Home Loan Rate – Australia

When applying for a mortgage, no doubt you have shopped around for the best interest rate and lowest fees. However almost nobody checks to see if their application meets the lenders guidelines & credit policy!

You see, the problem is that lenders don’t publish their rules to the public. That would make it too easy for people to find loopholes and “game” the system. Every financial institution in the USA, UK & Australia has its own set of rules they must abide by before approving a mortgage.

The credit assessor in the bank who signs off on the approval must follow the guidelines which has been created by the bank, otherwise they risk losing their job. For this reason credit policy is often treated like gospel, and it is rare for policy exceptions to be made.

Each financial institution lending money has different guidelines with specific differences and certain things they cannot approve. This is where the assistance of a mortgage broker is essential as they have knowledge and access to all the lenders guidelines to make sure that your application is perfect for the bank that it will be placed with.

For a standard application with a large deposit, long term employment and no credit history issues this is considered as the perfect application for a bank & will be accepted by everyone. But let’s be serious, not many applicants are like this. Many people have credit impairments, short term employment, unsecured debt, a small deposit or a combination of all of these.

What is in the Lenders Guidelines?

The Lenders Guideline is the rule book of what the Bank looks at and what they can accept when approving your loan:

• Employment – Banks generally require a minimum of 6 months in current job, most do not accept probation and usage of casual or 2nd Job Income must be evident over 12 months.
• Credit Report – Mainly for credit impairment the lenders guideline will advise how many defaults, amounts or timing of defaults which are acceptable to them.
• Savings – Generally all lenders are now requesting that evidence of the deposit be saved over a 3 month period this being called “Genuine Savings”.
• Age – Although lenders are not allowed to discriminate against age, but they may show a stricter view to people who are close to retirement.
• Security – All Lenders will have a list of what type of securities they can take on, this will also provide of list of types they cannot accept and certain areas that they will not do either. Vacant land is a prime example this will advise the maximize size of land they can accept.
• Types of loans – The Lender Guideline will outline what type of loan the bank can accept from purchase, refinances, low doc, guarantor loans, trusts or company purchases.
• Documents – from payslips to tax returns this will outline what is required for each client.

As you can see the guidelines are complex. However the key is that they vary between lenders! Apply with the right lender and your problem is solved! The best way to find the right lender is to use a mortgage broker who specialises in the credit policy of each bank.

Has mortgage jargon left your head spinning? Cut through the confusion with this easy to understand guide that explains the common features of a mortgage & how they can help you to repay your loan sooner!

Redraw

Loan redraw gives the borrower the power to withdrawal any additional repayments to which were made on top of their minimum loan repayment. Eg If the borrower has been making an additional repayment of $100 on a monthly basis, then after 12 months they will be able to redraw $1,200. Note that the borrower is not restricted by the 12 months duration before they can redraw. However, please be advice that some lenders may charge a fee for loan redraws and in the case of fixed rate loans, redraw is not available.

Extra Repayments

This feature grants the borrower the freedom to make extra repayments into their loan on top of their minimum loan repayment. Eg, the borrower has a minimum monthly loan repayment of $1,000; but instead of paying the minimum figure they pay $1,500 per month into their loan. This means that they have made an extra repayment of $500 into their loan. Please note that for fixed rate loans, extra repayments is not available.

Discounts Available for Higher Loan Amounts

This feature is a discount against the loan interest rate to which most lenders provide against their standard variable (professional package) loans. Eg, CBA offer what is called a MAV concession for their customers for loans starting from $150,000 – $349,999 at 0.50% discount per annum. The larger the loan amount is the higher the discount is.

Mortgage Offset Account (100% Offset)

An offset account is a regular cheque account that has ATM, cheque book and internet access that is linked to the borrower’s home loan when the loan is setup. Instead of earning interest on the money in their offset account, the borrower is able to save interest on their home loan. Eg, if the borrower has a loan with the balance of $100,000 and they have $10,000 in their offset account then the interest is only calculated on the loan net balance of $90,000.

Line of Credit Option

A line of credit mortgage is a type of loan that allows you to use the loan as your cheque account and allows you to draw down and repay the loan as you choose. It is similar to a credit card in that it allows you to withdraw funds at anytime up to a set limit. You are also given a choice to make repayments on either a monthly basis or with some loans you don’t have to make a payment as long as you remain below the limit. A line of credit can be used to purchase most types of properties, whether it be a family home or an investment property. As the borrower you can use the line of credit to carry out renovations, pay your bills or invest in shares.

Ability to change to Fixed Rate (Fixed Rate Loan)

This is the feature to which the borrower is allowed to change from a standard variable rate loan to a fixed rate loan. A fixed rate loan is a loan where the interest rate is guaranteed to remain the same regardless of what happens with the variable rate market. Usually, the interest on a fixed rate loan is only fixed for part of the loan term, typically 1 – 5 years.

Yes! It is possible to get approval for your home loan while casually employed. The secret to getting approved is to know what the lender’s policy is, and to apply with a bank who can accept people in your current employment status.

Typically lenders see casual employees as unstable. Your income may fluctuate from week to week or you may go for some time without shifts at all. In addition to this you are not paid for holidays and have less job security than a full time employee.

Lenders simply haven’t come to the realisation that in this day and age nobody has the same job security that was available in the past. Many industries such as hospitality or nursing tend to have a very high number of casual employees, yet the experienced staff are never out of work. However other industries (such as finance!) tends to have many permanent full time employees that are concerned about their job security!

As a result of the way banks see casual employees they typically will not accept any of your income until you have been in your job for 12 months and even then may only use 50% of the income that you earn!

So what is the secret to getting your home loan approved?

It’s simple! Apply with a lender that has flexible policy for casual employees. Some lenders will accept 100% of the income that you earn and only require you to be in your current job for 3 months or more. They will confirm the date you started then use the Year to Date (YTD) figure from your payslip to work out your annual income.

Some lenders can also use your group certificate to calculate your earnings. A good mortgage broker can help you to decide which documents to provide to your lender so that they assess your income in the most favourable way.

You can apply with a specialist mortgage broker who understands casual employees such as the Home Loan Experts who can quickly work out which lenders can help you. Generally there are no fees for the services of a mortgage broker, they can quickly work out which lenders you qualify with even help you with the paperwork.

You just scored that new job, changed careers for more stimulating work opportunities or have been head hunted due to your professionalism and strong work ethic. Despite all the excitement that comes with changing jobs, you could be subject to a probationary period. Often the length of probation is written in your employment contract. It could be three to six months, sometimes longer!

During this time you may wish to finance the purchase of a new home. But what if you can’t get approval! Some banks are less inclined to lend to those on probation, due to the higher risk involved. You may be a working professional with lengthy experience within your industry and your salary may have increased substantially, so why should a probationary period stop you from buying that dream home? The right broker will ensure that you are approved!

Generally banks are more inclined to lend to those once the probationary period is over. This is because they see a probationary period as a reflection of your unstable employment situation. Lenders prefer those who have full time employment and not those that are still unsure as to whether they will secure a permanent place within a company.

Your chances of approval are higher if you are changing departments or jobs, within the same field or industry. Lenders want to see opportunistic people with a good track record of employment. Not those that tend to move from job to job. These are all factors that banks take into consideration when assessing your application for a home loan, while you are on probation.

For those of you who are yet to commence work, have just finished university and are looking to enter into the workforce, there is still a high chance of approval if you are moving into the same field that you studied in. Your situation will be more favourable if you have studied for over two years and can evidence this.

This is similar for those of you who may have recently taken maternity leave and wish to return to work. Generally this will not be a problem if you are returning to the same employer, however banks will often request a copy of your child’s birth certificate so that they can prove that this is the reason that you have been absent from the workforce.

Have you recently moved to Australia from overseas? Are you a returning ex pat? You can still get approval! If you are on an Employer Sponsored Visa, or are an Australian resident or citizen who is returning to work in the same field that you worked in overseas, you may still qualify for a loan.

Expert help is necessary to ensure approval. Brokers usually deal with many people who face similar employment situations to you. It is not uncommon for them to successfully approve those who are on probationary periods or have just started work. Get in touch with a mortgage broker today!

“Capped”, it usually means that there is a limit or there is a certain boundary that cannot be crossed.   A capped loan similarly would mean that the interest rates have a limit set to them, and cannot go above a certain point.  This is of course limited to a certain period, which may be a number of years.

Due to the fact that a loan is capped, this simply means that no matter how high the interest rate goes up, the boundary is what would have been agreed upon in the capped loan contract.  However, when interest rates go down, the interest you pay can also go down.  This is because the cap is only applicable upwards and not downwards.

Currently, most capped home loans on offer have a 7.5% cap until 2012.  Any interest above 7.5% would not be allowable.    The lowest capped loan on offer is set at 7.49%, so one has to decide based on the product features which capped rate loan would be most suitable. The expert consensus, however, seems to be that interest rates will stay low for the next few years. These rates will then slowly go up once again as the effect of the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States slowly settles, and the real estate market begins to recover.

People who are on the fence can therefore, take a chance with this loan product.  It has the flexibility of a variable rate loan, and the cap is akin to a fixed rate loan where the rates are inflexible.

With the help of the experts on home loans, it would be much easier to gain access to a capped home loan.  They can also advise you if getting such a loan would be wise, and even offer different products which may compare in price to such a loan.  So do not hesitate to try and benefit from various home loan products, as they could save you a lot of time and effort.

Homes are usually the most expensive asset a person has, and prices of homes in Australia are going up constantly.  This makes it virtually impossible and very difficult to make the 5% to 10% deposit usually required by banks and lenders before loans can be granted.

Thankfully a number of banks and lenders offer no deposit home loans which can have you get loan approval even without a deposit.  Keep in mind that you would still need to have savings of at least six months of salary, these are called genuine savings loans.  Generally, without genuine savings such loans are not possible, unless you get a guarantor to support you in order to get a 100% loan without needing a deposit.

This means that home loans of this type can help a lot of prospective borrowers realize their dreams of buying their own home much faster as they would no longer require deposits.  The deposit requirements are often the reason that people are unable to make a loan, or are delayed in making their loan since it takes forever to save up for the deposit in the first place.

Several banks and lenders offer no deposit home loans at different rates.  This means it would be reasonable to first scout around for a good rate of interest.  Do not get the no deposit home loan from just anyone out there. The home loan experts who have access to several banks and lenders with different loan products can help a lot here.  They can show you loan products that have low interest rates and can help you with more choices and great access to no deposit loans.

In essence banks and lenders do require a deposit of around 20% before they approve loans of any kind.  This is to ensure that they are not exposed to too much risk, understanding that no deposit loans is very risky business.

However, it is a fact that there are ways to get a 100% deposit home loan.  This does not mean that they come at the same price.  Because of the additional exposure taken on by banks there are usually additional costs to these no deposit loans, but several people are willing to pay these additional costs in order to get into the real estate market earlier.

So what are the ways to get a no deposit mortgage?  There are a number of strategies that work.

One way is by paying LMI or what is commonly known as Lender’s Mortgage Insurance.  The payment of premiums for this type of insurance can eliminate the need for a 20% deposit.  It is a win-win situation as banks are protected from risk, while at the same time borrowers don’t need to save 20% deposit and can get into the real estate market as quickly as possible.

Another means of getting a no deposit home loan is by mortgaging another property.  The other property will serve as replacement for the deposit, and works in the same way as LMI in reducing the risk that the bank is exposed to.

Finally there is the guarantor.  The guarantor will pay where the borrower will be unable to pay.  With the help of a guarantor no deposit home loans are possible.

We at the home loan experts have access to all these types of no deposit mortgages.  We can help you select what we feel will work the best for you.  If you want to learn more about these types of loans, do not hesitate to contact us.  We will answer and provide you with quality information based on your enquiries.

Australians are known for their innovation and the desire to live the Great Australian Dream of owning a home on a 1/4 acre block of land.  While most people choose to pursue this dream by buying an existing house, some choose to build their homes to their specifications and with their own designs.  They likewise would want to handle the ordering of materials, the scheduling of construction, and other details on their own.

These people are the owner builders of Australia, who build their own homes from scratch without the help of construction companies or licensed builders.  Such a practice has become a growing trend, and a lot more people are choosing to go at it on their own and enjoy the additional control and extra savings.

The only limitations you have is your creativity, the budget you have and in some cases the lack of creativity of the local council!  Aside from that you are totally in control.  However, this control can sometimes work against you, as there is always a tendency to overspend when it comes to the finishings of your home. Who wouldn’t want their home to be perfect?

Owner builder home loans

There are a lot of joys and advantages to being an owner builder.  However, one of the main disadvantages is the difficulty of procuring a home loan.  This is because banks and non-bank lenders are somewhat wary of financing an owner builder project.  There are more risks involved, and there is no guarantee that the project will be finished, hence the apprehensions of the major banks.

With the help and aid of specialist mortgage brokers such as the Home Loan Experts, you will be provided with sufficient choices of lenders who trust owner builders and allow them to borrow enough to complete the project.  You can view their webpage on owner building or call them on 1300 889 743.

How does the process work?

If you don’t understand how the process of building a home actually works, then we would strongly recommend that you read the Owner Builder Guide. This will explain the steps involved in building your home, and how to get the most from your sub-contractors and suppliers.

Happy building!