The loans.com.au Essentials Home Loan offers a competitive rate and minimal fees, along with some basic features.
The loans.com.au Essentials Home Loan is a basic home loan with minimal fees. Read this product review to find out if it's the right loan for you.
| Product Name | loans.com.au Essentials |
|---|---|
| Interest Rate Type | Variable |
| Comp Rate^ (p.a.) | |
| Minimum Loan Amount | $50,000 |
| Maximum Loan Amount | $2,000,000 |
| Minimum Loan Term | 15 years |
| Maximum Loan Term | 30 years |
| Maximum LVR | 80% |
| Maximum Insured LVR | 80% |
| Mortgage Offset Account | No |
| Mortgage 100% Offset | 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 repayment options are available.
Cons
- No offset account.
- Valuation fee of $220 or at cost
- $300 settlement fee.
What do I need to know about this loan?
The Essentials Home Loan is available for purchasing or refinancing your home. Both owner occupiers and investors are eligible. You can also opt for interest-only repayments for a period, although keep in mind that switching to interest only repayments can change the interest rate you'll pay. There's also no offset account offered with this loan, although unlimited extra repayments are allowed and there's a redraw facility offered.
What are the features and benefits of the loans.com.au Essentials Home Loan?
- Extra repayments. You can put as much extra cash as you like towards the Essentials Home Loan to 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. There's no minimum redraw amount, and it's free to redraw.
- Loan amounts. You can borrow from $50,000 to $2,000,000.
- Loan-to-value ratio (LVR). You can borrow up to 80% 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 up to five years.
- Split loan facility. You get up to five 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.
Who is loans.com.au?
loans.com.au is a 100% online lender. Communication is conducted mainly on the phone and online. Loans.com.au is an Australian owned and operated company. As a certified lender, it must adhere to ASIC laws and legal requirements.
Loans.com.au customers are protected under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act (NCCP) and the company is underwritten by Firstmac, one of the largest financial services organisations in Australia. Loans.com.au is also a full member of the Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA), and has a 'strong' rating (the best possible) from Standard & Poor's for their loan serviceability abilities.
What fees and charges come with this loan?
- 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.
- 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: $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 for this loan?
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.
The diagram below is courtesy of loans.com.au and represents the loan application process after you contact them.
Does the interest rate still go up even if the rates does not rise in that month ?, And if you have a fixed loan rate can you still get out of that home loan to refinance ?
Hi Kim,
Thank you for visiting finder, we are a financial comparison website and general information service.
A variable home loan has an interest rate that can rise or fall broadly in line with official interest rates. The interest on your home loan is generally calculated daily and then charged to you at the end of each month. Your bank will take the outstanding loan amount at the end of each business day and multiply it by the interest rate that applies to your loan, then divide that amount by 365 days (or 366 in a leap year).
If one decides to break the contract on a fixed home loan by switching or refinancing, the existing lender must be compensated for any loss they incur. Breaking a home loan during a fixed interest period can be costly, which is why it’s always worth getting a quote from your lender before breaking a fixed interest rate home loan. You can read further about breaking out from a fixed home loan on this page.
Cheers,
Joanne
My wife and I are age pensioners with our pensions our only guaranteed income for the future. We are currently building a new house on our land. We have a cottage on the same site which we have been living in and wish to keep as a granny flat. Would we be able to borrow $50000 to reduce the cottage to the specified 60 m2 and renovate it?
Hi Ian, thanks for your inquiry!
In regards to the borrowing amount, it would be best to contact loans.com.au directly on 13 10 90 Mon–Fri, 7am–7pm.
For your cottage renovation, it would be best to contact your local council to approve this proposed construction.
Best,
Jonathan
need to find a lender who will loan me $95,000 but not having much luck
Hi Monica,
Thank you for your inquiry. Basically, with unsecured loans, the maximum amount you can borrow is $50,000 as it maybe risky to the lender to lend more than that amount. While for secured ones, it might be possible to borrow more than $50K. It would be best to directly discuss to the lender your options, check the criteria and see if you’ll be approved.
Cheers,
May
We are placing our house on the market over the next few weeks but we have found a house we will like to purchase. Can you explain our Bridging Fiancee work and who has the best options available
Hi Gab,
Thanks for your question.
Bridging finance may be a suitable option for home buyers who have found a home they want to buy but haven’t yet found a buyer for their previous home. It could take around 2-3 days to organize this type of financing.
You may want to visit this page to check how bridging finance works and to compare your options. If you need assistance in finding a good option based on your situation, you may also get in touch with a mortgage broker by filling out our online form on the same page.
Cheers,
Anndy
I see Min loan term 15 years. Does that mean there will be penalty in an event of a customer has to settle early?
Hi Chandra,
Thanks for your question.
Since the minimum term for this loan is 15 years, there will be a fee if you payout earlier than 15 years. The full discharge fees are normally listed in your loan agreement.
However, if your loan term is say 30 years and you wish to make extra repayments and repay your loan in at least 15 years, there will be no fees for that.
I hope this answers your question.
Cheers,
Anndy
Hi,
We currently live in Malaysia, and earn in MYR. We are looking to finance our investment property in Brisbane.
Do you grant loans to foreigners? We are New Zealand Permanent residents.
All documentation will be provided.
PD
Hi PD,
Thank you for your question and for contacting finder.com.au we are a financial comparison website and general information service we are not mortgage specialists so can only offer general advice.
Fortunately, the loans.com.au accept applicants from New Zealand permanent residents. I’d suggest that you contact them directly to discuss your loan options by clicking the green ‘Go to site’ button above. Alternatively, you can speak to a mortgage broker who will take all your circumstances into account and offer you a range of lending options.
Cheers,
May
Is there any fee for extra repayment? any termination fee for finish the repayment earlier except for discharge fee?
Hi Jenna,
Thanks for your question.
For loans.com.au Essentials Home loan, you can put as much extra repayment as you like at no extra cost. There is also no termination fee in case you are able to repay your loan earlier, but the discharge fee will be $300.
You can check this page for other home loans that allow for extra repayments.
Cheers,
Anndy
My partner and I want to apply for $250,000 home loan as we will be building. Are there any fees for each stage of the build to draw on the money? He would also like to incorporate his $22,000 credit card debt, and we’d like our loan split between the two of us. Are there any associated fees with this?
Hello Linda,
Thank you for your question.
Basically, there’s a progress inspection fee. $110 per stage. loans.com.au they will require an independent valuer to visit your property during the construction and ensure that your builder has finished the work detailed in their invoice. The total cost of this over the five stages is $550. For more details you may find this article helpful for Construction Home Loan
I hope this has helped.
Cheers,
Harold
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.