How Aussie bus driver became mortgage free in 9 months

An Aussie bus driver who was struggling to pay down his debt after his repayments doubled has revealed the steps he took to become mortgage free.

This Aussie bus driver went from mortgage stress to debt free in less than nine months.

In October last year, Arthur Stefos found himself in a stressful position as the mortgage repayments on his Melbourne home had almost doubled.

“Financially I wasn’t doing well, it was just the daily grind over and over again. I’m a single parent and it was a lot harder to live in the city, it felt like there was no way to get (financially) ahead,” he said.

After living and working in Melbourne for 40 years, once his kids had moved out Mr Stefos decided the way to financial freedom was to sell his home.

“I’m too old to be stressed and it was the worry of when it was all going to stop.”

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He found a property in the rural town of Pyramid Hill, and wanted to purchase before selling his Melbourne home – yet multiple big banks and financial advisers knocked him back.

Arthur Stefos pictured with his partner Saya in front of his new Pyramid Hill property.

“My mortgage lender wouldn’t help me, nor could my bank – they made it really hard. I couldn’t understand because I was buying a cheaper property and selling a much more expensive one,” Mr Stefos said.

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After searching online, he came across a non bank lender that provides specialist bridging loans, enabling homeowners to use the equity in their home to buy now, sell later.

“By getting a bridging loan I gave myself that buffer and a bit more time to fix up the house and move everything over,” he said.

He now lives in his ideal rural property in Pyramid Hill in Victoria.

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“I was really in need of that tree change, it’s so quiet and peaceful here and now I’m mortgage free, I don’t have to work at all if I don’t want to.”

CEO of his lender, Bridgit, Aaron Bassin said a bridging loan could alleviate stress in a difficult property market and made the moving process easier for Australians.

“Moving homes is a stressful and important time and is also an expensive process, we want our customers to enjoy it,” he said.

“They may have found their dream home and we don’t want them to miss out on that opportunity if they haven’t sold yet, we are in one of the most competitive periods in the Australian property market” Mr Bassin said. “There are very limited solutions for the type of product we offer.”

Bridging loans can be approved faster than traditional loans with no repayments during the bridging period.

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Bridgit CEO and co-founder Aaron Bassin.

One-third of property owners said they have missed out on property opportunities as a result of slow financing, according to Bridgit.

Homeowners could avoid costs and stress that comes with having to rent if they find themselves selling before they buy, Mr Bassin added.

“In Arthurs case, he wanted to downsize because he was experiencing challenges with the rate rise environment we have been in, so he could release equity in his home to take funds to renovate,” he said.

“If he sold first he would not be able to increase the value of his current home.”

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Originally published as How Aussie bus driver became mortgage free in 9 months