FAQs

Your borrowing power is an approximate measurement of your ability to borrow funds. Basically, it’s an indication of how much you can afford to borrow while still being able to meet your other financial obligations. Each lender will calculate it differently, but generally speaking, a borrowing power calculator takes into account things like your income, current loans and liabilities, credit cards and their limits, and your living expenses. You can use our borrowing power calculator to get an idea of what your borrowing power is. Learn more about what goes into calculating your borrowing power

The statements you receive are set to be paper statements by default, but you can change it to an e-statement through online banking:

Select Accounts > Statements > Statement preferences > Under Actions, click ‘modify’ on the account you wish to change.

Your monthly repayments will be mentioned in your contract. If there are any rate changes that affect you, your new monthly repayments will be sent to you in the mail. You can also check your monthly repayment amount online, it can be found under the “Loan Account Information” link on your Online Banking.

Whether you’re after the best variable home loan rates or the best fixed rate home loans — chances are, you’ll find some of the lowest home loan rates here. Because we’re digital, our rates are low. Here’s why.

If you’re ahead on your repayments or you've made a bulk payment, you can have your minimum contribution recalculated by the in-life team. Keep in mind access any additional funds you've made and accumulated in your redraw account won’t be available anymore if you proceed. There is also a recalculation fee of $50.

Once you apply for a Tiimely Home loan, you’ll receive your log in credentials, which will allow you to log in and manage your account online. This will also allow you to check on the status of your loan application, if it hasn’t been approved on the spot.

You log in credentials will include your account details, a customer number and a temporary password, which you’ll need to change for security reasons (the usual annoying password rules apply, like including a number, a letter and minimum of eight digits).

If you misplace or forget your Customer Number or password, just contact us.

You’ll receive a welcome call in 1-2 business days from our in-life team who will cover the following:

• Check if all your accounts have been set up as expected
• Ensure your loan repayment is set-up and your direct debit details are correct
• If you have an offset account, we'll make sure your Visa debit cards have been ordered
• Run through how to access your accounts
• Set-up your internet banking for the primary applicant
• Provide contact details for future enquiries

You can also ask us any questions you may have now and throughout the life of your loan. Our team is available 7 days a week on 1300 842 405.

Once you complete the online application, our real-time home loan approval process fires up, checking your credit history and assessing your eligibility for a loan.

Once completed, you will either be:

• instantly approved;
• referred to a home loan expert to complete your assessment or;
• notified we weren't able to offer you a Tiimely Own home loan.

Steps for buyers

If you’re approved to buy, you’ll typically have the green light to buy the named property up to a certain amount (just send us a copy of the contract when you sign it).

• You'll get an email from us with next steps, along with your home loan contract (sign it and our digital conveyancer, MSA, will take it from here).
• We’ll also send you a Settlement Pack which among other things, will ask you to get your identification verified (all the details will be in the email we send you).
• Your conveyancer will then organise settlement directly with us on the appointed day and we’ll provide the funds to purchase the property.
• Once you’ve transferred your deposit, the seller will receive payment (from us) and you’ll get the keys.
• Your new Tiimely Own home loan will begin.
• You’ll then throw a big party and celebrate becoming a home owner.

Steps for refinancing your home

Once your loan is approved, the steps for refinancing are similar to those for home buyers – the biggest difference is we pay off your existing loan with your old provider and your new Tiimely Own home loan will then be in place.

• Your conveyancer organises settlement for you.
• You throw a big party to celebrate paying off your loan faster with lower repayments, thanks to our super low rates.

If you want to find out more about the settlement process, you’ll find a step-by-step guide in our settlement FAQ.

Every lender has their own formula for calculating your borrowing power, and they generally look at six main factors.

• Deposit - the larger your deposit, the more you can borrow and the less interest you’ll have to pay on your loan.
• Income – this is not just how much your household brings in, but how much is left for home loan repayments after the bills and day-to-day expenses are paid.
• Level of debt – how much you owe on other loans and credit card limits will also influence your available income.
• Savings history – having a savings history of at least 3 months demonstrates to a lender that you’ll be able to manage your home loan repayments.
• Credit rating – a sound credit rating is one of the first things lenders look at, as it is based on your borrowing and repayment history.
• Home loan term – a lender will look more favourably at a longer loan term, but remember it will mean you pay more interest over the life of the loan.
• Property value - a lender may conduct a valuation of your chosen property to determine the amount they are willing to lend you.

​​You can get an upfront estimate of your borrowing power with Tiimely Home by using our borrowing calculator.

Your first monthly repayment is due 30 days after your settlement date. If you’ve opted for an alternate repayment frequency (fortnightly or weekly), the in-life team will let you know the date on your welcome call.

We’re committed to turning around your application in as little time as possible, but the time it takes us to get to your application can change depending on the complexity of your application, and how many applications we’re currently receiving.

After you apply, we’ll let you know if we’re experiencing any delays. Once we pick up your application for assessment, we start working towards approval. Things will move really fast here. It’s important that you check your eligibility and make sure you have the correct identification and documentation ready to apply, to help our Credit Assessors get your application fully assessed in no time.

Opting for manual financial validation instead of securely linking your accounts, 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) may require manual work for you and our credit assessors. These things all slow us down significantly. So make sure you’re really ready before you apply and respond quickly to requests from our Credit Assessors to help get your approved faster.

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.

If your application is time-sensitive or if there is a deadline you’re trying to meet, please speak with our team to get an understanding of our current turnaround times. You can chat with us over LiveChat or on 1300 842 405.

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.

It is possible to change your repayments, up or down. However, there are a few important things to be aware of.

Voluntary additional repayments

With a Tiimley Own home loan, you can make unlimited additional repayments if you have a variable rate home loan, or up to $20,000 per year if you have a fixed rate home loan.

The additional repayments made will be available to you via our free redraw facility.

Making a permanent change to your repayment amount

This is also known as a loan variation.

You'll need to arrange a loan variation with our in-life team, which will incur a fee. Why? Because as responsible lenders, we'll need to assess whether a loan variation is the right thing to do by you.

Increasing your set home loan repayments can reduce the overall interest paid over the life of your loan, and shorten your loan term.

Reducing your home loan repayments has the opposite effect - your loan repayments will be lower, but it also means your loan term is lengthened and you pay more interest over the life of your loan.

Unforeseeable changes in your life might impact your ability to make your repayments. Many lenders offer support for people experiencing financial hardship, including Tiimely Home. Decreasing your repayments may be a suitable option, however, we recommend speaking to our in-life team about your options.

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.

We wish we could tell you specifically why sometimes, but we're not allowed to disclose the exact reason for declining an application. However, if you’re not a match right now, don’t hesitate to check again later in the future.

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.

All the loans we have are available online only. Before you start the application process though, you’ll need to check your eligibility.

If you can answer yes to these questions, there’s a good chance you can apply for a Tiimely Own home loan. However, if you are not eligible, don’t worry. We can help you find a home loan to suit you via our in-house broker service.

• Are you buying or refinancing an established property (not off-the-plan or under construction)?
• Are you buying or refinancing a home or investment property in a capital city or major regional centre?
• Do you want to borrow at least $50k (and no more than $3m)? If borrowing more than $2m, do you have at least a 25% deposit?
• Do you have at least a 10% deposit or equity, plus savings to cover fees and charges such as stamp duty?
• Are you currently employed (either on a salary or self-employed)?
• Do you have at least one form of government ID, such as a passport, driver’s licence or Medicare card?
• Are you an Australian citizen or permanent resident who lives in Australia?

If you answered yes to all of these, we could be a good fit for each other.

Want to learn more about the loans we offer? Check out our home loans page.

Still have questions? Check out our FAQs or speak to our online chat consultants - they're real people ready to assist.

The same way we calculate the repayments for any type of home loan.

At a very basic level, we take your loan amount, add the total amount of interest we’ll charge over the life of the loan, and then divide that total up evenly into a weekly, fortnightly, or monthly amount (whichever suits you best) based on the length of your loan term.

Getting a home is an important decision, and so is protecting your personal information. Don’t let your data get caught up in the administrative lag of legacy banking systems and processes. Our awarded digital processes have been built with security in mind, with encrypted data streams that give our customers peace of mind.

We built the tech

We are the only lender who built their own proprietary tech and it’s so good, other lenders, including two of Australia’s biggest five banks, use it too.

Secure tech

Our tech protects your data. Plus, we’re backed and funded by Australia’s fifth-largest bank to give you the assurance that we respect and protect your information.

We keep your data safe

We’d never share your data, nor do we sell it off. It’s encrypted and used solely for the purpose of assessing you for a home loan product.

Government guaranteed

We give our customers the same protections as a bank. Unlike other lenders, our home loan offset accounts won’t leave you exposed in the unlikely event something goes bad.

We’re certified secure!

Tiimely Home is Service Organization Control 2 (SOC 2) compliant. What is it? It’s a rigorous auditing procedure that ensures our services securely manage your data, and we’ve passed! It defines the criteria for managing customer data based on five “trust service principles”—security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. SOC 2 was developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)

This is not just a box we ticked, SOC 2 informs how we manage our customers’ information. …it’s like a promise to you that we don’t just care because it’s fashionable…we care because it’s essential.

Other nitty-gritty bits

Our online service is bound by the provisions of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), including the Australian Privacy Principles. As logic has it, please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of other sites, such as Facebook, which you may connect to via our website. When you go to other websites from here, we advise you to be aware and read their own privacy policy. Ours is here.

Yes, equity is a powerful tool that can set you on the road to building a profitable investment property portfolio.

You can use the equity in your home as an investment property deposit and if you have enough equity built up, you can borrow 80% of the property’s value without having to use your own cash.

How equity is calculated

Your accessible equity is the difference between your home’s current value and how much you still owe on your home loan.

If you’ve lived in your home for five years or more, you’ve probably accumulated quite a bit of accessible equity.

But lenders will only lend up to 80% of your home’s current value minus your current mortgage. This is known as your useable equity, which is quite a bit less than your accessible equity.

But it can still be a significant amount for an investment property deposit or any other use you may have for it, such as renovating your home, investing in shares or managed funds or improving your lifestyle with a holiday or new car.

Tips when buying an investment property

• All investments carry some level of risk, so to reduce your exposure when accessing your equity;
• You could keep some of your equity for emergencies, instead of using it all to invest in property.
• Consider repaying your home loan as quickly as you can.
• Think about learning more about property investing so you can make educated choices.
• It's always important to get professional financial advice to fully understand your options.

$1,000.

This limit can’t be changed.

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.

The first thing to do is to look at your current loan including the type of loan it is, the interest rate you’re paying, the features it offers, and the fees you’re paying. Identify the things you would like to improve with a new loan. For example, maybe you want to pair your fixed-rate with an offset account? Or maybe you want to move from a fixed rate to a variable rate?

Next, crunch the numbers to calculate how much you will gain from refinancing. Use our refinance calculator to determine your monthly savings if you refinanced with Tiimely Home.

Next, watch out for fees. Every lender has its own set of fees for refinancing. Expect to pay ‘closing your old loan fees’ (such as discharge fees, break fees for fixed home loans etc) + ‘opening your new loan fees’ (government fees, third party fees).

Then divide the monthly savings by your total closing costs to figure out how many months it takes to break even.

Once you have calculated if it's worth it to pursue a refinancing home loan, shop around for the best refinance rates and features and find a home loan that suits your scenario. Then, choose your new lender and apply. How long will the process take? Every lender is different. With Tiimely Home, your refinancing online home loan application will take approximately 15 mins.

If you’re looking for the lowest home loan interest rate, we recommend viewing all of our home loans and weighing up which one might be best for you.

If a Tiimely Home loan really isn’t for you, that's ok. It’s still a good idea to know what else to look for beyond an interest rate.

It makes a big difference to your interest payments. Say you had a $600,000 home loan with a loan term of 30 years. The difference of having an interest rate of 6% instead of 6.5% is: $195 in monthly repayments savings and $70,238 in interest savings over the life of your loan, assuming all fees and other charges are equal (these figures are estimates only). You can estimate your monthly repayments on a Tiimely Home loan, and total interest charged with our repayments calculator.

Tiimely Home's world-first technology allows you to apply for a home loan wherever you want, whenever you want. Online home loans aren’t new, but at Tiimely Home, we’ve streamlined the application process to under one hour, making it the fastest and most convenient way to get a great home loan quickly, and simply. Plus, our process lowers costs so we can offer you award-winning rates with no hidden fees.

Tiimely Home also takes care of the assessment process once you’ve applied for your home loan, requesting a credit check from a credit reporting agency and using it to assess your eligibility for the loan.

We offer a self-serve home loan application that you can complete online, all by yourself. But, if you don’t want to go it alone and would prefer speaking to someone, we offer a range of different channels to contact us on (chat, phone, email), so you can get answers in a way that best suits you.