How I sliced 11 years off my mortgage

Read how concreter Ken Smith consolidated his loans and shaved $7000 off his mortgage.

It all started when I went looking for a renovator’s special for my eldest son, Brady. I wanted to borrow about $500,000 to give him so he had a project to work on (he’s a carpenter) – and a place to live. That’s eventually where we’re going to retire, down that way somewhere in Byron Bay. The plan was in three years’ time he would buy me out or we’d sell it and take the money. I’ve got two other boys and I wanted to offer the same to all three. How much can I borrow?Use UNO's calculator to estimate your borrowing capacity. Calculate Now As well as a mortgage on our own place, we had a business loan, credit cards, household and car insurance policies with the one lender. My wife Shelley and I went to see our bank. We’d been with them for 19 years and we’d never had any issues with them before. But after we came out of the interview I said to Shelley: ‘I’m just not happy. Something’s not right here.’ We stewed over our meeting with the bank manager and in the meantime came across UNO home loans online. One of their advisers called me and asked me what I wanted to do. I said we were looking at buying. He took all my information down and said, ‘You’re not going to have a problem’. That’s not the feeling I got from my bank. Around the same time, Shelley approached a mortgage broker to see what it could offer. This involved two face-to-face meetings, one of which forced me to take time off from work. I never had to do that with UNO. There was a bit of emailing and texting, especially in the early stages when the adviser was asking questions. He would be doing this at 8.30pm or 9pm. Everything was done over the phone. How much can I save by refinancing?Use UNO's calculator to estimate your savings. Calculate Savings UNO gave me a list of things I needed to supply: financial statements, credit card bills and tax returns. Then they set to work. In the end, they were able to wrap up our loans and insurance policies together with one provider, saving us thousands of dollars a year. We estimated it’s likely to be around $7000 a year. If we put this money back into paying off our loans, we could actually chop about 11 years off the mortgage. Get startedBook in a quick call with our customer care team.Book a call in with UNO

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Sheree Tidswell
February 20, 2025
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Scott Wilkinson and the team at Uno Mortgages were exceptional to work with. They were proactive, took the initiative at every stage, and kept us well-informed throughout the process. Their patience and relaxed approach made everything feel seamless, and we truly felt supported in achieving the best outcome for our needs. We highly recommend Scott and the Uno team for their professionalism and dedication!
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February 19, 2025
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February 12, 2025
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Shelley and the team at UNO Home Loans have been amazing to deal with. The process has been very smooth. I would highly recommend their expertise.
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February 6, 2025
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Mike Parsons was so good. He went in to bat for us with the bank and the valuers and everything went smoothly, eventually!! - One is always waiting for banks it seems... Mike gave us clear and concise information and time-frames during the whole process and was super friendly and way to deal with. Highly recommend Uno and Mike.
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Scott was referred by a mate of mine whom I've known for years back in Novemberof 2024. Shared my goals and what my ideal outcomes were and had one of the quickest and easiest turnarounds I've ever experienced thanks to Scott. He was easy to work with with allowed me to go at my own pace. When I had questions Scott took the time to help me understand in a way that made sense to me. We finalised our transactions a month later and settlement couldn't have been more easier. Thank you Scott and his amazing team at Uno home loans. I highly recommend and will be looking to partner with Scott and his team again on my next investment loan.
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Theresa Liebenberg
January 15, 2025
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Paul Davey was our mortgage broker for the purchase of our first home in Australia. We were very anxious about purchasing a home less than one year in the country. Paul's initial consultation was great and we did not even consider any other avenues. Right through the process, he kept us informed and utilised whatever additional expertise from Uno to get us an approved mortgage. Straightforward and efficient! We highly recommend Paul and Uno for the purchase of your new home. Theresa and Johan
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Mark
January 10, 2025
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We were recently approved for finance with Scott Wilkinson at UNO Home Loams. Scott was friendly and professional the whole way through the process and obtained the finance for us when many others had said they wouldn’t be able to. Thanks to Scott we were able to get everything done and settled in quite a short amount of time considering the complexity of the deal. We knew where we stood the whole way and no details were hidden or forgotten . Thanks Scott you are highly recommended by myself and my Wife.
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December 30, 2024
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Paul Davey and the team were amazing! As Kiwi's who have moved to Australia I wanted to use someone back home or who had experience with helping FHB in Australia. Paul answered all of our questions in a timely manner and helped us to secure the home loan and move into our new home. We had a few meetings with Paul and he did all the the work so us, we just filled in the required paperwork and he and the team did the rest. We dealt with Dalby for the last part of the process and he was also amazing! Highly recommend Paul and the team! Thanks Paul, Dalby and the team and UNO Home Loans.
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Neil Venkataramiah
December 20, 2024
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Mike Parsons: Working with Mike was amazing. My wife and I were a couple from Sydney that had a 7 year stint overseas. On moving back, our loan had gone from Interest Only to Principal and Interest. The challenge: to get 2 recently re-patriated Aussies on an Interest Only loan. With only 1 year of Oz financials. And with income from an overseas company. We had equity in our property, but the ability to service was the issue. A very tough brief. Step in Mike. He contacted all his lenders, knowing that this was a unique situation. He never let up and followed through with calls and whatsapps at every stage of the process. We simply could not have got our Interest Only loan if it wasn’t for Mike. I highly recommend Mike for any loan or re-finance that you’re looking at. His attention to detail and ability to find creative solutions is second to none. And most importantly - he's a good guy that will guide you through the whole process in what can be a stressful time. Steph and Neil
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Philip Smith
December 20, 2024
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Mike Parsons provided my wife and I outstanding service for our home loan. I have never dealt with someone who is so helpful and goes the extra mile and provides such excellent service the way Mike did. Highly recommend Mike as your broker for all investment/home loans you won’t be disappointed.
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Gemma Smith
December 19, 2024
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Mike Parsons was truly amazing when he organized our home loan. He offered service that far exceeded my expectations. He was on top of everything and was very organised. He has a true “do it now” attitude and ensured everything ran smoothly. He went above and beyond to make sure everything was in place. He was always contactable (even when he was on holidays!). Keeping us up to date at every step and his communication was great! Would VERY HIGHLY RECOMMEND Mike!
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December 19, 2024
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Highly recommend Mike - great service, very responsive and helped us through the whole process from product selection, approval all the way to settlement. Mike is supported by a great team at UNO
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