Credabl is an independent tech-centric finance company that prides itself on delivering customised solutions to meet the specific needs of medical practices and the personal lives of health professionals.
As a large non-bank financier, Credabl offers home loans, equipment loans, car loans, commercial property loans and more by accessing its own finance options as well as those of other market financiers.
Craig Spiegel, co-founder and head of sales at Credabl, describes his company as, “specialists in medical finance, with an in-depth understanding of the needs of doctors and healthcare professionals, paired with marketplace knowledge and connections with other industry participants such as accountants, lawyers and equipment providers.
The set and forget mentality of taking on a loan, then paying it off over time without review, is a thing of the past…
Craig Spiegel
“We are motivated to find the most cost effective, tax effective solutions for each person, not to simply sell our products… and to do this, we customise our approach with unique products, solutions and advice for each of them – even if sometimes that means we suggest they remain with their current provider,” he said.
Credabl provides finance for both optometrists and ophthalmologists, with the only requirement being that “the finance needs to make sense and the professional must be able to ‘handle’ the project”.
SIMPLIFIED AND STREAMLINED
While finance products are often perceived to be highly complex and onerous to arrange, Mr Spiegel says Credabl has worked to “simplify” its offering.
“We’ve made our services more holistic and convenient by including the ability to submit your application online in just moments, and by providing a wider-range of loan offerings than ever before. For most loans, we don’t even need financials.
“We are currently leveraging automated intelligence to expedite the time required to approve loans and next year we will launch further initiatives in the digital space to enhance the process.”
That’s not to say all business takes place online.
“For clients that want to talk to us during practice hours, after hours, or even on a break from night shift, we’ve set up a number of ways to make ourselves available to them. There’s live chat available on our website, a toll-free 1300 number, email, our Facebook and LinkedIn pages (and the relevant messenger functions) and of course, we’re happy to meet them face to face, whenever it suits,” said Mr Spiegel.
TAKE TIME TO REVIEW YOUR LOANS
The set and forget mentality of taking on a loan, then paying it off over time without review, is a thing of the past – especially when it comes to home loans.
“Most of us fall into the trap of assuming our deal is still competitive but the stark reality is that it may not be. Regularly reviewing your portfolio is likely to pay off,” advised Mr Spiegel.
The obvious elements to compare are fees/ charges, rates and terms of finance.
“You should also check the conditions of your loans – especially home loans, because we’re now seeing some lenders placing onerous conditions on some loans that they didn’t a few years ago.”
By engaging an independent expert who is established in the market, you may be able to access a finance option today that didn’t exist a year or two ago. However, Mr Spiegel cautions, “Only refinance if it leaves you in a better place, such as with reduced monthly commitments, a lower rate, reduced security requirements amongst other things.”
PREPARING TO REFINANCE
Before you apply for finance, or even start looking around, it is essential that you ensure your practice is up to date with tax returns/BAS. Current loan statements are also useful to have to hand. Your financier will provide further assistance, according to your financing needs.
“More often than not, we work with the client to get together what’s needed for the lender in conjunction with their practice manager, bookkeeper and accountant as appropriate,” said Mr Spiegel. “As an example, with goodwill lending, a contract of sale will be necessary. It should cover which assets in the practice are being sold as well as the premise’s lease terms. Sometimes this gets overlooked and, as you can imagine, it doesn’t make sense to pay for goodwill on a practice that has one year left on its lease with no further options.”
Regardless of how you choose to refinance, it’s going to take time to prepare your application and supporting paperwork. However, choosing to go with a financier that specialises in working with the health profession will ease the way and speed up the process. Additionally, Mr Spiegel says, “refinancing existing loans from mainstream financiers can save money”.
Contact the Credabl team today: 1300 CREDABL (1300 27 33 22) credabl.com.au.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this section do not represent the advice of Toma Publishing or its subsidiaries and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Toma Publishing or its subsidiaries.
