Express Home Loan

If you can meet the following criteria, there’s a good chance we can help you with an Express Home Loan.

• Property type – you’re buying or refinancing an established property. (Off the plan, under construction, land only or homes under 40m² are not eligible).
• Location – you’re buying a home or investment property, the address of the property you’re looking to buy is helpful. If you’re applying for pre-approval, you only need to submit the postcode you’re house-hunting in.
• Deposit amount – you have at least a 20% deposit or equity, plus savings to cover fees and charges such as stamp duty.
• Loan amount – we can lend a minimum loan amount of $10,000, and a maximum loan amount of $3,000,000.
• Employment – you’re currently employed, either through PAYG or self-employment.
• ID – you have at least one form of government ID, such as an Australian Passport, Driver’s Licence or Medicare card.
• Country – you’re an Australian citizen or permanent resident who lives in Australia.

Didn't answer yes to all the above? We can still help you. View our other home loans, talk to a home loan specialist or request a call back.

Unfortunately, no. You must be an Australian citizen or a permanent resident living in Australia to be eligible for an Express Home Loan.

Pre-approval means a lender has provided an obligation-free estimate on the amount you can borrow to purchase a property, but they have not provided formal approval. Having pre-approval does not mean your home loan is locked in. There are various terms, conditions and lending criteria that must be met to receive final approval.

Obtaining pre-approval could:

• Give you a realistic view on what property you might be able to afford.
• Help you feel more confident when making an offer.
• Make you seem like a more serious buyer in the eyes of the agent and seller.

Help you to move quickly to secure your dream property.

These terms mean the same thing. They all refer to the initial process a lender undertakes to determine your financial position and how much they may be willing to lend you. Pre-approval is subject to terms, conditions and lending criteria.

Finding your dream property can take time or in some scenarios, it can happen very quickly. Therefore, there is no "right" time to apply. However, it's important to note that Bendigo Bank pre-approval is valid for 2 months or 60 days (provided your circumstance don't change). Take this into consideration when applying, if you apply too early you may risk needing to re-apply and applying too late might mean you don’t feel confident to buy your dream property.

For a pre-approval with Express Home Loan you can apply online. Remember, a pre-approval advises how much you might be able to borrow, it is not a formal and full home loan approval.

An Express pre-approval lasts for 60 days, as long as your circumstances don't change. Don't worry, if you haven’t found a property before that time. We’ll email you a reminder 5 days before expiry that will allow you to extend your offer by another 60 days and we will be happy to help you through the process.

Yes. Once you have pre-approval you may have a better understanding of your budget and therefore may feel more confident bidding on a property at auction. Please note that if you are the highest bidder and are successful at the auction, you will then need to obtain formal approval and pay the deposit after the auction.

A home loan can be declined despite gaining pre-approval if it does not meet the lender's lending criteria. Some examples of this could include the property type, changes in your circumstances and the property's value.

You can continue searching for the property you want to purchase. Once you decide to put in an offer and it is hopefully accepted, you will then need to apply for formal approval.

• Refinance or purchase: Property address
• Pre-approval: postcode or suburb, once you’ve found the property, we’ll need the property address.

• Your email address
• Your phone number

• Australian passport
• Foreign passport with an Australian visa, or
• Medicare care

You can choose to securely connect your accounts digitally by providing your bank details, or manually upload digital documents.

Starting with your eligibility, we'll ask a few basic questions about the property you'd like to purchase or refinance. We run a quick check on the property (or location for pre-approval) to make sure we can lend against it, and then we'll ask about your priorities for having a home loan. You’ll then be able to review home loans available for you, for example a Variable 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. Sign in can now be done via email and one time password.

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.

Alternatively, you can manually upload copies of your transaction statements.

After you submit your financials, our application will come to a decision. If your application is 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:
   

   • You have less than a 20% deposit
   • The property’s estimated value is more than $2 million
   • 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.

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.

Here’s an overview of the steps to home ownership with an Express Home Loan.

1. Home loan approval - Get approved from Bendigo Bank to borrow the amount you need to purchase your home.
2. Find your place to call home - Find your perfect home and make an offer, within your approved loan amount. If your offer is accepted, you move onto step 3.
3. Sign your purchase contract, pay your deposit - Sign your purchase contract for your new home and pay your deposit to the agent. This is when you'll confirm your settlement date (usually between 30 and 90 days from signing).
4. 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 new 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 about home insurance or simply call 1300 557 155 to speak to our team.
5. Finalising home loan approval - Email your signed purchase contract to us so we can provide final approval for your home loan.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Hire a conveyancer - A conveyancer is someone who legally transfers the property you buy into your name. PEXA (Property Exchange Australia) is an online platform for digital conveyancing which enables secure, reliable and fast digital settlements. Talk to us if you need help or would like further information about this process.
9. Read and sign your home loan documents - Ensure you take time to read through your home loan contract and settlement documents carefully. Once complete, sign the loan contract and other documents required and return them. Further instructions will be provided during the application process.
10. Final inspection - Conduct a final inspection on your property. The seller must hand over the property in the same condition as when it was sold. If you are concerned something has changed, please speak with your conveyancer.
11. Organise your utilities - Arrange to have your gas, electricity, internet and subscriptions to be redirected or set up.
12. Change of address - Your conveyancer will advise local council, water company, Strata (if applicable), and Land Tax department of the change in ownership of your property. 
13. Settlement - Your conveyancer will call you and give you the good news that settlement has occurred. Settlement is when we formally drawn down on your loan. This means your home loan officially begins – you receive your loan and the seller receives their payment. Any additional fees, including stamp duty and government charges are also transferred during this time.
14. The keys to your happy place - Collect the keys to your front door from your real estate agent and move in. Congratulations!

After you’ve been approved for your Bendigo Express Home Loan it’s time to look forward to settlement. If you haven’t already, sign the purchase contract for your new home and pay your deposit. After, make sure you get building insurance and get yourself a conveyancer to transfer the title officially. We’ll email you your loan documents. Sign the documents, put them in the post and wait for your settlement date when the finance changes hands. We’ll keep you up to date with SMS updates Next, our solicitor gets to work and chats to your conveyancer. 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.

Once your home settles, you’ll get the keys to unlock your new home and celebrate.

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.