Brighter Buying

Landlord lending lightens up

by Kate Watt, Marketing Manager 9 June 2016

In recent weeks Westpac has lowered the bar for landlords, dropping the maximum deposit requirement from 20 per cent to 10 per cent for investment property loans.

The move comes after Westpac was forced to slow investor lending in response to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) crackdown on rising approvals in interest only loans.

The move is good news for those who prefer to bank with Westpac and St George, which it owns. As Brisbane Times reports, Westpac is Australia’s biggest lender to landlords, so that’s a lot of borrowers with reason to celebrate.

But does this mean lending is getting easier for investors across the board?

David Pearse from Astute Financial says Westpac was impacted by the APRA crackdown but other lenders have maintained quite flexible landlord lending throughout the same period.
“There are lenders in the market that will go up to 95 per cent loan-to-value ratio for investors,” David said.

“But they will still consider your individual circumstances. You can’t just assume you will be eligible. Talk to your mortgage broker to find the best loan for your situation.”

Want to talk to David? Contact Astute Financial.

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