FAQ

At loans.com.au, we charge no ongoing, monthly, or annual fees, and if you refinance to us the only costs you'll pay are a one-off $300 settlement fee plus a valuation fee, which for a standard property in a metropolitan area in a major city starts at $220. Depending on where you live, there may also be external government charges.

It's important to do thorough research so you know exactly how much you'll be paying to refinance your loan. Common refinancing fees and costs can include:

• Mortgage application fee
• Property valuation fee
• Discharge fee
• Break costs
• Settlement fee
• Lenders Mortgage Insurance
• Exit fees
• External government charges

There are no fees associated with viewing transactions, transferring funds or scheduling payments via your online services. There is a $10.00 fee for ordering interim statements.

Yes this is a compulsory part of the application process. It is important for both us as a lender and also our customers, as the security value needs to be accurate and correct.

Yes we have calculators available that you can use on our website. Please click the Calculators button located in the top menu of the website or you may choose to go directly via www.loans.com.au/calculators/

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You are eligible if you are an Australian citizen or permanent resident, building your first home in Australia, with the intention of living in the property as your principal place of residence within 12 months of settlement and for at least 6 months. It is important to refer to each state website for the grant eligibility as the state conditions vary.

We can lodge your first home owner's application on your behalf so that the grant is available for you at settlement. You must complete the state specific application form, and provide the original application and required documentation before this can be lodged.

At loans.com.au, we use a fast process to refinance your loan called FastTrax Refi.

FastTrax Refi allows you to pay out your lender quickly. You don’t even have to contact your old lender - we do the hard work for you. You simply apply online and talk to a lending specialist, upload your documents and then your work is done!

From the time you return the completed mortgage documents and Loan Agreement to us, it only takes days to switch to loans.com.au.

For more information, follow our step by step guide to how refinancing your home loan works.

Your borrowing capacity is a calculation of your total income less your monthly expenses, which include living expenses, other loans, credit cards and dependents.

To calculate your borrowing capacity, the following information is needed:

• Marital status, number of children and their ages up to the ages of 18
• Gross Taxable Income for each applicant (not including any Superannuation)
• Advise of all credit card limits, and any other monthly repayments for any other personal loans, car loans or any  HECS/HELP debts.

To provide an indicative lenders mortgage insurance premium, the following information is needed:

• Loan amount
• The property value
• The state the property is located in, and
• If the property is owner occupied or an investment property.

You can select weekly, fortnightly or monthly if you have a Principal & Interest loan. If you have an Interest Only loan you can select monthly loan repayments only

Our website provides information on a variety of our products including fixed and variable loans so you can make an informed decision before submitting an online application. Should you have additional questions about our products please call our Sales Team on 13 10 90 AEST 7am to 7pm Monday to Friday.

We will require the following:

• Two (2) most recent consecutive payslips for each applicant
• Three (3) months bank statements showing regular salary credits, including most recent salary credits with the name of the employer evident
• Evidence of Salary Sacrifice or Packaging (if applicable)
• Evidence of Company Vehicle/Car Allowance (if applicable)
• Full copy of Contract of Sale signed and dated by all parties, including annexures/attachments where applicable.
• Three (3) months bank statements showing regular savings pattern or funds held for at least three (3) months prior to application

We will require the following:

• Two (2) most recent consecutive payslips for each applicant
• Three (3) months bank statements showing regular salary credits, including most recent salary credits with the name of the employer evident
• Evidence of Salary Sacrifice or Packaging (if applicable)
• Evidence of Company Vehicle/Car Allowance (if applicable)
• Six (6) consecutive months of home loan statements showing consistent repayment history

Please call our Payments team on 1300 784 434 between 7am to 5pm AEST Monday to Friday for further assistance.

You will need to supply documents to prove you can afford to repay the loan, including:

• PAYG Payers - last two payslips

• Self employed - last two years tax returns with an ATO Notice of Assessment

• Three months of bank statements

• Evidence of any rental income

• Six months of statements for your current home loan

• Three months of statements for any loans you are consolidating (ie. credit card debt)

• A copy of your current Rates Notice and evidence of payment

On our end, we’ll arrange a property valuation, credit assessment and all the paperwork with your current lender.

Get more information on what documents you need to refinance your home loan.

The interest rate affects the amount you will be required to repay over the life of your home loan. If you have a variable rate home loan, when interest rates rise it will increase your mortgage repayments. In contrast, if interest rates fall your repayments will be lower. If you choose a fixed-rate loan, you do not have to worry about changes in interest rates until the fixed period is over.

For gifted funds, we will require a statutory declaration from the family member providing the gift, including the full name of the person receiving the gift, amount of the gift and confirming the gift is non repayable.

A comparison rate includes both the interest rate as well as any fees or charges associated with the specific home loan. The comparison rate helps borrowers understand the true cost of a loan when comparing products from different lenders.

The equity in your home is the difference between its market value and your remaining home loan balance.

To put it simply, this is the value of what you currently own in your home. For example, the market value of your home is $350,000 and you still owe $200,000. When you subtract the loan balance from your property value, you have equity of $150,000.

The best thing about building up your equity is that it can be accessed through home loan refinancing, allowing you to use your home as security and use these funds for other expenses.

Refinancing can be a way to use the equity in your home to invest in home improvements, or in other real estate. However, keep in mind that increasing your loan will mean an increase in your loan repayments.

Find out more about accessing equity to buy another house. 

The interest rate on a variable loan may go up and down over the duration of the loan. You can make additional repayments at any time with no penalties or extra costs. You also can access any additional repayments. The interest rate on a fixed rate loan doesn’t change over the fixed period you have selected so you will know how much you need to pay each month and not affected by any interest rate increases. There are limits to the amount of extra repayments you can make, and you cannot access additional repayments until the fixed term has ended.

loans.com.au is an online lender, with our head office, loans specialists, underwriters and customer care team all based in Brisbane. We work with our customers directly using phone, email, fax, post and Skype. You have a designated lending manager and support specialist to manage your home loan from application to settlement. We do not have a branch network, so no expensive overheads or shareholders dividends, nor do we work with brokers or mortgage managers, so no trailing commission. These are the main reasons we can offer such a low variable home loan rate.

The full discharge fees will be shown on your loan agreement. Typically, there will be $300 discharge fee and $250 discharge documentation fee. If you have a fixed rate loan, there may be a fixed rate break cost applicable as well.

Our Loan Specialists are available from Monday to Friday, 8:00 am until 6:00 pm, AEST. Please feel free to call us on 13 10 90 if you wish to speak directly with our Loan Specialists.

Our live chat hub hours are Monday to Sunday between 7am and 12am AEST.

It's a good idea to review your mortgage to see if it is still suitable for your circumstances and still represents good value. Whatever your situation, refinancing your home loan can have benefits including:

• Saving money in the long run with a better interest rate,

• Consolidating multiple debts onto your cheapest interest rate,

• Paying off your home loan faster if you decide to change your term.

With that in mind, you need to think carefully if it makes financial sense to replace your old home loan or not, so before refinancing, consider:

• Costs – loan application fees for new loans, mortgage discharge fees, or break costs if your home loan has a fixed rate.

• Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) – If you have less than 20% equity in your home, you may have to pay Lenders Mortgage Insurance. You cannot transfer the existing LMI to the new loan, despite the fact that your previous lender is no longer at risk.

Read more about when to refinance your home loan. 

You can call Customer Care on 13 10 90 option 3. Our Customer Care team are based in Brisbane and available from Monday to Friday 7am to 7pm. AEST.

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