Dear All,
For decades, the lending industry has accepted one rigid rule:
buyers must have the entire deposit upfront before they can secure a loan — across varying LVR options. Each loan therefore carries its own set of rules and risk protections designed to keep the lender’s product safe.
This rule exists for good commercial reasons. Here’s a practical explanation.
A lender can only make money if their product — money — is out in the market earning interest.
If a loan fails, it’s essentially the product breaking. The lender not only loses the opportunity to earn interest but must absorb a loss that restricts future lending capacity and, when repeated across the system, can undermine confidence and economic stability. As with a fire, the exit matters — the rule exists as a safeguard to manage the risk of getting the money back.
On the other hand, affordability — fundamentally about access and exit — has, for decades, been becoming increasingly difficult, even impossible, for many. This impacts generational wealth, the social fabric, and the broader economy.
A buyer can have perfect borrowing capacity, strong credit, and stable employment —
yet still be locked out solely because the deposit hurdle is too high or rising too fast.
Both needs matter — both have significant impact – and both affect economic stability:
the lender’s need to protect its product, and the buyer’s need for access.
AffordAssist meets both needs: it appreciates and respects the deep-rooted purpose behind the rule; stays aligned with — and in fact improves on — lender risk requirements; and provides an innovative, functional, flexible deposit-structuring solution that unlocks housing affordability by improving both access and exit. Both the lender and the buyer can exit safely.
What a Flexible Deposit-Structuring Solution Looks Like
Secure a 90% LVR home loan with a partial deposit upfront. Defer the remaining deposit.
A flexible deposit structure adapts to the buyer’s situation — without needing the traditional full deposit from day one.
Examples:
• 1% upfront, defer the balance
• 8% upfront, defer the balance
• Yes, even only $1,000 upfront and defer the balance
No matter the starting point, the term (1 to 10 years) and amount (up to 25%, and may include LMI) are all flexible. The structure leads to the same outcome: buyers enjoy 100% title ownership from day one.
Applicants simply pay the deferred amount — interest-free — typically over around 60 months.
AffordAssist has been operating with this new thinking for years, enabling buyers to access the market sooner through a structured, compliant, transparent Deferred-Deposit Arrangement (DDA) and Deposit Certificate.
A Smarter Pathway — For Lenders and Buyers
Housing affordability doesn’t require compromising decades of lending practice.
It took AffordAssist to rethink what a deposit could be — and to make it work in the real world:
- Lender protections remain intact — credit risk is reduced, not increased (for details, see AffordAssist Managing Risk – Credit Risk Transfer (CRT)).
- Buyers gain earlier access — lowering loan amounts and overall interest costs.
AffordAssist’s flexible deposit-structuring solution unlocks housing affordability by improving both access and exit.
A real, proven solution that works today.
Regards
AA
B2B – AffordAssist facilitates and oversees the governance process. Are you a mortgage broker, lender, developer, real estate agent, affordable housing advocate, or housing minister? We welcome your collaboration. Join us in our mission to expand access to home ownership. Together, we can make a lasting impact.
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