Mortgages & Finance
The fine print, explained before you sign
Loan agreements, mortgages, guarantees and security documents for borrowers, lenders and guarantors. We read what the bank or the private lender has drafted and tell you what it commits you to, in plain terms, before you are bound.
What we do
Finance work, by role
The same document reads very differently depending on which side of it you are on. We act for people borrowing, for people being asked to guarantee someone else’s debt, and for banks, private lenders and family financiers who need the loan documented so that it can be enforced. Pick your side above, or read on.
For borrowers and guarantors
Before you sign
Loan agreements, mortgages and guarantees explained in plain terms, and the solicitor’s certificate your lender asks for.
For lenders and private financiers
Documents that hold
Loan and security documents drafted and registered so the money comes back, and enforcement run properly when it does not.
01
Borrowing
Business loans, property loans and refinancing
A loan agreement is a long document with a short list of clauses that matter: the events of default, the review and repayment triggers, what security the lender takes, and what happens to the business or the property if things go wrong. We go through those before you sign and negotiate the ones that can move.
- Business and commercial loan agreements
- Property and investment loans
- Refinancing and loan variations
- Events of default and review clauses
02
Guarantees
Signing for someone else's debt
Directors, spouses and parents are routinely asked to guarantee a loan, and the guarantee is often unlimited and secured over the family home. Lenders usually require the guarantor to get independent legal advice first, and a solicitor’s certificate confirming it. We give that advice properly: what you are exposed to, what you could lose, and whether the guarantee can be limited.
03
Security documents
Mortgages, general security agreements and deeds of priority
Behind most business loans sits a general security agreement over everything the business owns, a mortgage over property, and sometimes a deed of priority between two lenders. These documents decide who gets paid first if the business fails. We prepare and review them, and we explain the practical effect, not only the legal one.
04
For lenders and private financiers
Loans outside the banks, documented so they can be enforced
A private loan, a family loan, a vendor finance arrangement or a mezzanine facility needs the same discipline as a bank loan and usually gets less. We act for the lender: the loan agreement and the security drafted to your terms, the mortgage or PPSR interest registered, the guarantor’s independent advice arranged, and the documents brought into line with the National Credit Code where it applies. The test is simple: if the borrower stops paying, can you enforce without an argument?
05
Default and enforcement
When the loan is not being paid
For lenders, enforcing a loan means the right notices in the right order, and then the right remedy: a mortgagee sale, appointing a receiver, or a claim against a guarantor. Get the sequence wrong and the borrower has a defence. For borrowers on the receiving end, it means knowing which notices are valid, what time you have, and where the negotiating room is. Either way, the earlier the advice the better the outcome.
How we work
Three steps
01
Send us the documents
The loan offer, the mortgage and any guarantee. We quote the review before we start.
02
A plain-English report
What each document commits you to, the clauses that matter, and what we recommend negotiating.
03
Signing, certificates and registration
Independent advice and solicitor’s certificates where the lender requires them, and registrations lodged so the security actually holds.
Who you will work with
Special Counsel
Lorraine Lim
Over 18 years as a commercial solicitor in Malaysia and Australia, including as a partner of a boutique firm. Lorraine leads the firm’s property and conveyancing work and the loan and security documents that sit behind a purchase, with a steady, results-driven approach clients come back to.
Graduate Conveyancer
Daniel Kim
Five years as a finance broker before conveyancing, so Daniel knows mortgage structures, lending procedures and settlement timelines from the lender’s side. He holds an Advanced Diploma of Conveyancing from RMIT and works on the PEXA platform, keeping transactions accurate and on time.
Principal
Tsungai Mukushi
Principal of the firm, admitted in 2008 and a franchise and commercial lawyer since. Tsungai has established 63 franchise systems, acted on 399 business sales and acquisitions and resolved 162 disputes at mediation, and he owns and runs businesses of his own, so the advice starts with what the decision means commercially.
Client feedback
Voices of excellence
Live rating and reviews from the firm’s Google Business Profile.
Common questions
Finance questions, answered
Do I have to get independent legal advice before signing a guarantee?
Most lenders require it and will not accept the guarantee without a solicitor’s certificate. Beyond the lender’s requirement, it is the one chance to understand what you are personally exposed to before you are bound, and whether the guarantee can be capped.
Can a guarantee be limited?
Often, yes, if it is raised before signing. Guarantees can be limited to a fixed amount, to a period, or to a particular facility. Lenders do not offer this; it has to be asked for, and it is much harder to change afterwards.
What is a general security agreement?
A security interest over all of a company’s present and future property, registered on the Personal Property Securities Register. It is the business equivalent of a mortgage over a house, and it is what lets a lender appoint a receiver if the loan is not paid.
Does a caveat protect a private lender?
Only partly. A caveat warns the world of your claimed interest and stops dealings with the land until it is resolved, but it is not a mortgage and does not give you a power of sale. A registered mortgage does. We advise on which is appropriate and lodge the right one.
Also relevant
Related services
Business & commercial
Structuring, shareholder arrangements and the business the loan supports.
Related reading
Mortgages & Finance reading
Articles and briefings from the firm on this area. Plain English, no lecture.
Next step
A loan, a mortgage or a guarantee in front of you?
Send us the documents and we will quote the review before you commit to anything.