Quick answer
Ownright Custom Finance arranges difficult home loans, private and second mortgages, bridging, rural, cattle and commercial finance throughout Queensland. From Brisbane and the Gold Coast to the Darling Downs, the cane coast and the Channel Country, we match the deal to lenders who understand the security and the circumstances.
Key points
- Queensland is big: security can be a Brisbane townhouse or a station hours from the nearest town
- Weather events shape rural lending, valuations and insurance conversations
- Short-term, caveat and bridging finance for tight settlements
- Plain-English guidance on transfer duty, Titles Queensland and farm debt mediation
- Coverage
- South-east corner to Cape York and the Gulf
- Suits
- Complex, declined or time-pressured Queensland borrowers
- Security
- Residential, rural, station, commercial
- Australia-wide
- Yes
Why is Queensland lending its own thing?
Queensland covers an area several times the size of Victoria, and it behaves like several economies stitched together. The south-east corner around Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast is a fast-moving residential and investment market. West and north of the ranges, the economy shifts to cattle, grain, sugar, bananas and other horticulture, tourism and mining services. Weather, from drought to cyclones to floods, is an ever-present factor that lenders think about before they say yes.
Ownright Custom Finance is Victorian-based but Australia-wide, and Queensland is a state where our kind of work comes up regularly. When a bank policy wasn’t built for a particular property or borrower, there are often other doors, and our job is to know which ones to knock on.
Which part of Queensland is your deal in?
South-east Queensland
Brisbane, Moreton Bay, Logan, Ipswich, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast and the Lockyer and Scenic Rim areas make up the state’s busiest property market. Here we see tight settlements, self-employed buyers, renovation and development finance, and owners who want to release equity without disturbing a first mortgage. Pages worth a look include second mortgages, investment property loans and construction loans.
The Darling Downs and Granite Belt
Grain, cotton, beef, feedlots and some of the state’s best-known cropping country sit alongside the Granite Belt’s fruit and wine. Finance often turns on cash-flow timing and equipment. See broadacre and cropping loans and farm equipment finance.
The sugar and tropical coast
From Bundaberg north through the Burdekin, Mackay, Cairns and the Atherton Tablelands, cane, bananas, tropical fruit and horticulture dominate, alongside tourism and port activity. Cyclone and flood risk, seasonal labour and market prices all feed into the lender’s view. Our horticulture and orchard loans page explains how these enterprises are assessed.
Central, western and northern grazing country
Beef is the backbone of much of inland and northern Queensland, with large stations, breeding and fattening operations, and long distances to market. The security is large, income is lumpy, and the lender’s attention goes to carrying capacity, water, herd and the operator’s record. See cattle and station loans and livestock finance.
The ABS and ABARES regularly publish figures on Queensland’s agricultural commodities and regional production; they confirm what the road trip tells you, which is that beef, grains, sugar and horticulture each look very different on the balance sheet.
What does Queensland-specific paperwork look like?
Queensland’s stamp duty equivalent is called transfer duty and is administered by the Queensland Revenue Office. Like elsewhere, it relates mainly to transfers of ownership, so purchases and some structure changes are where it appears. Titles are registered and managed through the state’s titles registry, and mortgages and caveats are lodged electronically.
For rural land, lenders also want to understand the tenure. Freehold is straightforward, but leasehold land, including grazing leases, can bring added conditions, and lenders may treat it differently. If a property mixes tenure types, it helps to say so at the start.
How does farm debt mediation work in Queensland?
Queensland has a legislated scheme: the Farm Business Debt Mediation Act 2017 (Qld). It works along these lines:
- A secured creditor intending to enforce certain farm mortgages generally has to give the farm business a notice and the chance to request mediation.
- QRIDA administers the process, and mediators are appointed to help the parties talk.
- The process can create time for a refinance, restructure or sale on better terms.
Mediation is a pause button, not a solution. The solution is usually a refinance with a new lender, sometimes a private or second-mortgage facility that clears pressure while the farm’s position recovers. The guides on drought and farm cash flow and refinancing farm debt are good starting points.
After the weather: what finance options exist?
Floods, cyclones and drought are part of the Queensland story. After an event, borrowers often face three questions at once: how to pay for repairs, how to bridge income until normal trading resumes, and how to keep lenders comfortable. Options might include:
- Short-term or interim finance while insurance claims or government assistance are processed.
- A farm second mortgage to release working capital without refinancing the whole loan.
- A drought finance or cash-flow restructure with longer-term repayments.
Government assistance programs exist alongside private finance, and QRIDA is a first port of call for many of them. Ownright doesn’t replace those programs; we look at what finance can sit alongside them.
Queensland deals where private finance shows up
- Settlement is due on a Brisbane or coastal property before the sale of another property completes.
- Business owners with a tax debt need a clean position before a bank will look at them. See refinancing ATO debt.
- A family wants to buy neighbouring land and has to move before the vendor sells elsewhere.
- A caveat is being used to hold position while a registered mortgage is arranged. Our page on caveat loans explains the idea.
Who this suits
Ownright works best for Queenslanders who have something real behind the application, such as equity, a trading business or a solid property, but who are hitting a wall because of timing, paperwork, credit history or a lender’s narrow policy.
What lenders look at in Queensland
| Factor | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Location and access | Remote or flood-prone areas can narrow the field of lenders |
| Property type | Rural-residential, acreage and mixed-use often sit outside standard policy |
| Insurance | Cover availability and cost can influence a lender’s appetite |
| Income pattern | Seasonal or project-based income needs explaining |
| Exit or repayment plan | Private lenders especially want a clear way out |
The Ownright approach
We listen first. Trevor Scott and the team have seen plenty of Queensland situations, and the questions are usually the same: what has already been tried, what is the deadline, and what does a good outcome look like? We then shape the application, choose the lender style and keep in touch until settlement. If you want to explore a deal, tell us about it here.
How do Queensland timelines usually play out?
Queensland deals often have a seasonal or weather rhythm that a lender’s standard timetable ignores. A cane grower’s income lands around the crush, a Darling Downs cropper’s around harvest, and a Whitsunday or Cairns operator’s around the tourist season. When a loan review, a valuation or a default notice lands out of step with that rhythm, a perfectly viable business can look like a problem.
Part of what we do is line the finance up with the income. That might mean asking a lender to accept a seasonal repayment pattern, using a short facility to carry the business to the next cheque, or choosing a structure with interest-only periods while a recovery takes hold. We also ask early about insurance, because in cyclone and flood country the cover on a property can influence whether a lender will touch it at all. Raising that at the start, with evidence in hand, usually saves a week of back and forth later.
If you are weighing a lender’s offer against a private alternative, the guide on private lender versus bank sets out the real differences.
Mistakes to avoid
- Letting insurance lapse or ignoring a claim that is still open.
- Leaving a lender notice unanswered because the situation feels hopeless.
- Applying to several lenders at once.
- Treating a decline as final without understanding the reason.
Documents to have ready
ID, recent statements, tax returns, any tax or business debt arrangements, the contract or title details, insurance schedules for rural or coastal property, and, for farms, financials, herd or crop records and a debt schedule.
Ready to start?
Whether you are in Townsville, Toowoomba or Tweed Heads, the conversation is the same. Send us your details, and we will help you work out the best way forward. If Ownright can’t find the solution, no one can.
How it works, step by step
- 1
Step 1
Tell us the property, where it is and what has stopped the deal so far.
- 2
Step 2
We work out whether the answer is a bank, non-bank or private lender, or a mix of facilities.
- 3
Step 3
We package the case, including context on weather, seasons or income quirks, so the lender sees the whole picture.
- 4
Step 4
We coordinate through to settlement with your solicitor or conveyancer.
Frequently asked questions
Does Ownright lend to remote Queensland properties?
We arrange finance for properties across Queensland, including regional and remote areas, although the choice of lender narrows as the location gets more remote. Lenders look closely at accessibility, the local market and the type of land. A conversation about the specific property is the quickest way to find out what is realistic.
What is the Queensland farm business debt mediation scheme?
The Farm Business Debt Mediation Act 2017 (Qld) lets farm businesses seek mediation with a secured creditor before enforcement action on certain farm mortgages. It is administered through the Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority, known as QRIDA. It can open a window to restructure, so early contact matters.
Can flood or cyclone damage affect my loan?
It can. Lenders consider insurance, damage, repairs and the effect on income and value. Many borrowers need short-term funds for repairs or cash flow while insurance or assistance is sorted. We talk through the options, including whether bridging or a second mortgage makes sense.
Is transfer duty charged when I refinance in Queensland?
A refinance of an existing loan on property you already own is generally not a transfer of the property, so transfer duty is usually not triggered. Purchases and some ownership changes are different. The Queensland Revenue Office publishes the rules and your solicitor can confirm.
Can I use a second mortgage on a Queensland rural block?
Yes, rural and rural-residential land can sometimes be security for a second mortgage, depending on the lender's appetite for the location, the size of the block and the equity available. A second mortgage can be an alternative to refinancing a first mortgage that suits you.
Do you help Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast investors?
Yes. Investors and owners on the coast often need flexible or short-term funds, for example to settle a purchase before a sale completes or to fund a renovation. We look at the equity, the use of funds and the exit strategy to decide which lender style fits.
What if my income is seasonal?
Seasonal income is common in Queensland, from cane and fruit to tourism and construction. Some lenders handle it well and others don't. We match the income pattern to a lender who understands it, and prepare the application so the seasonality is explained rather than misread.