For mortgage and finance brokers · Video · 1:36

Getting a client's business loan settled before Christmas

1:36 · Posted 3 December 2025 on the HomeSec YouTube channel

Paul Stone, in a Santa suit, on the client who needs money before Christmas when the bank has stopped taking settlements: stock for the peak and the sales, and builders funding the Christmas shutdown when cash flow stops.

In short

December is when bank settlements dry up and valuers' diaries fill. A client who needs money before Christmas needs a lender who can still settle.
The files Paul sees most at this time of year: staying afloat over the break, stock for the peak and the sales, and builders covering the Christmas shutdown.
There is no valuation to book, which removes the usual December bottleneck.
Interest can be capitalised for up to six months to carry a client through the break, and an extension carries no fee.

Why December is hard for business lending

Paul recorded this for brokers in early December 2025, when, as he says in it, banks were already refusing settlements before Christmas. Most brokers know the pattern: settlement calendars close, valuers' diaries fill and the people who approve loans go on leave. A client who tells their broker in mid-December that they need money before Christmas can hear that the valuation will not be done in time, or that the bank cannot settle until January. Paul's message is simple: do not let that be the answer your client gets.

The three files that come in at this time of year

Staying afloat over the break. Wages and leave, creditors and the ATO do not pause for the holidays, even when takings do.
Stock. Retailers buying for the peak or the post-Christmas sales, paying suppliers weeks before the stock sells. The Christmas stock example walks through one.
The building industry's shutdown. Sites close, progress claims stop and income stops with them, while wages, equipment finance and supplier accounts keep running. Paul calls it a big market, and it is the file a cash flow lender struggles with most, because there is no cash flow to lend against. A property-secured loan does not depend on it.

What makes a December settlement possible

No valuation. HomeSec appraises property in-house with input from local agents, so there is nothing to book with a valuer. How HomeSec values property explains the method.
A short document list. Conditional approval needs photo identification, a rates notice and the most recent mortgage statement.
The right instrument for the state. HomeSec writes caveats in every state and territory except New South Wales and Queensland, so the file does not wait on the first mortgagee. In New South Wales and Queensland the loan is a registered second mortgage, which generally needs the first mortgagee's consent, so those are the files to start earliest.
Time to recover. Interest can be capitalised for up to 6 months, which covers the break and a slow January. If the client needs longer, an extension is assessed and agreed in writing, at no cost.

Before your clients break up for the year

The useful thing to do in November is ask your business clients one question: is there anything you need funded before Christmas? A scenario that arrives with weeks to spare is far easier than one that arrives on the 20th. To run one past a Lending Manager, ring 1300 93 83 87. The broker guide to first and second mortgage business loans sets out how HomeSec works with brokers through the rest of the year.

What the video means, in our published terms

Funding time. Funds can be released in as little as 24 hours from a clean, complete scenario. Timing depends on the file, the title and settlement requirements, and is not guaranteed.
Six months. Interest can be capitalised for up to 6 months, so there are no scheduled repayments in that period. Interest is not waived: it accrues and is added to the loan.
Extensions. An extension is assessed and agreed in writing before it applies. There is no fee to extend.
Approval. Every loan is subject to assessment and approval, real estate security, fees and an acceptable repayment or exit strategy. Owning property does not by itself mean your client's loan will be approved.
Purpose and size. $20,000 to $5,000,000, for business and investment purposes only. 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.

Questions people ask next

When should a broker send a scenario if the client needs funds before Christmas?

As early as possible, with the date the money is needed. A complete scenario (the property, what is owed on it, the purpose, the amount and the exit) is what lets a file move quickly. In New South Wales and Queensland, where the loan is a registered second mortgage, the first mortgagee's consent can add time, so start those first.

What does a builder's shutdown loan usually cover?

The weeks when sites are closed and claims are not being paid: wages and leave, equipment finance, supplier accounts and rent. Interest can be capitalised so nothing is due while work restarts, and the exit is usually the progress claims that resume in the new year.

Can my client's loan be extended if the new year starts slowly?

Yes, if it is needed. An extension is assessed and agreed in writing before it applies, and there is no fee to extend: no rollover fee, no legal fees and no rewriting of the loan.

The full guide

The video is the short version. The written guide has the detail: first and second mortgage business loans for brokers.

To talk it through about your own property, ring a Lending Manager on 1300 93 83 87, Mon–Fri, 8:30am – 5:30pm Melbourne time.