In a notice issued to mortgage brokers today the CBA announced it will roll out a range of changes including restrictions on lending in some postcodes.
This includes forcing customers to stump up fatter deposits in order to get a home loan.
It will impact all types of properties including homes and apartments and also borrowers regardless of whether they are owner occupiers or investors.
In the notice it said from Monday, December 4 the key changes will include:
– Reducing the maximum loan-to-value ratio from 80 to 70 per cent for customers without Lenders Mortgage Insurance (an insurance the customer pays and protects the lender not the borrower.) This means borrowers with a deposit less than 30 per cent must pay expensive LMI costs.
– Reducing the amount of rental income and negative gearing eligible for servicing which will impact investors.
– Change eligibility for Lenders Mortgage Insurance waivers and LMI offers for customers in some postcodes.
Home loan lending with the nation’s largest bank is about to get harder.
CBA said the new Postcode Lookup tool which will start from Monday will allow the bank and brokers to determine whether a borrower can successfully borrow in a particularly region or postcode and it will reduce customers wasting time applying where they are likely to get knocked back on a loan.
CBA has not released the postcodes and regions these changes will impact.
The move is a result of the responsible lending restrictions put on lenders by regulators to cool the red-hot lending market.
Home Loan Experts’ managing director Otto Dargan said these changes are significant and will impact many borrowers.
Home Loan Experts managing director Otto Dargan encourages borrowers to get unconditional approval before buying a property.
“Lenders keep an eye on the economy and their exposure to different property markets and adjust their lending policies to manage their risks,” he said.
“We strongly recommend that home buyers don’t commit to buy a property until they have an unconditional approval from a bank.
“You could win an auction and then find out that your pre-approval is worthless, and then what are you going to do?”
Unconditional approval is when your loan application has been fully approved and is not subject to any terms or conditions.
Originally Published: www.ipswichadvertiser.com.au