Getting your money back: repaid at maturity, with an early exit if you need it

When a loan you have co-funded is repaid, your principal and interest are paid straight into your own bank account. If you need your money before the loan matures, HomeSec will buy out your share and repay your principal. There is no redemption queue, no gate and no pooled fund to freeze, because there is no pool.

HomeSec Business Finance, an Australian private lender founded in 2004, lends its own money in every loan it offers to investors. That shapes how you get your money back: your capital is tied to one identified loan, not to the cash flow of a fund that also has to pay thousands of other investors.

When do I get my money back?

At maturity. Each loan runs for a fixed term of between 1 and 12 months, and you see the term in the due diligence pack before you commit. When the borrower repays, your principal plus interest goes directly into your own bank account.

Two details matter here. First, the money comes to you, not to HomeSec and not into a fund that then decides when to pay you. Second, the timing is set by your loan alone. It does not depend on inflows from new investors, on a manager’s view of liquidity, or on how many other people want their money back that month.

Because terms are short, your capital comes back regularly. You can stagger your loans so that something matures every few months, giving you a steady rhythm of repayments and fresh decisions.

Can I get out early?

Yes. If your circumstances change and you need your capital before a loan matures, HomeSec will buy out your share and repay your principal.

To arrange it, contact our Funding Manager, who is available seven days on 03 9017 8277. There is no redemption window to wait for, no percentage limit on how much can leave each month, and no queue of other investors ahead of you.

This is possible because HomeSec funds the majority of its loans off its own balance sheet and co-invests in every loan it offers. It is already a lender in the loan alongside you, so it can take over your share.

Can I stop investing at any time?

Yes. You are never obliged to fund a loan. Once your current loans are repaid, you simply don’t take the next one. Your capital is back in your own account and the decision about what to do with it is entirely yours.

There is no lock-in period beyond the loans you have chosen, and nothing to unwind.

What is a redemption freeze?

A redemption freeze is when a fund stops or limits investors from withdrawing their money. It is usually permitted by the fund’s constitution, and it can be announced with little warning.

Freezes happen because of a liquidity mismatch. A pooled fund promises investors they can withdraw monthly or quarterly, but the money is lent out in loans that may take years to repay. When withdrawal requests exceed the cash available, the manager must either sell assets, possibly at a discount, or limit redemptions. Managers usually choose the gate.

A gated fund may be perfectly solvent. But solvency is little comfort if you need your money for a property settlement, a pension payment or a family decision. Our explainer on what a redemption freeze is covers the mechanics in more detail.

How do pooled mortgage fund withdrawals work?

In a pooled fund, you ask for your money back by lodging a redemption request. The fund then pays it according to its rules, which typically give the manager wide discretion.

ASIC’s 2025 review of private credit funds also found side letters giving some investors better redemption terms than others. In September 2026 it reported that of 28 funds reviewed, only two wholesale funds had stress-tested their liquidity. If you are in a fund today, our guide on getting your money out of a mortgage fund explains your options.

Which funds have frozen or limited withdrawals?

This is not a rare event. It has happened repeatedly when markets come under stress.

August 2026. Centuria Bass paused redemptions on two credit funds on 17 August, with the pause expected to last two to six months. MA Financial limited withdrawals from its MA Secured Loan Series to 1% a month as a precaution. CVS Lane suspended applications and redemptions, and Merricks and Longreach restricted redemptions.

2024. Shield Master Fund suspended redemptions in February 2024, and First Guardian Master Fund froze withdrawals in May 2024. Both failures involved misconduct, not just liquidity.

The GFC. In October 2008, many pooled mortgage funds froze redemptions, led by the Challenger Howard Mortgage Fund at about $2.9 billion. LM Investment Management’s First Mortgage Income Fund stayed frozen from the GFC until LM entered administration in March 2013, with a final distribution around August 2024.

The long wait. Banksia Securities investors eventually recovered about 94.4 cents in the dollar. It took 14 years.

The lesson is not that every pooled fund is unsound. It is that when you own units in a pool, your access to your money depends on factors you cannot see or control.

What if a borrower repays late?

This is the honest part of the answer. A loan is repaid when the borrower repays it, and sometimes a borrower is late. A property sale may take longer than planned, a refinance may be delayed, or a business event may slip.

If that happens, here is what it means for you:

• Your security stays in place. You remain named on the registered mortgage for your exact contribution. Nothing about your position changes.
• HomeSec manages the loan. It works with the borrower to complete the exit they were relying on. Depending on the circumstances, the loan may continue for a period beyond its original maturity while that happens.
• Enforcement if needed. If the borrower cannot resolve the loan, it is enforceable through the courts in every state. HomeSec’s specialist lawyers act across Australia, the lenders can take possession and sell the property, and HomeSec meets the legal costs of recovery on defaulted loans.
• An equity buffer. With a maximum 80% LVR on residential property, and lower on commercial, there is room for costs, interest and some fall in value before capital is at risk.

What we will not tell you is that this is quick. Enforcement can take months. A late loan delays your repayment, and you should plan your cash flow with that possibility in mind. If a loan you are in is running late and your own plans change, talk to us about your options. The full picture is in risks and protections.

How should you plan your cash flow around loan terms?

Because each loan has a known term, you can plan around it in a way that is hard to do with a pooled fund.

Match terms to your needs. If you know you will need capital for a property purchase in eight months, you can choose loans with shorter terms and leave a margin for a late repayment. If the money is long-term capital, you can simply roll from one loan to the next.

Stagger maturities. Spreading your capital across several loans with different maturity dates means repayments arrive at intervals rather than all at once. It also spreads your exposure across different borrowers and properties.

Keep a cash reserve for known commitments. For SMSF trustees paying pensions, or families with fixed commitments, it makes sense to hold enough in cash to cover near-term needs rather than relying on any single loan repaying on the day.

Use the early buy-out as a backstop, not a plan. It is there if your circumstances change. Building your loan terms around what you actually need is simpler.

For more ideas on placing large balances for short periods, see our guide to short term investments for large balances.

Why does structure matter more than promises?

Every fund promises liquidity in good times. The test is what happens when many investors want their money at once.

In a pooled fund, your withdrawal competes with everyone else’s. The first to redeem may be paid in full; those who wait can be gated. That creates the incentive for a run, which is exactly what managers then have to stop.

When you co-fund a specific loan, there is no one to compete with. Your repayment depends on your loan: its borrower, its property and its equity buffer. Another investor’s decision to leave has no effect on you. That is the real meaning of a no-redemption-freeze investment. It is not a promise; it is how the investment is built. For a full comparison, read direct mortgage investment vs pooled mortgage funds.

Want to see how repayment works on a real loan?

Each pack shows the term, the borrower’s planned exit and the security behind the loan. If you’d like to see one, register your interest and our Funding Manager will be in touch.