Why secured, when unsecured looks easier
A secured business loan is backed by real property, so the lender assesses the security and the exit rather than the borrower's cash flow. That is why it works when an unsecured lender has declined: no serviceability test, no financial statements, and an amount set by equity rather than turnover. HomeSec funds secured loans only, from $20,000 to $5,000,000.
See if you qualify in sixty seconds. No credit check to apply, no financials, no payments for the first six months. That's the HomeSec Advantage.
See if you qualifyUnsecured is easier right up until the answer is no
An unsecured lender is betting on your cash flow, so cash flow is what they examine — bank statements, turnover, the shape of the last twelve months. That is quick and painless when the numbers are tidy. When they are not, there is nothing else in the file for the lender to look at, and the answer is no with no way to argue.
A secured lender is looking at something else entirely: the property, the purpose and the exit. Six of the most common reasons an unsecured application fails have no bearing on that assessment at all.
- A poor credit score. A number that summarises the past and says nothing about the equity in a property or the contract that repays the loan.
- An unpaid tax debt. Often the reason for the application in the first place, which makes it a strange thing to decline for.
- A short trading history. A business that started this year has no history to score. That is a gap in their model, not a risk in your file.
- Irregular or seasonal income. A builder, a farmer and a tour operator all fail a monthly-average test and none of them is in trouble.
- An industry on a list. Construction and hospitality get declined by category, before anybody reads the file.
- An amount that is simply too large. Unsecured facilities have a ceiling that has nothing to do with what you are worth.
A person decides every loan. Every application is read by a Lending Manager and every credit decision is signed off by a person. We do not use artificial intelligence to assess, approve, decline or price a loan. An algorithm cannot see why the last two years look the way they do. A person can, and that is the whole reason files we write are ones a scorecard would have rejected.
What you give up, stated plainly
Security is not free, and a page that only lists the advantages is not much use for making a decision.
- Your property is on the line. A caveat or a mortgage is registered against the title. If the loan is not repaid, the lender can act on that security. This is the whole trade and it should be the first thing you weigh, not a footnote.
- Settlement involves lawyers. You sign in front of one, which adds a step and a cost that unsecured lending does not have — and which exists so that somebody acting for you has explained the documents to you.
- The amount is capped by equity, not ambition. 80% of value on residential security and 70% on commercial, counting what is already owed. If the equity is not there, no amount of trading performance replaces it.
- It is business credit. Credit provided for those purposes is not regulated under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (the NCCP Act), and the protections available to consumer borrowers do not apply.
What can be security
Australian real property that you or your company owns: residential, commercial, or vacant land. It does not need to be unencumbered — a first mortgage is normal, and we lend behind one either by caveat or by registered second mortgage. It does not need to be the property the money is being used for, and it does not need a sworn valuation; we instruct a local agent for a market appraisal, which comes back the same day.
What cannot be security: vehicles, plant and equipment, stock, invoices or a personal guarantee on its own. Those are other lenders' products and, when they suit better, we will say so.
A business loan against property — the arithmetic
Every secured loan here comes down to one calculation. Take the property's value, multiply by 80% for residential or 70% for commercial, subtract what is already owing on it, and what remains is roughly what is available, between $20,000 and $5,000,000. More than one property can be added together.
| Security | Value | Existing loan | Ceiling | Available |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home, bank first mortgage | $950,000 | $520,000 | 80% — $760,000 | $240,000 |
| Home, owned outright | $1,300,000 | — | 80% — $1,040,000 | $1,040,000 |
| Investment unit + home | $620,000 + $950,000 | $380,000 + $520,000 | 80% each | $356,000 |
| Warehouse, bank first mortgage | $2,000,000 | $800,000 | 70% — $1,400,000 | $600,000 |
| Vacant land, owned outright | $450,000 | — | Lower — assessed | On merit |
Indicative only. Value is our own assessment of the security.
Secured and unsecured, side by side
| Unsecured cashflow loan | Secured by property (HomeSec) | |
|---|---|---|
| Amount | Set by turnover; commonly $10k–$150k | Set by equity; $20,000 to $5,000,000 |
| Assessed on | Bank statements, turnover, credit score | The property and the exit |
| Repayments | Daily or weekly direct debit | None for 6 months |
| Term | Fixed, commonly 3–12 months | Open — you choose |
| Cost | Priced for the absence of security | Priced against the security — generally well below unsecured |
| Trading history | Commonly 6–12 months | None required |
| If you own property | The more expensive option, for a smaller amount | The cheaper option, for a larger amount |
Unsecured-lender characteristics are general category observations, September 2026. Individual lenders vary. The full comparison has the longer table.
Equity release for business, without touching the home loan
The most common secured file is the simplest: a good bank loan on the house, and a business that needs a sum the bank will not release in time or at all. A second mortgage sits behind the bank and releases the equity above its loan; the bank's rate, term and structure stay exactly as they were. Where the property is owned outright, a first mortgage does the same more cheaply. Where the date will not wait for the bank's consent, a caveat needs nobody's.
From the call to the money
Tell us the deal
Amount, purpose, timing, the property and how the loan gets repaid. A Lending Manager gives you an indicative answer on that call — usually in minutes.
Minutes
Conditional approval
Photo ID, a rates notice and your most recent mortgage statement. That is the whole list, and it takes about fifteen minutes.
About 15 minutes
Funds released
As little as 24 hours from a clean, complete scenario. Paid where you tell us — to your account, or straight to the ATO.
As little as 24 hours
What it costs
Priced per file, on the property, the position, the amount and the exit. No rate is published, because a rate with "from" in front of it is the best file's number. How it is priced, and every fee that exists.
The three ways we take security
- A caveat. Lodged on the title without the first mortgagee's consent, which removes the one step nobody can control and is why a file can settle in a day. How a caveat loan works.
- A registered second mortgage. Behind an existing first. It does need the first mortgagee's consent, so it takes longer, and it suits a larger or longer facility. Second mortgage business loans.
- A first mortgage. Where the property is unencumbered or we are refinancing what is there.
Questions we get on the phone
What is a secured business loan?
Can I get a business loan against my property?
What is equity release for a business?
Secured or unsecured — which is better for a business?
Which properties can be security?
Does the property have to be in the business's name?
What does 'no serviceability test' mean?
Is an asset-backed business loan the same thing?
How fast is a secured loan?
It sometimes is not. If there is no property, or the equity is thin, or the amount is small enough that an unsecured cash-flow facility is simpler, that is the better answer and we will tell you so on the call rather than run an application. We would rather be the lender you come back to than the one that took a fee. 1300 93 83 87, Mon–Fri, 8:30am – 5:30pm Melbourne time.
See if you qualify in sixty seconds
Three short questions, no credit check to apply and no financial statements. A Lending Manager reads it and calls you back with a real answer — not a call centre, not an algorithm.
That's the HomeSec Advantage.
Reviewed by Jason Brockmuller, Joint Chief Executive