Otto Dargan

Otto Dargan is the CEO and Founder of Home Loan Experts. He began his career as a mortgage broker at just 18 years old and has since gained over two decades of experience in the industry. Along the way, he’s worked across every part of the business, from broking and finance to marketing, compliance and operations, before building a high-performing team around him.Today, he’s proud to lead one of Australia’s top specialist mortgage brokerages, known for solving complex loan scenarios that others turn away.

In March 2025, Otto returned to the CEO role, bringing fresh focus to the business. He now works closely with every part of the company to improve systems, lift service quality and make sure customers get the kind of help they need, especially when their situation is a little outside the box.

He’s completed more than 80 specialist courses, is qualified to sit on the board of an ASX-listed company, and stays sharp in a fast-changing industry. But ask Otto what really drives him, and he’ll tell you it’s helping others succeed.

Otto's Experience

Otto began his career in finance at Mortgage House in 2003 after leaving university. He started right away as a mortgage broker in one of the branches and found that he enjoyed working on the tougher loans that other brokers didn’t want to deal with.

After four years, he saw an opportunity to help clients more effectively by working in a more flexible environment with access to a wider range of lenders. In December 2006, he founded Dargan Financial. As the business grew and its online reach expanded, the company rebranded to Home Loan Experts in 2009.

Drawing on his own experience and years of client work, Otto developed a training program for brokers that focuses on real-world scenarios, lender policy knowledge and customer-first thinking. He’s a strong believer in continuous improvement, having completed a management course, studied public speaking and expanded his knowledge across multiple areas of finance.

Australia’s Brightest Broker 2011 & 2012

In 2011 and 2012, Otto won the Broker IQ competition run by St George Bank and The Adviser, (a mortgage industry publication).

The quiz is designed to test mortgage brokers on a range of topics including general finance, product and industry knowledge.

Over 1,000 of Australia’s best brokers entered the competition and were put through a series of difficult tests to find just six finalists.

In both 2011 and 2012, the final was hosted by Australian TV game show legend Larry Emdur at The Adviser’s Australian Broking Awards. In 2011, Otto not only came first in the quiz, he actually doubled the next closest contestant’s score! In 2012, he returned to defend his title and once again was named Australia’s Brightest Broker.

Steven Heavey, the General Manager of St George Intermediary Distribution, presented Otto with a cheque for $10,000 for winning the competition. Read more in The Adviser‘s report on the competition.

Thought Leadership And Media

Otto is a trusted voice in the mortgage and property industry. His commentary has featured in outlets such as 9News, The Australian Financial Review, Domain, and Smart Property Investment, where he shares insights on housing policy, interest rates and the realities of home ownership in Australia.

• Adelaide Now – Five things every borrower should consider before refinancing their home loan
• Adelaide Now – How borrowers are getting stung by the Netflix home loan test
• Australian Broker Online – Top broker predicts strong housing market this year
• Australian Broker Online – Broker on broker: Otto Dargan
• Australian Broker Online – What makes a broker great right now?
• Australian Broker Online – Chinese buyers bought $2bn of residential sites
• Australian Broker Online – Choice comments on lax lending standards.
• Australian Broker Online – Pension changes to affect the mortgage industry.
• Australian Broker Online – Home Loan Experts: Growing Beyond The Borders.
• Australian Broker Online – Are you ready to head offshore?
• Australian Financial Review – Commonwealth Bank cuts fixed-rate home loans
• Australian Financial Review – Growing risks for buyers as banks tighten lending rules
• Australian Financial Review – No breach for lenders as homeowners switch to interest-only.
• Australian Financial Review – QBE won’t offer LMI cover for borrowers from hard-hit sectors.
• Australian Financial Review – 6700 apartment projects across Australia blacklisted for loans by a major bank.
• Australian Financial Review – Tighter investor lending rules will speed up foreign investment in property.
• Bloomberg – Australia’s Lending Rules Are About to Batter Home Buyers.
• Brisbane Times -Banks cut fixed rates on home loans as they start wooing investors again.
• Brisbane Times – Banks tighten credit for pandemic-hit workers, mortgage brokers say
• Brisbane Times – ‘Disappointing’: Financial counsellors slam ME Bank redraw policy change
• Cairns Post – Banking report fallout: Mark Bouris warns house prices will dive
• The Chronicle – Five things every borrower should consider before refinancing
• Daily Mercury – Why we spend two years saving for a house deposit?
• Daily Mail – Net flicked! How coffee, Ubers and streaming services could jeopardise your chances of getting a home loan
• Daily Telegraph – Many cash-strapped Australians worry the value of their properties could significantly fall
• Daily Telegraph – Aussies are wasting thousands of dollars on ridiculously high interest rates, experts warn
• Daily Telegraph Interest rates: Treasurer Josh Frydenberg pressures banks to pass on full rate cut
• Daily Telegraph – Australians fall behind in understanding mortgage language
• Daily Telegraph – Interest rates: How complacency can cost you $450 a month
• Daily Telegraph – Rate hikes: Other banks to join Westpac’s home loan cash grab
• Daily Telegraph – UBank reveals they are dropping variable rate loan deals
• Daily Telegraph – Home loan customers slowing how quick they are paying down their mortgages
• Daily Telegraph – Is your bank refusing do drop interest rates on your home loan? Here’s how you make it happen
• Daily Telegraph – Home loans for over 65s fair call
• Daily Telegraph – Older Australians left to pay off home loan debts past 100
• Daily Telegraph – Commbank toughens up on home loan lending.
• Daily Telegraph – First-home buyers can now use superannuation to save for deposit.
• Daily Telegraph – First Home Buyers Scheme: How to sign up.
• Domain – Alternative ways to invest in the property market
• Domain – Coronavirus prompts sudden lending changes for hopeful home loan borrowers.
• Domain – New home loans: How to pay for a house-and-land package or off-the-plan apartment.
• Domain – First home buyers consider credit cards to cover deposit shortfall.
• Domain – Financing studio apartments.
• Domain – Mixed use properties.
• Esperance Express – One in three don’t understand their interest-only loans, says UBS
• Financial Review – Is a studio apartment a good or bad investment?
• Gold Coast – How do lenders view the Gold Coast?
• Gold Coast Bulletin – Extra loan help for homebuyers as lenders create new chances
• Gold Coast Bulletin – Commbank toughens up on home loan lending
• Gold Cost Bulletin – Interest-only customers hit by higher repayment costs
• Herald Sun – The RBA has kept the cash rate on hold and these are the best mortgage deals available
• Herald Sun – Westpac tightens home loan lending rules: What it means for customers
• Herald Sun – Banks offer cashback offers of up to $4000 to customers refinancing their loans
• Herald Sun – Home loan customers paying owner-occupier rates starting with a ‘5’ in front
• Herald Sun – First-home buyers ready to break into the property market.
• Herald Sun – How to give yourself an instant home loan interest rate cut
• Herald Sun – Mortgage customers getting stung with rates around 6 per cent
• Herald Sun – ANZ changes rules to investment interest-only loans
• Herald Sun – FIRST HOME-BUYERS FORCED INTO NO-DEPOSIT LOANS
• Herald Sun – Royal Banking Commission findings: Mortgage brokers fuming
• Herald Sun – Banking report fallout: Mark Bouris warns house prices will dive
• Herald Sun – Mortgage customers will find it harder to refinance in 2019
• Herald Sun – Home loan customers escape interest rate hikes
• Herald Sun – Five things every borrower should consider before refinancing their home loan
• Herald Sun – Our Gen: Hope for young Victorians in harsh housing market
• Herald Sun – UBank reveals they are dropping variable rate loan deals
• Herald Sun – Many home loan customers can snare cheap fixed rate deals
• Herald Sun – No or low deposit home loans are available but there’s a catch
• Herald Sun – Five ways to work out if your bank is ripping you off
• Herald Sun – Five things your home loan lender won’t tell you as RBA rates on hold
• Herald Sun – Home loan customers urged to review their interest rates despite cash rate staying on hold
• Herald Sun – National Australia Bank drops home loan interest rates
• Herald Sun – Westpac drops home loan rates for first-home buyers
• Herald Sun – Home loan customers slowing how quick they are paying down their mortgages
• Herald Sun – ‘Lazy borrowers hit by exorbitant home loan interest rates’
• Herald Sun – ‘Commonwealth Bank cracks down on mortgages and changes repayment rules’
• Herald Sun – ‘The reason why you should be reassessing your home loan now’
• Herald Sun – ’76-year-old gets 30-year home loan as lenders approve Australians into their 80s’
• Herald Sun – ‘Banks withhold rate cuts to its customers as RBA meets to discuss further interest cut’
• Herald Sun – Commbank toughens up on home loan lending.
• Herald Sun – First-home buyers can now use superannuation to save for deposit.
• Herald Sun – ‘Home loan customers should steer clear of fixing their interest rate’
• Herald Sun – ‘Stressed home loan customers are struggling to meet their mortgage repayments’
• International Business Times – ‘Australian banks earn extra $1.4 billion by keeping half of RBA interest rate cut’
• International Business Times – NAB lists postcodes facing high default risks – Sydney suburbs among the highest.
• Mercury – ANZ changes rules to investment interest-only loans
• Mercury – Australians who bought property in the 1990s did it as tough as though who purchase homes now
• Macro Business – Aussie banks tighten mortgage clamps
• Macro Business – Australia’s property market hit by ‘perfect storm’
• Macro Business – Mortgage standards panic seeps into MSM
• Macro Business – Aussie property’s next big risk: mortgage tightening
• Mortgage + Finance Help – Can your profession save you on your home loan?
• Mortgage Professional Australia – NSW stamp duty shake-up to happen in 2023
• Mortgage Professional Australia – Home Loan Experts’ Otto Dargan expects a surge in property transactions
• Mortgage Professional Australia – Broker offers better ways to check borrowers’ living expenses.
• Mortgage Professional Australia – Brokers argue remuneration structure is sound in wake of royal commission report.
• Mortgage Professional Australia – BOQ raises rates on existing investor loans.
• Mortgage Professional Australia (page 2).
• Mortgage Professional Australia – Lending to Foreigners.
• Mortgage Professional Australia – Guarantor Loans.
• Mortgage Professional Australia – My Toughest Test.
• Mortgage Professional Australia – Positive Credit Reporting.
• news.com.au – Mortgage serviceability changes can lead to financial woes
• news.com.au – Bridging loans are expensive so is it OK to buy before you sell?
• news.com.au – Extra loan help for homebuyers as lenders create new chances
• news.com.au – ‘Should customers have a home loan offset account?’
• news.com.au – ‘Stressed home loan customers are struggling to meet their mortgage repayments’
• news.com.au – ‘Home loan customers urged to review mortgages over offers of rock-bottom interest rate deals’
• news.com.au – ‘The five key ways to work out if you are the perfect home loan customer’
• news.com.au – ‘Home loan customers do not know what interest rate they pay’
• news.com.au – ‘Same-day home loans on their way’
• news.com.au – ‘Home loan customers miss out on savings as the big banks play scrooge’
• news.com.au – First-home buyers are making a comeback with a helping hand.
• News.com.au – Reserve Bank keeps low interest rate on hold, homeowners warned against being ripped off.
• News.com.au – Banks use interest rates as high as nine per cent to determine home loan serviceability.
• News.com.au – Banks continue their crackdown on investor home loans.
• News.com.au – Borrowers are confused on what is a good interest rate.
• News.com.au – Borrowers with small deposits for a home are getting stung.
• The News Daily – Using a mortgage broker? Here’s how to protect yourself
• News.china.com.au – 银行提高房产投资者首付要求 Bankwest最多贷款8成.
• News Mail – Banking report fallout: Mark Bouris warns house prices will dive
• News Mail – Borrowers to get hit with interest rate shock
• NineMSN Money.
• NT News – Mortgage customers will find it harder to refinance in 2019
• NT News – Stressed home loan customers are struggling to meet their mortgage repayments
• pc.gov.au – Submission to the Productivity Commission’s Competition in the Australian Financial System public inquiry 2018
• Perthnow.com.au – How to take control of your home loan
• Perthnow.com.au – Property owners set to miss out on further rate drops.
• Smart Property Investment – Can overseas property investment work?
• Smart Property Investment – Should you consider a guarantor loan?
• South Burnett Times – How long it takes to save for a house deposit here?
• Sunshine Coast Daily – Treasurer pressures banks to pass on full rate cut
• Sydney Morning Herald – ‘No frills’ home loans new bank battleground
• Sydney Morning Herald – ‘Aussie’ John Symond backs super-for-housing scheme
• Sydney Morning Herald – Banks dial back COVID-19 caution as economy improves
• Sydney Morning Herald – ‘Disappointing’: Financial counsellors slam ME Bank redraw policy change
• Sydney Morning Herald – ‘Avoid using Afterpay if you want a home loan, mortgage brokers warn’.
• Sydney Morning Herald – ‘Sydney and Melbourne house prices will soon be growing at double-digit rates’.
• Sydney Morning Herald – ‘Highly geared borrowers tipped to face extra scrutiny’
• Sydney Morning Herald – ‘Are you exercising your way out of a home loan?’
• Sydney Morning Herald – ‘Leave nothing but huge amounts of money. Expect only grandchildren’
• Sydney Morning Herald – ‘Tighter rules on home loans could cool housing market’
• Sydney Morning Herald – ‘One in three don’t understand their interest-only loans, says UBS’
• Sydney Morning Herald – ‘Banks cut fixed rates on home loans as they start wooing investors again’
• Sydney Morning Herald – ‘Fixed mortgage rates slashed as banks bet on RBA cut’
• Sydney Morning Herald – ‘Restricted postcodes’: NAB names suburbs where credit risk getting worse.
• Sydney Morning Herald – Lenders ‘conservative’ with low-deposit loans.
• Sydney Morning Herald – Interest rate gap between investors and owner-occupiers to widen.
• Sydney Morning Herald (bottom).
• Sydney Morning Herald – Banks more cautious on high-risk home loans.
• Sydney Morning Herald – Mining Towns.
• Sydney Morning Herald – SMSF Risks.
• Sydney Morning Herald – Macquarie joins clampdown on property investors.
• SydneyNepal – The story behind Nepal’s first BPO.
• Talking Lifestyle Radio – Otto Dargan – A 76 year old man was given a 30 year mortgage.
• The Adviser – A ‘sigh of relief’ for borrowers as RBA holds
• The Adviser – RBA hikes cash rate yet again
• The Adviser – Major brokerage appoints new CEO
• The Adviser – Brokerage invites PC and regulators to broker training
• The Adviser – Mortgage Broker Efficiency.
• The Adviser – Prize-winning broker lands marketing grant.
• The Adviser – Smart Business.
• The Adviser – The Word.
• The Adviser – Top Sydney firm continues expanding.
• The Adviser – Western Sydney broker crowned Australia’s best.
• The Advertiser – Property owners set to miss out.
• The Australian Newspaper.
• The Courier Mail – What banking customers must do now the Royal Commission is over
• The Courier Mail – Interest-only customers hit by higher repayment costs
• The Courier Mail – Banks continue their crackdown on investor home loans.
• The Daily Telegraph – ‘One in five home loan customers won’t be able to meet their repayments if interest rates rise’
• The Daily Telegraph – ‘Stressed home loan customers are struggling to meet their mortgage repayments’
• The Daily Telegraph – ‘What should you do with the interest rate drop?’
• The Daily Telegraph – Foreign incomes do not count for temporary residents buying property in Australia
• The Daily Telegraph – Banks use interest rates as high as nine per cent to determine home loan serviceability.
• The Edge Markets – Australia’s lending rules are about to batter home buyers.
• The Finance Professional.
• Townsville Bulletin – ‘Home loan customers are being warned of more ‘out-of-cycle’ rate hikes’
• Warwick Daily News – ‘Treasurer pressures banks to pass on full rate cut’
• Your Investment Property Magazine (page 3).
• Your Mortgage Magazine – Borrowers turn to fixed rates to dodge impacts of further rate rises
• Your Mortgage Magazine – Major banks tweak lending rules for home buyers
• Your Mortgage Magazine – ‘What Australians can do with the rate cut’
• Your Mortgage Magazine – ‘Rate cuts still coming for home loan customers’
• Your Mortgage Magazine – Discounts For Professionals.
• The Weekly Times – ‘First Home Loan Deposit Scheme on track to begin on January 1’.
• The Weekly Times – Mortgage deals with $2000 cashback leave customers worse off
• The Successful Adviser – How Otto Dargan Went From A Business Of 1 To More Than 150
• Gladstone Observer – ‘Big four vying for loan scheme’.
• Gladstone Observer – ‘First-home buyers delay having kids’

He also writes a blog and a monthly column for Smart Property Investor Magazine.