FAQs

Your credit score may take a dip in the process, but it can recover and it's normal. A temporary credit hit is likely to be outweighed by the financial gain of a home loan refinance. When you apply for a new loan lenders will check your credit history to see if you are a risky buyer. This is called a ‘hard inquiry’. It shows up on your credit report and too many hits can temporarily cause your credit score to drop. To avoid too many credit inquiries, shop around for the best deals before you apply for a home loan.

You can refinance a loan whenever you want, but you should only switch if you can get a better deal. A refinancing loan comes with upfront costs such as break fees (if you’re on a fixed loan), exit fees and open fees. When deciding, calculate how long it takes to recoup the costs of refinancing.

Not sure whether it’s worth undertaking a home loan refinance? Use our refinance calculator to figure out how much you could save by getting a refinancing home loan with Tiimely Home.

The time it takes us to get to your application can change depending on how many applications we’re currently receiving and the complexity of your application.

Sometimes we can hit delays if we need a little more information. 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.

Our rates have proven to be quite popular, so we receive large volumes of applications from time to time. During these times, it takes us a little longer than we’d like to assess and approve your home loan application, and we’ll be sure to communicate this in a timely manner. We’re continually growing our team and are working hard to keep up with demand.

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.

A variable rate home loan is one where the interest rate goes up and down with market fluctuations, which are influenced in part by the official cash rate set by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).

The two main types of variable rate home loans are:

• Standard variable rate home loans – these often include features such as redraw facilities, a line of credit and an offset account, where you can use your savings to pay less interest on your loan.
• Basic variable rate home loans – these offer lower interest rates, but fewer if any of the features of a standard variable rate home loan.

Variable rate home loans are the most popular type of home loan, as they provide more features and flexibility than fixed rate home loans and usually give you the option to pay your loan off earlier.

The home loan application process can be complex and time consuming and you may be unsure about whether you have the relevant documentation or whether your credit history is good enough to qualify you for a loan.

Even though we’ve streamlined things as much as we can, you may still have questions regarding;

• Eligibility - whether you qualify for a loan
• Credit checks - why they're needed and how they're carried out
• Interest rates - depending on whether you need a fixed or variable rate home loan
• Fees and charges - what are the upfront and ongoing costs?

Can't find what you're after in our FAQs? If you’d like more information about your home loan application or you aren’t 100% sure what we're on about, here are the ways we can help you;

• Livechat – just click on the chat box at the bottom right of the page and chat in real time to one of our home loan experts.
• Phone - sometimes it's best to talk it out and the ‘Let's talk’ button is always available at the top of the page if you need our contact details.
• Email – if you prefer, you can send us a written query any time at hello@tiimelyhome.com.au.

At Tiimely Home, we’ve used our ground-breaking tech to strip the cost and complexity from home loans and our world class customer service is doing the same for the application process.

Our all-star cast of home loan specialists are here to solve your problems 7 days a week. They have more than 100 years of combined experience between them and they’re just a mouse click, phone call or email away.

No, our calculator does not take into account stamp duty exemptions. You may be eligible for further exemptions based on your own circumstances (such as income, the state you live in or if you are a first-home buyer). You can click on the state links below to explore what exemptions are available.

NSW

ACT

VIC

QLD

SA

WA

NT

TAS

How long does it take for a home loan to be approved?

Generally we’re pretty quick, but the time it takes us to get to your application can change depending on how many applications we’re currently receiving and the complexity of your application.

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. If you’re ready and can respond quickly to requests from our Credit Assessors, you and your application will be fully assessed in no time.

The quickest we’ve ever fully approved an applicant from the time they submitted their application (including assessment, verification, and running all our digital checks) was 58 minutes.

Because our application process is entirely online, we’ve been able to streamline it right down to the basics. We reimagined home loans from the ground up, making it more efficient and easier to understand. Because home loans should be simple.

Once you’ve completed the application process, you’ll either be approved, politely declined, or referred to one of our home loan experts to fill in any blanks.

If you're approved, you'll get an email from us with next steps, along with your home loan contract. You’ll also get a settlement pack which will outline further steps such as getting an in-person ID check.

What may delay my home loan approval?

Sometimes we can hit delays if we need a little more information. 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.

Our rates have proven to be quite popular, so we receive large volumes of applications from time to time. During these times, it takes us a little longer than we’d like to assess and approve your home loan application, and we’ll be sure to communicate this in a timely manner. We’re continually growing our team and are working hard to keep up with demand.

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.

What happens if my application needs to be reviewed by a Credit Assessor?

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.

Are you ready to try a better way to do home loans? You can start the application process for your home loan here.

If you know from the outset that you’re not eligible for a Tiimely Own home loan, we encourage you to apply using our application form and we’ll direct you through to our in-house broker service. We’ll match your application (with your permission, of course) against our panel of 30+ lenders and 1000s of home loan options without you having to reapply. ​There’s no need to wait!

If you know you want a major bank loan from the outset, you can also opt-in to our in-house broker service during the ‘Your loan’ section in the application.

No! Tiimley Own doesn’t do honeymoon rates. Because of our efficient tech, we offer low rates all the time, and our rate changes are based on our funder (Bendigo and Adelaide Bank) and market forces such as the RBA cash rate. Honeymoon rates are designed to entice new customers to apply, but after the honeymoon period ends your rate gets hiked back up and you could end up with a less competitive rate than others currently on the market. You can learn more about the different types of rates in our Home Loan Guide here. And if you’re curious about how our rates have changed over time, you can take a look at our historical rate graph in our 'How banks and lenders set their interest rates'​ Home Loan Guide.

The amount of income you need to qualify for a refinance home loan will vary depending on many different factors, including how much you wish to borrow, your pre-existing equity, your living expenses, and any other debt or liabilities you may hold.

You can learn more about serviceability in our Home Loan Guide.

There are three ways Tiimely Home can value your property:

• Automated Valuation Model (AVM),
• desktop valuation, and
• full valuation.

What is an Automated Valuation Model (AVM)?

If our tech can get a good read on your property, we'll do an AVM, which means we will value your property instantly by analysing values of comparable properties. How? We've integrated external providers, existing property and land databases and our own tech models to get a very good estimate of the value of your property.

What is a desktop valuation?

If we can't value your property instantly, we'll need to do a desktop valuation or full valuation. A desktop valuation is when an accredited valuer uses publicly available information such as tax records and comparable sales in the area to work out a property's value.

What is a full valuation?

A full valuation is when we arrange for an independent and qualified valuer to inspect your property and issue a report with the valuation. This may be required if:

• You have less than 20% deposit
• The property is a high-density apartment

In a full valuation, the licensed appraiser visits the property, takes photographs and measurements, and evaluates the location, features, selling points and overall condition of the property.

The good news? You won't need to pay any valuation fees, because we pick up the cost.

Owner-occupied home loans do generally have lower interest rates than investment home loans. This is because owner-occupied home loans are generally seen as less risky than investor home loans.

The short answer is no. But you'll always have a highly competitive rate.

Think of it like this – when you get a Tiimely Own home loan, we’ve locked in a ‘price’ with our funder (Bendigo and Adelaide Bank) for that loan, which is reflected in your interest rate.

When we have a new variable rate for new customers, it means we’ve been able to lock in a lower price with our funder. It doesn’t change the price we secured for your loan. So, having a lower rate for new customers doesn’t mean we’re making more money off our loyal customers to pay for the discount – because we don’t believe in that. It means our funder has been able to give us a better price at that specific time. At some point, our funder may actually increase the price they’ve agreed with us, which means the rates for new customers will go up. And some existing customers will be better off.

The new rate offers work differently to cash rate changes. If there’s an RBA cash rate cut and our funder’s costs ease, they may be able to pass on the cut which means all our customers will receive the same discount off their rate – new and existing. The good news is, all of our rates are highly competitive because of our tech-driven proposition. And even if your rates are a fraction higher than the new headline rate, you will still be saving thousands compared to the average loan.

If you’ve moved into your investment property and become an owner-occupier, you’ll need an owner-occupier home loan. If you’re already an existing customer you’ll need to contact our post settlement team either by email or phone.

And if you’re a new customer, you’ll need to refinance your home loan but you’ll be applying for an owner-occupied home loan instead of an investment. You also don’t need to record your rental income for that property in the application.

Your loan statements are sent out monthly. You may choose to receive them electronically via email or by post. If you wish to change your delivery preference, you may update it online in the Preferences tab of your Online Banking.

We’re not a bank. Tiimely is a platform technology company with an Australian Credit Licence (ACL) and Tiimely Home is our retail business. We have our own no-frills home loan product, Tiimely Own, that we offer direct to customers. It benefits from our proprietary technology that creates efficiencies in the lending process, that means we can keep our costs low which means your savings are higher. Tiimely Own home loans are funded by Bendigo and Adelaide Bank. We also have an in-house broker team who can help you find a loan if the Tiimely Own home isn’t for you.

Your banking login details are requested for one sole purpose: to retrieve read-only copies of your transaction history, direct from your banking sites.

It is impossible for Tiimely Home to transfer, move or do anything else with your bank accounts aside from receiving a copy of your transactions and loan statuses. We only see the information we need to approve your loan application – the same information you would supply us if you were submitting the documents manually (once you find them, print them, scan them, email them). It’s just much faster this way.

We think our way of digitally validating your financials is far safer than sending financial statements via email.

When you enter your online banking details, no human will ever see your credentials. Your password isn’t retained. It’s encrypted and hashed all the way back through the hardware.

Your data is secured by our world-leading encrypted technology partner, Envestnet Yodlee (Yodlee). We chose them because they’re the best in the business, and they’ve been at the forefront of financial technology security for over 20 years.

We know it sounds strange asking for your banking login details, but rest assured that nobody (not even Yodlee) sees them. As soon as your details have been entered and validated in the approval stage of your home loan application, they are encrypted, separated, and securely stored. Once your financial validation has been completed they are completely obliterated, never to be seen again.

Don't want to enter your bank details? That's okay too.

You can simply upload copies of your transaction statements and any other documents we may need to verify your financial position. Just be aware that this will mean a Tiimely Home team member will be required to review them, so the application process will take a little longer.

If you'd like more detail about how you can read more on our security page.

Equity is the difference between your home's market value and the amount you still owe on your home loan.

You can borrow against this equity to buy an investment property, do renovations or for any other purpose.

Two popular ways to access your home’s equity are by refinancing or by taking out an equity loan.

Refinancing

This involves replacing your existing home loan with a new one, ideally with better terms and conditions and a lower interest rate. Because it involves just one loan with ongoing repayments, it can be easier to manage than an equity loan.

Equity loan

An equity loan is a separate loan you take out in addition to your home loan. It’s often a line of credit which gives you approval to borrow up to a certain amount. You can then choose how much of this you borrow and you only pay interest on what you use.

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.

If you’re a first home buyer, the answer is probably yes.

The amount and eligibility criteria for the First Home Owner Grant varies, but here is a summary of what each state currently offers;

• NSW – a $10,000 grant available for new properties valued up to $600,000 or $750,000 when building a home.
• Victoria – a $10,000 grant for buying or building a new home valued up to $750,000.
• Queensland – a $15,000 grant to buy or build a new home valued up to $750,000.
• ACT - a $7,000 grant. For 2023-24, the maximum concession amount is $34,504.
• WA – a $10,000 grant for buying or building a new home valued up to $750,000 (south of the 26th parallel) or $1 million (north of the 26th parallel).
• SA – a $15,000 grant for buying or building a new home valued up to $650,000 (where the contract was entered into on or after 15 June 2023) or $575,000 (where the contract was entered into on or before 14 June 2023).
• Tasmania – up to $30,000 grant for buying or building a new home.
• NT - a $10,000 grant for buying or building a new home of any value.

To see the eligibility criteria for your state or territory, visit the government website.

There are different rules for different Australian states about who can act as a witness, which will be outlined in your home loan documents. The witness may need to meet certain criteria, depending on where you're located. This criteria could be:

• a Justice of the Peace
• a commissioner for declarations
• an Australian lawyer
• a notary public
• a licensed conveyancer, or
• another person approved by the Registrar of Titles.

However, in New South Wales and South Australia, the witness can be any adult who has known you for 12 months.

Conveyancing is the process of transferring property from one person to another. Conveyancing costs can vary depending on the state or territory you’re buying in and the individual conveyancer you use. We’ve put $1200 as an estimate only based on what we see on average across the industry. Your conveyancing fees can range anywhere from $60 for e-conveyancing all the way up to $2200.

Of course you can. Just jump onto our application like everyone else and start filling in your details.

To be eligible, you’ll need to:

• provide your registered ABN (of course!)
• have been self-employed for at least 1 year
• provide your most recent business tax return AND your most recent personal tax return together with the notice of assessment
• be registered for GST If your turnover is more than $75,000p.a.
• have a good credit history
• meet our standard eligibility criteria

Financial validation requirements to note – Tiimely Own requires a years' worth of up-to-date tax returns or business financial statements.

The only difference you’ll find (as a self-employed person compared to a PAYG customer), is that we won’t be able to instantly validate your income by linking your bank accounts.

Instead, you will need to upload your business financial statements and tax returns as well as your personal tax returns and notice of assessment, and our human credit assessors will take a look at them to assess your application. They’re not as fast as our tech, but they can still get you an answer much faster than your average lender because they're only checking the bits the tech couldn't.

Get prepared and learn more about potential roadblocks you may face as a self-employed applicant.

It depends on your circumstances, but with our in-house broker service you’ll be able to access 1000s of products across 30+ lenders and our tech and our team will curate a selection personalised just for you. Plus, we’ll step you through to process to make sure that you’re still getting the best value home loan​.

Yes, you will need to notify your lender and convert your owner-occupied home loan to an investment home loan if you decide to rent it out.