Stephanie Jordan · mortgage broker
Someone had to be the broker who actually explains it
ZARALEND is a Melbourne brokerage working with clients Australia-wide. First home, next home, investment, or a better deal on the one you've got. We do the version where you understand what's happening the whole way through, which sounds like the bare minimum and somehow isn't.
ABOUT • ABOUT •
Less finance-bro-in-a-suit, more someone you'd genuinely grab a coffee with
You've done the hard part.
The deposit's there. You've been watching the market for longer than you'd like to admit.
If you're refreshing realestate.com.au like it's a full time job and what you actually want is someone to tell you where you stand, explain the whole process, then help you get the keys to one of them… you're in the right place.
The numbers, since you're here • The numbers, since you're here • The numbers, since you're here • The numbers, since you're here •
40+
LENDERS
including the Big Four, Macquarie and a lot you've never heard of
250+
clients
from first homes to fifth properties
100+
five-star reviews
Yes, we checked. Yes, they're all real.
7+
years Broking
Full time, through every kind of market.
Hi, I'm StephANIE. Before this, I was a Dermal Clinician (bare with me...)
I came into broking sideways, via skin treatments and three investment properties
The first one I bought at 19. Then thirteen years renting where I wanted to live and owning where the numbers worked. I was doing laser and skin treatments by day, until I fell in love with reading lender policy (I wish I was joking).
So I retrained. Seven-plus years on, I've been the client and I've been the broker, and I know the difference between an explanation that sounds impressive and one that actually helps.
Only around 26.8% of mortgage brokers in Australia are women. I'm proud to be one of them, and I believe it's a genuine advantage for my clients.
I started ZARALEND for the people who'd sat through a finance conversation, nodded politely, and left knowing roughly nothing.
There turned out to be a lot of them.
These days realestate.com.au and the Herald Sun ring me for comment and I mentor new-to-industry brokers. I'm Platinum accredited with CBA, which mostly means your application moves faster. None of it beats watching someone work out they can actually do this.
Favourite food
Thai, and I will absolutely order the same thing every time
Things that aren't on my CV
Since we're going to be talking about your money for the next few months, you may as well know who you're dealing with.
Weekend
Long beach walk, usually the one hour nobody's asking me for anything
Currently keeping alive
Two boys and a lot of indoor plants
Guilty pleasure
Scrolling other people's interior design accounts
Non-negotiable
A coffee in hand before the day officially starts
Most likely to say
"Okay, but do you actually understand what that means?"
Every step, including the ones nobody usually explains
This is the part most people find out about as it's happening. We'd rather you knew now.
Twenty minutes on the phone. Nothing to prepare, nothing to work out first. Stephanie asks about where you're at, what you've got and what you're hoping to do, and you'll come away knowing whether you're closer than you thought.
A quick chat:
01.
On Zoom. Your goals, your income, your deposit, and every grant or scheme you qualify for. We share the screen and work out your borrowing capacity together in real time, so you can see straight away what's within reach.
The discovery call:
02.
We share the screen and walk you through the top three lenders we've actually researched for your situation side by side, pros and cons included, then tell you honestly which one we'd recommend and why. The final decision's still yours, we just won't leave you to make it alone.
The Loan Strategy Meeting:
03.
Conveyancer, building and pest, buyer's agent if you need one, we'll introduce you to the right people. We stay directly involved with your conveyancer through to settlement, so that part's never left entirely on you.
Your 'A Team':
04.
Repricing every six months and an annual review with a property valuation, so you can see the equity you've built. Most people never hear from their broker again. You will.
Settlement, and then the long bit:
05.
Behind the Scenes
Kim, Lawrence and Mikhail keep everything moving between our calls, document collection, application updates, chasing lenders and liaising with your solicitor and real estate agent. You want Stephanie's brain on your strategy, not buried in a filing cabinet, so that's exactly where we keep it.
Forty-plus lenders, and we've used most of them
Big Four, Macquarie, and plenty you've never heard of. That last group matters more than you'd expect, because they're often the ones who say yes when your situation isn't textbook.
What it's actually like to work with us
"Being first home buyers we had so many questions. Steph was always readily available to help answer all our questions which made navigating this time stress-free and exciting."
Jacinta Smith
"She was especially patient with explaining the complex ins and outs of mortgages."
Margaret Bowen
"We had a tricky finance situation and she handled everything with ease. We always felt informed, had a clear understanding of our options."
James Shuttleworth
