Compare on what a lender requires, not on what it advertises
A headline rate tells you almost nothing, because it is the number a lender chose to put on its homepage. What a lender requires from you is a matter of fact, it is verifiable, and it determines whether you get funded at all.
| HomeSec | Other private lenders | Cash-flow lenders | Banks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time to funds | As little as 24 hours | 3 days – 2 weeks | 24 – 48 hours | 3 – 8 weeks |
| Sworn valuation | Never required | Usually required | n/a — unsecured | Always required |
| Cash flow records | Not required at all | Often required | Required — 6 to 12 months | Required |
| Trading history | None required | Often 6 – 12 months | Minimum 6 – 12 months | 2+ years |
| Start-ups | Yes, we fund them | Rarely | No | No |
| Financial statements | Not required | Often required | Bank data required | 2 years, plus ATO portal |
| Credit history | Considered, never disqualifying | Varies | Score thresholds apply | Must be clean |
| Your existing loan | Untouched — we sit behind it | Usually untouched | Untouched | Usually refinanced |
| Repayments during term | None for up to 6 months | Varies | Daily or weekly debits | Monthly P&I from day one |
| Loan term | Open — you choose | Fixed, 1 – 12 months | Fixed | Fixed, amortising |
| Minimum period charged | None | Commonly 3 months | Varies | n/a |
| Fee to extend | None | Usually charged | Varies | Renegotiation |
| Who decides | A person — we fund our own loans | Often a panel or fund | Automated scoring | Credit committee |
| AI in the decision | None | Varies | Central to the model | Increasingly used |
| Wrong when | There is no exit — borrowed money cannot fix a structural loss | — | The amount exceeds what cash flow can service | The deadline is this week |
A comparison of lender categories and process requirements, not of price and not of named competitors. Timeframes for other private lenders reflect settlement standards those lenders publish on their own websites, recorded September 2026 and ranging from same-day to 21 days. Bank and cash-flow-lender requirements are general market observations. Every cell is a factual process claim and is re-verified quarterly.
We don't need to see your cashflow. We need to see your equity.
A cashflow lender reads your bank statements and turnover, and prices the risk it finds there. We look for sufficient equity in real estate and a business purpose for the loan. That's it — and it changes almost everything else about the facility.
| Typical unsecured cashflow lender | HomeSec | |
|---|---|---|
| What's assessed | Bank statements, turnover, industry and your credit score | Real-estate equity and a genuine business purpose |
| Repayment rhythm | Daily or weekly direct debits | Interest-only, or capitalised for up to 6 months |
| Loan term | Fixed end date, commonly 3–12 months | Open-term — no fixed end date |
| Extending | Re-apply and re-write the facility | Extend indefinitely, no rollover or legal fees |
| Trading history | Commonly 6–12 months minimum | None — start-ups considered |
| Turnover test | Commonly $120k+ a year, which only gets a small loan | No turnover or serviceability test |
| Credit score | Risk-priced; weak files repriced or declined | Considered, never disqualifying |
| Typical loan size | $10k–$150k unsecured, depending on cashflow and credit | $20k–$5m, subject only to equity and the LVR limit |
| Early repayment | Often an early payout fee | Anytime, no penalty — paydowns from $10k |
| Top-ups | Sometimes, if you can service it and aren't in default | Yes — if there is equity, or another property to secure against |
| Who decides | A credit engine plus funding-line rules | HomeSec, lending its own money |
Both have a place. If you have no real-estate security to offer, a cashflow lender is the right call, and we will say so. Where there is equity, HomeSec takes the daily-debit pressure and the fixed end date off the table — and does not ask the business to prove serviceability to get there.
And it is usually cheaper. A loan secured on property is generally priced well below an unsecured cashflow loan, and gives you far more room if circumstances change.
Cashflow-lender characteristics are general category observations compiled from publicly published terms and comparison data for major Australian unsecured business lenders, September 2026. Individual lenders vary — always confirm current terms with that lender.
Not all private lenders are the same.
Most private lenders are really money managers — they place someone else's funds under someone else's rules. HomeSec lends its own money, so the answer you get is the answer. What a private lender actually is, and seven questions that tell them apart, has its own page.
| Typical private / secured lender | HomeSec | |
|---|---|---|
| Whose money it is | Bank or institutional warehouse lines, managed funds or family offices | Our own. No outside funder sits behind the loan |
| Who approves it | An external credit committee, fund manager or investor has the final say | HomeSec credit — one decision, made in-house |
| Time to funding | Commonly 2–3 weeks, sometimes longer | As little as 24 hours from a clean, complete scenario |
| Valuations | A full valuation at your cost, adding a week or more | We don't use valuers — no valuation, no fee, no delay |
| Cost to get an answer | Often thousands in assessment or application fees, before a real answer | A small commitment fee, only once we have conditionally approved the loan |
| Where they lend | Mostly capital cities and a short list of major centres | Almost anywhere in Australia — metro, regional and rural |
| If appetite changes | Approval can be pulled or repriced if the funding line shifts | Our appetite doesn't move with someone else's mandate |
| Exceptions on merit | Limited — the credit box is set by warehouse covenants | We can back our own judgement on a loan that deserves it |
| Extending or topping up | Re-underwritten, re-documented and often re-priced | Straight back to our own credit team — no rollover fees |
Our money, our decision. No warehouse covenant, no investment committee and no investor mandate sits behind your loan — so nothing gets withdrawn at the eleventh hour because a funding line changed its appetite, and when a scenario deserves a commercial call, we can simply make it.
Where we are the wrong answer
You have no property equity
Every HomeSec loan is secured by real estate. Without it we cannot help — but an unsecured cash-flow lender may be able to, and we will tell you who to call rather than waste your week.
You need a revolving facility
We advance a defined amount with a defined exit. If you need a limit you draw and repay repeatedly, that is a line of credit and it is a different product.
The loss is structural, not timing
This product solves a mismatch between when money leaves and when it arrives. It does not solve a business losing money on every job. We decline files on that basis regularly.
It is for personal purposes
We lend for business and investment purposes only. Credit for personal, domestic or household purposes is regulated differently and we do not write it.
How to interrogate any lender, including us
Six questions. The answers are more revealing than any comparison table somebody else built.
- What is the minimum interest period? If you repay in week two, how many months do you pay for?
- Is unused prepaid interest refunded? Many lenders keep it.
- What does it cost to extend? Ask for the fee and the rate that applies after the term.
- Is there an application fee, and is it refundable if you decline me?
- Who makes the credit decision, and are they on this call?
- Can I have every fee in writing before I pay anything?
Our answers: none, yes, nothing, no, yes, yes. Here is the full fee list and how private lending is actually priced.
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.