Home loan specialists for lawyers and barristers

Ardent Capital Group brings the same method to every client: execution and strategy, clear advice for smart lending, and long-term growth. That means the right lender, structure and timing, straight advice so you borrow with confidence, and today's deal built toward where you want to be tomorrow. For the legal profession that means knowing which lenders apply an income entry point and which do not, and which of them will average a barrister's brief fees rather than discounting them as unstable. Commercial property for business owners is our main speciality, so when a firm decides to own its floor rather than lease it, that is familiar ground. Every figure is subject to serviceability, lender appetite and approval.

No. The qualifying test is a current Australian practising certificate held with a state or territory law society, not who employs you. In-house counsel and government lawyers can qualify on the same footing as a firm solicitor. Where a job title sits outside the usual set, the application is presented on the certificate and the work itself so a lender is not left guessing at the role. Eligibility varies between lenders and is subject to approval.

Across our lending we arrange finance from $50K up to $30M, and home loans sit within that range, including prestige purchases that fall outside standard bank policy. Your borrowing capacity comes down to income, existing commitments and the property itself.

It depends entirely on the lender, which is the most useful thing we can tell you. Many set an entry point commonly around $150,000; others apply none and assess on the certificate and serviceability alone. The consequence is real: a solicitor a few years into practice can be declined by one lender and approved by another on identical numbers. That is a policy difference, not a reflection on the file, and it is why we confirm the position before lodging.

On a different basis to a salary. Distributions are averaged over roughly two years, together with your share of partnership equity where that is relevant, and drawings and profit share are read together rather than one standing in for the other. The first year or two after admission is where averaging can understate what you are actually earning, so if a purchase is coming soon after a partnership change, talk to us early.

By some lenders, yes, and by the right ones, no. Brief fees arrive in lumps, and standard policy tends to treat uneven income as risk and discount it. Lenders who understand the profession average brief income across roughly two years and read the pattern as the normal rhythm of the work. The difference between those two readings is substantial and it is entirely a question of which lender the file reaches. Chambers costs, clerk fees and payment timing belong in the presentation, because they explain the shape of the accounts.

Under the professional program, ten per cent without the mortgage insurance premium being charged on top, where you qualify. That compares with the twenty per cent most borrowers are told to reach, or a premium charged above eighty per cent. The exact position depends on the lender and your circumstances, so confirm which programs are open to you before you set a savings target.

It is reachable, and it comes from bringing additional security to the file rather than from a larger loan against the one property. That means either a family member offering their own property as part security, or equity you add from a property you already own. Your income still has to service the whole loan, so the additional security covers the deposit gap rather than replacing serviceability.

Yes. A buy-in facility sits in your position and reduces what a lender will advance for a home, and a guarantee counts even where the debt is not in your own name. It does not stop you buying; it changes the number. Where both a buy-in and a home purchase are on the horizon, the order is worth deciding deliberately, and we can model both sequences with real figures.

Yes. What changes is how the income is traced: a distribution from a discretionary trust generally needs a consistent history before a lender treats it as income, and the entity accounts need to agree with what is being claimed. How you hold assets is a decision for you and your accountant. Our part is arranging finance that works around the structure you already have.

Sometimes, but the policies are narrower than for the home you live in and they vary between lenders. Some extend the professional program to investment purchases, others confine it to owner-occupied. Worth checking before you commit rather than assuming either way.

Yes, and commercial property for business owners is our main speciality. A firm buying its own floor or suite is a commercial purchase assessed on the building rather than the practice, and our commercial mortgage for professional offices page sets out how those are assessed. Rent the firm stops paying to a landlord is added back when serviceability is tested, which is often what makes the numbers work.

For a salaried solicitor: recent payslips, a year-to-date summary, your practising certificate, identification and statements for existing debts. For a partner: add two years of partnership distributions and personal returns. For a barrister: two years of returns, business activity statements and your chambers arrangements. We give you one list up front rather than asking in instalments.

Pre-approval commonly comes through within a few days once the documents are together. Full approval after you have found a property depends on the lender and the valuation, and usually follows soon after. Partner and barrister files take longer to assemble than salaried ones, which is a good reason to start before you are house hunting rather than during.

In most cases our service does not cost you anything. We are paid by the lender once your loan settles, so you get the comparison across more than 40 lenders and the management of the process at no charge. If anything unusual applies to your situation, we will be upfront about it before any work begins.

Although we are based in Sydney, we service clients across all major Australian cities, including Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Adelaide, Canberra and Hobart, along with their surrounding regional areas. Wherever in Australia you are buying, we can arrange your home loan.

Commercial property for business owners is our main speciality, so alongside your home loan we arrange finance for firms buying the office suite they work from, and for practice acquisitions and partner buy-ins. We also arrange office fit-out and technology finance, and working capital to cover the gap between billing and collection.

No. Arranging finance and advising on financial products are two different disciplines, and we do the first. What we bring is the credit analysis lenders require, the structuring of the facility, and the strategy for putting your application in front of lenders whose appetite matches it.

Because we act as a credit representative under an Australian Credit Licence, we do not give financial product, superannuation, taxation or legal advice, and nothing we provide should be taken as such. Where your circumstances need that input, we are happy to work with your accountant, financial adviser and solicitor to understand the full picture before anything is submitted.

The information on this page is general in nature and does not take account of your objectives, financial situation or needs.