Speed without shortcuts
Indicative terms in 4-24 hours. Formal credit submission in 2-3 days. Settlement 3-5 days for standard files. Same-team underwriting from scenario to settlement, what we indicate is what we formalise.
Private lenders · Australia
Private lenders for Australian property, written same-day.
Archer Wealth is a Sydney-headquartered private credit firm lending nationally, first and second mortgages, bridging, development and commercial. AFSL 548263. Broker-channel only.
Quick answer
Private lenders are non-bank credit providers who lend against property security when bank policy says no. In Australia, private lenders cover first mortgages, second mortgages, bridging loans, caveat loans, development finance, and commercial property loans. They underwrite to the deal and exit, not a serviceability calculator, and typically settle in 3-5 business days for standard residential files. Archer Wealth (AFSL 548263) is a wholesale-funded private lender operating nationally through accredited mortgage brokers.
What private lending is
Real underwriting, not a calculator.
Private lending fills the gap between bank policy and commercial reality. Banks underwrite to a fixed serviceability formula; private lenders underwrite to the deal, the security, the sponsor, the exit. Where the bank declines on a policy edge case, a private lender either funds the file properly or tells you fast why it can't.
Archer Wealth sits at the institutional end of the private lending market, wholesale-funded, AFSL-licensed, broker-originated, with a credit team that reviews every file rather than pricing-by-algorithm. The book is first-mortgage backed, conservatively LVR-capped, and voted by the credit committee.
For how a caveat, a second mortgage and short-dated bridging actually differ, see caveat loans and second mortgages. For how the channel compares to a bank, see private credit vs bank lending.
How it runs
How working with a private lender actually works.
01
Scenario in
Your broker submits the scenario: security, purpose, amount, exit. No application forms at this stage, just the shape of the deal.
02
Indicative terms
Credit reviews the scenario and returns indicative terms in 4-24 hours. Rate, LVR, tenor and conditions, stated up front.
03
Credit + valuation
Formal submission with supporting documents, an independent valuation on the security, and a credit committee vote. 2-3 days on standard files.
04
Settlement
Solicitors exchange and funds settle, typically 3-5 business days end to end for standard residential security. The exit is documented before the loan settles, not after.
How we differ
Three things that make a difference on every file.
Disciplined first-mortgage policy
Conservative LVR caps (75% metro houses, 65% apartments, 60% commercial), exit-first underwriting, documented sponsor and security. Every loan voted by the credit committee.
Broker-channel only
We work exclusively through accredited mortgage brokers. Borrowers reach us through their broker, never direct. Trail and upfront protected.
What private lenders fund
Six products, one credit desk.
First mortgage loans
The core product. Registered first mortgage over residential or commercial security, conservative LVR, priced from the sharpest end of the book.
Second mortgage loans
Registered second mortgage behind an existing bank first. Unlocks equity without disturbing the senior facility.
Bridging finance
Short-dated funding across a settlement gap, sized to a documented exit on the sale or refinance.
Caveat loans
How caveats work as additional security alongside a registered first or second mortgage. Files presented as a caveat need are usually written cleaner as a registered second.
Development finance
Site acquisition, residual stock and completion funding for experienced sponsors with a credible delivery and exit plan.
Commercial + business loans
Property-secured working capital, ATO arrears resolution and acquisition funding for trading businesses.
Criteria
What Archer lends against, and to what LVR.
Archer lends against three security classes, and the LVR ceiling moves with the class. Residential is the strongest tier, vacant land the tightest, because the recovery value of a site hold is more speculative than a house.
- Residential. Up to 75% LVR at standard delegation, from 7.99% p.a. Tiers above that, to 80%, are available on credit committee sign-off.
- Commercial. Up to 70% LVR at standard delegation, from 7.99% p.a. Tiers above that, to 75%, are available on credit committee sign-off.
- Vacant Land. Up to 65% LVR at standard delegation, from 8.99% p.a. Tiers above that, to 75%, are available on credit committee sign-off.
Facilities start at $250,000 for a first mortgage and $100,000 for a second. The full card, every band and every rate, is published on the rate card for brokers. All pricing is indicative and subject to credit approval.
Turnaround
Same-day indicative, 3-5 days to settle.
Archer returns indicative terms the same day on a scenario that arrives complete, and standard files clear in 3-5 business days. Indicative equals formal: the terms you take to your client are the terms credit has already seen, so there is no repricing between the two.
What moves that timeline is the file, not the lender. A clean title, a responsive valuer and, on a second mortgage, a cooperative first mortgagee are what let a file run to the short end. A contested title or an outstanding valuation will not, whoever is funding it. Where the clock is the whole problem, the private lending scenarios index sets out the shapes we see most.
Cost
What private lending costs.
Private lending costs more than a bank facility, and on a short-dated file the headline rate is not the number that matters. What matters is the rate over the actual term plus the establishment fee, valuation and discharge costs, measured against what the transaction is worth.
The structural components are published rather than quoted deal by deal. The borrowing rate base is 0.10% per month and applies across every tier. The establishment fee is 1.50% of the loan amount, excluding GST. Standard pricing runs to $10m, above which transactions are accommodated on tailored pricing against wholesale funding lines. The minimum borrower credit score is 500. All of these figures are indicative and subject to credit approval; formal pricing on any given file depends on security quality, sponsor, exit and structuring.
To model a specific file end to end, the bridging cost calculator runs interest, establishment and exit costs over a real term. Note it excludes valuation, legals and mortgage stamp duty, so treat its output as the funding cost rather than the settlement figure.
Before you place it
What needs a conversation first.
Archer does not publish a decline list, because there is no deal shape that is an automatic no. What follows are the cases where a call before submission saves everyone time, and where the answer may be that another lender fits better.
Rural and agricultural security
Rarely funded. Not an automatic no, but worth a call before you put a client through an application.
Consumer-purpose lending
Archer lends for business and investment purposes. Consumer-purpose loans regulated under the NCCP Act, a family buying a home to live in, sit outside what we write. That one is better answered now than after an application.
Under the minimums
Facilities start at $250,000 for a first mortgage and $100,000 for a second. Below that, a conversation about structure is more useful than a submission.
Standalone caveat facilities
A caveat is taken as additional security alongside a registered first or second mortgage, not written on its own. Most files presented as a caveat need are written cleaner as a registered second mortgage.
Anything else, submit it. The credit team would rather read a file that turns out not to fit than have a broker decide on our behalf. Full lending criteria and the rate card are published for brokers placing property-secured deals. All lending is subject to credit assessment and approval.
When private lending fits
The deals we actually settle.
Bridging-and-out
Asset under contract, settlement window tightening, bank can't unconditional in time. Bridging facility, exit on the sale settlement.
Bank-decline
Recently self-employed, unusual income mix, ATO arrears with payment plan. Where bank policy says no, the file is fundable on commercial reality.
Complex security
Mixed-use, partially tenanted, multiple titles, specialist class. Structured against tenure and exit, not policy formula.
Settlement-rescue short-term
Stamp duty shortfall, 72-hour funding window. The security is equity in an unencumbered second property. Property-secured, settled in days.
Private lenders by city
We write nationally. Every city, same credit desk.
Archer Wealth writes files across every Australian state and territory from Sydney head office. The credit lens is calibrated to the local market for each geography, the underwriting team and turnaround are the same on every file.
NSW
Private lenders Sydney
Archer Wealth is headquartered in Bondi Junction.
VIC
Private lenders Melbourne
We write the Melbourne book out of Sydney HQ, but with a credit lens calibrated to Victorian market behaviour.
QLD
Private lenders Brisbane
Queensland has been the fastest-moving private credit market in the country since 2022.
WA
Private lenders Perth
WA private credit is a smaller book than the eastern seaboard, but the deal quality is high when underwriting respects the local cycle.
SA
Private lenders Adelaide
South Australia's private credit market is smaller than the eastern seaboard but the underlying book quality is consistent.
QLD
Private lenders Gold Coast
The Gold Coast has been one of the most volatile residential markets in the country since 2020.
ACT
Private lenders Canberra
Canberra is a government-concentrated, high-income market with supply constraints and strong long-run demand.
Frequently asked
Private lenders, the questions that matter.
What is a private lender?
A private lender is a non-bank credit provider that funds property-secured loans from wholesale capital rather than retail deposits. In Australia, private lenders write first mortgages, second mortgages, bridging loans, caveat loans, development finance and commercial property loans, underwriting each file on its security, sponsor and exit rather than a centralised serviceability formula.
How do private lenders work?
The broker submits a scenario, the lender's credit team returns indicative terms (typically within 4-24 hours at Archer Wealth), a formal submission with an independent valuation follows, and the file settles once credit approves, typically 3-5 business days for standard residential security. The loan is sized to a documented exit, usually a sale, a refinance to a bank, or a business event.
Are private lenders regulated in Australia?
Partly, and the gaps matter. Established non-bank lenders hold an Australian Financial Services Licence issued by ASIC, which binds them to the general conduct obligations in Chapter 7 of the Corporations Act, including acting efficiently, honestly and fairly, under ASIC oversight. Compensation and external dispute resolution requirements, professional indemnity cover and AFCA membership, attach where a licensee serves retail clients, so what a given licence authorises is worth reading rather than assuming. Responsible lending and disclosure obligations are a separate regime: they come from the National Consumer Credit Protection Act and apply to consumer credit written under an Australian Credit Licence. That regime turns on the borrower, the purpose and the security rather than on the word used to describe the loan, and credit to an individual to buy, improve or refinance residential property can fall inside it even where the property is held as an investment. Archer Wealth writes business-purpose lending, which sits outside it; a file that is consumer-regulated is not one Archer writes. The private market also includes boutique funds and unlicensed individuals or family offices lending deal by deal, and an unlicensed lender carries none of the above. Ask any private lender for its AFSL number and check it on the ASIC register before accepting terms. What licensed private lenders sit outside is APRA's prudential framework, which applies to deposit-taking banks. Archer Wealth lends under AFSL 548263 and writes business and investment loans only. Loans are subject to credit assessment; property-secured lending carries the risk of loss of the security on default.
What is the difference between a private lender and a bank?
Banks underwrite to a fixed serviceability formula and centralised credit policy, which delivers cheap capital slowly and only to files that fit. Private lenders underwrite file by file on commercial merit, which delivers faster decisions and flexibility on non-standard files at a higher cost of capital. For long-term holds at low rates the bank is usually right; for time-critical or policy-edge files, a private lender often is.
What do private lenders charge?
Against an equivalent bank facility, private lending prices above it, typically by 200 to 400 basis points, because wholesale capital costs more and underwriting is bespoke rather than templated. Archer Wealth publishes its rates by security class and LVR band: indicative rates start from 7.99% p.a. on residential security to 70% LVR and on commercial security to 65% LVR. A borrowing rate base of 0.10% per month and a 1.50% establishment fee, excluding GST, apply across every tier. Ranking, sponsor, exit and structuring form part of the credit decision on a given file rather than a separate published rate. All pricing is indicative and subject to credit approval.
How fast can a private lender settle?
At Archer Wealth: indicative terms in 4-24 hours, formal credit in 2-3 days, settlement typically 3-5 business days for standard files. Genuinely urgent files can move faster where the security, title and legals allow. Timing is confirmed on the scenario, never guaranteed.
What do private lenders lend against?
Private lenders lend against real property taken as security under a registered mortgage. Archer Wealth writes against three security classes: residential, meaning houses, units and apartments; commercial, meaning investment, owner-occupied and specialised commercial property; and vacant land, covering land, site holds and development entry. A caveat is taken as additional security alongside a registered first or second mortgage rather than as a facility on its own. Lending is for business and investment purposes only.
What LVR will a private lender go to?
It depends on the security class, because recovery value does. At Archer Wealth, standard delegation runs to 75% LVR on residential, 70% on commercial and 65% on vacant land. Higher tiers are available with credit committee sign-off: 80% on residential, 75% on commercial and 75% on vacant land. On a second mortgage the cap applies across the combined position, not just the new facility. Every band and rate is published on the broker rate card, and all pricing is indicative and subject to credit approval.
What will a private lender not fund?
Archer Wealth does not publish a decline list, because no deal shape is an automatic no and every file goes to a BDM. Four cases are worth a conversation before you put a client through an application: rural and agricultural security, which is rarely funded; consumer-purpose lending regulated under the NCCP Act, such as a family buying a home to live in, which sits outside what Archer writes; facilities below the minimums of $250,000 for a first mortgage and $100,000 for a second; and standalone caveat facilities, which Archer does not write, as most files presented as a caveat need are written cleaner as a registered second mortgage.
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