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From today (7 October), Bluestone Home Loans is offering Expat Home Loans to help support the over 1 million Aussies living and working abroad.
On top of this, the lender has increased its maximum loan amount for residential property in metro areas from $3 million to $5 million.
The moves were made in order to provide a wider range of support for more Australian borrowers.
The Expat Home Loans are offered in Australian dollars, with flexible income assessment for foreign currencies.
Borrowers can access a loan-to-value ratio (LVR) of up to 80 per cent. There are also refinance and equity release options.
According to Bluestone’s chief commercial officer, Tony MacRae, expats are a growing niche who often face challenges when securing loans due to complex income structures, foreign currencies, and restrictive lending policies.
He said this segment of borrower has “long been under-served by the traditional lending system”, and they “often need the support of a broker and a lender with flexible solutions to be able to access the Aussie property market back home.”
“Expats are considered ‘non-standard’ borrowers due to risk and compliance factors such as foreign income volatility, tax complications, often limited credit or income history and even communication barriers with time zones, language difference coming into play,” said MacRae.
“For traditional lenders in particular, this can mean expats fall into a too-hard-basket, despite being financially sound.”
Bluestone urged brokers who are interested in the larger loan amounts or expat support to reach out to their Bluestone business development manager (BDM).
[Related: Bluestone drops rates following RBA hold]
