At the start of this week, a bank went live with the remarkable offering of $1 lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) for eligible first home buyers.
St. George intends the special offer to assist aspiring homeowners in overcoming “one of the biggest hurdles” on the journey to buying a property – saving for a deposit.
From Monday, 13 July, the LMI for eligible first home buyers with an LVR up to 85% will be reduced to just $1. The deal is reserved solely for owner occupiers with principal and interest repayments with a maximum loan size of $850,000.
Notably, in circumstances involving a joint application, only one party must be a first home buyer.
Customers taking out an owner occupier loan with interest only repayments are not eligible for the $1 special, nor are any investment loans. Additionally, portfolio loans, construction loans and internal refinancing within the Westpac Group including St. George, Bank of Melbourne, Westpac, BankSA and RAMS are all excluded from accessing the offer.
The $1 LMI special is available with St. George’s Basic Home Loans or Advantage Package Home Loans, whether fixed or variable rate.
There is no income cap for eligible applicants, nor must the customer also be receiving the First Home Owner Grant or other government concessions in order to be able to access the deal.
Brokers must select the First Home Buyer Flag within ApplyOnline and notes section to include instructions of how to apply for the group’s offer on their client’s behalf.
St. George's provision for first home buyers is timely, as the most recent ABS data made available last week showed the number of owner occupier loan commitments evidenced in the market segment sagged 9.3% month-on-month in May.
