FAQs

Have a question about a Home Loan? We have the answers!

Showing all 152 FAQs. Select a category or use search to narrow results.

How do I apply for an investment home loan?

To apply for a Tiimely Own home loan, have a look at our eligibility criteria to see if we could be a good fit. Then, take a look at our home loan options to see if any of our investor home loans suit you. When you’re ready, apply online. Our digital application should take around 15 minutes to submit.

How does Tiimely Own have such low rates?

We’re able to offer market-leading interest rates with no hidden fees because our online process lowers the cost of getting a home loan. Our world-first technology assesses your application as you complete it, drastically cutting the time and cost of assessing and approving your application. We can then pass this saving onto our customers, which is why our interest rates are so low.

How do I apply for a home loan online?

Before you start, get a better idea of what to expect. Your application will take about 15 mins to complete. Be sure to have some key documents ready like a digital copy of your ID. When you’re confident and ready, just start our online application.

Do I need to fill in my details again to be eligible for a loan via your in-house broker service?

No. You’ve already done the hard yards and our automated process can apply the same information to progress your application to the next stage. All we’d need is one or two additional pieces of information to secure your loan.​

Of course, we won’t do this without your consent, and you’ll be asked either during your online application or in conversation with one of our team in the Customer Hub.​

Can you borrow more money with a bigger deposit?

In short, no. However, your maximum purchase price may increase with a higher deposit.

When we look at your borrowing power, we take into account your ability to comfortably meet repayment requirements, which is impacted by your income, expenses, other financial commitments and living/family situation (eg de facto, single, dependents or no). All of these factors can impact how much you can borrow. Using tools like borrowing calculators is an easy way to get an idea of how much you can borrow.

Why are your rates so low? What’s the catch?

The short answer: We use technology to make old processes faster and eliminate overhead costs in the process. We don’t just collect your application details in a digital form. We assess and verify your information in real-time, as you fill it in. Our efficiencies cut time and cost from the process, and we pass this saving on to our customers. There’s no ‘catch’ — we’ve just invented a new, better way to get a home loan.

How is refinancing calculated?

To calculate whether refinancing is worth it first calculate your monthly savings. To do this, compare the monthly payment of your current lender to the monthly payment of the new loan. Just use our refinance calculator to determine your monthly savings if you refinanced with Tiimely Home.

Next, calculate what it costs to refinance your home loan. These are all the fees it costs to refinance. They include ‘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.

Where can I learn more about online banking?

You can get more information about your online banking here. There's a handy online banking demo and all the information you need to get started. Plus loads more information!

If you still need assistance, give Adelaide Bank a call on 1300 135 481.

How much can I borrow when refinancing?

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 cards 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 with our borrowing calculator.

Can I apply directly for a major bank loan from the outset?

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

After settlement, do we deal with Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, or Tiimely Home?

While the funds for our Tiimely Own home loans come from Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, you will be a ‘Tiimely Own customer’.

This means you’ll deal with us, but we do get some help from the bank. We work with the bank to manage our in-life customer experience, so you'll use an online portal powered by Bendigo and Adelaide Bank to make repayments and access your offset account, and the bank will typically process any loan changes you may want to make.

Can I submit an application for multiple properties?

Sure, you can apply to refinance multiple properties! (Good for you, property baron.)

However, we will need separate applications for each property. We're working to make this experience better, so stay tuned.

How much deposit do I need for my first home?

With a Tiimely Own home loan you can get a first home owner loan with a minimum 10% deposit. If you have less than a 20% deposit you’ll need to pay Lenders’ Mortgage Insurance (LMI). LMI protects the lender in case you can’t make your repayments, the cost can be added to your total loan amount (but keep in mind this means you’ll have less to spend on your home). You’ll also need additional funds to cover any government and third-party fees.

What does LVR mean?

Lenders use it to determine risk when assessing loan applications, so here’s a quick summary of what you need to know about LVR.

What is it?

LVR stands for Loan to Value Ratio. Simply put, it’s a comparison of how much you’re borrowing with how much the property you’re purchasing is worth.

How is it calculated?

LVR is calculated by dividing the loan amount by the purchase price or valuation of the property and multiplying it by 100.

For example, a $240,000 loan to buy a property valued at $300,000 would have an 80% LVR (240,000 divided by 300,000 multiplied by 100).

LVR is important to lenders because the lower the LVR is, the lower the risk is to the lender.

What types of loans does it apply to?

LVR is used by lenders to calculate risk on all sorts of different types of home loans including;

Standard home loan – LVR is calculated by subtracting your deposit from the purchase price and dividing the remainder by the property value.

Refinancing – the lender uses their own valuation of the property to calculate LVR because the price you paid for the property may no longer be relevant.

Off-the-plan – because the value may change by the time the home is built, the lender uses either the purchase price or valuation to calculate LVR, whichever is lower.

Favourable purchase (between family members) – the lender also chooses the lower amount between purchase price and valuation.

For units/apartments that are considered to be high density, then LMI may apply if the LVR is more than 70%. Speak with our team if you want to check.

Still not crystal clear on LVR? Contact us at Tiimely Home to assess your individual needs.

Can fixed rates fix your budget?

Budgeting can be hard. Trying to work out where your money is going and how much you will have to spare is stressful. Not to mention planning for unexpected costs that seem to pop up too often. So, having a fixed home loan repayment is something you know won’t change. And the fewer the surprises, the better.

Having a fixed period on your home loan gives you a set interest rate for a set length of time (usually 1-5 years). During this time the interest rate on your loan does not change. This gives you the security of knowing how much your repayments will be for that period. Which means you can create a more accurate long-term budget. Setting your repayments up as direct debits means you won’t think twice.

You can start prepping by using a budget calculator to figure out how much you are spending and where you are spending it. ASIC’s MoneySmart has a handy online planner to help get you started.

Where can Tiimely Home lend money?

Australia-wide.

For Tiimely Own home loans, we're restricted to lending against properties in Australian capital cities and major regional centres.

For a loan via our in-house broker service our panel of lenders can service pretty much the entire country.

Can investors get interest-only home loans?

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.

How do I choose a home loan?

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.

Do you have to live in a house before renting it out?

No, you don’t have to live in an investment house before renting it, you can rent out a property as soon as you’ve purchased it.

Can you have an offset and redraw?

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.

What is Tiimely Home's privacy policy?

At Tiimely Home, we’re very serious about your privacy. We’re regulated by government legislation such as the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (‘Privacy Act’) and the Privacy (Credit Reporting) Code (‘CR Code’), which outline how we should treat your personal information. Our policy is quite in depth and has a lot of information in it. If you’d like to see the whole policy, you can find it here. In case you’re not ready for a big read, here are some of the main points.

Most of the information we collect will be directly from you.

This could include your:

  • full name, date of birth and contact details;
  • identification information such as your driver’s licence number, passport details and residency status;
  • financial information including your income and expense details;
  • marital status and number of dependents;
  • details of contracts of sale and property insurance.

There are some cases where we might collect personal information about you from other people or organisations, such as our funder, service providers or your employer.

We’ll also need to collect some credit-related data as well. The types of credit-related information we collect and hold includes:

  • name, date of birth, gender, address (including prior addresses);
  • the kinds of credit products you have or have applied for;
  • information on credit previously given to you by us or other credit providers, including financial institutions, energy or telecommunications companies;
  • how you’ve managed your obligations (which could include details of defaults and repayment history);
  • information in a credit report from a credit reporting body;
  • information about your credit worthiness that has been derived from a report about you (such as a credit score);
  • details of credit-related court proceedings or insolvency;
  • serious credit infringements.

The information that we collect helps us to assess your application, and we never sell your information to other third parties. Some specific things we use and share your personal information for include:

  • verifying your identity;
  • assessing your application for our home loan products;
  • assisting with your questions or complaints;
  • internal operations, such as record keeping, auditing or training;
  • reporting and data analytics, including for regulatory, management and research purposes;
  • complying with our legal and regulatory requirements;
  • informing you of ways the products and services provided to you could be improved or additional products or services that you may benefit from; and
  • marketing products or services.

Generally speaking, we don’t share your information outside of Tiimely Home, but there are some exceptions to this. We only share information with third parties that we believe have the appropriate systems in place to look after your personal information.

Some of the third parties we might share your personal information with include:

  • our funding partners;
  • Lenders’ Mortgage Insurers;
  • Title Insurance Providers;
  • identity verification service providers;
  • information technology companies maintaining our systems and services, including cloud and data warehousing service providers;
  • external advisers such as valuers, lawyers or auditors;
  • government and regulatory bodies, as required by law;
  • external complaint resolution bodies;
  • credit reporting bodies;
  • other financial institutions or credit providers;
  • law enforcement agencies;
  • your authorised representatives or advisers or people acting on your behalf.

If you want to you have the option of not identifying yourself (or using a pseudonym) when dealing with us, unless we are legally required to identify you in order to deal with you, or it would be impractical for us to deal with you if you have not identified yourself. But keep in mind that we can’t process or accept your home loan application unless you identify yourself.

If you haven’t found the answer you’re looking for, give our full privacy policy a read, or you can get in contact with us with any questions you may have. And if you want even more information you can learn more about our security here.

I am not an Australian resident, can I still apply for a Tiimely Home loan?

For a Tiimely Own home loan, you must be an Australian citizen or a permanent resident living in Australia to be eligible for a Tiimely Own home loan.

With Tiimely Home's in-house broker offering, there are some loan offerings where we require at least one applicant to have permanent residency status.

There are some lenders who will lend to foreign citizens or expat Australians living abroad and wanting to buy investment property in Australia, but there are usually higher interest rates attached to such loans and a larger deposit is often required.

Certain foreigners and visa holders may also be required to pay a surcharge on stamp duty and possibly land tax, depending on which state they want to purchase in.

To find out the other eligibility criteria you’ll need to meet when applying for a Tiimely Own or a Tiimely Home loan, visit our eligibility page.

Can I see who is on your panel of lenders before applying?

We’re working on making this available. Watch this space. In the meantime, you can get a preview of who we work with here.

Can I get an owner occupied loan for my investment property?

You can’t get an owner-occupied loan for an investment property. You’ll need to specify in your loan application if you’re planning to live in the property you’re taking a loan out against. If you’re not going to be living in the property, you’ll need to get an investment home loan. Likewise, if you plan to move into your investment property you can turn your investment home loan into an owner-occupied home loan.

What is considered 'high-density'?

Our policy defines high-density as 'complexes with more than 50 units/apartments, or is more than 5 storeys (excluding car parking)'.

There are a few more details we'll check before we can give you the thumbs up on your property. If you'd prefer to check if your property meets the requirements, you can chat to our team, or you can enter the address on the first page of the application to see if it's eligible for Tiimely Own home loan or if we can better meet your requirements through our in-house broker service.

Our system may not always be able to identify a high-density property straight away (especially recently built complexes), but we'll try and give you as much information upfront as possible.

Legal things about our rates
Our home loans are subject to credit criteria and eligibility requirements. Home loan interest rates are for new customers only and can change. Our comparison rates are based on a $150,000 loan amount over a 25 year term. They factor in fees associated with applying for the loan; ongoing fees and fees associated with leaving the loan. Our fixed loans roll to a variable principal and interest rate at the end of the fixed term. If the interest only period is not specified, the comparison rate is calculated on a one year period.

WARNING: The comparison rates are true only for the examples given and may not include all fees and charges. Different terms, fees or other loan amounts might result in a different comparison rate.

Tiimely Turnaround
^Our turnaround times are up to 2x faster than the industry, based on a comparison of our average platform submit to approval time compared to industry submit to approval time, published here  (June 2023). Customer turnaround times are dependent on individual circumstances and may require an assessor to obtain more information.

Our trade mark
Tiimely is a registered trademark of Tiimely Pty Ltd.