Home loan FAQs

NRMA Insurance is proud to partner with Bendigo and Adelaide Bank. You can rest assured that your home loan is funded by a valued and trusted name in the banking industry.

Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) is a fee which will be added to your loan if you're borrowing more than 80% Loan-to-Value Ratio (LVR) of a property’s value (which means if you have less than a 20% deposit). This means the loan amount you need to borrow and your loan repayments will be higher than if you had at least a 20% deposit and did not need to incur Lenders Mortgage Insurance.

It protects the lender (for NRMA Home Loans, this is Bendigo and Adelaide Bank) from financial loss if you can’t afford to meet your repayments and default on the loan.

You’ll also need to pay LMI if the building is high density (5 or more storeys), or if there are 50 or more other residential properties in the same complex.

Factors that affect how much LMI will cost include:

• The size of the loan (the higher your loan, the higher the cost of LMI)
• Your deposit amount (the lower the deposit, the higher the cost of LMI)
• The purpose of the loan (investors can pay as much as 20% more for LMI than home buyers)
• The insurer used by your lender (premiums differ between insurers).

LMI can cost thousands of dollars, so if you want to avoid paying it, the best way is by saving at least a 20% deposit before applying for a home loan.

Loan-to-value ratio represents the amount you’re borrowing against the bank’s value of the property used as security. A higher LVR represents a higher risk loan to a lender as there is less equity in the property the lender is using as security for the loan. 

The LVR is calculated by dividing the loan amount by the bank’s valuation of the security property, multiplied by 100. 

Here’s an example:
A couple want to purchase a property with a bank valuation of $800,000. They have a deposit saved of $80,000. They need to borrow $720,000.

• Divide 720,000 by 800,000 to get 0.9
• Multiply 0.9 by 100 to get a percentage
• The LVR is 90%

Because the couple have an LVR greater than 80%, they may need to pay Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI).

With NRMA Home Loans the LMI premium is added to the loan amount. This means your loan repayments will be higher than they would have been if you didn’t have LMI.

A fixed rate home loan means 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 variable rate home loan gives you flexibility to change the rate whenever the market changes, as you’re not locked into a rate for a fixed period.

The repayments for a fixed rate loan are the same every time. But it also means you 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 the loan off early.

A fixed rate NRMA Home Loan can also come with an offset account. This lets you use your savings to lower the amount of interest you pay and reduce the overall cost of the loan.

Find a home loan that’s right for you.

An interest rate is the cost of borrowing money.

A comparison rate is the rate which shows the true cost for the whole life of the loan, and a way of allowing customers to not compare just by the rate, but by taking into consideration the fees involved in the loan also.

The comparison rate is calculated by adding any fees and charges to the interest rate and then converting that figure to a percentage rate.

It considers the additional fees associated with the home loan over its lifetime and displays a single percentage rate that can be used to compare home loan products between lenders.

Principal and interest loans are the most common type of home loan. They involve making repayments which pay down some of the principal balance plus the interest accrued.

An interest-only loan involves making repayments for a set time (usually 1–5 years) to cover the interest being accrued and none of the principal. As a result, repayments on interest-only loans are lower than principal and interest repayments.

An owner-occupied home loan is for people buying a property to live in. Whether you're a first-time buyer or upsizing, this type of home loan is designed to help you settle in with confidence and flexibility.

An investment home loan is for purchasing property you plan to rent out or hold for capital growth. If you’re considering starting or expanding a property portfolio, an investment loan may support your long-term financial goals.

This refinance calculator is only an estimate of how much interest you could save by refinancing with NRMA Home Loans. The refinance saving provided is based on the loan details selected for comparison, and the loan amount and loan term entered.

You'll receive a formal assessment when you begin an application, and enter the specifics of the property, your loan type, personal details, and your financials.

To find out how much you could be saving on your home loan by refinancing with an NRMA Home Loan, check the refinance calculator.

For a complete list of the rates, fees, and other charges, read our rates and fees page.

When you apply for a new NRMA Home Loan, you’ll need to provide ID and proof of your finances.

You’ll be asked to digitally verify one of these forms of ID:

• Driver’s licence
• Australian passport
• Foreign passport with an Australian visa
• Medicare card.

You’ll also be asked to verify your current financial situation.

You can do this by linking your bank account(s) to the digital verification technology we use. Or, by manually uploading copies of your transaction statements, loan statements and credit card statements (we’ll let you know what documents are needed during the application).

A credit check will be run once you complete your personal details and have read and consented to the Privacy Disclosure and Consent Form.

Once you submit your documents and your application, you’ll find out if your loan is approved, or if more information is needed.

With NRMA Home Loans, you may be able to borrow between $50,000 and $7,500,000.

The amount available to borrow depends on multiple factors. This includes your income, other financial commitments, and family situation (for example de facto, single, number of dependents), as well as details about the security property.

When calculating your borrowing power, lenders consider your ability to comfortably meet the loan repayment requirements, which can be impacted by the factors above. While you also won’t be able to borrow more with a higher deposit amount, it may increase your maximum purchase price.

Use the borrowing calculator to find out your borrowing capacity before starting the application process.

The minimum home loan deposit required for an NRMA Home Loan depends on the type of loan:

• For a Basic Home Loan, you need a deposit of at least 20% of the property value, which corresponds to a maximum Loan-to-Value Ratio (LVR) of 80%.
• For an Offset Home Loan, you need a deposit of at least 10% of the property value, which corresponds to a maximum Loan-to-Value Ratio (LVR) of 90%.

If you borrow more than 80% of a property’s value, you may be required to take out Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI).

If you already own a property, you can also use the equity in your home as an investment property deposit. If you have enough equity, you can borrow up to 80% of the property value without having to use your own cash.

It can take as little as 15 minutes to complete the online application.

If you have questions or are unsure about anything during the application process, visit our contact us page to get in touch.

A credit check will be triggered while you’re completing the application (once you’ve agreed with the Privacy Policy and have been given the Credit Guide).

Multiple credit checks can negatively impact your credit score, especially if they’re done within a short period of time. Lenders may ask for an explanation of recent credit checks.

Our application process uses Equifax and Illion to complete credit checks.

The processing time for an online home loan application depends on each application. The average application to approval can be instant if digitally validated. Should the application not be digitally validated, a credit assessor will manually review.

The review timeframe fluctuates depending on loan requirements, business volumes and the valuation model required. Should a full valuation or Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) be required, this can add 2–5 days to the process.

If your application is approved, the settlement process generally takes between 4–6 weeks. If you’re refinancing, the settlement process will vary based on the current lender’s processing times to discharge the loan. If the loan is for a new purchase, the settlement period will be set out in the signed purchase contract.

There are different rules in each Australian state or territory about who can act as a witness. The rules will be included in your home loan documents.

The witness may need to meet certain criteria, depending on where you're located.

This could be:

• A Justice of the Peace
• A Commissioner for declarations
• An Australian lawyer
• A notary public
• A licensed conveyancer
• Another person approved by the Registrar of Titles.

Finding your dream property can take time, but it may also happen quite quickly. It’s worth considering pre-approval when you’re getting serious so you can be ready to make an offer.

Pre-approval with NRMA Home Loans is valid for 60 days, provided your circumstances don’t change. You’ll need to apply again if you don’t make a purchase within that time, or if your personal or financial circumstances change.

Being pre-approved means we’ve assessed your financial situation and confirmed you’re eligible for the loan amount you applied for, based on the information you’ve provided and your circumstances at the time of applying. Your pre-approval is valid for 60 days.

Once you’re pre-approved and have found a property:

1. Log into your application to check if the property is eligible
2. Update your loan preferences
3. Submit your pre-approved home loan for full approval.

We’ll arrange a valuation and do some final checks. Before we give you full approval, we’ll make sure we have the purchase contract and anything else we need.

Yes, these terms all refer to the same stage in the home loan process. It’s the initial assessment a lender makes to understand your financial position and how much you may be able to borrow. We refer to this as pre-approval. This is subject to terms, conditions and lending criteria and is not a guarantee of the amount you have applied for.

In many cases, you could be pre-approved for an NRMA Home Loan in minutes.

It may take a little longer if your situation is complex or if we need some more information. We’ll be in touch if that’s the case.

If your application is successful, your pre-approval is valid for 60 days. We understand that finding the right property can take time, so we’ll send you a reminder before it expires. If needed, you can renew your pre-approval for an additional 60 days.

Please note, pre-approval can only be renewed once. After the extra 60 days, you’ll need to start a new application.

NRMA Home Loans may not be suitable for everyone or available for all properties in all locations. Before applying, check our eligibility criteria to make sure it’s the right fit for you.

Auction sales are typically unconditional and final, so even if you have pre-approval, it’s best to confirm we can lend against the property and aim for full approval.

Before you place a bid at auction, it’s important to understand that buying at auction comes with risk. To see if we can lend against the property, log into the online portal and enter the address of the property you’d like to buy. This lets us validate the details and complete a property valuation.

If we can’t complete an automated valuation, we’ll need to order a full or desktop valuation before we can approve your application. As this process can take time, we recommend waiting until the valuation and approval are complete before bidding at auction.

If your personal or financial circumstances change after you have been pre-approved, you will need to update your application so it can be reassessed.

If you have any questions as you prepare to bid or make an offer, contact one of our home loan specialists for guidance.

We may decline your home loan application if it doesn’t meet our lending criteria, even if you’ve been pre-approved.

This may happen due to changes in your financial situation, the type of property or location of the property you’re buying, or if the property’s assessed value doesn’t align with the loan amount.

When you apply to refinance your current home loan with an NRMA Home Loan, you’ll need to provide ID and proof of your finances.

We’ll need to digitally verify one of these forms of ID:

• Driver’s licence
• Australian passport
• Foreign passport with an Australian visa
• Medicare card.

We’ll also need to verify your current financial situation. You can do this by linking your bank account(s) to the digital verification technology we use. Or you can upload copies of your transaction statements, loan statements and credit card statements (we’ll let you know what documents are needed during the application).

A credit check will be run when you complete your personal details and have read and consented to the Privacy Disclosure and Consent Form.

With NRMA Home Loans, you may be able to borrow between $50,000 and $7,500,000.

The amount available to borrow depends on multiple factors. This includes your income, other financial commitments, and family situation (for example de facto, single, number of dependents) and the loan purpose.

When calculating your borrowing power, lenders consider your ability to comfortably meet the loan repayment requirements, which can be impacted by the factors above.

While you also won’t be able to borrow more with a higher deposit amount, it may increase your maximum purchase price.

Use the borrowing calculator to find out your borrowing capacity before starting the application process.

Refinancing a home loan can take up to 60 days.

When you apply online, the application process can take as little as 15 minutes to an hour to complete.

When you’ve completed the application, we'll let you know whether your refinancing application is approved or declined, and if we need you to provide any more information.

If your application is approved, we’ll email you a contract to sign. After full approval, we’ll pay out your existing lender and your new home loan begins.

Once you’ve signed and returned your Home Loan contract and we’ve confirmed everything is correct, you’ll receive an email with a link to download the NRMA Home Loans e-Banking app to your device. This email will also include an activation code, which you’ll need to enter as part of the onboarding process.

For assistance call 1300 247 020. We're available 8:30am–8:30pm, Monday–Friday and 9:30am–4:30pm Saturday, Sunday and public holidays (except Christmas Day, Good Friday and Easter Sunday).

NRMA Home Loans offer a 100% offset account¹ with its Offset Home Loans.

An offset account is a bank account linked to your home loan, which offsets the balance in the bank account against the outstanding loan amount, which reduces the amount of interest payable.

For example, if you have $10,000 in your offset account and $500,000 outstanding on your loan, you only pay interest on $490,000, reducing the interest payable.

The offset account comes with a Debit Mastercard that you can use at any Bendigo Bank ATM free of charge. You can also use this at other ATMs, however, you may be charged a small fee. You can also make bill payments via BPAY from your offset account.

Accessing the redraw facility

Redrawing is the ability to access any extra payments you’ve made on your home loan. To be able to access your redraw, you must be 1 full repayment ahead and the available redraw is the amount you are in front of the 1 repayment. You are able to transfer this into your NRMA Home Loan offset account.

For variable rate home loans, free, unlimited online redraws on surplus payments made at least one month in advance are available.

For fixed rate home loans, redraws are limited to $20,000 per year of the fixed rate, without being charged a penalty. After the fixed period ends, it'll roll over to the "roll to rate" at the time and any future redraws will then be unlimited.

For more information on offset accounts, read the Offset Terms and Conditions.

Settlement refers to when your loan funds are drawn down and dispersed to purchase your home, or if you are refinancing, the moment your existing home loan is paid out. This is when your NRMA Home Loan will begin.

Once settlement is complete, you’ll receive a call to check in, and ensure you have all the details you require, such as accessing mobile banking.

It’s possible to make changes to your home loan repayments. However, there are some important things to be aware of.

Voluntary additional repayments

You can make unlimited additional repayments on all variable rate home loans, and up to $20,000 in additional repayments per year on all fixed rate home loans. Any additional repayments made will be available to you via a free redraw facility.

Changing your repayment amount

Making a permanent change to your minimum home loan repayment amount is known as a loan variation.

Reducing your home loan repayments will mean it takes longer to pay back the loan, resulting in more interest paid over the life of your loan.

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

If you’re ahead in your loan repayments, you can apply for a Repayment Recalculation which will reduce the minimum repayment amount. There’s a $50 fee to process this.

If your loan variation is processed, depending on how much the loan limit is reduced, all or partial loss of redraw funds will occur.

In the event of a cash rate change by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), NRMA Home Loans will work through any pricing changes with our funder, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank.

If we change our pricing, impacted customers will receive an email from Bendigo and Adelaide Bank outlining their new rate, repayment amount, and effective date.