FAQs

At Tiimely Home, it’s not essential. With expert guidance from our friendly in-house broker team, we’ll match your details with a Tiimely Own home loan, or, we’ll let you know if there’s a better fit with one of our partner lenders.

A Tiimely Own home loan is the smart choice for a low-rate loan with fast approval, but it’s not for everyone. Our in-house broker service provides major bank loans and supports complex situations with extended loan features such as split loans, guarantor loans, and construction loans.

During the application process we’ll ask you what the loan is for and what your goals and objectives are from acquiring the loan.

We’ll also help you narrow down things that are important to you like;

• If you want to pay the loan down quickly
• If you prefer knowing how much your repayments will be so you can maintain a budget (i.e. fixed rate) or if you prefer loan flexibility (variable rate)
• How often you’d prefer to make repayments
• Whether you want features with your loan such as an offset account and redraw facility.

Based on your answers, we'll recommend some loan options that best suit your needs. Once you've selected the most suitable option, we'll proceed with the financial assessment.

If you don’t qualify for a Tiimely Own home loan or a loan from one of Tiimely Home’s partner lenders, we’ll let you know upfront so we don’t waste your time. And if you’re approved, you’ll have your answer in a matter of minutes.

That’s the beauty of our real-time online application process and it’s what’s made us a standout provider in the home loan sector.

Principal & interest is the most common type of home loan. This involves making repayments which pay down some of the principal balance plus the interest accrued.

However, some people opt for an interest only loan period. This involves making repayments for a set time (usually 1-10 years) which are lower than principal and interest repayments. as they only cover the interest being accrued and none of the principal.

You might choose an interest only loan period if you know your budget is going to be tight for a few years, or in the case of property investors, for taxation or equity building purposes.

If you go down this road though, you’ll need to make sure you budget for the end of the interest only period, as your loan will then switch back to the higher principal and interest repayments.

Investment loans also have comparison rates, and they’re used the same way as other home loan comparison rates: as a tool to more easily compare options from lender to lender. Tiimely Own home comparison rates are calculated for a $150,000 loan over 25 years. They factor in our fees associated with applying for the loan; our ongoing fees and our fees associated with leaving the loan.

If you’re buying your first home, you’ve probably been saving for a while to get your deposit together.

Depending on how successful you’ve been, you’ll have saved either 20% or at the very least 10%, which will determine the type of home loan you’ll be able to get.

If you’ve only managed to save 10% of the property’s value, you’ll be required to take out Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI). This can be quite expensive, so it’s best to try and save a 20% deposit if you can.

The type of loan you then opt for will depend on your circumstances, but most first home buyers go for a principal and interest loan, where you pay off the loan amount with interest.

Many also choose a variable interest rate loan, as this usually comes with features that can help you to pay the loan off quicker.

Some people do opt for a fixed rate loan and the advantage of this is you always know how much your repayments will be, allowing you to stay on top of your budget, particularly if it is tight.

Whichever type of loan you opt for as a first home buyer, consider having the lowest interest rate you can get, the shortest loan term you can afford, minimum fees and only those features you’re likely to use such as a redraw facility and offset account. You should also get professional financial advice to better understand your options.

For Tiimely Own home loans, we offer two simple loan types:

Fixed rate – interest rate is locked in for a set period

OR

Variable rate – interest rate fluctuates with the market

With two simple loan uses:

Owner-occupied – first home buyers or those buying their next home

OR

Investment – those looking to build a property investment portfolio

Two different repayment types:

Principal & interest – pay off the loan amount plus interest

OR

Interest only – pay the interest only (popular with investors)

And two different deposit requirements:

From 20% deposit – allows you to borrow up to 80% of a property’s value

OR

From 10% deposit – loans guaranteed by Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI).

We also offer offset accounts for both fixed and variable home loans.

Looking at an apartment? Check to see if your property is considered high density, there are a few extra checks we'll need to do.

And our fees? Our fees are simple and transparent, so you'll always know what to expect.

And because our application process is online, we’re able to offer some of the best interest rates you’ll find anywhere!

If a Tiimely Own home loan doesn’t meet your requirements, don’t worry! We’ll let you know along the way if we think we can find you a better home loan solution through our in-house broker offering. Our in-house broker service provides major bank loans and supports complex situations and loan features such as split loans, guarantor loans, and construction loans.

As you’d expect from their names, the difference between an owner-occupied property and an investment property is whether or not you’re living in it. If you’re living in the property it’s considered an owner-occupied property, but if you’re intending to use your property as a source of income (through rental income or capital gains) and living in a different property it’s an investment property. The type of property you have will determine what type of home loan you need (either owner-occupied or investment). Owner-occupied home loan rates tend to be lower than investment home loan rates.

We offer a form of conditional approval for our Tiimely Own home loans, which is everything we can assess without knowing your property. Our preferred option is to give you full approval, giving you maximum confidence. But our digital application can work towards either. We understand everyone shops for a house differently, and sometimes conditional approval may suit your needs better. So, here’s how it works.

What does conditional approval (subject to property) with a Tiimely Own home loan look like?

Conditional approval means that we’ve assessed everything we can except for the property you’re buying (because you haven’t found one yet), so we’ll need to do a valuation when you find a property, and one final check to fully approve you for a home loan.

Subject to property means we can assess you as much as possible until the only outstanding item we need from you is your choice in property. When you find the right one, just let us know and we’ll do some other checks (including giving your property the double-thumbs up) to complete your assessment and hopefully it's full approval from there.

Your conditional approval is valid for 60 days. We’ll send a reminder before your approval expires in case you’d like to renew it. Please note, we’ll only be able to renew it once. You’ll need to start a new application once your approval expires – but it’s a straightforward process as you’ve already experienced, and our Customer Support team is here to help.

Our online application asks for details about the property you’d like to purchase. If you are seeking conditional approval (subject to property), we’ll only ask for the suburb you’re looking to purchase in. If you’re considering multiple suburbs, just choose the one you’re most likely to purchase in. When you find the right home down the track, let us know the address and we’ll update your application.

It’s important to understand our general application eligibility before applying, as we can’t lend to everyone or to all properties in all locations. If you’re unsure, just ask us. We’re available to chat 7 days over the phone or through our LiveChat. We also run a credit check on your file during the application, so make sure you’re really ready (we’re not an online lead-capture form, we’re the real deal trying to give you a real, digital answer).

Our quickest ever full approval to date was just 58 minutes. But sometimes we can hit delays if we need a little more information. Opting for manual financial validation instead of securely linking your accounts slows us down significantly, and one of our Credit Assessors will need to step in to assist. Submitting an incomplete application or providing inaccurate estimates of your expenses (or any information regarding your income, expenses and debts which doesn't match your actual situation) also requires manual work from our Credit Assessors. Again, make sure you’re really ready before you apply. If your application is urgent or you’re trying to meet a deadline, please contact us as we may be able to escalate your application.

How do I bid at auction?

It’s common for buyers to bid with only pre-approval, which can be quite risky. Since auction sales are typically unconditional and final, you are required to pay your deposit immediately after the hammer falls. But with pre-approval, your lender hasn’t guaranteed to lend you funds, and could decline to lend (perhaps emotions ran high and you bid well over the top with an amount the lender was unprepared to lend you). Or, you can aim for full approval, where you provide the exact address. We’ll take you and your application as far as we can — we’ll validate everything, run our checks, and will be waiting with the rubber stamp. If (and only if) we were able to run an automated valuation (AVM) during the application, you’ve been fully approved and you can go to auction with maximum confidence. (It’s normal for the selling agent to be shocked when you tell them your bid is unconditional on finance — Tiimely Own's full approval is unique in the Australian market). If we can't run the AVM, you won’t be able to bid at auction with full approval. We’ll need to order a full or desktop valuation before we can fully approve you. Or, if you’ve got a signed purchase contract already, send it to us so we can use the value from that. There are a few scenarios where we won’t be able to run an AVM. If you require LMI, if you are purchasing a high density property, or if the property. — we won’t be able to run an AVM (sorry). Sometimes the property is just too obscure, or there’s not enough sales data on the suburb to run the AVM (looking at you, Thorngate SA). If you intend on using full approval to bid at an auction, let us know. Speak with your Credit Assessor or chat with our Home Loan Specialists on 1300 842 405, or through our LiveChat. We can help you through the process.

What doesfull approval with a Tiimely Own home loan look like?

If you’re ready, you’ll know exactly which property you want to purchase. Go further than conditional approval and apply for full approval.

To give our full approval for the property we need to confirm its value by doing one of two things: conduct a satisfactory valuation, which we can do instantly as part of our application with an automated valuation (AVM) OR if we’re unable to get an AVM, receive a signed copy of the purchase contract (once you’ve made an offer).

We’ll always try to conduct an AVM first where possible, because (as the name implies) it’s automatic and, like, scary-good accurate and way faster. Not all properties or applicants will be eligible for an AVM, so if we can’t conduct one on the spot, we’ll need to order a desktop or a full valuation. This will take slightly longer. If you’ve already got a signed purchase contract, we can usually skip the valuation step (unless you require LMI, or if your property is classed as “high density” — then we’ll need to order a full valuation).

P.S: you’ll pay nothing for the valuation, even if we have to order a full valuation. Tiimely Own absorbs the cost.

To apply for full approval, give us the exact address and complete the rest of the application. We’ll let you know where you stand by giving you an answer on the spot: it’s either a “yes”, a “no”, or a “we need more information”.

If it’s a “yes”

Once we fully approve your application, we really mean it. Your last hurdle will be signing the documents and then settlement.

If it’s a “no”

Each lender has their own lending criteria, and these are the basis for their credit decisions. When we assess a home loan application, we look at a number of different sources to decide if we can approve it.

There are a few reasons why your application may not have been approved, including:

• Your loan repayment capacity, taking into account your income, expenses, existing financial commitments, and the ratio of debt to your income.

• The nature and stability of your employment.

• Your credit history, which we obtained from Equifax and Illion.

• The value of your property compared to the size of your loan.

• The property linked to your application may not meet our specific credit criteria.

If we find a red flag as you’re filling out the application, we’ll let you know straight away so you don’t waste any more of life’s most precious commodity — time. We check for things like address eligibility, your credit history, your status as an Australian citizen or permanent resident, and of course your financials. We know that not everyone will be suitable for a Tiimley Own home loan. If you don’t meet our eligibility criteria, we’ll match your application (with your permission, of course) against our panel of lenders and 100s of exclusive Tiimely Home deals without you having to reapply.

If it’s a “we need more information”

If we need a little more information, we’ll refer your application to one of our Credit Assessors. This is where a member of our team will jump in to help bring your application up to scratch and over the line. Our Credit Assessors can usually move fast, and your application can sometimes be completed quite quickly, especially if you’re proactive in responding to their requests for more information.

Sometimes they’ll only need one or two things — some updated payslips or a bank account statement. Everyone’s unique, so if your specific situation is more complex than most, they might ask you to provide more detail. If you’ve chosen to validate your financials manually, they’ll typically need to request more information from you and it will take longer to assess your application. When you choose digital validation, they receive the exact same information, just much faster.

What if I don’t get the property?

Whether you had conditional approval and your offer didn’t interest the vendor (it can be competitive out there!), or if you had full approval and your settlement fell through for some reason — just let us know. If you want to continue house hunting, we can help. If you need to change the suburb you’re looking in, or if you’ve found a specific property, contact your Credit Assessor or speak to one of our Home Loan Specialists over LiveChat or on 1300 842 405. There’s no need to submit a new application (and incur multiple credit checks!). We can alter your existing application.

Read more about applying for a Tiimely Own home loan.

A roll-to rate, also known as a revert rate, is a variable interest rate that fixed rates roll (or revert) to at the end of the fixed term period or an interest-only period. You can find Tiimely Own home loan current roll-to rates on our rates page.

Variable rates are by definition variable in nature and depend on the cost of funding at the relevant time. Depending on when your fixed period commenced, you may have a low (or high) roll-to rate.

What happens at the end of my fixed term period?

Depending on your lender, you may receive a reminder closer to the end of your fixed period notifying you of the roll-to rate and the applicable date.

There are a couple of options you may wish to pursue depending on your roll-to date:

If you're rolling to a variable interest rate that is lower than your current rate

Depending on your situation, you could let it roll to the roll-to rate. Variable rates are variable in nature and likely to move so it’s worth keeping an eye on your rate and shopping around, so you know what's on offer when the time comes to move on.

You're rolling to a higher variable interest rate

You could get a head start on negotiations with your current lender or start shopping around for a home loan to suit your needs, otherwise known as refinancing. There are pros and cons so make sure your new home loan meets your requirements.

Fix again

Fixing again may be your preference if you're someone who likes to know exactly how much to budget for loan repayments, or fixed interest rates are low when you roll off so it makes sense to lock in again. Either way, fixing will help you secure your interest rate and give you certainty around your repayments.

Refinancing

You’ve come to the end of your fixed rate term and there are a couple of features and add-ons you feel could help make life a bit easier. Need an offset account or redraw facility this time around? Or want to consolidate some debt to free up cash flow? Maybe you just want to make sure you’ve got the hottest rate going? Start researching so you can get onto a better deal as soon as possible.

A fixed rate home loan is one where the interest rate is locked in for a certain period (usually 1-5 years). At the end of this period you can either commit to another fixed rate or revert to a variable interest rate.

A fixed rate loan is useful for budgeting because your repayments are the same every time, but it also means you’ll have to pay the same interest rate, even if market rates drop.

Fixed rate home loans also usually come with less features than variable rate loans and you may not be able to pay your loan off early.

The exception to this is a Tiimely Home fixed rate home loan. Unlike most lenders, our fixed rate loans come with an offset account as standard. This lets you use your savings to lower the amount of interest you pay and reduce the overall cost of the loan.

This differs from lender to lender and depends on the offset product that is offered. If you have a Tiimely Own home loan, you can’t have more than one offset account attached to your home loan, but we offer 100% offset accounts on all of our home loans (variable AND fixed).

Yes, investors can get interest-only home loans. With Tiimely Home, our investment home loan rates are available as either variable or fixed, and with an interest-only period between 1 and 5 years.

Home loans can be boiled down to two main types - principal & interest loans, where you pay off the loan amount plus interest (most common type) and interest only loans, where you only pay the interest (popular with investors).

To help you along the way here are some basic considerations;

Interest rate - try and get the lowest rate you can, as even a small difference can add up to thousands of dollars over the life of the loan.

Loan term – this impacts the size of your repayments and the interest you’ll pay (i.e. shorter term = higher repayments but less interest).

Fixed or variable interest rate – a fixed rate helps you budget because your repayments remain the same, but you won't benefit if interest rates fall. A variable rate usually offers more loan features, but your repayments will go up if interest rates rise.

Loan features – these include redraw or line of credit facilities and an offset account so you can put extra money into your loan to reduce the interest you pay. Most cost extra though, so choose a loan with features you will use.

Loan fees - these can include application fees, valuation fees, annual fees, and settlement fees.

Yes! With a Tiimely Own home loans you can have access to both an offset account and redraw facility. When you add an offset account, all external payments will go into your offset, which you can then transfer into the redraw if you wish.

An offset account is like a savings account that’s linked to your home loan which offsets the balance of your home loan, so you only pay interest on the home loan balance minus the amount in your offset account. If you have a decent balance in your offset account, you could save thousands of dollars in interest over the life of your loan.

We offer 100% offset accounts with all of our Tiimely Own home loans, including our fixed rate loans. You can find more information on our offset account here.

Can you withdraw money from an offset account?

An offset account has most of the features of a normal transactional savings account. You can deposit money into it and withdraw from it any time to pay bills or for day-to-day expenses.

The thing to remember is that the more you have in your offset account, the less interest you are paying on your home loan, so the more you can keep in there without withdrawing, the better off you will be.

Your money is protected

Your offset account is maintained by our funder, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, who are an Authorised Deposit-Taking Institution (ADI). This means your offset account is guaranteed under the Australian Government's Financial Claims Scheme (FCS) for up to $250,000.

Tiimely Own offset accounts

Unlike some other lenders, at Tiimely Own we don't build the cost of the offset account into our interest rate. You simply pay $10 per month for the feature instead. Our offset accounts include;

• A Tiimely Own Visa Debit card which you can use like any other Visa Debit or EFTPOS card, including at any Suncorp or Bendigo ATM free of charge.
• A BPAY facility to make bill payments and a swipe option to make transactions at retail stores.
• Deposit and debit features just like a normal bank account.

Adding or removing offset account

If you decide after you get your home loan that you'd like an offset account, you can add one to your existing home loan for a fee of $150. If you are on a fixed rate an additional break cost will also apply. Removing an offset account from your existing home loan will incur the same fees.

To add or remove an offset account, give us a call on 08 7109 9010 or email myloan@tiimelyhome.com.au and we’ll help.

Click here to learn more about offset accounts, and how they differ from redraw facilities.

It depends on the offset product offered by your lender. Sadly, not all lender offer a 100% offset account with their fixed rate home loans, but the good news is that Tiimely Home does! You should get in touch with your lender to fully understand the nuances of your offset account. And be sure to do your due diligence and read the Product Disclosure Statement for the offset account you’re thinking of getting.

Find out more about our Tiimely Own home loans with a 100% offset account available here

As you’d expect from their names, the difference between an owner occupied (live-in) property and an investment property is whether or not you’re living in it. If you’re living in the property it’s considered an owner occupied property, but if you’re intending to use your property as a source of income (through rental income or capital gains) and living in a different property it’s an investment property. The type of property you have will determine what type of home loan you need (either owner occupied/live-in or investment). Owner occupied home loan rates tend to be lower than investment home loan rates.

The answer to this question will depend on your personal situation and preferences.

If your budget’s tight and you’d prefer the security of knowing exactly how much your repayments will be every month, then a fixed rate home loan locked in for a set period may be better for you.

Or if you don’t mind your interest rate going up or down according to market fluctuations and would rather have a loan with features that can help you pay it off quicker (such as an offset account), then a variable rate loan might be a better option.

Or if you can’t decide whether to go with a fixed or variable rate, you can ask your lender about splitting your loan by assigning a certain portion to a variable rate home loan and the rest to a fixed rate home loan.