Media Release:

Refund Home Loans and Wayne Ormond - Backgrounder

At a time when economic uncertainty is widespread and housing affordability is under the spotlight, a relative newcomer to the market, Refund Home Loans, is steadily increasing its share of a growing segment of the market.

Refund Home Loans entered the competitive mortgage market four years ago with the promise to refund its customers up to 50% of the commissions it receives from its lenders, which can often amount to more than $1,000 per contract.

When Refund commenced operation in 2004, the industry statistic was that 20% of home loans were handled by mortgage brokers. Today the industry puts that figure as approaching 50% and in Western Australia an estimated 60% of home buyers source their mortgages through brokers.

Brisbane born Wayne Ormond, who turns 35 later this year, launched Refund Home Loans in September 2003 after starting his career with the big banks where he became a highly successful lender of Home Loan products and services. Despite his success Wayne became disillusioned seeing his customers struggle with high interest rates and increasing bank fees.

“That was when I realised that there was a better way for borrowers, that we should be able to give something back, to say thank you to customers who trust us with the biggest financial commitment most families make – their home loan. This realisation was the genesis of the concept of Refund Home Loans, with the promise of a real cash refund for every loan taken out with us,” said Wayne Ormond.

The cash refund is the first of two fundamental factors in Refund’s business model on which Refund’s success and market acceptability is based. The second is that Ormond does not want or need a branch network but works through the company’s franchisees who operate from home.  The savings on expensive shop rentals and fitouts allow Refund to share commissions with its customers.

            Ormond claims that unique service is more important than scale to remaining competitive and that this is reflected in the company’s growth over recent years, in which Refund has built an Australia-wide network of 135 franchisees, and is targeting to reach 250 in 2009.

Today Refund has a Head Office staff in excess of 30, and the company’s “product” has proved very popular with homebuyers who have responded to the opportunity to gain any saving on the purchase of their home, with Refund’s loan volumes tripling every year and the company making refunds to its customers of more than $4 million since commencing business.

            However, as with many small businesses, the early days were far from easy. The mortgage broker market is tough at the best of times and Ormond faced up to (and overcame) some harsh criticism and treatment from established brokers, including some very large and publicly-listed companies.

Ormond was a David against the Goliaths of banking; the customer promise offered by Refund prompted three major banks to threaten to shut the company down or to refuse to make funding available to the company – neither of which happened.

Ormond stood his ground against odds that would have discouraged many business people. He lodged a complaint against one bank with the ACCC for price fixing. This is currently before the Federal Court and represents the first time an Australian bank has been prosecuted for breaches of the Trade Practices Act.

Today the company has access to a panel of more than 45 lenders, including all Australia’s major banks, providing Refund’s customers with the widest range of funding options.
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Refund came out on top of the recently-published “Fast Franchises” survey in the prestigious BRW magazine (Flagship issue January 31 – March 5 2008). Refund topped the rating for “Fastest-Growing Franchises by Outlet” and came in at number four in “Fastest-Growing Franchises by Revenue” – the highest ranked Queensland company in the 50 included in the survey.

Having been rated 31st in the publication’s 2007 “Fast Starter” survey, the company jumped up to 16th position in the 2008 survey just released (Flagship edition April 24 – June 4 2008).  

Refund was also rated 12th in BRW’s 2007 “Fast 100” survey.
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Issued:                                                 May  2008
On behalf of:                                         Refund Home Loans
Issued by:                                            Sawyer Public Relations              
Further information:                              Peter Sawyer        (07) 3262 3192    or    0417 626 605