Home Loans Frequently Asked Questions

Qualifying for an ANZ home loan while you’re on maternity leave may require some research.

Much like other home loan applications, you'll need to be able to show the lenders that you’ll be able to pay the mortgage instalments on time, even during maternity leave, which can improve  chances of your home loan being approved. Your chances improve if you have savings, home equity, or if you receive any government-related benefits.

You’ll likely need  to provide no less than three payslips you received before the start of your maternity leave and a letter from your employer, with the letter stating the maternity leave terms such as the date on which you’ll return to work and the kind of employment (full-time, part-time, or casual) when you resume.

Your lender will likely consider the tenure of your maternity leave while assessing your loan application. Lenders also prefer if you are paid while on maternity leave; however, you may receive only half your salary, so the lender may not consider your regular income to determine the loan amount.

Qualifying for a home loan without a full-time job may be challenging, but it can be done. The first step is to understand how a CBA home loan is assessed when you have casual employment.

Most lenders will assess your expenses and savings while checking your loan eligibility, checking on factors crucial to home loan approval, such as if your bills are paid on time and what your credit score presently looks like. 

Your income can be one of the most critical factors to determine your final approved home loan amount. As such, you’ll need to provide payslip copies to lenders to assist them in assessing your income during the loan tenure, regardless of your employment status, full-time, part-time, or otherwise.

Casual employees will want to be casually employed for at least 12 months to be eligible for a home loan. Alternatively, you want to have worked as a permanent casual worker (working for a fixed number of hours per week) for at least one month, or you should have been in your current job for a minimum of three months (if the hours are irregular) to be eligible for the loan.

Most lenders should let you fix your interest rate for anywhere between one and five years. While rare, a few lenders may offer fixed rate terms for as long as 10 years.

Fixing your home loan interest rate for a longer term can keep your budgeting fairly straightforward, as you shouldn't have to factor in changes to your mortgage repayments if variable rates change, such as when the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) changes its rates at its monthly meeting. Additionally, if variable rates rise during your fixed rate term, you can continue to pay the lower fixed rate until the fixed term ends, potentially saving you some money.

Of course, a longer fixed term also means a longer length of time where you may have less flexibility in your home loan repayments. It’s also a longer period where you won’t be able to refinance your mortgage without paying break fees. If variable rates were to fall during this period, you may also be stuck paying a higher fixed rate for a longer period.

A reverse mortgage allows senior homeowners to unlock the equity in their homes. There is no repayment schedule, and the loan is repaid at the time of selling, if you move out or when the homeowner passes away. The interest accumulates on the outstanding amount and is added to what was initially borrowed.

Here are some benefits of applying for a P&N Bank reverse mortgage:

• Flexibility to use the funds as desired; you can travel, pay for medical bills or undertake home improvements or use it for your regular living costs
• A negative equity guarantee ensures the amount you have to repay never exceeds the value of your home
• A reverse mortgage does not have a regular monthly instalment, and you can repay any amount you wish at any point during the loan tenure
• You can choose to withdraw the loan amount as per your requirements

The P&N Bank reverse mortgage amount is based on factors like your age, location of the property, and the loan-to-value ratio (LVR).

Yes, you may be able to borrow extra on your mortgage for furniture. This may be done by considering a home equity loan. A home equity loan may allow you to access the equity in your mortgage for furniture via:

• A line of credit – A pre-approved credit limit based on your equity.
• A lump sum payment – Like a persona loan, with equity in your home loan used as security.

If you want to avoid borrowing more money, consider accessing cash deposited into your offset account or drawing down on extra repayments with a redraw facility to fund furniture purchases.

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.

There are a number of ways people use a Macquarie Bank reverse mortgage. Below are some reasons borrowers tend to release their home’s equity via a reverse mortgage:

• To top up superannuation or pension income to pay for monthly bills;
• To consolidate and repay high-interest debt like credit cards or personal loans;
• To fund renovations, repairs or upgrades to their home
• To help your children or grandkids through financial difficulties. 

While there are no limitations on how you can use a Macquarie reverse mortgage loan, a reverse mortgage is not right for all borrowers. Reverse mortgages compound the interest, which means you end up paying interest on your interest. They can also affect your entitlement to things like the pension It’s important to think carefully, read up and speak with your family before you apply for a reverse mortgage.

Settlement is the procedure for the official transfer of ownership between the seller and buyer. It’s often done without the seller or buyers input but between both parties’ the financial and legal representatives.

Here is how the ANZ home loan settlement process works:

1. The solicitor or conveyancer prepares the Transfer of Land document at least two weeks before the settlement date.
2. The signed document is registered at the state or territory land registry office.
3. Your solicitor or conveyancer will connect with the ANZ home loan settlement contact and the seller’s solicitor or conveyancer to finalise the date, time, and place of settlement.
4. You must deposit any applicable amount into your ANZ account three days before the settlement date.
5. After the settlement is completed, your solicitor or conveyancer will send you a Statement of Adjustment confirming the disbursal of funds from your home loan amongst the involved parties.

If you have a fixed interest home loan, you’ll pay ANZ home loan early exit fees for partial or full repayment of the loan amount before the end of the fixed interest rate duration. These fees are also payable if you switch to another variable or fixed-rate loan.

The ANZ mortgage early exit fees can vary and you can get an estimate from the lender before you decide to prepay the loan. However, the exact early repayment cost can be determined when you prepay the loan.

The early exit fees are calculated after considering factors like the prepayment amount, the period left before the fixed-rate duration ends, and the change in the market rates since the beginning of the fixed-rate period. The early exit fees may not be charged if you’re paying off a smaller amount. You can check with ANZ to see how much you’ll have to pay.