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Jessica Darnbrough
Brokers have come out in support of RE/MAX Geoff Baldwin’s comments that the new NCCP legislation will negatively impact older borrowers.
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Yesterday, RE/MAX’s Western Australian managing director Mr Baldwin said any one over the age of 50 could find it hard to seek finance under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act.
According to Mr Baldwin, the NCCP laws will force brokers to prove a borrower has the capacity to repay the loan in full at retirement age without selling their owner occupied property.
The Adviser was yesterday inundated by responses from brokers supporting Mr Baldwin’s critiscims of the NCCP Act.
Aussie broker Warwick Hoy backed Mr Baldwin, describing the new legislation as “draconian”.
“Why should someone 10 years out from retirement be prevented from buying a property and using the equity gained over that time to add additional retirement funding,” Mr Hoy said.
“I know regulation is necessary, but this is draconian.”
Mr Hoy’s comments were largely echoed by The Mortgage Gallery’s Bruce Downing.
According to Mr Downing, the new legislation violates one of the key pillars of Australian society – lack of discrimination.
“This is just another example of the danger of letting bureaucrats, who have no idea how things work in the real world, make rules about things they neither have any practical experience with, or even understand,” Mr Downing said.
“I’m all for regulation and believe that all brokers should be licensed and adhere to strict ethical standards, but NCCP goes way beyond that as it imposes the will of a few uninformed and ideologically motivated individuals on the whole nation.”
But while it seems many brokers are adverse to the new NCCP laws, Gadens Lawyers partner Jon Denovan told The Adviser that there may be some confusion surrounding the legislation.
Mr Denovan applauded Mr Baldwin for raising the issue; however he said it was important to remember that the sale of the principal place of residence can be the method of repayment.
“As per section 118(3) of the NCCP Act, if borrowers can only repay by selling their principal place of residence, it is presumed that the loan will cause substantial hardship unless the contrary is proved. So, if it is a reasonable part of a person's life plan (eg to downsize or sell up), there is no reason to knock out borrowers who are over 35,” Mr Denovan said.
“The MFAA's 'legislation summary of key provisions' is a great information source for the finance industry, and those who haven't read it, should.”
