Kayla and Kameran Al-Razak outside their “dream home” that was secured after they switched lenders. Picture: Rohan Kelly
A Sydney couple who thought they’d hit a brick wall with their bank have revealed how they doubled their borrowing capacity — unlocking enough cash to secure their dream home after a broker spotted a crucial bank mistake.
Kayla Al-Razak and husband Kameran, from Sydney’s south, were hunting for a bigger home after welcoming their second child.
They’d bought their first property back in 2019, but with two young kids, space was getting tight.
“We just needed something a bit bigger,” Ms Al-Razak said. “When I went to our bank to find out what we could borrow, the number they gave us was way below what I expected.”
It turned out the bank had taken a narrow view of the couple’s finances — limiting their borrowing potential under strict policy settings.
The couple were thrilled with how things turned out after their earlier surprise. Picture: Rohan Kelly
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A chance encounter on social media changed everything.
Ms Al-Razak saw mortgage broker’s Joseph Daoud’s details appear on Instagram and decided to get in touch.
“Within 10 minutes he gave me three or four options that were so much less scary,” she said.
Mr Daoud immediately recognised the issue: Ms Al-Razak was on maternity leave at the time and a bank officer had taken an overly rigid interpretation of the lender’s maternity policy. This had cut the couple’s capacity in half.
“Every lender has their own quirks,” Mr Daoud said. “When we took Kayla and Kameran to another bank with a more suitable policy, their borrowing power literally doubled.”
The couple eventually bought their dream home in Sydney’s St George region.
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Mortgage broker Joseph Daoud of It’s Simple Finance.
Mr Daoud, an economist and founder of It’s Simple Finance, warned that buyers who fail to shop around could come unstuck.
It was not uncommon for bank staff, especially inexperienced team members, to not fully understand credit policies, and low ball people’s borrowing power, he added.
“The problem is that as borrower you’d see this person as an authority so you just assume that’s correct,” Mr Daoud said.
The Al-Razak family getting more finance was a move that proved essential as they discovered just how fierce the city’s housing market had become.
“It was so competitive,” Ms Al-Razak said, noting they were outbid on numerous properties before they found their dream home.
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Mr Daoud, said this competitive pressure was now the new normal.
Many buyers were being forced to use every dollar of their borrowing capacity just to stay in the race, he added.
“We’re seeing it constantly,” he said. “People come to us saying, ‘we only want to spend this much,’ but nine times out of 10 they come back realising they need to borrow more.
“People get pressured to spend more. It’s not their fault.”
Ms Al-Razak said getting access to more borrowing power was life-changing.
“We love where we’ve ended up,” she said. “At one point it felt like we’d never find the right place, but we did and it’s better than anything we missed out on.”
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