Loan ranger Harry Triguboff doing a good mortgage deed

Founder and managing director of Meriton, Harry Triguboff, always looks outside the box for a solution to a problem.  He has been doing that for over 60 years.

“In the early years, the banks had a general rule about loaning money to single women. The risk was too great.

“I never understood it. They always came in looking very professional and while they did not have jobs paying huge money, they were paid enough to buy one of my flats.

“I could work it out in my head that she earns this much, her expenses are this much and her monthly repayments will be this much.  On a conservative budget, she was still more than capable of affording one of my flats. So, if the banks wouldn’t loan her the money, I would.

“The banks loved me. I represented no risk because of the volume I was developing so I borrowed the money from the bank and then I loaned it to the buyers for a short period, for a year or two. By then they had a little equity and a good payment history so the banks viewed them as less of a risk, and loaned money to them.

“Some felt it was better to sell after two years then buy another apartment from me and start the mortgage process all over again.  Some did that over and over again. They never had a loan with a formal banking institution, they kept borrowing from me.

“This is how I made so many millionaires.  These buyers had very little money when they started.  No matter how many years they worked in a conventional job, they would never have made the money they did from buying apartments from me.

“I don’t need to borrow from the banks anymore but I still loan money to my buyers. In fact, we have ramped it up,” Mr Triguboff said.

“After all these years nothing has changed and the banks still have no money, and they are still risk averse.

“Buyers come to my bank, Meriton Property Finance, and they get approval within 48 hours. We also offer complete peace of mind for those buying “off the plan”. A huge advantage is if they buy a Meriton unit “off the plan” then Meriton finance approval is granted upfront and valid until settlement, which can be up to 36 months. Unlike bank approvals that are only valid for three months which can leave buyers in a precarious situation come settlement.”

“We can also boost the buyer’s purchasing power by approx. 20%, and in some cases even more. There is no mortgage insurance and no valuation fees,” he says

For example, you can borrow through Meriton Finance on a 2-year fixed interest rate of 4% and your borrowing capacity is $1.3 million.  Through a bank the interest rate is going to be 6.75% dropping your borrowing capacity to only $1.075 million.

“I want to make it as easy as possible, and as financially viable, for the locals to buy in a tough market,” Mr Triguboff said.

“I still want to see every Australian have a chance to own their own home if that is their dream.

“It has definitely been one of the best things I have done particularly as we have no bad debts.  Not a one.

“No bank can boast that.

“After a strong start to the year we will continue to support our buyers any way we can. For our investors, we offer a tenant guarantee so they have income from day one.

“Speak to our finance team and see what we can do for you.  We definitely have more wriggle room than the banks and we have a vested interest in your investment because we also own so many apartments ourselves.

“Meriton has options that cannot be offered anywhere else,” he says.