Finding your home loan

Introduction

With so many different home loans on the market, Newcastle Permanent aims to make it easy for you to select the right loan to suit your circumstances. Whether you want a variable or fixed rate home loan, a line of credit facility or the freedom to split your loan, we have the home loan package to suit you. Even if you have a home loan with another lender, you can swap to Newcastle Permanent and it’s simple because we do the work for you.

This guide has been developed to help you through the buying process and provide you with some of the information you need when purchasing a home or investment property. If you are not at the buying stage at the moment, we will show you how much you will need to save for a deposit and what other costs you may need to consider.

Nothing beats the local knowledge and experience of our Community Lending Managers. Your local Community Lending Manager is a home loan specialist and can meet you at a time and place that suits you, whether it be your home, office or at a Newcastle Permanent branch.

Drop into any branch or call 13 19 87 for more information or to arrange an appointment.

How much can you borrow?

The first thing you need to do is work out how much you can borrow. How much you can afford is determined by a number of factors including your income, current commitments, living expenses and savings. If you are buying a home with someone else, their income, commitments, expenses and savings will also affect the amount you can borrow.

Use our online calculators for an estimate of how much you can borrow and your monthly repayments.

Pre-Approval

Visit your local branch or call 13 19 87 to arrange an appointment with your local Community Lending Manager to get a pre-approved home loan. Pre-approval gives you the security to know how much you can borrow based on your current income and expenses. This pre-approval is valid for up to 6 months, so you will have plenty of time to search for your dream home. Formal approvals are subject to confirmation of any approval conditions being met and a satisfactory property valuation.

To get a pre-approved home loan, you will need to bring some documentation with you so we can process your application. The following page provides a checklist of the information we need.

What you need to bring?

Identification

You will need to identify yourself to us when you apply for a home loan. This can be as easy as providing your drivers licence or passport. For details of acceptable documentation, please contact your local branch or click here.

Income

You will need to show that you have the ability to make regular home loan repayments. Your 2 most recent payslips and your last group certificate is usually sufficient. You should also bring details of any other investments that earn income for you.

If you are self employed, you will need your last 2 years tax returns. You may also need to provide some additional information. Talk to your local Community Lending Manager to find out what else you may need.

Liabilities

We will also need documentation or statements regarding any current expenses you have, such as credit card debts, car loans, personal loans and any other existing repayments you may need to meet.

Savings

If you have begun saving for your deposit, you should bring in a record of these savings such as bank statements or passbooks.

If you are purchasing a property with another person, they will also need to provide the same information.

Saving for your deposit?

At Newcastle Permanent, we can lend up to 97% of the value of the property if the loan is an owner occupied loan (i.e. you are buying the home to live in yourself). We can lend up to 95% of the value of the property if you are purchasing the home for investment purposes (i.e. to rent out). For example, if you wanted a loan on a $280,000 property to live in we could lend you up to $271,600, therefore you would need a minimum of $8,400 deposit. Remember you may also need to consider other fees and charges such as stamp duty, lenders mortgage insurance and legal fees.

If you haven't begun saving for a deposit – don't panic. Our Rapid Saver Account can help. It offers a high rate of interest, paid each month, if you make at least one deposit and no withdrawals during the month.

For example, if you opened a Rapid Saver Account and deposited $150 each week, after 1 year at 7% p.a. interest, you would have over $8,000.

First home benefits

If you are a first homebuyer, you may be eligible for benefits under the First Home Owner Grant Scheme and/or the First Home Plus Scheme.

First Home Owner Grant Scheme

The First Home Owner Grant Scheme is a joint Federal and NSW Government initiative offering eligible NSW first home buyers a $7,000 grant. The grant applies to residential dwellings and apartments only and does not apply to vacant land. This may be used to cover legal fees, Lender’s Mortgage Insurance, go towards your deposit or new furniture or appliances for your new home.

How to apply for the First Home Owner Grant

Your local Community Lending Manager can assist you with your application for the First Home Owner Grant. The grant will be available for you on settlement or for the first draw down if you are building a new home.

First Home Plus Scheme

The First Home Plus Scheme provides exemptions or concessions on transfer duty and mortgage duty for eligible first home buyers. This includes vacant land on which you intend to build your home.

To find out if you are eligible for either scheme or for more information visit:
http://www.osr.nsw.gov.au/ or
http://www.firsthome.gov.au/

Choosing the right loan for you

We have a range of home loans to suit you and your lifestyle. Your local Community Lending Manager is a mortgage specialist and can help you decide which loan is right for you.

Real Deal Home Loan

Our Real Deal Home Loan helps you save right from the start. You enjoy a lower ongoing rate plus no valuation fee and no ongoing account keeping fees.

With a Real Deal Home Loan, as well as offering one of the most competitive interest rates around, we have developed the right combination of value, features and benefits. We offer things that most home buyers look for in a home loan like redraws, repayment holidays, a partial mortgage offset account and the ability to make extra repayments.

Premium Plus Package

Our Premium Plus Package is our premium home loan without the premium price tag. In addition to offering our lowest ongoing variable rate home loan and a line of credit, our Premium Plus Package provides loads of exclusive benefits and discounts. These benefits include insurance discounts, redraws, repayment holidays, a 100% Mortgage Offset Account and fee waivers on our Value+ Credit Card, Car Loans and Personal Loans. With the flexibility to choose either a Variable Rate Home Loan, a Line of Credit, or a combination of both, our Premium Plus Package is your total solution.

Intro Rate Home Loan

Buying a house and moving home can be a costly exercise. Our Intro Rate Home Loan gives you a handy discount off the Real Options Home Loan variable rate during the first year of your loan. With a lower repayment during the first year, you may have a little extra cash to take care of those other expenses.

Fixed Rate Home Loans

Lock in a fixed rate for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 or 10 years. Our Fixed Rate Home Loans offer you the certainty of knowing what your repayments will be for the fixed rate period. This means that if interest rates rise, your interest rate, and therefore your repayments will not increase during the fixed rate term. There is no valuation fee, no ongoing account keeping fees and the loan automatically reverts to our Real Options Home Loan rate at the end of the fixed rate term.

Real Options Home Loan

Our Real Options Home Loan offers a competitive variable interest rate. Plus there are no extra costs such as monthly or annual account keeping fees. Redraws, additional repayments and a partial offset account are all features of this affordable, flexible home loan.

Real Equity Home Loan

Our Real Equity Home Loan is a variable rate line of credit. It gives you direct access to the equity in your home so you can use it to build wealth. It is a combination of your loan and everyday account, which means you can benefit from every dollar you leave in your account. This helps reduce the balance of your loan, which means you can pay your loan off faster and save thousands in interest.

Like to know the features of our Home Loan products at a glance, then view our Home Loan Comparison.

Benefits of a Newcastle Permanent Home Loan

Mortgage repayment holiday

Need a holiday from your home loan repayments? Newcastle Permanent members can benefit from a repayment holiday as long as there are enough additional funds in the loan account to meet the regular repayments.

Benefits of a Newcastle Permanent repayment holiday:

No additional fees or charges
No approval required for this service
You can take a repayment holiday whenever you have excess funds available
Repayment holidays are available on all Newcastle Permanent home loans

Visit your local branch or call 13 19 87 for more information.

Additional repayments

You can make additional repayments at any time and for any amount. You can choose to regularly contribute extra on top of your minimum loan repayment or you can make additional lump sum payments when you have the funds available. This can help you save thousands of dollars in interest.

Pre-approved Value Credit Card

If you are a Newcastle Permanent Home Loan member you have the option to receive a $5,000 pre-approved Value Credit Card on approval of your home loan application.

Our Value Credit Card is designed to make your life a little easier. It is a convenient, value for money credit card that provides you with the flexibility to make purchases, cash advances, transfer balances and pay your bills.

Key features at a glance:

A low competitive rate on all purchases, cash advances and balance transfers
Up to 55 days interest free for purchases
Up to 3 additional cards at no extra cost
Free phone and Internet banking

Conditions of Use for our Value Credit Card are available on request. Fees and charges may apply.

Redraws

If you have made additional repayments on your loan, you can apply to redraw these funds*. You can use this money for any purpose you like, be it a well earned holiday or renovations to your home. There is no minimum redraw amount and you can draw on all the additional repayments made on your loan.

*No redraws available on Fixed Rate home loans.

Interest only repayment option

Most of our loans have an interest only repayment option for up to five years. This means that you will only need to pay the interest due on the loan each month. This may be helpful if you are investing or need to do major renovations or extensions to your new home straight away. It may also help if you want to start a family and, like many families, need to manage on only one wage for a period of time.

The interest only repayment option will make the repayments easier during these first few years. Keep in mind that at the end of the interest only repayment term, your loan may be the same amount as when you first borrowed. Talk to your local Community Lending Manager to find out if this option is the best one for you and your circumstances.

How to cut years off your home loan

You can cut thousands of dollars of interest and years off your home loan, simply by doing a few small things. They include:

Make fortnightly or weekly repayments – making fortnightly or weekly repayments may mean you can link your loan repayments in with your salary cycle. It also means that over the course of a year you will make extra repayments, which will help you pay your loan off sooner.

Making extra repayments – even if it is only a small amount on top of your minimum repayment, it can cut thousands of dollars of interest off your loan over time.

Making extra lump sum payments – making lump sum payments (for example,
using your tax return refund or bonus) can also help reduce the interest you pay
in the long term.

Using a Mortgage Offset Account – most of our home loans have a partial or 100% Mortgage Offset Account option available. A Mortgage Offset Account is a transaction account linked to your home loan, which allows you to use your everyday account balance to decrease the amount of your loan being charged interest. Your Mortgage Offset Account allows you to access your money via EFTPOS, ATMs, over the counter, and through phone and Internet banking.

Insurance

Lender's Mortgage Insurance

If you need to borrow any amount above 80% of the value of the property, then you will need Lender’s Mortgage Insurance. Lender's Mortgage Insurance is generally between 2-3% of the total loan amount.

Lender's Mortgage Insurance (also known as mortgage default insurance) protects the Society against any potential loss we may incur if you do not make your loan repayments and we are forced to take possession of the property.

We may require Lender's Mortgage Insurance on any loan. However, where the loan is secured by a residential property we will generally only require Lender's Mortgage Insurance where the loan amount exceeds 80% of our valuation or the sale price (where this is used instead of a valuation).

Loan Repayment Insurance

Ask your local Community Lending Manager about loan repayment insurance to protect your mortgage repayments. Loan repayment insurance can cover all or part of your loan repayments if your income ceases due to unfortunate circumstances such as disablement or unemployment.

Home and Contents Insurance

Losing your home and belongings would be devastating. So it's important to ensure you are protected. You will need to have building insurance as a minimum when purchasing a home. We offer a range of insurance products, which you should consider when buying a home. Plus you can pay-by-the-month with no added premium.

What will it cost?

There are some other associated costs with buying a new home that you will need to consider. These include:

Establishment fees which apply to some home loans.
Legal fees which includes Solicitor’s fees and Conveyancing charges.
Searches and inspections such as surveys, building reports and pest inspections.
Property related costs for example council rates, strata fees and other levies
(if you are buying a unit or townhouse) and connection costs such as gas, electricity, phone and internet.
Other costs include removalists costs and any work that needs to be done straight away (eg new carpet, paint or a new surround sound system).

The following table provides you with a list of the fees and charges that may be associated with buying your first home. Fill in the blanks to see how much you may need to save. Your local Community Lending Manager and Solicitor may be able to give you a rough estimate on the costs of many of the following charges.

What is the process?

For most people, buying a new home isn't an everyday occurrence, so it’s good to know that helping people through that process is something we do every day.

The first step is meeting with your local Community Lending Manager (CLM). Here you can work out how much you can comfortably borrow on your income when your expenses like credit cards and personal loans are taken into consideration. Your CLM will then lodge your application for approval. This usually takes a couple of days, then once it is approved your CLM will arrange a time for you to sign your loan documents.

At this stage you'll need to organise home and contents insurance to protect your investment should anything unforseen happen. We can help you with insurance,
and set up automatic repayments from your everyday account into your home loan account.

Now you're set with your finances, you just have to wait until settlement day when your funds are transferred to the person you’re buying the property from, and you can move in.

And then the fun begins…

Estimate of Fees and Charges to establish your Home Loan

Newcastle Permanent Home Loan charges

Establishment Fee $

Valuation Fee $

Inspection Fee $

Total Society costs $

Other expenses (normally paid to the Solicitor)

Legal Fees $

Stamp Duty $

Title Search $

Council Certificate $

Building and Pest Report $

Registration fees

Discharge of Mortgage
(for each mortgage to be discharged) $

Transfer (for each property that needs to be transferred to your name) $

Mortgage (for each mortgage) $

Strata units

Copy of Strata Plan $

Total other costs $

Lender's Mortgage Insurance if applicable (which will be added to your loan amount $

Newcastle Permanent Home Loan charges
Establishment Fee	$
Valuation Fee	$
Inspection Fee	$
Total Society costs	$
Other expenses (normally paid to the Solicitor)
Legal Fees	$
Stamp Duty	$
Title Search	$
Council Certificate	$
Building and Pest Report	$
Registration fees
Discharge of Mortgage (for each mortgage to be discharged)	$
Transfer (for each property that needs to be transferred to your name)	$
Mortgage (for each mortgage)	$
Strata units
Copy of Strata Plan	$
Total other costs	$
Lender's Mortgage Insurance if applicable (which will be added to your loan amount	$

Your next steps

Call 13 19 87 or drop into your local branch to arrange an appointment to discuss your home loan needs with one of our Community Lending Managers.

Try our online calculators to determine your repayments or apply for a home loan online.

You can also email enquiries via our Contact us page.