Owner builder finance
Owner builder finance funds a build you are managing yourself instead of handing to a registered builder. Fewer lenders write it and they typically lend a lower proportion of the finished value, so we tell you plainly whether your project is fundable.
- Genuinely harder than a standard construction loan, and we say so.
- Fewer lenders offer it, at a lower proportion of the finished value.
- You need an owner-builder approval and a costing schedule trade by trade.
- Sometimes a land loan plus an equity release is the better answer.
- Years broking
- 21+Years broking
- Loans settled
- $1B+Loans settled
- Credit licence
- ACL 389083Credit licence
- Lenders compared
- 40+Lenders compared
Our awards and recognition
Awarded by the people who see every broker’s numbers
Diamond Club
2026
Money Quest Group
Diamond Club
2025
Money Quest Group
Diamond Club
2024
Money Quest Group
Mortgage Broker of the Year
2023/24 — National, highest dollar volume settled
Southern Cross Broker Network
Excellence in Finance, Gold
2021
PLAN Australia
Excellence in Finance, Gold
2020
PLAN Australia
Hall of Fame
Valued partner, 15 years
PLAN Australia
Elite Broker
2021
Broker Value Proposition
Premium Broker
ANZ
Individual Excellence Award
2016
Specialist Finance Group
Sales Excellence Award
PLAN Australia
Sales Master Award
PLAN Australia
Top 100 Brokers
Four times
Australian Broker
What our owner builder finance service does
The work we do on an owner-build, starting with whether it is fundableOwner builder finance is a construction loan for a build you are managing yourself rather than handing to a registered builder. The work starts with an honest assessment of whether it can be funded, then moves to lender selection, a much stricter file, and drawdowns that rest on a valuer rather than a builder's claim.
Fewer lenders offer owner-builder finance, and those that do typically lend a lower proportion of the finished value.
Every facility is subject to lender approval and your circumstances, and we give you the realistic position before anything is submitted.
We tell you first whether the project is fundable
Owner-builder lending is the part of construction finance where an honest no saves the most money. We look at your approval, your costings and your equity before anything is submitted. If it does not work as an owner-build, you hear that from us rather than from three declines.
We go to the lenders who write owner-builder loans at all
Most lenders do not fund owner-builders, and applying to one that does not is a decline recorded against your file for nothing. Knowing which part of the panel to approach is most of the work here, and it is why lender selection comes before the paperwork.
We assemble the file an owner-builder lender demands
Your owner-builder approval and any relevant trade background, a costing schedule trade by trade, quotes from the subcontractors you intend to use, and a realistic contingency because owner-builds run over more often. Lenders are stricter about this file than any other construction file.
We work out the gap you have to fund yourself
Lenders typically fund a lower proportion of the finished value on an owner-build, so the difference between what you borrow and what the project costs is yours to cover. That gap is the number the whole project turns on. We establish it before you commit to anything.
We compare a construction facility against land plus equity release
An owner-builder construction facility is not the only route. Borrowing against the land and releasing existing equity can fund a build outright, without the lender supervising progress claims. It is often the workable answer when a construction facility is declined, and we price both.
We handle drawdowns without a builder's progress claim
There is no builder issuing claims on an owner-build, so each release rests on the lender's valuer confirming the stage is genuinely complete. That makes documentation and timing matter more, not less. We keep the inspection cycle moving so your trades are paid on schedule.
Work out the numbers on an owner-build
Duty if you are buying the land, then the repayment at full drawdownIf you are buying the block, transfer duty is payable at land settlement rather than at the end of the build. The other number to have early is the repayment at full drawdown, because that is the one you carry once the project is finished.
Work out your WA stamp duty
The dutiable value. Usually the contract price, or the market value if that is higher.
Foreign buyers pay an extra 7% of the dutiable value on residential property in WA.
Rates as at 10 August 2026, source: RevenueWA.
Estimated duty payable
$24,890
- Scale applied
- General rate
- Transfer duty
- $24,890
- Duty at the general rate
- $24,890
This is an estimate of transfer duty only, on the 10 August 2026 RevenueWA scale. It does not include Landgate transfer or mortgage registration fees, settlement agent fees, or the off-the-plan concession. RevenueWA assesses the final figure.
Talk through your purchase costsWork out your repayments
What you need to borrow, not the purchase price.
An example figure. Put your own rate in — we do not quote rates here.
Estimated monthly repayment
$3,597.30
- Total interest over the term
- $695,029
- Total repaid
- $1,295,029
- Repayment if the rate rose to 8.00%Roughly the buffer a lender applies when it assesses you.
- $4,402.59
This is an estimate. It assumes the rate stays where you put it for the whole term and it does not include fees, lenders mortgage insurance, offset balances or extra repayments. Your real repayment depends on the lender and on approval.
Book a 15-min chatEach tool has a page of its own explaining every figure it uses: stamp duty calculator wa and home loan repayment calculator.
How an owner-build gets funded
Three routes, including the one that is not an owner-builder loanAn owner-builder construction facility is one way to fund a build you are managing yourself, and it is not always the best one. The alternatives are worth pricing before you commit, because the cheapest finance is not always the finance labelled for the job.
- Owner-builder construction facility
How it works
Drawn in stages against your costing schedule and the valuer's inspections
Worth knowing
Written by considerably fewer lenders, typically at a lower proportion of the finished value
- Land loan plus an equity release
How it works
You borrow against the land and existing equity, then fund the build yourself
Worth knowing
Often the workable answer when a construction facility is declined
- Registered builder on a fixed price contract
How it works
The standard construction loan path, drawn against the builder's progress claims
Worth knowing
The widest lender choice, and worth pricing before you commit to owner-building
Bring us the approval and the costings and we will tell you which of these three your project realistically fits. If that is the third one, we will say so.
Who owner builder finance suits
The owner-builders we arrange finance forEvery project below is a build managed by the owner rather than a registered builder, and each one is assessed more strictly than a standard construction loan. These are the situations that arrive most often.
Owner-builders holding an approval from the Building Commission
Tradespeople building their own house and managing the other trades
Owners with substantial equity in the land, who need less of the cost funded
People weighing an owner-build against handing the job to a registered builder
Anyone who has been declined and wants to know exactly why
How the process runs on an owner-build
Five steps, with a harder file and a valuer at every stageThe application runs the same five steps as any loan we write, with more documentation at the front and a stricter assessment throughout. Each drawdown then rests on the lender's valuer confirming the stage is complete, because there is no builder's progress claim to rely on.
Start an application
You send us the basics and we work out what you could borrow and which lenders will look favourably at your situation.
Read this step in full: Start an applicationWhat you need
Income, debts, deposit
Get pre-approved
We put your file to the lender that fits and bring back a pre-approval in writing, subject to lender approval and your circumstances.
Read this step in full: Get pre-approvedWhat we do
Match the lender to your file
Get officially approved
Once your offer is accepted, the lender orders its valuation and issues formal approval.
Read this step in full: Get officially approvedWhat we do
Chase the lender, so you do not have to
Prepare for settlement
We go through the loan documents with you before you sign anything, then coordinate the lender and your settlement agent.
Read this step in full: Prepare for settlementWhat you need
Your questions, asked early
Stay up to date
After settlement we keep the loan under review as rates move and your circumstances change.
Read this step in full: Stay up to dateWhat we do
Review it, and tell you first
Step 1 of 5 · Start an application
About our independent mortgage brokers
The brokers who will give you the honest answerIndependent means no franchise above us and no lender owning a share of the business. Nobody upstairs sets a monthly target, so there is nothing to gain from talking you into an owner-build that will not fund. Your bank may not write these at all; we compare 40+.
Gavin Harrigan has been broking from West Leederville since 2005. Today it runs on a small team, Gavin Harrigan, Justin Richardson and Xavier Prescott, each with their qualifications on the page. You deal with the person who writes your loan, before settlement and after it.
The work runs from a first home loan, through refinancing and investment lending, out to construction, small developments and commercial property. Same broker, whichever end of that you are at.
- VerifiedBroking since 2005
- VerifiedOver $1 billion in loans settled
- VerifiedAustralian Credit Licence 389083
- VerifiedMoneyQuest accredited
- VerifiedMember of the Finance Brokers Association of Australia (FBAA)
- Verified40+ lenders on the panel
Fifteen minutes is usually enough to tell you where you stand. No cost, no obligation, and any lending is subject to approval and your circumstances.
Why choose us for owner builder finance
On an owner-build, the most valuable thing a broker can say is noEvery point below is a consequence of how this business is owned, not a slogan about service.
- Included
No franchise, no head office quota
We do not pay a franchise fee, so nobody upstairs sets a monthly target for us to hit. That removes the main reason a broker recommends the wrong loan.
- Included
No lender owns a share of us
The banks have no stake in this business and no claim on where files go. Your bank has one loan to sell you. We do not.
- Included
40+ lenders, one shortlist
We compare 40+ bank and non-bank lenders, then explain why the shortlist looks the way it does. Policy differences decide more applications than rate does.
- Included
We will tell you when the answer is no
If refinancing does not actually save you money, we say so and you leave the loan where it is. A wrong loan costs more than the fee it earns.
- Included
The same broker after settlement
You keep dealing with the person who wrote the loan. We review it as rates and your circumstances change, not once and then never again.
What our clients say
In their words, not oursReviews left by people we have settled loans for, pulled straight from the platform they were written on.
Our construction lender panel
Few lenders write owner-builder loans, so we compare 40+Major banks, second-tier banks, and non-bank lenders who will look at a build the majors will not. MoneyQuest gives us access to the panel. 21+ years of writing loans on it tells us which lenders will consider an owner-build.
A selection of the lenders we are accredited with. Ask us who else is on the panel for your situation.
Our construction finance guides
Understand the funding before you take the job onHow a construction loan is assessed and drawn down, in plain English. Each one carries a broker's name.
Approvals
Home loan pre-approval, explained
What a lender is actually committing to, and what can still undo it.
Read it: Home loan pre-approval, explained
Choosing a broker
What a mortgage broker does
What the job actually involves, who pays for it, and when your own bank is the better call.
Read it: What a mortgage broker does
Building
How construction loans work
Progress payments, a valuation of something not yet built, and the traps in between.
Read it: How construction loans work
Development
Funding a property development
How funders read a project, and why the exit is decided before the first drawdown.
Read it: Funding a property development
Meet our Perth construction finance brokers
You get a broker, not a call centreThree people, all named, all reachable. The person who tells you whether your owner-build can be funded is the person who writes the file and the person who chases each inspection.
Gavin Harrigan
Managing Director
Broking since 2005, four-time Top 100 broker and a PLAN Australia Hall of Fame member.
- Bachelor of Commerce, Applied Finance and Commercial Law — Curtin University
- Diploma of Finance and Mortgage Broking Management — AAMC Training Group
- PLAN Australia Hall of Fame member
- Elite Broker status
- Top 100 Brokers, four times
Justin Richardson
Loan Consultant
Business and law background, and a habit of making the process feel simple.
- Bachelor of Commerce, Business Law and Marketing — Curtin University
- Bachelor of Laws (in progress) — Murdoch University
Xavier Prescott
Loan Consultant
Fresh qualifications, a competitor's discipline, and a lot of patience.
- Diploma of Finance and Mortgage Broking Management
Common questions about owner builder finance in Perth
Can I get a construction loan as an owner-builder?
It is possible, though considerably fewer lenders offer it and they typically lend a lower proportion of the finished value. You need an owner-builder approval, a detailed costing schedule and evidence you can fund any shortfall. We will tell you honestly whether your project is fundable.
Why is owner builder finance harder to get?
A lender funding a registered builder has a fixed price contract, a builder's registration and indemnity insurance behind the work. An owner-builder file has none of those. More of the risk of the build stalling or running over sits with the lender, and their policies reflect that.
What does an owner-builder have to supply?
Your owner-builder approval from the Building Commission and any relevant trade background, a detailed costing schedule trade by trade, quotes from the subcontractors you intend to use, a realistic contingency because owner-builds run over more often, and evidence you can fund the gap between what you borrow and what it costs.
How much of the cost will a lender fund?
Less than they would fund for a registered builder, and how much less depends on the lender and on your project. There is no figure that holds across the panel, because the policies differ. We give you the number that applies to your file before you commit to anything.
How do drawdowns work without a builder?
There is no builder's progress claim, so each release rests on the lender's valuer inspecting and confirming the stage is genuinely complete. You sign an authority and the funds are released, then the cycle repeats. Documentation and timing matter more here than on a standard construction file.
Do I need my owner-builder approval before I apply?
Yes, in practice. Lenders that write owner-builder loans want the approval as part of the file, alongside your costings and your trade background. Start the approval and the finance conversation at the same time, so you are not holding one while waiting on the other.
What if no lender will fund my owner-build?
There is usually another route. Borrowing against the land and releasing existing equity can fund a build without a construction facility at all, if you hold enough equity. The other honest option is putting the work with a registered builder, which opens the whole panel.
Is owner-building actually cheaper?
Sometimes, and it depends entirely on your trade contacts, your time and how accurate your costings are. Owner-builds run over more often than contracted builds, and you fund the overrun yourself. Price the registered builder path as well before deciding, so you are comparing two real numbers.
Related finance we arrange
The other loans an owner-builder usually looks atMost files touch more than one of these. If yours does, it is the same broker and the same conversation.
Home Construction Loans
Building a new home in Perth, funded stage by stage as the house goes up.
Learn moreabout Home Construction Loans
Knockdown Rebuild Loans
Demolishing the house you own and building a new one on the same block, funded in stages.
Learn moreabout Knockdown Rebuild LoansConstruction Finance
New builds, knock-down-rebuilds and owner-builder projects, funded progressively as the build goes up.
Learn moreabout Construction Finance
The information on this page is general in nature and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Any figures shown are estimates only. Lending is subject to approval, and to the lender's terms, conditions, fees and charges. Consider whether the information is appropriate for you before acting on it.
Get in touch
Send us the approval and the costingsFour questions and you are done. A broker reads it, tells you honestly whether the project is fundable, and rings you back on the number you give us.
Would rather just talk?
Ringing is quicker than waiting for us to ring you, and you get a broker rather than a queue.
1300 813 113