FAQs about home loan products and features

Here you'll find answers to questions about features on our home loans and finding the loan that's right for you. If you want to talk to a St.George home loan expert, call us on 13 33 30.

1.  My parents/family would like to help me buy a home. How does this work?

   St.George Family Pledge is a way for your parents or family to help you purchase a home without actually providing money for a deposit. Instead, your parents or family use their own home equity to provide additional security for a portion of your loan amount.
   
   This solution reduces your loan to value ratio and can also save you a significant amount of money in Lender's Mortgage Insurance (LMI). Lender's Mortgage Insurance is generally payable on loans that exceed 80% of the value of the property. Learn more about Family Pledge

2.  How does 100% offset work?

   A home loan offset account is a savings account linked to your loan. The balance in the savings account is offset against the amount owing on the home loan when interest is calculated. This means that savings in your offset account reduce your loan balance, which may help you to save money and repay your home loan sooner.
   
   For example, you might have a home loan of $200,000 and an interest offset balance in your linked savings account of $20,000. When interest is calculated on your home loan, it is based on $200,000 less $20,000, which means that interest is charged only on $180,000. Because you make your standard repayments for a $200,000 loan, this may help you to repay your loan sooner, and save money over time. Learn more about Interest Offset.

3.  If I have a variable interest rate loan and I think interest rates are going to rise, can I switch to a fixed rate?

   Most of our loans do allow you to switch to a fixed interest rate, and switching is easy. Call us on 13 33 30 and we can give you the current rates and start the process for you. You can also compare interest rates now. Fixed rates are available for terms of one to five years. A switch fee may apply.

4.  Can I get a home loan if I am self-employed and don't have the standard financial documentation?

   Yes. If you're self-employed or have a small business, you can apply for a Low Doc Loan or a Low Doc Portfolio Loan without providing standard financial documentation. You will however, need to provide:
   
   1. Your ABN/ACN
   2. Last 12 months Business Activity Statements (BAS)
   3. Loan statements for past 6 months for loans that are being refinanced with a Low Doc Loan
   4. Latest account statements on any other debts or loans that are not being
   refinanced with your Low Doc Loan

5.  Can I apply for a home loan in a company name or family trust?

   Yes. If you want to talk to a St.George home loan expert, call us on 13 33 30.

6.  Can I keep my day-to-day transactions separate from my investments with a Portfolio Loan?

   Yes. Our Portfolio Loan allows you to have up to ten separate sub-accounts to keep your owner-occupied and various investment accounts separate.

7.  What's the difference between a ‘principal and interest' loan and ‘interest based' loan?

   Principal and Interest means that you pay the interest on the loan each month plus an amount that will repay your loan off in the defined term (for example, 30 years). A principal and interest loan will reduce the borrowed amount each month.
   
   With interest based repayments the total annual interest on your loan is calculated and divided into 12 equal monthly repayments. This means that while your outstanding balance may move slightly, it will not reduce over time. At the end of your interest based period (which can be up to 15 years), you will make principal and interest repayments to pay the outstanding balance in full by the end of the agreed loan term.

8.  What's the difference between a line of credit and a standard home loan?

   A standard home loan has a set term. You can generally choose to pay principal and interest or interest based for a period of time. The loan must be paid off within the agreed term. A Line of Credit is an approved limit that can be drawn on at any time. There is no set term and the minimum repayment required is interest and fees only. Learn more about our line of credit loan, Portfolio Loan.

9.  Can I use a Portfolio Loan for my business?

   Yes, you may be able to use a Portfolio Loan for business purposes. You may also want to consider a Business Maximiser Loan or a Business Owners' Loan Package.

10.  How does a Portfolio Loan differ from a normal overdraft?

    An overdraft is generally a limit attached to a transaction account and is usually unsecured. A Portfolio Loan is secured by residential property and is one overall approved limit that can be used for a home and other investments of your choice. You can open up to 10 sub-accounts to make managing your investments easier, and choose a mix of variable and fixed interest rates¹. You also get individual monthly statements for each sub-account to streamline your record keeping.

11.  Can I use a St.George home loan to build my home?

    Yes, a range of our variable rate loans give you the option to progressively draw down if you are constructing or renovating your home. This allows us to schedule progress payments to builders after each stage is completed and lets you save on interest charges. Take a look at our Building Loan and Portfolio Loan.

12.  How can I make a home loan repayment?

    One option is to set up automatic repayments from a nominated account, transfer money from another St.George account via Phone, Mobile Banking or Internet Banking² or make a payment at any St.George branch.

13.  How often do I make a loan repayment?

    All of our home loan contracts require you to make monthly repayments. However, when making principal and interest repayments, you can generally choose to make your repayments fortnightly or weekly. Fortnightly repayments are calculated as half of the monthly repayment and weekly repayments are calculated as a quarter of the monthly repayment.
    
    The ability to make additional payments depends on the type of home loan you have. With fixed interest rate home loans, you may make additional payments (over and above your contracted repayments) of $10,000 per year without cost. If you make more than $10,000 in additional payments, you may be liable for break costs. You can make unlimited additional payments on a variable rate home loan. Calculate how much you'll save when you make extra repayments.

14.  Can I repay my loan early?

    Depending on the home loan you choose, there may be a cost for repaying it early. Our introductory home loans (Discount Variable Rate and One Year Introductory Fixed Rate) carry an early termination fee based on a percentage of the loan amount as at the day of discharge. Early Termination Fees do not apply for loans approved from 3 June 2011. Where applicable, the fee will be disclosed in the Offer.
    This fee is payable if the loan is discharged within a certain time frame. Other home loans have a flat fee payable if the loan is discharged within a certain time frame. These fees are clearly stated in our home loan fees and charges documentation so you can make an informed decision about the best home loan for your needs.

15.  What is a deposit bond and how do I arrange one?

    When you buy a home you'll often have to pay a deposit on your purchase, with the balance payable at settlement. To help you with the payment of your deposit we can provide a Deposit Bond to the seller on your behalf³. This acts like a guarantee from the Bank to the seller saying that you will pay the deposit at settlement. Call us on 13 33 30 and we can help organise a Deposit Protect Bond for you.

16.  Will I need Lender's Mortgage Insurance and what does this cover?

    There are a number of variables that influence whether you'll need Lender's Mortgage Insurance and it is not necessary in all circumstances. Generally it is required if you are borrowing more than a specific value of the property (normally when you are borrowing more than 80%), however this condition varies depending on property type, location of the property, loan type, etc.
    
    Lender's Mortgage Insurance protects the Bank against loss in the event that you default on the loan. In the case of a mortgagee excersising power of sale, if the property is subsequently sold at a price that does not cover the loan in full, this insurance will cover the debt owed to the Bank.

17.  Does St.George have building and contents insurance?

    St.George offers competitive insurance to cover your needs, including home, contents and landlord insurance.

18.  How do I know which loan best suits my needs?

    We have a large selection of home loan options to meet your individual needs. Our Home Loan Product selector may help you to choose the right home loan that suits you. You can also compare home Loan features or call a St.George home loan expert on 13 33 30.

19.  What is ‘rate lock'?

    Rate Lock lets you secure an advertised St.George Fixed Rate, up to 90 days before your new Fixed Rate home loan settles or the interest rate period on your current St.George home loan ends⁴. Once secured, this rate is known as the 'locked rate'. This way, for a fee, you are protected from potentially rising interest rates.
    
    Upon settlement, if the advertised rate for your selected fixed rate period is below your 'locked rate', you will receive the lower advertised rate. However if interest rates have risen, you will receive your ‘locked rate'. Learn more about Rate Lock.

20.  What's the difference between a variable rate loan and a fixed rate loan?

    A variable interest rate moves up and down with market conditions. Your loan repayments may increase or decrease to reflect interest rate changes. Variable rate loans provide you with flexibility to make additional repayments, redraw on those additional funds and take advantage of a 100% interest offset facility.
    
    A fixed interest rate will not change for the fixed rate period (choose a term from one to five years). Your repayments will remain constant, which can be useful for budgeting purposes. However, features such as unlimited additional repayments and 100% interest offset are not available with fixed rate loans.

21.  Can I split my home loan to take out both a fixed and variable rate home loan?

    Most St.George home loans allow you to split the loan into a variable portion and a fixed portion. If your home loan is currently fixed, you will need to break out of your fixed rate to split the loan and a fee applies.
    
    A split loan gives you the flexibility of a variable rate loan and the security of a fixed rate loan. Our split loan, called Flexible Choice, is a combination of up to 4 separate loan sequence, secured by the same properties. By nominating portions of your loan as fixed and the remaining portions as variable, you can protect yourself and hedge against rising interest rates. Use the flexibility of the variable portion to help pay off that part of your home loan faster, particularly if interest rates decrease.

22.  What is Interest in Advance?

    Interest in advance is a repayment option that is available for fixed interest rate, interest only investment loans. You usually receive an additional interest rate discount for paying interest in advance. Generally speaking, paying interest in advance can potentially reduce tax liability for the coming financial year and consolidate interest repayments into one convenient lump sum payment. Since we don't know your individual financial and taxation position, we recommend that you contact your accountant and financial advisor for advice.

23.  Who can have Interest in Advance?

    You can request to pay interest in advance if:
    
    1. You have a fixed rate investment loan with interest based repayments
    2. You switch your existing variable interest rate investment loan to a fixed rate loan.
    
    Existing interest in advance customers will receive a letter of offer to review their Interest in Advance arrangements 4 – 6 weeks prior to the end of the current interest in advance period. New customers can establish an interest in advance loan through our standard application process.

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