First Home Buyers
What is Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) and how does it work?
What Lenders Mortgage Insurance is, who it protects, when it applies above 80% LVR, and why the premium isn't one-size-fits-all.
Guides & explainers
Page 6 of 12.
First Home Buyers
Can I get a home loan if I am on probation at my new job in Australia?
Can you get a home loan on probation? It depends on the lender — how RG 209 income-stability assessment actually works.
First Home Buyers
How do banks assess casual, part-time and non-standard income for home loans?
How lenders assess casual, part-time, commission, bonus and overtime income under RG 209 — framework only, not lender policy.
First Home Buyers
What is the 'interest rate buffer' banks use to test my borrowing capacity?
The interest rate buffer is a margin lenders add to your loan rate to test if you could still pay if rates rose — the minimum is 3.0 percentage points.
First Home Buyers
Can I get a home loan in Australia with a default on my credit file?
A default is one item on your credit file, not an automatic block. How lenders assess the whole picture, and where to get free help first.
First Home Buyers
How does my credit score affect my chance of getting a home loan in Australia?
Your credit score is one input a lender weighs, not a pass/fail number. What it can and can't tell a lender, and what else gets assessed.
First Home Buyers
How do banks assess my living expenses using the HEM benchmark?
HEM is a benchmark lenders use to sanity-check declared living expenses — not a substitute for verifying what you actually spend. Here's how it works.
First Home Buyers
How do existing debts affect your home loan borrowing capacity?
Credit cards, BNPL, car and personal loans are all weighed in a serviceability assessment — the mechanism explained, without inventing a figure.
First Home Buyers
Should you clear debts before applying for a home loan?
Clearing a debt removes it from a lender's assessment but uses cash you might need. The trade-offs to weigh — including credit cards — no verdict.
First Home Buyers
How does HECS-HELP debt affect my home loan borrowing capacity?
HECS-HELP debt is income-contingent and indexed, not a typical loan — how it's actually weighed in a home loan borrowing capacity assessment.
First Home Buyers
How much can I borrow on a $100k salary in Australia?
There's no single answer — a $100k salary doesn't map to one borrowing figure. Here's what actually moves the outcome, and where to get your number.
First Home Buyers
How do Australian banks calculate my borrowing capacity?
There's no single formula — see the inputs banks actually weigh: income, existing debts, expenses and the interest rate buffer.