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Athena Home Loans: Variable Refinance Owner Occ P&I 2.84% (2.80% CR)

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Athena Home Loans: Variable Refinance Owner Occ P&I 2.84% (2.80% CR)
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Employeeicedtea229 on 01/10/2019 - 15:49 athena.com.au (840 clicks)
Last edited 01/10/2019 - 16:22

Hey everyone!

RBA announced a 0.25% drop in the cash rate today. For the third time in a row, we’ve passed on the full RBA drop for both new AND existing customers. Effective immediately.

Our latest rates are:

Owner Occupier, P&I: 2.84% variable (2.80% CR)
Owner Occupier, IO: 3.34% variable (2.99% CR)
Investor, P&I: 3.24% variable (3.20% CR)
Investor, IO: 3.34% variable (3.24% CR)

Our local Home Loan Experts are available to help out 7 days a week.

Features
No Athena fees: No application or valuation fees, no annual or monthly fees, no exit fees.
Automatic Rate-Match: New and existing customers will always get the same rate on a like-for-like loan.
Fee-free Redraw: Athena reduces the amount of your home loan balance by 100% of the amount in your Redraw.
Loyalty bonus: We’ll reward you with a 0.01% discount on your rate for each of the first 5 years just for making your repayments.

Referral Links

Referral: random (81)

$250 credit each for referee and referrer.

Financial Home Loan Refinance

Related Stores

Athena Home Loan
Athena Home Loan

closed Comments

  • pearl2013 on 01/10/2019 - 15:51

    Are you guys looking into people who's self-employed yet?

    • Employeeicedtea229 @ Athena Home Loan on 01/10/2019 - 15:52

      Hey pearl2013, our self-employed criteria is limited to sole traders engaged for more than 2 years in the industries of Legal, Finance, IT or Medicine. We're looking to open it up next year but don't have a more exact date to share yet.

      • pearl2013 on 01/10/2019 - 15:53
        -1

        very disappointed as I have been trying to jump ship to you guys since you guys open for business…

  • whyisave on 01/10/2019 - 15:56
    +4

    Any offset account?
    I will switch this afternoon.

    • Underdog on 01/10/2019 - 16:01

      I don't think Athena offers an offset account, however they offer redraws.

        • Cluster on 01/10/2019 - 16:04
          +3

          If you pay extra money into your mortgage of course it reduces your interest costs. Redraw just allows you to access those extra funds.

        • f4te on 01/10/2019 - 16:04
          +4

          Uh, yes they do…

          With redraw you're putting extra money into the loan, hence reducing the loan amount that interest needs to be paid on.

          With offset the extra money is in a separate account that's compared against the loan for interest calculation purposes.

        • pyramid on 01/10/2019 - 16:06
          +6

          username NOT check out

        • Underdog on 01/10/2019 - 16:06

          You put the money into the loan (reduces your loan balance = less interest payable).

          When you want the money, you redraw it from the loan (increases your loan balance = more interest payable).

          The only difference is that you don't get a bank card and separate bank account.

          You can bank transfer from the account (as per daily limits, however this can be increased by Athena).

          You also save $10 per month (usual bank fee charged for offset account).

          https://www.athena.com.au/learn/redraw

          • leeroys_dad on 01/10/2019 - 16:17
            +2

            @Underdog: that's not the only difference. the main advantage of using an offset account is for tax purposes that can save you thousands of dollars

            • pyramid on 01/10/2019 - 16:19
              +1

              @leeroys_dad: tax purpose only for IP or OO as well?

              • leeroys_dad on 01/10/2019 - 16:25

                @pyramid: simple explanation:
                IP, however if it is currently OO and you are paying down into the loan and eventually moving out to rent, you won't be able to claim the interest on the loan if you redraw the money to put into your next OO

                complex: speak to tax/financial structuring advisor or you can PM me with any Qs

              • dcep on 01/10/2019 - 16:26

                @pyramid: when you turn your OO into IP later if you decide to keep it instead of selling upon moving to new home

            • whyisave on 01/10/2019 - 16:22

              @leeroys_dad: people make assumptions about how a person uses their offset,
              similarly to how i made the assumption that redraws don't save interest.

              imagine a loan is $100k
              and the money in the offset $95k
              that $5k difference is for interest calculations.

    • bohn on 01/10/2019 - 16:02

      Same. Hoping they will… Why wont they? ;)

    • vince088 on 01/10/2019 - 16:04

      i also want to know this answer
      if there is an offset account is there a fee with it?

    • Employeeicedtea229 @ Athena Home Loan on 01/10/2019 - 16:06
      +3

      Hey whyisave, we don't have an offset account but we have a fee-free redraw. You can read all about it, including the differences between offset and redraw, at https://www.athena.com.au/learn/redraw.

      • whyisave on 01/10/2019 - 16:23

        Thank you for your prompt reply :-)

  • onetwothreefour on 01/10/2019 - 16:00

    Homestar have dropped their rates, they are 2.74%.

    • whyisave on 01/10/2019 - 16:04

      …and Homestar have an offset account too!

    • Employeeicedtea229 @ Athena Home Loan on 01/10/2019 - 16:10
      +9

      Hey onetwothree, awesome to hear that Homestar dropped their rates too! Just note that if you're an existing customer of theirs, you have to wait til the 28 October to get the rate drop. New customers don't need to wait. We've passed the RBA rate drop in full immediately and automatically to all of our customers. We don't think it's fair that loyal, existing customers have to wait to enjoy the savings.

      • onetwothreefour on 01/10/2019 - 16:11

        I'm not with them, I'm with tictoc so I am keen to see what they will do, they are usually slow at passing on rate cuts so I might look at changing.

        • whyisave on 01/10/2019 - 16:16

          i just applied with TicToc and wondering "NOT" to go ahead with them, if i can shop for something cheaper.

          we all shop for cheaper fruits, so why not shop for cheaper debt !

          ( creating debt…what a business model,…from thousands of years ago that nobody wants to change )

        • whyisave on 01/10/2019 - 16:19

          the other thing is, changing between providers regularly, mean you can eat up your savings through all the fees they charge, etc.

          • onetwothreefour on 01/10/2019 - 16:23
            +1

            @whyisave: Yeah I only refinanced less than 2 years ago, also changing now wouldn't make a huge difference in the interest I will pay and time to pay off the loan due to how much I currently have in my offset compared to what I owe.

            I'm hoping I can get tictoc to lower their rate if I say I will leave.

  • f4te on 01/10/2019 - 16:05

    Need offset!

    • whyisave on 01/10/2019 - 16:06

      check Homestar Loans.
      offers Offset and also cheapest rate I can see.

      • SaberX on 02/10/2019 - 10:18

        Is this an online only lender?

  • onetwothreefour on 01/10/2019 - 16:07
    -6

    Due to no offset and higher interest rate as per above comments I'm negging this post.

    • Underdog on 01/10/2019 - 16:13
      +2

      Don't forget, Athena do not charge application/discharge fees (whereas the other cheaper lenders do).

      Also Athena offers new/existing borrowers the advertised home loan rates (on the website).

      From what I have heard, the other lenders sign you up to a cheap advertised rate, and slowly increase your interest rate (the advertised rates are only for new borrowers).

      • onetwothreefour on 01/10/2019 - 16:14

        Also Athena offers new/existing borrowers the advertised home loan rates (on the website).

        This is good, tictoc offer new customers a low rate and existing customers a higher rate, I might have to switch!

  • arkie0 on 01/10/2019 - 16:19
    -3

    They have strict/high minimum expenses when it comes to serviceability.

    Tried to change over to them, told them monthly expenses were at 1k, even with proof through statements. No sorry, your minimum month expenses are 3k sorry.

    • pyramid on 01/10/2019 - 16:20
      +1

      Same..I applied and they rejected saying i m not fitting into their credit criteria…Ubank happily accepted my business…

      • Employeeicedtea229 @ Athena Home Loan on 01/10/2019 - 17:21
        -1

        Hey pyramid, our credit decisions do include a review of your credit history and like every lender we do have cutoffs in relation to your credit score around what we will accept. These cutoffs will vary from lender to lender. We are obligated under the National Consumer Credit Code to give you contact details for Equifax around your credit report, they will provide a free report for 90 days so that you can check the accuracy of the information but they can't talk to individual lenders credit criteria. If you wanted to read more about Equifax’s free credit report, visit https://www.equifax.com.au/personal/products/credit-and-iden…. Sorry we weren't able to help you this time around.

    • RocketSwitch on 01/10/2019 - 16:33
      +1

      lol Athena dirty

    • bohn on 01/10/2019 - 16:45

      Nab did something similar to me.

    • liveish on 01/10/2019 - 16:50
      +2

      Same, I asked them to double check it and the boss man said they don’t understand why, but the computer said no !!!!!! Hahah

    • Employeeicedtea229 @ Athena Home Loan on 01/10/2019 - 17:07
      -1

      Hey arkie0, we use the Household Expenditure Measure (HEM) method to calculate a customer's living expenses. What we do is compare your declared living expenses against the HEM and we take the higher value. We don't doubt that your monthly living expenses are $1k but we have responsible lending criteria we need to follow and in your case, the HEM value came out higher. Lenders use different methods to calculate your living expenses but most generally use HEM. There are different versions of it and we use a more comprehensive version which includes income, marital status, number of dependants and location. So sorry we couldn't help you out this time.

  • onetwothreefour on 01/10/2019 - 16:40

    From the tictoc website

    Sit tight! Following the RBA's decision to lower the cash rate on Tuesday, we're currently working with our funder to bring you lower home loan rates. We should have more news by Tuesday 8/10/19 - stay tuned for an update.

    That's pretty poor

    • pyramid on 01/10/2019 - 16:44

      Why its poor…they are taking their time to decide latest rates….

      • onetwothreefour on 01/10/2019 - 16:45

        Others have passed on in full immediately, what's there to decide?

        • dcep on 01/10/2019 - 17:03

          Others as in who

          • whyisave on 01/10/2019 - 17:28

            @dcep: Homestar ?

          • fault on 01/10/2019 - 18:14

            @dcep: Athena…

            RATES SLASHED IN A FLASH
            We’ve passed on the full RBA drop for both new AND existing customers. Effective immediately.

      • z0idberg on 02/10/2019 - 08:50
        +4

        Just my opinion, but lenders knew a rate decision was due (first Tuesday of EVERY month) and there are only 3 possible outcomes. The rate drop was odds on favourite of the three.

        To not have an action plan in place for every scenario prior to the RBA meeting is poor.

        • bohn on 02/10/2019 - 10:13
          +2

          They want to see how many other banks don't pass it on so they can also not pass it on.

  • sigplay on 01/10/2019 - 16:40
    +1

    What is the max LVR? Our loan is currently at 88% LVR and was hoping to move without having to pay LMI again

    • Employeeicedtea229 @ Athena Home Loan on 01/10/2019 - 17:08

      Hey sigplay, our max LVR is 80% so if you're at 88% we won't be able to help at this stage. So sorry about that.

    • tehlee on 01/10/2019 - 18:37

      You won't be able to move anywhere and not pay LMI if you're over 80%

      • SaberX on 02/10/2019 - 13:29
        +1

        How does lvr get calculated on refinancing? When ww built ww knew the exact construction home loan value e.g. 550k. So 88% was a known value. Say 484k. On that original loan 80% lvr is 440k. Which we can make.

        @icedtea229 how would refinancing work. Would the bank work out market value. If the house fell to 500k then 80% is now 400k which is significantly different?

        • tehlee on 02/10/2019 - 20:12

          It's based on the value of the property at the time you refinance.

          If the house right now is worth $500k, you need to owe $400k or less. If it's worth $1m, you need to owe $800k or less.

  • jwsc on 01/10/2019 - 16:54

    im confused, why is the CR lower than the advertised rate, isnt it usually the other way around?

    • kinpe on 01/10/2019 - 17:00

      I think it's something to do with the loyalty bonus.

    • Employeeicedtea229 @ Athena Home Loan on 01/10/2019 - 17:10

      Hey jwsc, our CR is lower because we don’t charge any fees and add an annual loyalty bonus, for every year you are with us, for the first five years.

  • Axytrix on 01/10/2019 - 17:25

    Discharge / termination fee?

    • Employeeicedtea229 @ Athena Home Loan on 01/10/2019 - 17:56
      +5

      $0! We don’t charge any fees to get in or get out. We're committed to helping our customers pay off their home loan faster. If you were to pay off your home loan faster, we wouldn't charge you for an early discharge either (that's something to celebrate and not be penalised for!).

  • ahara on 01/10/2019 - 17:59

    Don’t waste your time unless your credit rating is “Excellent”.

    Applied two weeks ago based on positive past reviews and low rate and was rejected due to my credit rating in the mid 700s (very good as per Equifax) being too risky for them.

    And that based on already highlighting high monthly expenses of over $3k, dual incomes, under 80%lvr and being ahead on my mortgage with current lender.

    Single credit card as well which I highlighted in my application and apparently serviceability was not the issue.

    They have some strange backend criteria.

    So don’t waste your time like I did. Lots of talk with them but unless you are A+ don’t bother.

    • Pandamony on 03/10/2019 - 12:47

      I had a very similar story to you. A high 700s credit rating, high disposable income and an LVR of less than 30%. They rang me up on several occasions and asked a lot of questions, some of them were quite inane. The last call that I got from them was about some credit cards that I had opened and closed last year, mostly to get QFF bonus signup points.

      I then got an email from them saying that my application had been rejected due to my credit rating. It was really quite unbelievable.

      A complete waste of time, I agree.

  • Chivalry on 01/10/2019 - 18:00
    +3

    i had a quick look at Homestar vs Athena as an invester. And everyone should do their own research and check eligibility.
    Comparison Rate for P&I is 3.17 vs 3.2
    Comparison Rate for IO is 3.42 vs 3.24

    Some have mentioned homestar has offset account, but Athenas redraw will basically offer the same:
    Athena’s redraw breaks free from expensive and restrictive redraws that used to exist. It’s fee free and conveniently available online. It makes life easier, avoids the costs of an offset, and pays off your loan faster. Athena’s Redraw helps you pay off your home loan faster. Check this out…if the amount you owe us was $350,000, and you had $50,000 in your Redraw, we’d calculate the interest on $300,000. And that interest will be less (at 4% interest for 30 years it would be $47,000 less in fact!). So the more you add, the less you’ll pay on your loan, and the faster you get to the finish line.

    Fees for Homestar:
    Application Fee $0
    Valuation Fee $248.08
    Legal Documentation Fee $264
    Fixed Rate Lock In fee (optional) $395
    PEXA Fee $56.43
    Government Charges and Search Fees At Cost
    Verification of Identity Fee $27.50
    Monthly Account Fee $0
    Annual Account Fee $0
    Discharge Fee $535(plus third party costs)

    Fees for Athena:
    Athena application fee $0
    Athena monthly fee $0
    Athena annual fee $0
    Athena redraw fee $0
    Athena exit fee $0
    Application valuation costs $0
    Solicitor settlement costs $0
    Government refinance costs These include title registration, discharge of mortgage and title search fees and vary by state in the range of $260 - $440.

    • f4te on 01/10/2019 - 19:38
      +1

      So, as an investor you really need to appreciate the difference between an offset account and redraw - they are not "basically the same".

      Look up 'loan/mortgage contamination'. Essentially by redrawing on an investment loan you're reducing the tax deductable part of that loan.

      • Chivalry on 01/10/2019 - 19:48

        First time I've heard about this, quick googling didn't tell me much. I'll do more in depth later.

        I'm just listing what I see, and hence suggest everyone do their own research.

      • dammit on 01/10/2019 - 21:14

        I completely agree. You must have offset and not redraw if you plan to rent out your principle place and convert it to an investment property in the future, otherwise you can’t redraw and get the loan as high as possible to get the highest interest costs (deductible), and park that redrawn money into your new ppor.

  • MiCCAS on 01/10/2019 - 19:04

    Is there an easy way to understand Athena's estimated value of my property without going through the full application process? It may impact my LVR

    • Tdsr on 01/10/2019 - 19:50
      +1

      I emailed them and ask them to check my address before I start the whole process because I’m very close to 80%LVR

    • xfiledavid on 02/10/2019 - 05:03

      Would also like to know.

  • ABZ300 on 01/10/2019 - 23:40

    OP do you do land only loans? I'm looking to refinance my current loan with ANZ

    • Employeeicedtea229 @ Athena Home Loan on 02/10/2019 - 14:10
      +1

      Hey ABZ300, we don't do land only loans. So sorry we can't help you out.

  • Gary King on 02/10/2019 - 07:04
    +1

    Applied with these guys, nice and easy process , refinance about to go through shortly with OFI and saving nearly .50 %

    • Employeeicedtea229 @ Athena Home Loan on 02/10/2019 - 14:11

      Thanks for the feedback Gary King! Glad you found the process nice and easy :)

  • CoastalScott on 02/10/2019 - 10:37
    +1

    I have recently transferred to Athena, amazing experience, no fees, smooth online process. Strongly recommend! The underlying principle that all customers new or old have the best rate is great. Nothing worse than constantly haggling with a Bank for the best rate or them sneaking an increase on. The ongoing customer experience has been awesome.

    • Employeeicedtea229 @ Athena Home Loan on 02/10/2019 - 14:14

      Thanks for the feedback CoastalScott! With our Automatic Rate-Match, new customers will never get a better rate than existing customers on a like-for-like loan. We're super happy to have you onboard with us.

  • JuryWheel on 02/10/2019 - 11:15

    Can I ask at what stage your current lender knows that you are switching? I'm keen to see if I will be accepted by Athena, but once I am (provisionally) accepted, I will then go to my current lender to make sure they can't match (highly unlikely). Is that going to work or once I say to Athena I want to go ahead, do they do the checks and if it's all good they process the transfer immediately..?
    On a side note, anyone know how much anz charge to exit from their breakfree package?

    • pyramid on 02/10/2019 - 11:16

      Current lender won't know until you submit release request with them for your home loan.

    • Employeeicedtea229 @ Athena Home Loan on 02/10/2019 - 14:09

      Hey cjb, it's after you're approved. We request a transfer from your current lender. Be warned this is where your current lender's retention team will get on your case and delay things as much as possible in order to try keep you and your business. You'll often find this is when they offer you the rate you were originally asking for!
      I think there's no harm in asking your lender now if they will match the rate. If they say no, apply and then if you're approved, ask your lender again and tell them it's the final chance otherwise you're leaving. We won't hold it against you if you then decide to stay with them, but ask yourself if it's worth going through that every time the rate changes…😉

  • SaberX on 02/10/2019 - 13:33

    Hi all. For those who refinance what is lvr based off?? We built and 88% lvr at time on say 550k was know e.g. 484k. We paid lmi. If we got this down to 80% lvr ir would be 440k off our original construction loan.

    Given the market has tanked in Perth etc. Would refinancing mean they work out your 80% lvr off market value e.g. 500k. Which then means you need to get down to 400k insteas of 440k per original loan to meet 80% lvr??

    Can anyone who's refinanced comment on how lvr is worked out beyond your original loan as I've never been in the situation.

    Pre rate cute bankwest has been mid 3.4% so not teerible but not great…

    • Employeeicedtea229 @ Athena Home Loan on 02/10/2019 - 14:18

      Hey SaberX, our max LVR is 80%. This means you can borrow up to 80% of your property's value - we would run a valuation on your property when you apply to work this out (it won't cost you anything cos we don't charge fees). The 80% LVR would be based off this.

      You are correct in your example. If your property's value comes to $500k, the max you could borrow would be $400k. If you currently owe $440k, this would take you to over 80% LVR.

  • frazel on 02/10/2019 - 15:34

    @icetea229

    I am about to change jobs from a permanent job to permanent job. Is it better to wait until I have been in my new job for a bit first or it doesn't matter.

    LVR is about 50%

    • bohn on 02/10/2019 - 17:25
      +1

      I think it matters.

  • whatthecrappin on 07/10/2019 - 18:05

    got 831 (excellent) from finder.com.au will call you guys tomorrow. had it with loans.com.au they were good at the start, but dont pass on the full cut, dicounted my rate last time only after I made numerous calls and its STILL higher than Athena!

  • Terra Australis on 03/11/2019 - 15:31

    Anyone with them know what the usual timeframe for approval is? Were any further documents needed than payslips/contract?

  • Terra Australis on 12/11/2019 - 16:34
    +1

    Rubbish service, go with tictoc instead. Credit score 850 (excellent) and denied by Athena but approved by tictoc which is a similarly low-risk new lender. Took Athena 2 weeks to reject my application, took tictoc 1 week to approve it. Tictoc includes offset as well. I know who I'd recommend to my close friends and family first.

    • Employeeicedtea229 @ Athena Home Loan on 13/11/2019 - 17:10
      -1

      Hey Terra Australis, so sorry we couldn't help you out this time. We have been snowed under since the last rate drop so are taking longer than usual to get back to customers. But we shouldn't have taken 2 weeks to give you an update - we're working on improving our processes so things like this don't happen in the future as it's not acceptable. You may have been declined for a reason separate to your credit score as we look at a number of factors when making a decision including serviceability. Did you get an email from us outlining the reasons for the decline?
      Just a heads up that Tic Toc is owned by Bendigo Bank so their risk appetite will be broader than ours'. As we are an independent newcomer to the market, our risk appetite at this time is unfortunately still quite tight. But we are looking to relax it in the future. We're glad you found a home loan with Tic Toc and we wish you all the best.

  • Gerry H on 14/11/2019 - 22:42

    do u do fixed?

    • Employeeicedtea229 @ Athena Home Loan on 15/11/2019 - 09:47

      Hey roidcel, we don't have fixed rates for now. They're on our roadmap and we'll be making it super easy for customers to switch over to fixed rates at no extra cost once we launch them. I don't have a more definite date to share just yet though.

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