Bankwest home loans

Bankwest offers home loans that may be appropriate for first home buyers, refinancers, prospective home-builders, borrowers looking for bridging finance, property investors and more.

However, when it comes to what types of borrowers Bankwest lends to, there are a few points that prospective borrowers should keep in mind.

The first is that Bankwest has a minimum required loan-to-value ratio (LVR) of 95%, meaning it is unlikely that you will be approved for a home loan with Bankwest if your saved deposit is less than 5% of your total proposed loan size.

Bankwest also likely won’t lend to you if you don’t have the capacity to repay your proposed home loan at a rate 3% higher than the advertised interest rate. This is because the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) requires all lenders to assess an applicant’s ability to service their proposed home loan in the event of interest rate hikes.

Yes, Bankwest provides home loans to first home buyers. While they don’t have a specific home loan product designed for this purpose, they have several tools and resources available to help first home buyers navigate the process of buying a home for the first time.

No, Bankwest is not one of the 33 participating lenders chosen by the Federal Government to offer the Home Guarantee Scheme. Subsequently, if you’re looking to access the Home Guarantee Scheme you may want to consider working with a different lender.

The Home Guarantee Scheme helps certain home buyers secure a home loan with a deposit smaller than 20%, so they don’t have to pay lenders mortgage insurance (LMI).

The Home Guarantee Scheme is made up of three separate initiatives:

• The First Home Guarantee, which allows eligible first home buyers to purchase a home with a deposit of as little as 5%.
• The Family Home Guarantee, which allows eligible single parents to purchase a home with a deposit of as little as 2%, regardless of whether they’re a first home buyer or not.
• The Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee, which allows eligible first home buyers to purchase homes in regional areas with a deposit of as little as 5%.

Applications for one of these schemes can only be made through a participating lender or a mortgage broker acting as an authorised representative of a participating lender.

Yes, you can switch your home loan from another bank to Bankwest by refinancing. Borrowers refinancing their loan with Bankwest can choose either a fixed or standard variable rate loan to switch to and can add an offset account to eligible loans.

To refinance with Bankwest, you’ll need to have a minimum of 10% in equity and an LVR of 90% or less.

Bankwest advises that they require a borrower to take out LMI if the borrower’s deposit is less than 20% of the total loan value. Bankwest allows borrowers to either pay their LMI upfront or roll it into their home loan amount (this is called capitalising your LMI).

As of 14 May, 2024, Bankwest charges the following home loan fees and charges on its home loans:

• Application fee – $295 for Bankwest’s Fixed Rate Home Loan, $0 for the rest of their home loans
• Home loan limit increase fee – $295
• Offset facility fee – $10 per month per offset account
• Settlement attendance fee – $250
• Annual package fee – $395
• Loan maintenance fee – $12 per month

Please note that not every fee listed will be charged on every home loan offered by Bankwest, and that these fees may change without warning.