{"id":11214,"date":"2024-02-08T09:53:30","date_gmt":"2024-02-07T22:53:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brighten.com.au\/resources\/media-centre\/brighten-reduces-buffer-enhances-policy-to-improve-serviceability\/"},"modified":"2024-02-08T09:59:37","modified_gmt":"2024-02-07T22:59:37","slug":"brighten-reduces-buffer-enhances-policy-to-improve-serviceability","status":"publish","type":"media-centre","link":"https:\/\/brighten.com.au\/zh-hant\/media-centre\/brighten-reduces-buffer-enhances-policy-to-improve-serviceability\/","title":{"rendered":"Brighten reduces buffer, enhances policy to improve serviceability"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Publication Date: Thursday, 8 February 2024<br><em>This article originally appeared in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mortgagebusiness.com.au\/lender\/18775-brighten-reduces-buffer-enhances-policy-to-improve-serviceability\">Mortgage Business<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The non-bank lender has reduced its serviceability buffer and made some changes to its policy in a bid to address serviceability concerns.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brighten Home Loans (Brighten) has announced more than 15 policy enhancements to \u201caddress serviceability concerns\u201d being raised by brokers and borrowers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the non-bank lender, brokers and borrowers have highlighted that serviceability hurdles in market continue to be too high for many borrowers, showcasing \u201cthe need for greater flexibility\u201d. For example, the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mortgagebusiness.com.au\/regulation\/18614-apra-holds-3-serviceability-buffer?highlight=WyJidWZmZXIiXQ==\">&nbsp;3 per cent buffer<\/a>&nbsp;currently applied to carded rates by the banks means that some borrowers are needing to demonstrate that they can service a loan with an interest rate of 9 per cent or higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To help more borrowers access credit, the non-bank lender has made a range of adjustments to its policy to help support more borrowers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brighten has now dropped its servicing buffer to 2 per cent and introduced an alternative servicing with a reduced buffer of 1 per cent above the applicable rate for eligible refinance loans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It has also brought in a range of other measures, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Increased the rental allowance for all residential products to 90 per cent (in recognition of the robust residential rental market.<\/li><li>Enabled Australian trusts to be accepted as an acceptable borrower types for non-resident and expat borrowers.<\/li><li>Introduced a company wages option that enables self-employed borrowers to use 100 per cent of their salary or director\u2019s wages from the past six months for servicing.<\/li><li>Removed the BAS requirement for one-year financials that are more than six months old.<\/li><li>Increased the maximum loan size for expat and non-resident customers to $2.5 million for the Sydney and Melbourne metropolitan areas and to $1.5 million for Gold Coast metropolitan areas.<\/li><li>Increased the maximum LVR to 75 per cent for high-density apartment units for expat and non-resident customers.<\/li><li>Extended the validity of offshore credit reports to 90 days from the date of formal approval.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking of the changes, Brighten\u2019s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mortgagebusiness.com.au\/lender\/18728-brighten-welcomes-new-ceo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">new chief executive<\/a>&nbsp;Jason Azzopardi said: \u201cBeing deeply focused on enhancing the experiences of brokers and customers, we\u2019ve listened to our brokers and implemented a raft of changes in our policies and products in response to their feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThese enhancements are set to improve serviceability across our range of products, streamline paperwork and documentation processes, and respond effectively to the evolving needs of our diverse borrower base.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chris Meaker, Brighten\u2019s head of sales, added: \u201cWe are committed to arming brokers with the necessary tools and products for the ever-evolving property market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur latest policy enhancements address both immediate needs and prepare them for future opportunities in a diverse market.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The non-bank has become the latest lender to reduce buffers and tweak policy to enable more borrowers to service mortgage tests, with<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mortgagebusiness.com.au\/lender\/18625-bluestone-lowers-serviceability-buffer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&nbsp;<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mortgagebusiness.com.au\/lender\/18625-bluestone-lowers-serviceability-buffer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bluestone Home Loans&nbsp;<\/a>having also recently dropped its serviceability buffer&nbsp;for near prime and prime loans with up to 70 per cent LVR from 2 per cent to 1.5 per cent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The non-bank lender has reduced its serviceability buffer and made some changes to its policy in a bid to address serviceability concerns.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5533,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11214","media-centre","type-media-centre","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-media-centre-zh-hant"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- 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