To determine the winner of Finder's Home Loan Provider of the Year award, we examine the home loans offered by lenders from across the market. That includes big and small banks, credit unions and online lenders. We examine the rates, fees and features of owner-occupier and investor loans to judge how competitive the loans are for each lender. And this year Easy Street won. All its loans offer competitive rates and low fees, putting it ahead of some lenders that won many individual home loan awards.
Easy Street’s Smart Variable Home Loan (Investor, IO) was highly commended in Finder’s Home Loan Awards for 2024 and it’s little surprise with its variable rates being particularly competitive. Despite its high application fee bringing it down in the rankings, its interest rate, lack of ongoing fees and its offering of an offset account meant it made its way into the top 3.
When applying for any home loan, you will need various documents to establish your identity, your financial situation, employment status and details about the property.
Eligibility
Each Easy Street product has specific eligibility criteria but some will apply to all products. For example:
Age. You must be over 18 years of age.
Residency. You should be a resident of Australia.
Employment. You should have a regular source of income.
Documents required
When you apply for a mortgage with Easy Street, you are required to provide certain information, so make sure you have all your documents ready before you apply. The documents you will be expected to provide are:
📄 Property details. You can start a loan enquiry before you've bought a property, but to complete an application, you need the address of the property and a signed contract of sale.
📄 Identification documents. You will need identification such as a driver's licence, passport or birth certificate.
📄 Proof of income documents. Recent payslips can establish your income.
📄 Asset and liability documents. You need to provide documents showing your current assets (such as savings accounts and investments) and liabilities (for example, any outstanding debt you may have).
If you want to compare loans from lenders similar to Easy Street, then you can start with these online lenders. They all have competitive rates and may be a better match for your needs:
Athena. This digital fintech lender offers low-rate mortgages and an entirely online, convenient service.
Tic:Toc. This lender's online application tool can process your mortgage application fast. Backed by the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank.
Homestar. A 100% online lender, Homestar has been providing mortgages to Australian borrowers since 2004.
Mortgage brokers. Still confused? Get free, expert guidance from a qualified mortgage broker.
More home loan questions
To make sure you find the right Easy Street loan, you need a clear idea of what you're looking for in a mortgage. These simple questions can help:
Are you comfortable applying online? Easy Street is an online lender, so you need to be comfortable completing the entire home loan process via the web (with phone and chat support).
Fixed or variable? Do you want the flexibility of a variable rate loan that could rise or fall at any time? Or are you happy to lock in a fixed rate for a certain period, so you can forget about rate changes altogether?
What features do you need? You need to decide whether you need features like a 100% offset account, the ability to make extra repayments and the option to split your rate.
Home loan pre-approval is an optional step in the application process that some lenders offer. Pre-approval means a lender has examined your savings, income and spending habits and has a rough idea of how much it could lend you. It's not the same as full loan approval and it's no guarantee that the lender will ultimately approve a full application. But it does allow borrowers to start looking for a home with more confidence and a clearer idea of their borrowing power.
Pre-approval is not something every lender offers, but many do.
Most Australian borrowers bank with one of the Big 4 banks (CommBank, ANZ, Westpac and NAB). You might have some concerns about getting a loan from a smaller lender you've never heard of. But there's no reason to worry just because you've never heard of a lender before.
In Australia, banks and lenders are regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) or the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and must comply with the National Consumer Credit Protection Act.
Because Easy Street belongs to Community First Bank it is considered an authorised deposit-taking institution (ADI). This means customers with money deposited in an Easy Street savings account benefit from the deposit guarantee scheme. This federal government scheme guarantees a customer's savings up to $250,000.
Deciding between a fixed or variable rate depends on what you want from the loan. A variable rate loan can change at any time, either up or down. A variable rate usually offers more flexibility in how fast you can repay the loan and the cost of refinancing.
A fixed rate loan offers total certainty about your rate, for the fixed period. This means it won't rise, costing you more. But if your lender starts lowering rates, you won't benefit either. Refinancing a fixed rate loan means breaking the loan, because you've agreed to a specific rate. This means you may have to pay a fixed rate break fee.
Mortgage brokers are home loan professionals who can help you find a suitable loan. A broker typically charges you no fee, because they receive a commission from your lender. Brokers are great if you are short on time or find the whole process of researching and applying for a home loan confusing. But you can definitely do it yourself and find a good loan. You may even find a better deal. That's because brokers don't compare loans from every lender in the market. They have access to a panel of loans and often don't have smaller online lenders in their panel.
Richard Whitten is a money editor at Finder, and has been covering home loans, property and personal finance for 6+ years. He has written for Yahoo Finance, Money Magazine and Homely; and has appeared on various radio shows nationwide. He holds a Certificate IV in mortgage broking and finance (RG 206), a Tier 1 Generic Knowledge certification and a Tier 2 General Advice Deposit Products (RG 146) certification.
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