Greater Bank is an Australian mutual bank based in Newcastle. Check out the full table of Greater Bank products below or read more about the lender and its loans.
Greater Bank Cashback Offer
Eligible purchasers and refinancers can get a cashback when taking out a Greater Bank owner-occupier or investor home loan. You can get $3,000 if your loan is $500,000 or more and $2,000 if your loan is between $250,000 and $499,999. You need an LVR of 80% or lower.To qualify you need to apply by 31 May 2024 and have the loan funded by 31 August 2024. Other terms and conditions apply.
Greater Bank is a mutual bank, meaning it is owned by its members and not run for the profit of shareholders. It has over 50 branches in various parts of the country, mainly in NSW.
Greater Bank has home loans available for borrowers with deposits under 20%. If you have a family member who owns a property, they can guarantee your loan and you can borrow even more.
Greater Bank’s Great Rate Home Loan has won across 2 categories in the 2024 Finder Awards. It has been crowned as the Best Investor Fixed IO Home Loan - 2 year for it’s low fees and features. While also winning the Best Investor IO Fixed Home Loan - 3 year category thanks to its competitive interest rate and low fees. It's also available for borrowers with 5% deposits.
Here are the key features and details you need to know about Greater Bank's mortgage products.
Feature
Details
Minimum deposit
Some Greater Bank loans have 80% maximum LVRs, meaning you need a 20% deposit. But Greater Bank has some loans that let borrowers use a parental guarantor to borrow above 100%. Other Greater Bank home loans are available with 10% deposits.
Most Greater Bank mortgages allow you to split your loan into fixed and variable portions.
How do I apply for a Greater Bank mortgage?
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 Greater Bank 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 Greater Bank 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 (savings accounts, investments) and liabilities (your outstanding debt).
Mortgage brokers. Still confused? Get free, expert guidance from a qualified mortgage broker.
More home loan questions
To make sure you find the right Greater Bank loan you need a clear idea of what you're looking for in a mortgage. These simple questions can help:
Do you need local branch support? Greater Bank has bank branches but if you don't live near one you'll have to apply online.
What do you need the loan for? If you're buying a home to live in you need an owner-occupier loan. Property investors need an investment loan. Greater Bank has both.
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 entirely?
What features do you need? You have 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 Four 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.
Greater Bank is considered an authorised deposit-taking institution (ADI). This means customers with money deposited in a Greater Bank 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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I am looking for refinancing my properties (that are currently with another financier) as the Greater Bank seems to offer lower interest rates than the current financier. My wife and I are currently working full time (200k Gross income per annum). We possess 3 investment properties (A$1.85M worth) and one owner occupied home (A$0.55M worth) in NSW. The current loan amount about A$1.4M. Currently the properties are with fixed rate of interest expiring in next three months to one year. We have no other debts. Can we get the refinance facility from Greater Bank? We will talk about more when you say yes. Thank you.
Finder is a comparison site. If you contact Greater Bank directly on 13 13 86 you should be able to get some more information about your eligibility for a home loan. Based on the information you’ve provided, your loan to value ratio is $1.4m debt versus $1.85m value, which is 78%. This is less than 80%, which is the threshold at which gaining loan approval can be harder.
There are also tax implications related to your investment properties, so it’s a good idea to get tax advice to make sure you’ve structured your finance as cleanly as possible to maximise your tax deductions.
Hi, my wife on a disability pension, I am on cares pension daughter on a single mothers pension have a guarantor and 20 thousand in the bank. Is there any way to borrow 200000 for a home loan kind?
regards Trevor
You may be eligible to apply for a home loan while on Centrelink benefits. I also recommend getting in touch with a licensed mortgage broker. A broker can help you understand your financial position and they can leverage their panel of networks to find a lender that’s more inclined to review your application.
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I am looking for refinancing my properties (that are currently with another financier) as the Greater Bank seems to offer lower interest rates than the current financier. My wife and I are currently working full time (200k Gross income per annum). We possess 3 investment properties (A$1.85M worth) and one owner occupied home (A$0.55M worth) in NSW. The current loan amount about A$1.4M. Currently the properties are with fixed rate of interest expiring in next three months to one year. We have no other debts. Can we get the refinance facility from Greater Bank? We will talk about more when you say yes. Thank you.
Hi Venkat,
Finder is a comparison site. If you contact Greater Bank directly on 13 13 86 you should be able to get some more information about your eligibility for a home loan. Based on the information you’ve provided, your loan to value ratio is $1.4m debt versus $1.85m value, which is 78%. This is less than 80%, which is the threshold at which gaining loan approval can be harder.
Note that if you refinance all of your loans together, they will be cross-collateralised, which has some risks – you can learn more here: https://www.finder.com.au/equity-to-buy-a-second-home
There are also tax implications related to your investment properties, so it’s a good idea to get tax advice to make sure you’ve structured your finance as cleanly as possible to maximise your tax deductions.
I hope this helps!
Hi, my wife on a disability pension, I am on cares pension daughter on a single mothers pension have a guarantor and 20 thousand in the bank. Is there any way to borrow 200000 for a home loan kind?
regards Trevor
Hi Trevor,
Thanks for your enquiry.
You may be eligible to apply for a home loan while on Centrelink benefits. I also recommend getting in touch with a licensed mortgage broker. A broker can help you understand your financial position and they can leverage their panel of networks to find a lender that’s more inclined to review your application.
Thanks,
Belinda