About us

If you’re looking to buy your first home, invest in property, or need a personal loan – Headstart Financial Services is here. We won’t just get you the best deal on your loan; we’ll look at all aspects of your financial position to give you the best possible advice for your specific financial goals. After all, we’re experts in helping people get a head start.

From the beginning, Headstart’s focus has been to be a ‘Personal Bank Manager’ for our clients. Although our team has since grown by 7 – an additional superstar broker, our friendly client support manager, and five four-legged friends 🐾🐾 – we are still one point of contact, and you’ll never need to repeat yourself.

Our whole team loves helping people become more financially savvy than before speaking with us. No loan or application is the same; neither are our clients or our approach to each case. Most importantly, our dedicated team helps you to take real action on your financial future.

Our specialities are home loans and first home buyers, investment loans, construction/renovation loans, SMSF loans, personal loans, and leases.

For more information on all our services, please get in touch.

About our team

You’re in safe hands when you’re with Headstart. Between our experience securing best-rate loans and raising families, we know how important it is for our clients to feel secure in their finances and empowered to make investment decisions for the future. Securing a loan can seem overwhelming, and we make it as easy as possible for aspiring homeowners to enter the market.

Lara Watt

Founder and mortgage broker

Using her experience, knowledge, and passion for educating people, Lara founded Headstart after 25 years in the finance and banking industry helping first-home buyers and investors start their journey to property ownership.
Lara absolutely loves seeing people realise their dreams who previously thought it was all out of their reach, and was attracted to broking because she saw the opportunity to help even more people – by providing clients the opportunity to choose the best possible deal from multiple lenders.
Now with over 30 years in the finance industry, she has lots of information that she’s just bursting at
the seams to share.
When she’s not babysitting her adult kids’ dogs (a German Sheppard and a Lab/Koolie/Kelpie), she likes women’s soccer, tennis, and catching up with family and friends.

Olivia Wilson

Mortgage broker and support

With a background in sales and customer service, Olivia loves helping people find the perfect solution for their home loan needs.
From helping first-time buyers get the keys to their first home or adding additional properties to the portfolios of keen investors, she will help you figure out the best outcome and make sure you get there.
When she’s not working, Olivia is a chauffeur for her children’s sporting activities, including VERY early morning swimming, but you may also see her pounding the pavements walking.

Kristy Ross-Cutts

Client support manager

Kristy has worked in the finance industry for over 15 years. She is a qualified chartered accountant, with experience in superannuation and investments and has worked for some of Australia’s largest banks and insurers.

Kristy has a great eye for detail, and she loves making sure that your settlement goes through smoothly and doing your loan reviews following settlement to get you the best rate possible.

When not in the office, you’ll find Kristy either at the beach, gym, or enjoying time with her husband and their super active teenage boys.

Working with us

We live for the challenge and satisfaction of getting you into your new home. Right from the start, we’ll guide you on the best path to achieve your goals and unlike most banks, we continually monitor your situation against the current market.

We re-price and re-negotiate rates on your behalf, part of our commitment to reviewing the economic landscape and bank offers. We’re there for the long term, supporting you through any and all life changes. You’ll be part of our community and much more than just being on our client list.

Between our experience securing best rate loans and raising families, we know how important it is for our clients to feel secure in their finances and empowered to make investment decisions for the future.

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36 collective years in the finance and banking industry

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Multiple qualifications

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Hundreds of settlements and counting

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Six children

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Five dogs

Reviews – What people say about us

"Thank you Lara for your wonderful, helpful and very responsive service. Lara and Olivia have looked after several transactions for me now and continue to provide a wonderful and knowledgeable level of service. I would happily highly recommend their services to anyone looking for finance."

– Kelly & Tim

"Many thanks to Lara and Kristy who provided a fantastic service refinancing our residential and investment property mortgages. Lara secured an extremely competitive rate, saving us substantial $$. Their communication throughout the process was excellent, keeping us thoroughly updated every step of the way to final settlement. Highly recommended this mortgage brokerage service!"

– Lee

"Lara and her team have been exceptional through the process of helping me secure a loan to build my first house. From the first day I contacted the team, I have had nothing but weekly, even daily communication keeping me in the loop and well informed on the scary process of getting my first home loan. Cannot recommend them enough, even if you are in another state to the team it makes no difference to their dedication to your journey."

– Alyce

"Highly recommend Headstart Financial Services. I found the whole team engaged, honest, knowledgeable, prompt and reachable at all times. They helped us through a long house search process and worked closely with our changing needs."

– Manikandan

"Lara and her team where fantastic to work with when we purchased our new home. Lara explained everything each step of the way. Lara provided us with a range of loan options and listened to our requirements so we got the best loan product for our circumstances. Thanks Lara!"

– Lynne

"I received amazing service from Lara and Olivia at Headstart. They went above and beyond to find me the best deal and to educate me on all the aspects of borrowing to buy a house. They chased me up in the kindest way when I dropped the ball, and gave me the confidence to get through the whole process. Highly recommended."

– Julie