Home Loans Frequently Asked Questions

Getting Aussie home loan pre-approval means receiving conditional support from Aussie Home Loans to borrow the money you need to buy a home. 

It’s an indication of the approximate amount Aussie may offer you, subject to some terms and conditions. Keep in mind, having a pre-approved home loan does not guarantee an actual approval of your loan when it comes time to buy.

Aussie home loan pre-approval often involves speaking to one of the lender’s brokers. You can make an appointment online. You’ll often have to submit your personal details and other information about your assets, income, liabilities and expenses.  It’s worth remembering that a pre-approved loan is usually valid for a few months.

The First Home Loan Deposit Scheme of NAB helps first home buyers purchase a property sooner by reducing the upfront costs required. This scheme is offered based on a Government-backed initiative, with10,000 available places announced in October 2020.

Suppose your application for the NAB first home buyer loan is successful. In that case, you’ll only need to pay a low deposit, between 5 and 20 per cent of the property value and won’t be asked to pay lender's mortgage insurance (LMI). You’ll also receive a limited guarantee from the Australian government to purchase the property.

If you’re applying for the NAB first home buyer home loan as an individual, you need to have earned less than $125,000 in the last financial year. Couples applying for the NAB first home loan need to have earned less than $200,000 to be eligible. To be considered a couple, you need to be married or in a de facto relationship. A parent and child, siblings or friends are not considered a couple when applying for a NAB first home loan.

The NAB First Home Loan Deposit Scheme is currently offered only to purchase a brand new property, rather than an established property.

As a first home buyer, you may require help and hand-holding, and as such ANZ has the buying your first home section on its website full of important information. ANZ also has a form in this section you can fill out to get a free consultation from an ANZ First Home Coach and create your own plan for buying your first home. This coach will help you understand where your current income is being spent and plan for your home loan repayments. You’ll get a clear picture of the costs involved in purchasing a property and how to budget or save for these costs. The coach will help you understand different deposit options and manage your accounts to enhance your savings.

There are three types of ANZ first home loans - Standard Variable, Fixed, and Equity Manager. The features, interest rates, and terms for each are different, and you can compare them here.

When they apply for an ANZ home loan, first home buyers can also get guidance on applying for the First Home Owner Grant (FHOG). This is a one-off government grant that may be available to you when you’re buying your first home. The eligibility criteria for FHOG differs between the different states and territories, which is why it’s helpful to have expert advice when applying.

Getting a home loan requires planning and research. If you are considering a home loan with the Commonwealth Bank, you can find the information you need in the buying your first home section of the bank’s website.

You can see the steps you should take before applying for the loan and use the calculators to work out how much you can borrow, what your monthly repayments would be and the upfront costs you’d likely pay.

You can also book a time with a Commonwealth first home loan specialist by calling 13 2221.

CommBank publishes a property report that may help you understand the real estate market. The bank has also created a CommBank Property App that you can use to search for property.  The link to download this app is available on the same webpage.

If you are eligible for the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme, CommBank will help you process your application. The scheme helps first home buyers to purchase a home with a low deposit. You can read details about this scheme here and speak with a CommBank home lending specialist to understand your options.

We ask for your contact details so we can get in touch with you if you are eligible for a gift card from the Home Loan Rate Promise.

We may also use your information to keep you up to date on future RateCity initiatives and news, if you select this option. You can opt out at any time.

If, after checking how much you could save on a lower home loan rate, you choose to get more help from a home lender or mortgage broker, you can choose to let us pass your contact details directly on to this lender or broker so they can contact you.

Most lenders will want the majority of your home loan deposit to be made up of ‘genuine savings’ which is income earned from your job. While a small number of lenders may let you use a personal loan or a credit card to help cover the cost of your deposit, this may potentially cost you more in interest, and put your finances at higher risk.

If you haven’t saved a full deposit, it may be possible to effectively borrow the deposit for a mortgage with the help of a guarantor. This is usually a parent of other family member who guarantees your mortgage with the equity in their own property.

It may also be possible to borrow the money for a home loan deposit from a family member (e.g. the Bank of Mum & Dad) or a friend, provided you draw up a formal legal agreement to pay this money back, showing your mortgage lender that you’re taking responsibility.

Completing an application for a home equity loan may only take 20 to 30 minutes. It may take a lender anywhere from a day to a few weeks to process and approve your application. This may be affected by your financial situation, your level of equity, and whether or not your lender needs to organise an in-persona valuation of the property.

 Before you can apply for a home equity loan, you’ll need to build up some equity in your property. The more money you can put towards extra repayments to reduce your home loan principal, the faster you can increase your equity. Also, if property values in your area increase, this may help deliver an instant equity increase once your property has been valued.

In 2014, Australia revamped its credit rating system by introducing the Comprehensive Credit Reporting System (CCR). However, banks only started rigorously implementing this system in 2018.

There is some elbow room in these new rules and regulations regarding repayments. Under the new rules, late payment is defined as any payment made 14 days or more after the due date. Essentially, you now have a grace period of two weeks to make your payment. Any payment made during the grace period will not affect your credit rating. However, you should actively try to make all payments on or before the due date.

This new system could work in your favour if you make your repayments on time and disclose all the required information when applying for a loan. If you do this, you should have a perfect repayment history and consequently a higher credit score. A good credit score can help improve your chances of being approved when applying for loans in the future.

Credit inquiries are records on your credit file that appear when you apply for a loan. If you have multiple credit inquiries on your file, lenders may see you as a high-risk borrower.

• Hard inquiries appear on your credit file when the lender reviews your credit report before approving.
• Soft inquiries do not appear on your credit file.

When you have multiple credit checks for mortgage or other loans, reflecting on your file can negatively impact your credit score. These remain on your credit report for two years; however, their impact reduces over time.

Generally, lenders prefer if you've had one or two hard inquiries over the previous six months. More than this may result in the lender declining your mortgage application. However, your overall credit history is important, and if you have a consistent history of timely payments and low revolving credit balances, the impact of multiple inquiries may be lower.

The amount of money you can borrow through a mortgage depends not only on your salary but also on your creditworthiness, your savings, and other debts you are paying off.

For instance, you could be earning $5,000 a month, but if you are making repayments of $2,000 and are only able to put away $500 towards savings, you may not have much borrowing power.

Consider using an online calculator to figure out how much you can afford to borrow, based on your salary and expenses.