Don't pay for any of the features you won't use with the Essentials Home Loan.
The loans.com.au Essentials Home Loan is a standard, no-frills home loan that only provides the features you need. This means you don't need worry about paying for features you won't use.
With a competitive interest rate and redraw facility, it could be the loan for you if you don't mind working with online lender.
| Product Name | loans.com.au Essentials |
|---|---|
| Interest Rate Type | Variable |
| Comp Rate^ (p.a.) | |
| Minimum Loan Amount | $50,000 |
| Maximum Loan Amount | $1,000,000 |
| Minimum Loan Term | 15 years |
| Maximum Loan Term | 30 years |
| Maximum LVR | 80% |
| Maximum Insured LVR | 80% |
| Mortgage Offset Account | No |
| Loan Redraw Facility | Yes |
| Split Loan Facility | Yes |
| Fixed Interest Option | Yes |
| Loan Portable | Yes |
| Suitable for Investment | Yes |
| Extra Repayment | Yes |
| Available as equity loan/line of credit | No |
| Repayment Type | Principal & Interest and Interest Only Options |
| Application Fee | $0 |
|---|---|
| Lender's Legal Fee | $0 |
| Valuation Fee | $220 |
| Ongoing Fees | $0 p.a. |
| Settlement Fee | $300 |
| Discharge Fee | $300 |
Pros
- No monthly or application fees.
- Unlimited additional repayments and a redraw facility.
- Interest only for up to 5 years for investors.
Cons
- No offset account.
- Valuation fee of $220.
- $300 settlement fee.
What should I consider about this loan?
loans.com.au is an 100% online lender. While this means less overhead costs (so the savings are passed onto their customers), it also means that there are no branches and face to face communication. Communication is conducted mainly on the phone and online.
This loan is available for purchasing or refinancing your home. Both owner occupiers and investors are eligible, investors can also opt for interest only repayments for a period. There is no offset account offered for this product, so there is no linked Visa Debit card. A rate lock is also not available.
What are the features and benefits of the loans.com.au Essentials Home Loan?
The Essentials Home Loan is lighter on features so you benefit from a lower rate, but it still comes with a few key features which can help you pay it off sooner and manage it easily.
- Extra repayments. You can put as much extra cash as you like towards the Essentials Home Loan. This is handy if you come across any bonuses at work or any tax refunds, and can help you pay your loan off sooner.
- Redraw facility. If you find that you need to access extra repayments you've made in the past, you can do this through the redraw facility. Unlike many other loans, there's no minimum redraw amount, and it's free to redraw. This gives you the flexibility to put as much extra money as you want on your home loan without having to worry about how hard it'll be to access it if need be.
- Loan amounts. You can borrow from $50,000Â to $1,000,000, so this loan can be used for a variety of properties at different price points.
- Loan to value ratio (LVR). You can borrow up to 80%Â of the property's value with this loan. The value is determined by an independent valuer hired by loans.com.au and not the price that you have paid for it. This means you'll need at least a 20% deposit to qualify for this loan.
- Repayments. Principal and interest repayments are available with this loan. Interest-only repayments are available for investors for up to five years.
- Split loan facility. You get up to 5 free splits or sub-accounts with this product. This means you can split this loan and take advantage of the other loans on offer from loans.com.au. Note that the Offset Variable is not available for this facility.
Loans.com.au is an Australian owned and operated company. As a certified lender, they must adhere to ASIC laws and legal requirements. Loans.com.au customers are protected under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act (NCCP).
Loans.com.au are underwritten by Firstmac, one of the largest financial services organisations in Australia. Firstmac have over 35 years of experience in the lending industry and has issued approximately $14 billion in mortgage bonds.
Loans.com.au is also a full member of the Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA), and have a 'strong' rating (the best possible) from Standard & Poor's for their loan serviceability abilities.
 
What are the fees and charges?
Fees you can avoid
- Application fee, $0. At the moment loans.com.au does not charge an application fee for this loan.
- Monthly fee, $0. You won't need worry about ongoing, monthly or annual fees for this loan.
- Government charges, $Varies. Depending on your borrowing situation, you may be eligible for a concession or exemption.
Fees you can't avoid
- Settlement fee, $300. This fee covers the cost of setting up your accounts once the loan is approved and established.
- Valuation fee, $220 or at cost. This fee is charged to cover the cost of sending a valuer to the property that is to be held as security to estimate its value.
- Discharge fee:Â $300. This is charged when you close all your loan accounts with loans.com.au.
- Discharge documentation fee: $250. This fee is charged to organise all the documents associated with closing your home loan accounts.
How do I apply or find out more information?
If you would like to find out more information, apply, or just speak to someone about the loans.com.au Essentials home loan, please click on 'go to site' to be taken to loans.com.au's enquiry page.
You'll be taken to a page that is similar to the one that is pictured, where you can enter a few of your details and a loans.com.au consultant will be in touch with you at a time that suits you.
This enquiry is obligation-free and does not appear on your credit file.
What can I expect during the loan process?
The below diagram is courtesy of loans.com.au and represents the loan application process after you contact them.
Hi, do you offer loans based on income earned outside of Australia ? We are permanent residents btw. Thanks.
Hi Ann,
thanks for the question.
Loans.com.au does in some cases accept borrowers with incomes earned outside of Australia, but this will be converted into Australian dollars.
I hope this helps,
Marc.
hi,
we are looking to invest. We already own a property and are looking to use the equity as deposit on an investment property. We owe 380000 on our home and its valued at 450000 -490000 ( as per ANZ & independent valuer). we have no other debt. We jointly earn $143000 + a year. Could we look at investment properties and be confident that it would be approved???
Hi there, thanks for the question!
Unfortunately as we don’t represent loans.com.au ourselves I can’t answer this. I would recommend contacting loans.com.au directly to find out if you’re eligible for this loan. You can do so by clicking the green ‘Go to Site’ button on this page.
Sorry I couldn’t be of more help,
Marc.
Do you have Delegated Underwriting Authority for LMI?
Hi Kelli,
Thanks for your enquiry.
finder.com.au is an online comparison service so please note that we do not represent loans.com.au. However, I can confirm that loans.com.au do have delegated underwriting authority for LMI with QBE and Genworth.
Kind regards,
Belinda
My only income is Centrelink my monthly gross income is 3165 I get family tax a & b my monthly is 1427 and my disability monthly income is 1734 I want to buy a home package deal loan but I don’t work and I have no deposit and no saving who can give me a loan and I want low interest repayments monthly
Hi Tracy,
thanks for the question.
You may wish to speak with a mortgage broker about what options may be available to you. Keep in mind that the usual deposit amount required for a home loan is between 5 – 20% depending on the loan. These days, no deposit home loans don’t really exist unless you have a close family member who can go guarantor for you using their property as security.
I hope this helps,
Marc.
Wanted to make it known that the fees listed for loans.com.au are not all inclusive. The cost of valuation is only $220 if your home is worth less than $1 million, if it is more they will charge you double that, up front. Thought you may like to update the listed details.
Hi Robby,
Thank you for bringing this to our attention I have confirmed that the loans.com.au Essentials Home Loan has a maximum loan amount of $1 million, the loan you may be referring to is the loans.com.au Offset Variable Home Loan which has a maximum loan amount of $2 million and I have added a note to our review page for this loan regarding the valuation fee.
Again thank you for your input.
Regards
Jodie
Can the fees to establish a new loan (I am looking to refinance) be added to the loan amount or do you have to pay the fees upfront?
Hi Michelle,
Thanks for your enquiry.
With the Essentials Home Loan, I can confirm that there are no establishment or application fee. The only up-front cost you’ll incur will be for the valuation of the property.
Thanks,
Belinda
Hi Michelle,
Thank you for reaching out to finder.com.au, a financial comparison website.
Most lenders will allow you to capitalise any upfront costs into your loan if this is what you need to do, if you are wanting to talk about refinancing with loans.com.au please use the “Go to site” button on this page to contact them directly.
Regards
Jodie
I am looking at refinancing from the ANZ, my husband is self employed. Is this going to be a problem?
Hi Nicole,
Thank you for contacting finder.com.au, a financial comparison website.
There should be no issues as the loans.com.au Essentials Home Loan is available for self-employed borrowers you will just be asked to provide alternative documents to a non-self-employed borrower.
Please use the ‘Go to site’ button above to contact a loans.com.au home loan specialist who can assist you further.
Regards
Jodie
I am 64 years old, how many years is the max loan term on my case.
cheers,
Hi Haurenau,
thanks for the question.
You may want to contact loans.com.au directly to find out the maximum loan term they would offer you. Keep in mind that this loan is offered for up to 30 years.
I hope this helps,
Marc.
Do you accept Work Cover as a form of Income? I have a Home loan with ANZ of roughly 57k and I am wanting a home loan of 200k on top of the 57k home loan paid out with ANZ. I have 115k in SFSF. I am awaiting another 128k from TWU Super for TPD payout and then Work Cover payout expected to be 800k plus.
All major banks etc won’t give me a home loan and won’t explain why as my Credit Cards are paid up and they are only 2k – ANZ and 2800k – Westpac. My Credit is fantastic and I am almost 4k ahead in my Home loan so why if your able to tell me what are the banks saying No to.
Hi Jeron,
Thanks for your enquiry.
finder.com.au is an online comparison service, we are not a lender or an issuing provider.
As lenders have different eligibility criteria, it would be best that you ask them directly about whether or not they accept work cover as a form of income.
Thanks,
Belinda
Hi we are thinking of refinancing at least one may be two property investment loans. Is it possible to do so for a 10 year interest only period ?
What happens if at some point we decide to fix instead of variable does the 10 years go from when we first refinanced with you or does going fixed end the 10 years interest only period ?
How straight forward is it to refinance over to you ?
Hi Jean,
thanks for the question.
The Loans.com.au Essentials Home Loan allows borrowers to make interest only repayments for up to 10 years. For more information about the process and how easy it is I recommend you enquire with Loans.com.au directly. You can arrange a call back by clicking on the ‘Go to site’ button on this page and filling out the required fields.
I hope this helps,
Marc.