Express Home Loan

Starting with your eligibility, we'll ask a few basic questions about the property you'd like to refinance. We run a quick check on the property to make sure we can lend against it, and then we'll ask about your priorities for having a home loan. Our system will recommend a loan product for you (for example, a Variable Live-In Principal and Interest home loan or a 2-year Fixed Live-In Principal and Interest home loan).

We'll ask for your name and D.O.B., then digitally verify a form of your ID. You can use your Driver’s Licence, an Australian Passport, your Medicare card or a foreign passport with an Australian Visa. Please note: at this point, we'll run a credit check.

You are able to resume your home loan application where you left off.

You will be asked to sign in with the user name and password you set during the application. If you have forgotten your password you can reset it.

We'll ask for a bit of information around your current financial situation. You'll have the opportunity to provide a thoughtful estimate of your income and expenses, as well as information about your current commitments (such as any existing home or car loans).

Then to instantly verify the info, you can securely link your bank account(s) so our in-house technology can fetch read-only copies of your transaction statements. Don't worry – we use bank-grade technology to do this part, and no one will ever see your bank logins.

You can manually upload copies of your transaction statements, but we'll need one of our team members to review these, so it'll take a little longer.

After you submit your financials, our application will come to a decision. If you're approved, then all you have to do is wait for the settlement process.

If there's something we need to look into further, we'll let you know and one of our Credit Assessors will be in touch shortly.

There are three ways Bendigo Express can value your property:

1. Automated Valuation Model (AVM). If our technology can get a good read on your property, we'll do an AVM, which means we will value your property instantly by analysing the values of comparable properties. How? We've integrated external providers, existing property and land databases and our own tech models to get a very good estimate of the property value.
2. Desktop valuation. If we are not able to value your property instantly, we'll need to do a desktop valuation or a full valuation. A desktop valuation is when an accredited valuer uses publicly available information such as tax records and comparable sales in the area to work out a property’s value.
3. Full valuation. A full valuation is when we arrange for an independent and qualified valuer to inspect your property and issue a report with the valuation. This may be required if:

• • The property’s estimated value is more than $2 million
  • Equity in property - at least 20% required. The maximum loan-to-value is 80%
  • The property is a high density apartment.

In a full valuation, the licensed appraiser visits the property, takes photographs and measurements and evaluates the location, features, selling points and overall condition of the property.

Once you get to the personal details section of our application and agree with our Privacy Policy and Credit Guide, our platform will trigger a credit check from the two main credit reporting bodies in Australia: Equifax and Illion.

Credit scores generally range from 0 to 1200, with higher scores suggesting lower risk to the lender. They are calculated by the credit reporting bodies using information in your credit report, including your repayment history; length of credit history, how much debt you have and the types of credit you've applied for.

Higher credit scores are an indicator that you’ve demonstrated responsible credit behaviour, making lenders more likely to lend to you, while lower scores may make it harder for you to qualify for a loan or get a lower interest rate.

You can improve your credit score by making your repayments on time, paying off your debts quickly, keeping your credit card balance well below the limit and only applying for credit when you're serious.

Credit reporting bodies supply us with your credit history report (and your credit score) so we can responsibly assess you for your home loan. Our enquiry remains on your file, which is like having a post-it that says "Applied for a Bendigo Express home loan". This is a standard check that all lenders do for both pre-approval and full approval.

Having multiple credit enquiries on your file can impact your score negatively, particularly when made in a short period of time, because it can look like you're shopping around for lots of different loans. Lenders may ask you to explain recent enquiries on your credit report if they cannot reconcile them to your existing credit commitments.

There are 4 steps to switching to an Express Home Loan.

1. Protect your home - As part of any home loan agreement you’re required to have adequate building insurance cover. This protects you, as well as us/the lender, should something happen to your home. Proof of building insurance must be provided when you submit your other loan documents. If your home is an apartment, you may just need a copy from Strata. At Bendigo Bank we offer a range of home insurance cover options and payment flexibility. We have a dedicated insurance team who are ready to help make sure you’ve got the level of cover you need. Find out more here or simply call 1300 557 155 to speak to our team.
2. Confirm your identity - This last ID check confirms in person that you are who you say you are. You will receive instructions in your approval email from us advising the steps that will need to be completed.
3. Receive your home loan contract - Receive via email (or mail if you have requested we post them) your home loan contract and other settlement documents. If you chose email, we can send these to you within 30 minutes depending on which state you live in.
4. Read and sign your home loan documents - Ensure you take time to read through your home loan contract and settlement documents carefully. Once signed, your signed document will automatically be received by our online home loan conveyancer.

After you’ve been approved for your Bendigo Express Home Loan it’s time to look forward to settlement.

After, make sure you obtain a copy of your building insurance as we will ask you to provide this as part of your signed contract. We’ll email you your loan documents. Sign the documents, and we’ll keep you up to date with SMS updates

You’ll need to confirm that you are you. We provide an instruction sheet in your settlement pack for arranging an appointment with one of our representatives to verify your identification in person.

There are different rules for different Australian states about who can act as a witness, which will be outlined in your home loan documents. The witness may need to meet certain criteria, depending on where you're located. This criteria could be:

• a Justice of the Peace,
• a commissioner for declarations,
• an Australian lawyer,
• a notary public,
• a licensed conveyancer, or
• another person approved by the Registrar of Titles.

However, in New South Wales and South Australia, the witness can be any adult who has known you for 12 months.

A few days after your loan settles, we’ll give you a call to check-in to see how things are going. We’ll make sure your automatic loan repayment is set up the way you want it to be.

We’ll ensure you are all set up for online banking and advise where the nearest Bendigo Bank branch is should you require additional support.

Many Banks charge borrowers an annual package fee of up to $400. With a Bendigo Express Home Loan, you only pay a $10 monthly service fee.

Valuation fees (charged at cost, per property):

• Electronic valuation: $134.20
• Full valuation - less than $1 million in value: $220
• Full valuation - greater than $1 million in value: $440

Yes, an offset account is a savings account that’s linked to your home loan which offsets the balance of your home loan, so you only pay interest on the home loan balance minus the amount in your offset account.

A full offset account is available on variable rate home loan or partial offset facility on fixed rate home loan.

See our offset account page for more information.

• Save interest on your home loan.
• All the flexibility of a transaction account
• Multiple offset accounts are available to help you manage your funds¹⁶.
• No minimum balance
• No additional offset account fees
• Full offset available on variable, partial offset available on fixed Express Home Loans¹⁷