Can you get a home loan after a Part 9 debt agreement?

Perry's completion letter helped explain his position. It did not make every bank willing to lend. The same distinction applies whether your agreement ended recently or several years ago.

Part 9, also written Part IX, is a formal debt agreement under the Bankruptcy Act. It is different from an informal payment plan or bankruptcy. When you apply for a loan, the lender needs to know whether you're still paying it, have completed it or it ended another way.

Check the name on your documents. Part X is a Personal Insolvency Agreement (PIA), which has different rules from Part IX. If you see PIA, section 188 authority or bankruptcy, have the status confirmed before using the dates in this guide.

Pepper Money says it may be able to help you finalise an agreement or get a home loan after completing one. Its Part 9 guidance explains the suitability and credit checks. Whether that works for you depends on the agreement, property, usable equity and repayments you can afford.

A Part 9 agreement can appear on both your consumer credit report and the National Personal Insolvency Index (NPII), a public register. It does not normally stay there forever. The date it comes off depends on whether you completed the agreement or it ended another way.

These periods apply to the consumer credit report and the public NPII entry, although they are separate records.

The credit-report dates are set out in section 20X of the Privacy Act. AFSA's NPII guidance explains the public-register dates. AFSA allows up to 1 month to remove the NPII entry after its reporting period ends. That is separate from the credit reporting body's obligations. Legal exceptions can affect how credit-report information is handled.

In these hypothetical examples, each agreement began on 1 March 2022. The agreement that was terminated has a later removal date, even though it ended on the same day as one of the completed agreements. Allow for the removal time and legal exceptions described above.

A lender can still ask about the agreement after it leaves your credit report. It will also look at your income, debts and recent repayments, so answer questions about past insolvency accurately when you apply.

If you own a home, a specialist lender may let you pay out the agreement at settlement. Two checks must work: the new mortgage must fit within the lender's limit against your property, and your income must support its repayments. Equity alone does not establish how much you can borrow.

Start with the administrator's current payout figure, then check that the lender allows it and how the settlement money must be paid.

Ask the administrator to confirm what will complete the agreement and what paperwork you'll receive afterwards. Moving the balance to a mortgage, making the last payment or stopping deductions does not, by itself, confirm that completion has been recorded.

One less payment each month can help. But compare what is left to pay under the agreement with the extra mortgage interest and fees. If the whole home loan moves to a higher rate, include that cost too. Our debt-consolidation guide explains why a smaller monthly payment can still cost more overall.

Paying early can change the completion date, but it doesn't remove the record immediately. For a completed agreement, the reporting period ends at the later of the 5-year anniversary or the completion date.

• Ask the administrator for a dated payout figure, fees and the steps needed to finish early.
• Find out whether creditors need to approve the proposal or any other formal step is required.
• Confirm who receives the settlement money and what completion document you will receive.
• Compare keeping the agreement with refinancing, including the remaining payments, fees and cost of the whole mortgage.

Keep making your agreed payments while the refinance is being assessed, unless the administrator formally agrees to a change. Even conditional loan approval does not mean the debt agreement has finished. If those payments are becoming unaffordable, speak with your administrator and a free financial counsellor through the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007.

• The proposal, administrator's details and the agreement's start date.
• A current balance and payout figure, or formal completion evidence.
• Any termination documents or court orders, if applicable.
• Payment history under the agreement and recent everyday banking statements.
• Your current Equifax and Experian credit reports.
• Income evidence, living expenses and all current debts.
• Deposit evidence or an estimate of your property's value and current mortgage balance.
• A plain explanation of what caused the difficulty and what has changed.

Compare the status and dates on your credit report with the administrator's documents. If something doesn't match, ask for a correction before choosing a lender. Our explanation-letter guide can help you explain what happened without writing a long personal history.

If the agreement is nearly finished and your housing is stable, waiting may be cheaper. It gives you time to finish the payments and save more. If a loan would solve a housing or cash-flow problem now, compare that benefit with the specialist rate and fees, and make sure the repayments fit.

Ask for the cost of applying now alongside the cost of waiting. Include establishment and legal costs, any risk fee, ongoing charges and the cost of switching again. Then ask what would have to change for a cheaper lender to consider you.

Set a review date before you take the loan. More clean repayments, stronger income records or extra equity may improve your options. A cheaper refinance after 12 or 24 months is not guaranteed, so today's repayments need to work even if you keep the loan longer. I check your income, equity, repayments and current lender rules again at the review.

Our reviews of Pepper, Bluestone and Liberty explain how their loans work. Before applying, ask which of their products can consider your particular agreement history.

If you're buying, you need cash for the deposit, buying costs and specialist fees. If you're refinancing, I check how much the lender will let you borrow against its valuation, then subtract your existing mortgage payout, the agreement payout and all costs. That shows whether there is enough room for the refinance.

Perry's proposed $520,000 loan was 80% of the $650,000 purchase price. He needed $130,000 towards the price itself. His $180,000 cash balance left another $50,000 for buying costs and money to keep aside. That is why I add up all the costs before deciding how much of your savings to use.

For a refinance, use current payout statements to work out the new loan amount. A rounded balance can leave you short at settlement, and a valuation below your estimate may reduce how much you can borrow. Our refinancing with bad credit guide explains what to check.

Client examples are based on real situations. Names and identifying details have been changed.