La Trobe Financial is a leading credit specialist fund manager that offers home loans as well as wealth management and insurance solutions.
This lender has been operational since 1952, and has physical locations in Melbourne, Traralgon, Sydney, and Shanghai. While its physical locations limit to a few cities in Australia, it provides its services for residents of all states and territories.
Who is La Trobe Financial?
La Trobe Financial offers its expertise in three areas: asset origination, wealth management and insurance and portfolio management. As part of its asset origination section it offers its customers an array of home loans. These include residential and rural lending loans which are comprised of Full Doc, Lite Doc, Cash Out, SMSFs, and Construction loans. In addition, La Trobe Financial also offers various commercial loans, such as lease doc loans, cash out loans, SMSF loans, and construction loans.
Since La Trobe Financial is not a bank, but a registered credit provider, it does not have extensive branch networks, helping to keep their operating costs down. Like banks, La Trobe Financial lends money from its mortgage fund or company balance sheets, and its mortgage fund is the largest fund of its kind in Australia.
Home loans provided by La Trobe Financial
Full Doc
You can borrow a minimum of $100,000 through this full doc variable rate loan, and a maximum of $1,500,000. You can use it for buying a home, refinancing and for debt consolidation. This loan offers a free redraw facility. Maximum LVR is 95% but you'll need Lender’s Mortgage Insurance if your LVR exceeds 80%. You have the option of making interest-only repayments for the first five years and the maximum loan term is 30 years.
Lite Doc
If you cannot provide fully audited accounts, BAS statements, and tax returns, you can apply for this Lite Doc loan by providing an accountant's letter and a borrower declaration at the time of application. As with the Full Doc loan, you can use this variable rate loan for debt consolidation, refinancing and purchasing, with the minimum and maximum loan amounts standing at $100,000 and $1,500,000 respectively. Maximum LVR is 80% and the maximum loan term is 30 years. You can make interest-only payments for the first five years and it comes with redraw facility
Cash Out
The Cash Out loan by La Trobe Financial enables you to use the equity you build in your home for an assortment of personal and investment purposes. You can follow either the Full Doc or the Lite Doc process to apply for this variable rate loan, and the minimum you can borrow through this loan is $100,000, with the maximum being $1,500,000. Maximum LVR stands at 80% and the maximum loan term cannot exceed 30 years. You’re able to make interest-only payment for up to five years and it also comes with redraw facility.
SMSF
To apply for the SMSF home loan from La Trobe Financial you have to provide your SMSF contribution statement and the verification process requires 100 percent rental income. You can apply for this loan for purchase as well as for refinancing previous investments. Minimum and maximum loan amounts stand at $100,000 and $1,000,000 respectively, and maximum LVR is 80%. The loan term cannot exceed 30 years, and you can make interest-only payments for up to five years. This loan does not offer a redraw facility.
Construction
The La Trobe Financial variable rate Construction Loan is best suited for self-employed and PAYG borrowers who wish to construct homes to live in, or as a means for investment. You can apply for this loan using the Full Doc or Lite Doc method, for a minimum loan amount of $100,000 up to a maximum loan amount of $750,000. Maximum LVR is 75% and the maximum loan term is 30 years. This loan offers a redraw facility, and you can make interest-only repayments for up to five years.
Rural
This variable rate loan allows you to borrow money to buy up to 200 acres of rural land, and you can apply for purchasing, refinancing, or debt consolidation. Apply using the Full Doc or Lite Doc method and borrow a maximum of $100,000. Keep in mind the maximum LVR cannot exceed 70%. Maximum loan term for land less than 100 acres is 30 years, and if you wish to buy more than 100 acres the maximum loan term goes down to five years. You can make interest-only repayments for up to five years, but only if you buy more than 100 acres. This loan does not offer redraw facility.
Pros and cons of La Trobe Financial home loans
Pros
- Competitive interest rates. Irrespective of the home loan you choose, you'll notice that La Trobe Financial offers competitive interest rates on all its products.
- Repayment arrears assistance. In the event that your financial situation changes owing to personal or business reasons, you can get in touch with a La Trobe Financial rep to work out some kind of a workable solution.
- Loans for rural land. Not many lenders give borrowers the option to buy large tracts of rural land, but La Trobe Financial enables you to buy up to 200 acres.
Cons
- Application fees. All La Trobe Financial home loans attract application fees, which can range in between 0.60% to 1.75% of the amount you borrow.
How to apply for La Trobe Financial home loans
You can initiate an online application for a La Trobe Financial home loan by getting in touch with a mortgage broker who can help you organise and submit your application. In either case, you have to submit a copy of suitable identification which can include the following:
- Your driver's license
- Your passport
- Your Medicare card
- Your birth certificate
As part of the application process, La Trobe Financial, like any other home loan provider, goes through your financials to establish if you pass their lending criteria. As a result, expect to submit the following:
- Personal and contact information
- Details surrounding your income
- Details of your assets
- Details of your liabilities
La Trobe low doc loans have a huge application fee. How can this be reduced ?
Also how much is the penalty if the loan is repaid within 12 months, 24 months or 36 months or 48 months ?
I have a house worth $500k and no debt. I have cash coming into my business of $200k in 9 months time. My accountant can verify this. My tax returns don’t show the $200k as it is a property development profit based on exchanging contracts on all the blocks of land.
Who can give me a low doc loan with a normal application fee of say $500 ?
Hi Spiros,
thanks for the question.
Unfortunately I’m not able to answer this question as I’m not a representative of La Trobe Financial, so I would recommend contacting them directly to ask about their penalty fees for paying your home loan off at different stages. You an compare other low doc loans on our comparison page.
I hope this helps,
Marc.
Hi there
Just got a quick question does pepper do loans for $300,000 10% deposit, and I have a default but its all paid off about 9 months ago,
Both me and my girlfriend putting away about 1k a week right now, an incomes annual 45k and 40k.
We are first time house buyers will that effect anything and if Pepper can’t help us do you know who could. Thank you.
Hi Gerakd,
Thanks for your enquiry.
You can compare a range of Pepper home loans on this page and under ‘LVR’ (loan-to-value ratio), you’ll see that the amount you can borrow varies depending on the product and whether it’s a low documentation or full documentation loan.
Generally, you should try to complete a 20% deposit so you can avoid paying Lender’s Mortgage Insurance (LMI), however if this is not possible then Pepper Loans do allow you to borrow 90% LVR (with a 10% deposit) for specified home loans.
If you’d like to speak with a Pepper Home Loans specialist you can enter your details and a representative will get in touch with you to discuss your options.
As a first home buyer, you can read our first home owner grant (FHOG) guide here and learn about the grants and concessions available in your state.
Thanks,
Belinda