Justin Korner - The Finance Korner

Justin Korner - The Finance Korner Dealing with the banks so you don't have to.

03/09/2026

Financing a $40,000 car with zero deposit can cost thousands more in interest than most buyers ever stop to calculate before signing.

A second-hand BYD Sealion 6 is sitting at around $40,000 drive-away in the current Australian market, making it one of the more accessible Chinese SUV options for families looking to go electric without stretching into premium territory. How you choose to finance that purchase, though, can make a significant difference to what you actually pay over the life of the loan.

Going in with zero deposit means you're financing the full $40,000, which typically results in higher weekly repayments and more interest paid overall. Put down a 20% deposit of $8,000, and your loan drops to $32,000, which could meaningfully reduce your weekly commitment depending on the rate and term your lender offers.

Car loan rates in Australia can vary quite a bit depending on your credit profile, the lender, and whether the vehicle is new or used. Second-hand EVs sometimes attract different rate tiers compared to brand-new vehicles, so it's worth comparing options before committing to dealer finance, which may not always be the most competitive product available.

For many families, the real question isn't just the sticker price, it's whether the weekly repayment fits comfortably within the household budget without creating financial pressure elsewhere.



Content is general information only and not personalised credit advice. Loan eligibility, rates, repayments, fees and lender policies vary and can change. Speak with a licensed broker for advice tailored to your situation.

01/09/2026

Signing a joint business loan assuming you're each only responsible for half is one of the most expensive legal misunderstandings in commercial lending.

Most commercial lending facilities use what's called a joint-and-several guarantee. This means the lender can pursue either guarantor for the full outstanding debt, not just their proportional share. On a $500,000 facility, if your business partner goes bankrupt or simply walks away, the lender can come after you for the entire amount.

The part that stings is that lenders typically pursue whoever has the assets. In a partnership breakdown, that's often the person who did everything right and kept their finances in order. This scenario plays out more often than most people expect, and the consequences can be financially devastating for the guarantor left holding the debt.

A deed of contribution is the key protection most people never set up. It's a separate legal agreement between the two parties stating that if one person ends up paying more than their share, the other is legally obligated to reimburse the difference. It doesn't change what the lender can do, but it can potentially give you a legal avenue to recover overpaid amounts once a dispute is resolved.

The timing of this matters enormously. Getting a deed of contribution drafted after a dispute has already started is often too late, and many lawyers won't take it on at that point. It needs to be signed at the same time as the guarantee itself.



Content is general information only and not personalised credit advice. Loan eligibility, rates, repayments, fees and lender policies vary and can change. Speak with a licensed broker for advice tailored to your situation.

30/08/2026

Financing a $550,000 off-road Lamborghini costs less per week than most people assume, but the interest bill over five years tells a very different story.

When you finance the full $550K over five years with no deposit, your weekly repayments could be substantial, and the total interest paid over that term can be significant. The exact figure varies depending on your lender, credit profile, and the rate you're offered, but the gap between what you borrow and what you actually pay back over five years can be eye-opening for many buyers.

Put down a 20% deposit, which in this case is $110,000 upfront, and your loan drops to $440K. That reduction in principal can potentially lower your weekly repayments meaningfully and, more importantly, reduce the total interest you pay across the full loan term. On a purchase this size, that difference in interest could run into tens of thousands of dollars depending on the rate and lender.

This principle applies to any asset finance, not just exotic cars. The deposit you put in at the start directly affects how much of your own money ends up going to the lender rather than staying in your business. For many borrowers, a larger deposit isn't just about lower repayments, it's about the total cost of the finance over time.

Before committing to any significant asset purchase on finance, it may be worth running the numbers across different deposit scenarios to understand the full cost of each option.



Content is general information only and not personalised credit advice. Loan eligibility, rates, repayments, fees and lender policies vary and can change. Speak with a licensed broker for advice tailored to your situation.

27/08/2026

Depreciation can quietly add tens of thousands to your assessable income without a single extra dollar entering your bank account.

Most self-employed borrowers hand over their financials and assume the net profit figure is what lenders use to calculate their borrowing capacity. In reality, that number is often just the starting point. Certain business expenses that don't reflect actual cash leaving the business can potentially be added back to your net profit before a lender runs their serviceability assessment.

The most commonly overlooked add-backs are depreciation, owner wages flowing through the business structure, and genuine one-off expenses that are unlikely to repeat. If your business claimed $40,000 in depreciation and owner wages last financial year, some lenders may add that entire figure back onto your assessed income, which could meaningfully increase the loan amount you qualify for depending on your rate, term, and other financial commitments.

Depreciation tends to be the biggest one people miss, because it reduces your taxable income on paper without any money actually leaving the business. Lenders often treat it as a phantom expense, recognising that it doesn't genuinely affect your capacity to service a loan.

Not every lender applies add-back policies the same way, and some are considerably more generous than others in what they'll accept. If you're self-employed and your borrowing figure has come back lower than expected, it may be worth checking whether your add-backs were fully maximised before the application was submitted.



Content is general information only and not personalised credit advice. Loan eligibility, rates, repayments, fees and lender policies vary and can change. Speak with a licensed broker for advice tailored to your situation.

25/08/2026

Financing a car with no deposit can cost tens of thousands more over the life of a loan than most buyers ever stop to calculate.

When you borrow the full purchase price of a vehicle, your weekly repayments are naturally higher, but the bigger hit is the total interest paid across the loan term. On a five-year car loan, even a modest difference in the amount borrowed can translate into thousands of dollars in additional interest charges over the life of the facility. That gap is often far larger than people expect when they're sitting in the dealership focused on the weekly figure.

A 20% deposit on a vehicle like a 2024 Genesis brings the borrowed amount down significantly, which reduces both the repayment and the total cost of the loan. In many cases, a deposit of around $19,000 to $20,000 could potentially reduce your weekly repayment by a meaningful amount, depending on the lender, the rate, and the loan term.

The rate you're offered also varies considerably depending on the lender and your financial profile. Some lenders may offer more competitive rates for secured car loans, particularly where the vehicle is newer and holds stronger residual value.

Whether a deposit makes sense depends on your cashflow, what that money could otherwise be doing, and how long you plan to keep the vehicle.



Content is general information only and not personalised credit advice. Loan eligibility, rates, repayments, fees and lender policies vary and can change. Speak with a licensed broker for advice tailored to your situation.

23/08/2026

Acquiring a smaller competitor sounds straightforward until you realise the deposit requirement can be anywhere from 20% to 50% depending on what you're actually buying.

When lenders assess a business acquisition, they're not just looking at whether the target is profitable. They're focused on what security they can hold if the deal goes wrong. That distinction shapes everything about how the finance gets structured.

If the business you're buying holds physical assets like equipment, vehicles or stock, some lenders may be able to secure against those assets directly. This can potentially keep your existing property equity untouched and creates a cleaner financial separation between your current operation and the acquired one.

The harder conversation comes when most of the value sits in the client base, contracts or brand reputation. Lenders treat that as goodwill, and because there's nothing physical to repossess, many will typically require a deposit of around 30% to 50% of the purchase price. In some cases, using equity from an existing property could potentially bring that out-of-pocket requirement down closer to 20%, depending on the deal size and your overall financial position.

One thing that catches many buyers off guard is the integration plan requirement. Most lenders will want to see a detailed plan showing how the acquired business folds into yours, because two profitable businesses merging doesn't automatically produce a stronger combined entity on paper.



Content is general information only and not personalised credit advice. Loan eligibility, rates, repayments, fees and lender policies vary and can change. Speak with a licensed broker for advice tailored to your situation.

20/08/2026

Is this a steal for the new M4?

17/08/2026

This is by far the most common question we get when comparing business loans to ATO payment plans!



Content is general information only and not personalised credit advice. Loan eligibility, rates, repayments, fees and lender policies vary and can change. Speak with a licensed broker for advice tailored to your situation.

27/07/2026

Choosing the wrong finance product can cost a business owner more than a high interest rate ever would.

When a business needs cash, the first instinct is often just to find something that gets approved quickly. But the product you choose matters just as much as getting access to the funds, and the two main options, a line of credit and a business loan, are built for completely different situations.

A line of credit is generally designed for timing problems. Think invoices outstanding for 60 to 90 days, a slow season creating a temporary gap, or payroll falling due before a large client payment lands. With a line of credit, you can typically draw what you need, repay it, and draw again, only paying interest on what you're actually using at any given time.

A business loan is generally better suited to funding growth. If you're purchasing equipment that increases capacity or acquiring a commercial property that builds long-term equity, structured finance with a fixed term that matches the life of that asset tends to be a far more appropriate fit.

The mistake that catches many business owners out is using a line of credit to fund something that should have been a five-year equipment loan. You end up paying revolving interest on a long-term asset with no clear repayment structure, which can quietly erode cashflow over time.

Before signing anything, the question worth asking is whether the product actually matches the reason you need the money.



Content is general information only and not personalised credit advice. Loan eligibility, rates, repayments, fees and lender policies vary and can change. Speak with a licensed broker for advice tailored to your situation.

25/07/2026

Businesses that take out a new loan every time cash flow dips are often paying far more in interest than they need to.

A line of credit works differently to a standard business loan. Instead of receiving a lump sum and immediately starting repayments, a lender approves you for a set limit and that pool of funds sits available until you need it.

The key difference is how interest works. If your limit is $100,000 but you only draw $30,000 to cover a slow month or a bulk stock order, you're only paying interest on that $30,000. Once you repay it, that capacity typically resets and the full amount becomes available again, without needing to reapply.

This structure can make a significant difference for businesses with seasonal or uneven revenue. Rather than scrambling for finance during a quiet period, some business owners use a line of credit as a standing buffer they can access and repay as needed, which can potentially reduce both stress and borrowing costs over time.

It's worth understanding the limitations too. A line of credit is generally better suited to short-term cash flow gaps rather than funding major long-term purchases. For larger capital investments, a structured business loan may be a more appropriate fit depending on the lender and your business circumstances.



Content is general information only and not personalised credit advice. Loan eligibility, rates, repayments, fees and lender policies vary and can change. Speak with a licensed broker for advice tailored to your situation.

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