Home Loans

Genuine savings are the typical source for a home loan deposit. These savings can be classified as monies held for three months or more in Bank Accounts / Term Deposits.

There are also a variety of other options that can be counted towards a home loan deposit.

These include:

• Equity in Residential Property
• Funds from sold investments such as shares
• Employee funded additional superannuation (not mandatory employer contributions)
• Redraw/additional advance Funds in a Mortgage, Personal Loan or Line of credit
• Proceeds of Sale of other assets
• First home owners grants
• A non-repayable gift from a family member
• Inheritance

Lender's Mortgage Insurance is a third-party insurance premium put in place to protect the lender if you're unable to repay your home loan. This is required when borrowing more than 80% of the property's purchase price/value.

There is a range of different grants first home buyers may be eligible for, these include:

• The First Home Super Saving Scheme - First home buyers can contribute an additional $30,000 to their deposit by taking it from their super fund. This can be done by making up to $15,000 each financial year in additional voluntary contributions.
• First Home Owner Grants - Under the scheme, a one-off grant is payable to first homeowners that satisfy all the eligibility criteria.
• Transfer Duty or Exemption - As a first home buyer, you may be eligible to receive an exemption or concession on your transfer duty (previously known as stamp duty).
• First home loan deposit scheme (FHLDS) - Only 10,000 of these grants are given out each financial year. Eligible first home buyers can purchase a home with as little as a 5%. deposit without needing to pay for lenders mortgage insurance. The Australian Government provides a guarantee to the participating lender to eligible approved applicants.

It's simple. Visit our home loans page and apply online today! A Home Lending Specialist is also available to assist with any of your questions and your application.

Deciding on a fixed or variable home loan is an important decision when purchasing a home. There is a range of essential factors and benefits which will assist you in this decision-making process.

One of the main differences between fixed and variable, is that with a variable rate home loan, you are able to make extra repayments that you can redraw at any time. This could allow you to pay off the loan quicker and reduce the amount of interest that is charged.

We have specialist staff that will work with you to help you weigh up each loan's advantages and disadvantages, along with an assessment of your current personal and financial situation. That information will help you be able to determine how best to pay off your home loan.

A great way to compare the differences at home is to use our handycomparison toolto put each loan side by side and discover the main differences.

To get formal approval for a home loan, you will need a deposit that is at minimum 20% of the purchase price/value of the property, plus costs such as stamp duty, government registration costs & your solicitor or conveyancing costs.

If you do not have a substantial deposit saved, your lender may be able to provide you with a home loan with as little as a 5% deposit, by taking out Lenders Mortgage insurance.

It may also be possible for loved ones to act as a guarantor for the amount you need for a deposit for a short period. If this sounds like an option for you, then check out our Head Start Family Guarantee Home Loan for more information.

There are many different costs to consider when purchasing a property and everyone's circumstances are slightly different. Your lender will be able to provide you with guidance on how and when these costs may be charged.

These costs may include:

• Deposit
• Stamp duty
• Legal fees and solicitor/conveyancing costs
• Property valuation costs
• Lenders mortgage insurance if applicable
• Building and pest inspections
• Bank, Government and 3rd party fees as set out in our fees and charges brochure
• Home and contents insurance

A fixed-rate home loan is when the borrower elects for their interest rate to be locked in for a period of 1 to 5 years and not change like a variable rate home loan. The main advantage of a fixed rate home loan is the certainty of knowing what your repayments are going to be for that period. When purchasing a property with a fixed rate, you'll be protected from interest rate rises but not benefit from an interest rate drop. Fixed home loans offer confidence to plan and set financial goals. At the end of the fixed rate period, you can elect to re-fix for another period or convert to a variable rate home loan.

For an agreed and limited amount of time only, you can elect to pay off just the interest that your financial institution is charging on your home loan, without actually paying off any of the principle and reducing the size of the borrowed amount. An example of this structure would be a client who is in the process of building a property and the facility would be interest only for 12 months during construction.

FYI: We also look at interest-only repayments for Head Start Guarantees – the larger loan in the borrowers name is put on interest-only for 48 months to allow the additional guarantee loan/ portion to be paid off quicker to release the guarantor's liability earlier.

We will convert a loan to an interest-only for other reasons – each case is considered on its own merits.

A split loan is when you want to have your cake and eat it too. It is a combination of both variable and fixed rates for your home loan. You can elect for a portion of your home loan to be fixed and the other portion of it to be variable. Use our handy split loan calculator to find out if and how much of your loan you might want fixed.

A variable rate home loan is a home loan with an interest rate that is subject to change. The Australian and global economy plays the most significant role in effecting Australian home loan interest rates as the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) elects Australia's official cash rate. Changes in market interest rates and business decisions made by the lending institution can also play a part in varying an interest rate.

Loan to Value Ratio (LVR) is a measurement of the property value vs the loan amount, as a percentage. This can also give an indication of the minimum deposit required. E.g. With a property security value of $400,000, 80% of the value is $320,000, therefore a 20% deposit would be 80,000. If for the same property and only a loan of $100,000 is required, the LVR would be 25%.