- Clients
- Established homeowners nearing later working life
- Focus
- Debt strategy & SMSF lending
- Home Loan
- ~$780,000
The Objective
An established couple approaching the later stages of their working lives wanted three things: to get their finances back on track after a run of heavy medical expenses, to reduce their home-loan debt before retirement, and to keep building assets for the future despite having little equity left to work with.
The Challenge
The medical costs had left them effectively maxed out on the equity in their home, and an income-protection claim — involving costs and lost income in the hundreds of thousands — had been declined by their insurer. Their home loan had grown to around $780,000, and on their existing trajectory they could still be carrying mortgage debt into their 70s. That raised a real risk: reaching retirement with a large mortgage, and possibly having to draw down super or sell the family home under pressure to clear it.
What We Did Differently
We treated it as an overall debt and lending strategy rather than a single refinance. After the couple obtained appropriate independent financial advice and established a self-managed super fund, we arranged the lending for the SMSF to purchase an investment property — giving them a fresh avenue to build a retirement asset without drawing more equity from the family home. Alongside that, we worked through their household cash flow, found room to reduce spending without cramping their lifestyle, and folded those savings into a more aggressive home-loan repayment plan.
The Result
On the assumptions set at the time, the home loan was projected to clear in about 12 years rather than stretching into their 70s — a pathway to enter retirement with the family home debt substantially addressed and an extra asset building through the SMSF. If you’re weighing a similar move, our SMSF lending page explains how the borrowing side works.
Rethinking debt before retirement?
A combined debt and lending strategy can open options a standard refinance can’t.
SMSF Lending Speak to Ausfirst