Low Doc Home Loan Product Specification

Transcription

1 Low Doc Home Loan Product Specification For further information Mortgage Central This product specification is the property of St.George Bank. It is for the use of St.George Bank employees, contractors and accredited brokers only. It is not to be distributed to customers.

2 Product description The Low Doc Home Loan is a fully featured home loan that meets the market need for self-employed customers (new and existing) who are unable to provide income documentation for St.George Bank (also referred to as Bank ) to verify their income. The standard variable and standard 1, 3 and 5 year interest rates apply. Also, professional benefits package discounts and interest in advance discounts apply. Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) is applicable to all loans with LVRs above 60%. Key benefits / target market The St.George Low Doc Home Loan will appeal to customers who are self-employed, experience uneven cash flows, have difficulty in separating their personal and business cash flows, or who don t have up to date financial statements. While income is not verified, customers need to meet all other aspects of serviceability policy plus specific low doc serviceability requirements. (See Serviceability section). Applicants with an unsatisfactory loan repayment history and or evidence of loan defaults will only be considered on an exception basis where there are strong risk compensating factors. Key benefits are: The Low Doc Home Loan has been specifically designed for self-employed borrowers who would not normally comply with the Bank s standard income verification policy for other home loan products. The Low Doc Home Loan process does not require the self-employed applicant to provide documentation to verify their income. Borrowers must complete a self-assessment, of their own financial position, to consider their ability to repay the new loan without substantial hardship an Affordability Self-Assessment form has been developed for this purpose. This Self-Assessment is in addition to the Bank completing its own assessment on the customer s capacity to repay. Loan amounts up to $1,500,000* against the equity in their residential property. Choice of fixed and variable rates. Professional Benefits Package discounts are available to Low Doc applications taken prior to 18 February 2010 and from 21 April Principal reductions may be made at any time on variable rate loans. The ability to redraw additional repayments on variable rate loans - saving interest on the loan but retaining access to the funds (subject to the Bank s consent). Interest offset facility available to help reduce the interest charged while still having access to funds at call. *Conditions, fees and charges apply. Availability The Low Doc Home Loan is available for: New and existing borrowers Owner Occupiers Investors Portfolio Loans (see separate Low Doc Portfolio Loan product specification) Increases Refinances (Restrictions apply to cash out amounts see below) Building Loans Contract Builder Flexible Choice (within Low Doc product set) Interest in Advance repayment type (investment, interest based repayment loans only) Interest based repayment type The Low Doc Home Loan is NOT AVAILABLE for: PAYG applicants (except where there are joint selfemployed and PAYG applicants; refer to serviceability section) Relocation Loans Strata title with extended settlement period Building Loans Owner Builders Companies Trusts (trustees) Non resident Borrowers Cash outs over and above fees and costs to refinance existing loans (including establishment fees, early termination fees and break costs) in excess of $10,000 Page 2 of 10

3 Splitting Splits are only available within the Low Doc product set (ie Low Doc Variable Rate and Low Doc Fixed). Switching Applications submitted on or after 23 February 2004 Low Doc Home Loan customers, who have submitted a home loan application on or after 23/2/04, may apply to switch from their Low Doc Home Loan to any St.George Home Loan product (except introductory home loans) at any time providing: Full income documentation is provided Satisfactory repayment history (Repayment history to be all A s or no more than 3 B s in the past 12 months, with the last two being A s.) Subject to serviceability assessment at the policy prevailing at the time of the switch request Payment of Switch fee (as applicable at the time of the switch) Applications submitted before 23 February 2004 Low Doc Home Loan customers who have submitted a home loan application before 23/2/04, may switch to any of our standard LIS products (except introductory loans) providing: They have demonstrated 12 months satisfactory repayment history Payment of Switch fee (as applicable at the time of the switch) However, if those customers would like to apply to switch to a Portfolio Loan, then they must provide full income documentation. A serviceability assessment will then be completed. Increase (Further) Loan Available Minimum $10k Loan increases are subject to LVR thresholds and Low Doc product specifications. Customers who would like to increase their current Variable Rate Low Doc Home Loan have the ability to request a switch to a Low Doc fixed rate automatically on settlement of the increase. Refinances from other financial institutions This product may be used for a refinance from other financial institutions. Normal policy will apply subject to confirmation of satisfactory loan repayment history as outlined elsewhere in this document. Restrictions apply to cash out amounts see Availability Loan amount Minimum: $50,000 Maximum: $1,500,000 See LVR section for details of Low Doc LVR / Exposure Policy thresholds. Interest rate Standard Variable Rate. Standard 1, 3 and 5 year fixed rates. Professional Benefits Package discounts apply to Low Doc applications taken prior to 18 February 2010 and from 21 April Refer to the interest rates and fees section of the website. Loan term Loan Term - Maximum 30 years. Principal & Interest (repayments) Interest based (repayments) term 1-30 years Maximum of 15 years (the loan term has a maximum period of 30 years). At the end of the Interest based term the repayments automatically change to Principal and Interest for the remainder of the loan contract term, which must be for a minimum of 12 months. Building Loans 1-30 years Available for contract builders only. Not available for Owner Builders. Page 3 of 10

4 Repayment types Principal & Interest Interest based Interest in Advance Progressive drawdown period repayments Principal & Interest Repayments are calculated at the interest rate charged to the loan using the loan balance + prepayments. The resulting repayment amount is rounded to the next whole dollar and the monthly administration fee is then added. The minimum repayment frequency required is monthly. Customers may nominate to pay weekly or fortnightly. Fortnightly repayments are one half of the minimum monthly repayment. Weekly repayments are one quarter of the minimum monthly repayment. These weekly/fortnightly repayments are rounded up to the nearest dollar. Interest based Repayments are calculated at the interest rate charged to the loan using the loan balance at the time of calculation multiplied by the interest rate and divided by 12. The monthly administration fee is then added. This final figure is NOT rounded up to the next whole dollar. Interest based repayments may only be made on a monthly repayment frequency. That is, the customer cannot nominate to pay weekly or fortnightly whilst making Interest-based repayments. Any Interest offset benefit received from a Repayment Offset will reduce the minimum monthly repayment amount, leaving the loan balance and loan term untouched. Interest in Advance Borrowers with investment, fixed interest rate, interest based repayment type loans can request to pay interest in advance. One payment to cover the interest for the period nominated + Interest in Advance fee (if applicable). (The interest in advance discount applies.) At the end of the Interest in Advance period, the loan reverts to the original contract terms and conditions. Repayments will be interest based and monthly repayment will be due on the first payment due date following the end of the Interest in Advance period. Progressive drawdown period repayments Refer to current Residential Loan Agreement General Terms and Conditions for how these repayments are calculated. During construction period (until the loan is fully drawn down) we currently accept repayment, which are equal to interest charged for that period. At the end of the construction period, repayments will revert to one of either P&I or Interest based. Repayment due date The first repayment is due one month after the settlement date, unless that date is the 29th, 30th or 31st of the month, when the first repayment is due on the 28th of the next month. All subsequent repayments are due on the same day as the first repayment in each following month. For customers nominating weekly or fortnightly repayments, these payments will commence as follows: Weekly on the first nominated day following monthly payment due date; Fortnightly on the second nominated day following the monthly payment due date. (eg. The monthly repayment is due on the 24th, and the customer has nominated Tuesday as the repayment day. If weekly repayments were nominated, the first weekly repayment would come out of the transaction account on the first Tuesday after the 24th of the month following the input of the frequency; if fortnightly repayments were nominated, the first fortnightly repayment would come out of the transaction account on the second Tuesday after the 24th of the month.) Customers may nominate any weekday (Monday to Friday) for weekly or fortnightly repayment frequencies. Monthly repayments ONLY are allowed when paying interest-based repayments. Repayment method The monthly payment is the minimum amount a borrower is required to pay each month under the loan contract. All borrowers should be encouraged to open a St.George Complete Freedom account from which loan repayments can be deducted. It is mandatory that loan repayments be either an Automatic Transfer or a Direct Debit from another financial institution. No other repayment method is allowed. Page 4 of 10

5 Automatic Transfer Automatic transfer from a St.George transaction account is the repayment method preferred by the Bank. Nominated transaction accounts will be free of some transaction fees and have reduced account keeping fees whilst loan repayments are made by this method at least once per month. Note: May not apply to all transaction accounts. Refer to Bank Accounts Fees and Charges and how to minimise them for excepted transactions. Direct Debit (Outward Direct Entry) Payments can be made via an automatic transfer (set up by St.George) from a transaction account at another financial institution. Note: No other repayment methods are allowed for Low Doc Home Loans. Repayment Pause The Repayment Pause option is not available on this product. Principal reductions Customers with a Low Doc Home Loan may make additional payments to their loan. Borrowers may nominate to pay extra payments via automatic transfer from their St.George transaction account if they are making principal and interest repayments or make extra over the counter payments at any St.George branch or via Internet or Phone Banking (A processing fee may apply). For fixed rate loans, principal reductions of $10,000 may be made per 12-month period during the fixed rate period without incurring break costs. Additional payments may not be set up to be automatically deducted from a St.George transaction account. Break costs may be charged if customers repay any amount over $10,000 early in any 12-month period. Refer to Break Costs clause in Residential Loan Agreement General terms and Conditions. Redraws Borrowers may request to redraw prepayments whilst on a Low Doc Variable Rate Home Loan subject to the Bank s approval. There is no minimum redraw amount and a redraw fee applies to each approved request. For all new home loan applications and loans switched to a fixed rate from Monday 30 November 2009, redraws are available during the fixed rate period to a maximum of $10,000 p.a. or the amount of additional funds paid in within that 12 month period (whichever is the lessor). Redraws are still not available on all other fixed rate loans. Redraw requests on loans that have an expired status must be referred to the Mortgage Central. Periodic reviews Not applicable. Serviceability, Verification and Documentation Current credit policy applies, including serviceability assessment except that verification of self-employed income is not required. However valuation reports should be used to confirm any rental income and a Commitment Cover Ratio (CCR) of 1.10 times or greater will apply where LMI is required (see Lender s Mortgage Insurance below). Joint Self-employed & PAYG Applicants Where there are combined self-employed and PAYG applicants the PAYG applicant(s) must have income and employment fully verified in line with standard policy requirements. Affordability Statement and Affordability Self-Assessment forms are still to be completed by all applicants. PAYG Applicants Applications for Low Doc where all applicants are PAYG are not acceptable. Additional Serviceability, Verification & Documentation requirements While we will not verify self-employed applicant s income the following additional verification and documentation is required: Employment verification Confirmation of satisfactory loan repayment history (all Loans) Asset: Income Test A guide only to support stated income on loan application Page 5 of 10

6 Affordability Statement, and Affordability Self- Assessment forms to be completed by all applicants. Employment verification Self employed Use ABN details to confirm borrower(s) have been self-employed for a minimum of 2 years. This will be done at the same time as the credit bureau report is obtained; and Evidence of GST registration for at least 12 months; and Business Activity Statements (BAS) for the last 12 months, with the last statement being no more than 4 months old at the date of application. Use current Employment Confirmation forms to support confirmation. Where a joint application is received comprising spousal applicants, only one of the applicants is the director of the company/business but the other applicant is receiving a wage from the business (income spitting), both applicants should be considered self-employed for the purposes of employment verification. However, if they receive other PAYG income in addition to the business income, it should still be verified in the normal course. PAYG (applicable only where it is a joint self-employed and PAYG application): Income and employment must be fully verified in line with standard policy requirements. Confirmation of Satisfactory Loan Repayment History (all Loans) Confirm applicants have a satisfactory loan repayment history and that all loan repayments are up to date. This requires: For all debts being refinanced, the last six months loan statements, with the date of the last transaction no more than 6 weeks prior to application date, are to be obtained and examined. Statements are to be reviewed to confirm that the applicants have a satisfactory loan repayment history and that all loan repayments are up to date. Documentation required is as follows: At least one original loan statement is to be obtained and reviewed with copies held on the loan file For the remainder of the statement period required, internet statements / transaction records are acceptable if they disclose the borrower name and/or account number, and the transaction history can be reconciled to current loan balances. For Credit Cards, only the most recent statement (dated no more than 6 weeks prior to application date) is required. However, internet transaction history is not acceptable for credit cards and lenders are to check that the last payment to the credit card did not cover arrears from the previous period, and that the card is not overdue or in default previously. For all other debts, confirm payments are up-to-date and/or accounts are in order. Applicant(s) to provide current loan statements (within the last month) or equivalent e.g. Internet printout. For all St George Bank Loans, Group Credit Rating to be satisfactory or better. Applications where there is evidence of poor repayment history are to be treated as Policy Exceptions. Generally, applications showing evidence of poor repayment history are not considered eligible for a Low Doc Home Loan. Such applications will only be considered on an exception basis where the poor history can be explained and there are strong risk compensating factors. Other exceptions include: Where there are no credits or deposits evident on loan statements supplied, such as where interest is being capitalised; and Where a full 6 months worth of statements (latest month s statement for credit cards) cannot be supplied. Asset to Income Test 2:1 Generally, an applicant s asset position should reflect time in work force and earning capacity. As a guide only, a gross asset to gross annual income ratio of 2:1 is to be used to assess the application. That is, Total Gross assets/gross (stated) income p.a. For example, if a customer earns gross salary of $50,000 per annum, in order to meet this Asset to Income test, he/ she would have gross assets of at least $100,000. Use the asset and income information entered on the customer s loan application to calculate this ratio. Not all applicants will meet this test, for example, applicants recently divorced, single parents or younger applicants. In these situations a suitable explanation is required. Page 6 of 10

7 Affordability Statement An Affordability Statement has been developed that covers the following as a minimum: That the applicant(s) is able to repay the loan without substantial hardship Acknowledgement that the applicant has received the Affordability Self- Assessment (See below) The Affordability Statement is to be signed by all applicants. This includes joint self-employed/payg applicants where the PAYG applicant has met full serviceability policy. The affordability statement is to be returned to the Bank with the Application Form prior to loan approval, and is to be retained in the loan file. Affordability Self-Assessment The income verification emphasis for the Low Doc Home Loan is on allowing borrowers to self assess their ability to service their current commitments and repay the credit for which he/she applies and can do so without substantial hardship. To satisfy this process an Affordability Self-Assessment has been developed to enable applicants to calculate their ability to afford the new loan. This form is to be given to the customer with the Affordability Statement and Application Form. The customer will retain the Affordability Self-Assessment, however, their acknowledgement of the receipt of this form is made on the Affordability Statement, which is signed by them and returned prior to loan approval. Recording of Verification / Documentation Requirements Lenders to record above verification and documentation requirements have been completed. For PAYG employment verification (applicable only where it is a joint selfemployed and PAYG application), lenders are to use their current Employment Confirmation forms. Notes should specifically state that all verification and documentation requirements and identify action taken to ensure compliance with policy. Confirmation should be along the following lines: I confirm that: Self-employed applicants have been self employed for a minimum of 2 years Confirmed by ABN enquiry. GST registration for at least 12 months has been confirmed. BAS statements for the last 12 months with the last statement being no older than 4 months at the date of application are held on file. PAYG applicants income and employment has been fully verified in line with standard credit policy requirements. For all debts being refinanced, repayment history is satisfactory and there is no record of arrears. (Policy will allow one over limit or missed repayment provided it was made up by the next month s due date and the most recent 2 month s history shows no adverse history or missed payments.) Six months loan statements (one month for credit cards) have been reviewed for all loans and copies placed on the loan file. For all other loans, payments are confirmed as up to date and the account is in order. Current loan statements have been reviewed for all loans and copies placed on the loan file. Loan statements reviewed are dated within 6 weeks from date of loan application. For all SGB/BSA loans the Group Credit Rating is satisfactory or better. Asset to income test of 2:1 has been met. Affordability statement/self-assessment forms have been completed and signed affordability statement is held on file. Credit Card Cross Sells Where LVR is 60% or less, the Bank may approve a credit card limit in conjunction with the approval of a Low Doc Home Loan. Credit Bureau Report A Credit Bureau Report is required for all borrowers/ guarantors. For self employed borrowers searches are to be completed on the business and the borrowers/proprietors. Paid/Unpaid defaults are to be explained and will be considered on a case-by-case basis as part of the approval decision. Generally, however, applicants with evidence of defaults (paid and or unpaid) will not be eligible for a Low Doc Home Loan unless there are strong risk compensating factors. The Bank may not approve Loans where the bureau report evidences paid or unpaid defaults. Page 7 of 10

8 Low Doc LVR / Exposure Policy Maximum Total Security Exposure (TSE) Maximum LVR without LMI (P&I and Int Only) Maximum LVR with LMI P&I Interest Only $1million 60% 80% 80% >$1.0m to $1.5m 60% N/A N/A Security Type Residential 60% 80% 80% properties <= 50 Ha Vacant Land 60% N/A N/A <= 50 Ha Residential 50% N/A N/A properties/vacant land > 50 Ha (Refer all deals to Credit) Note: The Bank will consider higher loan amounts on an exception basis, generally at lower LVRs The maximum OOT (One Obligor Total) when LMI is required is $1.5 million. LVRs can be increased by the amount of the LMI premium to a maximum of 2% above the maximum LVR for that customer. Lender s Mortgage Insurance LMI is required where LVR is greater than 60%. Fixed Rate Maturity A letter is sent approximately two months prior to the end of the fixed rate period notifying customers that the current fixed interest period is ending and that the interest rate will convert to the Low Doc standard variable rate and required new repayments. If a customer chooses to nominate for a further fixed rate period they can also lock in the prevailing fixed rate within 90days of the maturity date for the standard rate lock fee. Valuation Property and Market Risk ratings of 4 or 5 are to be treated as policy exceptions for approval purpose. Security Normal acceptable security is permitted, except as detailed below. The following security types are not acceptable Security in a non prime lending area Specialised security, ie. Hotel/motel rooms/converted warehouses/kit homes/serviced apartments Environmentally affected properties 2nd mortgages Commercial property 3rd party mortgages 3rd party guarantee. Vacant land and Rural Zoned properties are a policy exception. Fees Refer to the interest rates and fees section of the website for current fees and charges. No discounting or waiving of these fees is allowed. Establishment fee The fee includes the Bank legal fees for one new security property and one standard valuation for the primary security property only, regardless of whether a valuation on that property is required or not. Additional security fees and valuers travelling allowance (if applicable) must be collected for each additional security property, after the first security property. Settlement Processing Fee This fee is automatically deducted from the loan at settlement. Administration Fee Debited monthly and included in the loan repayment. Building Loans Progress Payment administration fee - this fee is automatically deducted from the loan at settlement. Fixed Rate Prepayment Fee Payable if the loan is repaid in full during a fixed rate period. Page 8 of 10

9 Interest offset facility Customers with a Low Doc Fixed Rate Home Loan have the choice of a Partial Interest Offset facility. There are no fees payable for the Partial Interest Offset option. Customers with a Low Doc Variable Rate Home Loan may have a Full interest offset facility linked to their Loan Account. The offset type is dependent on repayment type. Mortgage Equaliser Offset is available where the customer has Principal and Interest repayments. Repayment Offset is available for interest based repayments. If the Full interest offset option is taken, a monthly Full offset service fee is payable whilst the facility is current. This fee is debited to the loan account each month. Up to 99 transaction accounts may be linked to the (one) loan account for interest offset, provided the account holders of the Offset Account match those on the Loan Account. Offset Accounts cannot be linked to multiple loans. Parties who are not on the Loan Account cannot be account holders of the Offset Account under any circumstances. No variance to this policy is permitted Statement Loan statements are generated every six months. The statement cycle will be six months from the month of advance of the loan and every six months thereafter. In addition, investment loans have a statement produced that coincides with the end of each Financial Year. Substitution of security Substitution of security allowed subject to the Bank s consent. Simultaneous settlement required. Security to be substituted must be a like for like otherwise new loan is required. Substituted security cannot represent a reduction in security for the Bank. For example: Like for like is a ready built house substituted with a ready built house (a house under construction is not permitted) or 1st mortgage substituted for a 1st mortgage (1st mortgage substituted for a 1st mortgage with a guarantee is not permitted). Discharge Discharge of Mortgage fee applies. This fee is payable to the Bank. It is in addition to the fee for the Registration of the Discharge of Mortgage, payable to the Land Titles Office. Refer to the Break Costs clause in the Residential Loan Agreement General Terms and Conditions. Fixed Rate Prepayment Fee Applies to loans approved from 22 February Payable if the loan is repaid in full during a fixed rate period. End Procedure Low Doc Home Loan Product Specification August 2012 These are the only statement frequencies available. Borrowers cannot nominate any other frequency. Customers with CCC-regulated loans can nominate one of the borrowers to receive statements and notices on behalf of the other borrowers providing they all agree. Interim Statements / Replacement Statements These are available for mailing out on request. A fee is payable. Page 9 of 10

10 For further information Mortgage Central This document is owned and updated by St.George Bank Intermediary Distribution and is subject to change. Terms and Conditions and fees and charges apply and are available on request. All applications are subject to St.George Bank s prevailing credit criteria. St.George Bank A Division of Westpac Banking Corporation ABN AFSL and Australian credit licence STGW / Page 10 of 10