a hobby farm is a "commercial agricultural risk").
🛣️ Unsealed road access (Believe it or not, this still trips up some algorithms).
🚜 Extensive shedding or dual-titles (Often deemed "non-standard" residential).

To a city bank's computer system, these are unacceptable risks.
To those of us living regionally, it's just a great lifestyle property.

The fix? Stop trying to fit a regional peg into a city bank’s algorithm.

There are plenty of excellent lenders who actually understand the regional market.
They use human credit assessors who don't freak out over a dirt road or a massive shed.

My job is to know exactly who they are and package your application so it goes straight to them.
If you’ve got your eye on an acreage, a hobby farm, or a property that’s just a little out of the box, don't let a generic bank decline stop you.

Shoot me a DM or give me a call, and let's find a lender who understands regional reality.

13/08/2026

Computer says no.

That’s what a local earthmoving contractor was told by their everyday bank when they applied for finance recently.

The problem? Their income wasn't a perfect, straight line.
Like many regional business owners, their cash flow is seasonal.
Add in a few weather delays and a major one-off equipment purchase last financial year, and their recent tax return looked a bit "messy" on paper.

The big bank’s automated system took one look at the numbers and declined them.

But a good broker knows that tax returns don't always tell the whole story.

Instead of accepting the decline, we took a completely different approach:
1️⃣ We moved away from the automated big banks and approached a lender who uses human credit assessors.
2️⃣ We didn't just submit the financials; we wrote a comprehensive story about the business.
3️⃣ We used "add-backs" (adding the cost of that one-off equipment purchase back onto their bottom line) to show their true profitability.

The result? Fully approved, and they are now moving into their new property.
If you're self-employed, an agricultural contractor, or running a seasonal regional business, your income is naturally going to have peaks and troughs.

You just need a broker who knows how to translate your business reality into a language that the right lenders understand.

Has a bank recently misunderstood your financials?
Let’s have a chat.

Send me a DM and let's get a second opinion on your borrowing power.

11/08/2026

"We have gotten Sarah to refinance our home loan twice now.... each time she has made it simple and finds us the best deal.
She has made it possible for us to achieve improvements around our property which we could not have done without her expert guidance. Thanks so much Sarah!"

06/08/2026

Missed out on the First Home Guarantee last financial year?
The wait is over. 🗓️

Every July 1st, the government releases a fresh batch of allocations for First Home Buyers and Single Parents.
This means eligible buyers can purchase a property with as little as a 5% deposit, without paying thousands in Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI).

If you’ve been struggling to hit that 20% savings goal, this could be your ticket into the market.
But remember, spots are limited and they go fast!

Swipe through to see how it works, and DM me "SCHEME" if you want to check your eligibility.

05/08/2026

You offered $800k. The bank valuer says the house is only worth $750k. Now what? 📉

In a shifting market, Valuation Shortfalls are a very real risk.

The bank will only ever lend based on their valuation of the property, not the price you emotionally agreed to pay at the open home.

Swipe to see your options if this happens to you, and why ordering upfront bank valuations before you bid is one of the smartest moves you can make.

Don't get caught out. Reach out before you make an offer!

04/08/2026

Offset or Redraw?
They both help you pay less interest on your home loan, but they work very differently in practice. ⚖️🏦

If you have a $500k loan and $50k in savings, both options mean you only pay interest on $450k.
However, the structure matters for your flexibility and future tax benefits:

1. The Offset Account (Your Money)
An offset is a separate transactional bank account linked to your loan.

Access: Complete freedom. You get a debit card, and you can pay bills directly from it.

Best for: Everyday savings, emergency funds, and maximum flexibility.

2. The Redraw Facility (The Bank's Money)
Redraw isn't an account; it’s a feature inside your loan. When you put extra cash here, you are legally paying down the debt.

Access: You have to manually transfer the money out to spend it, and some lenders have restrictions or minimum transfer amounts.

Best for: Removing the temptation to spend your savings. (Bonus: Redraw is usually free, while offsets often carry account package fees).

The Future Investment Trap
Planning to turn this home into a rental property later?

Choose an offset.

If you pull money out of an offset for personal use, your original loan remains intact and fully tax-deductible against the rental income.

If you pull money out of a redraw, the ATO treats it as a new personal loan, meaning you lose those valuable tax deductions.

Not sure which structure is attached to your mortgage?
Send me a DM and let's make sure your loan is set up correctly for your long-term goals.

Address

Bathurst, NSW
2795

Telephone

+61429544354

Website

http://www.regfin.com.au/

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