Home Loan Experts

Quick Summary

Founded

1994

Owned by:

A group of around 30 Industry Super Funds

Funded by:

Retail deposits, superannuation and wholesale capital markets

LMI Provider:

QBE LMI

Lender type:

Banks

ME Bank is in a league of its own. It's owned by Bank of Queensland (BOQ) and markets its products through mortgage brokers and workplace banking. Workplace banking is another way of saying they're closely affiliated with several unions.

They are smaller than the other banks but are able to compete because of the financial strength of their shareholders. They've come out with some great products and low interest rates and given the major banks a run for their money.

With the ability to adapt quickly to new systems and processes, ME Brank approaches their service with a customer-first mentality. They think that the home loan process should be simple, easy and able to be done as remotely as possible.

During the onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic, they are also one of the first banks to pioneer a new virtual customer verification system to support and service customers while maintaining safe social separation.

How do ME Bank's home loans compare?

Pros

Cons

  • Their banking systems are a mess and they regularly have delays and errors
  • Higher interest rate may apply if you have a small deposit
  • They're not great at helping people with a bad credit history
  • Low doc home loans unavailable
  • They have ties to unions which can irk some people
  • No complex structure such as company borrowers, bridging loans or family pledge

Delays are more costly than you think…

If you’ve found your dream home and you want to make an offer, then you’d better be sure that the lender you’re using is going to get you a quick loan approval.

Unfortunately we’ve seen some customers miss out on the home they want because their lender had large delays and didn’t get their loan approved in time. Another buyer with a faster bank swoops in signs the contract and your home is gone.

You can lodge an escalation to request a faster loan approval, but guess what? Everyone else is doing that too! So escalations rarely do anything.

ME has a small credit team approving loans and sometimes has some really good offers which cause a large number of people to apply. That’s why we often use ME Bank for refinancing, where there is no rush, but rarely for purchases where time is critical.

What home loan types do they have?

ME has their Basic Home Loan which is a no frills loan with a low interest rate.

However most people choose ME’s Flexible Home Loan with their Member Package which is similar to the professional packages offered by the major banks. You’ll pay an annual fee and in return you’ll get a discount on your interest rate as well as waived fees on other banking products.

ME is a good choice for fixed rate loans where they tend to have competitive rates, especially if you want to fix for 3 years. Unlike other lenders, they offer fixed rates of up to 7 years but terms over 5 years come at a premium.

They don’t offer any specialty home loans. ME are a great choice if you are refinancing and owe less than 80% of the property value. They’re less suitable for investors, first home buyers, self-employed borrowers and pretty much anything that is complex.

ME also accepts 100% overtime income for the following essential professions:

  • Doctors, Nurses and Medical/Healthcare Professionals
  • Primary and secondary Educators
  • Ambulance Officers
  • Fire Fighters
  • Police Officers
  • Australian Defence Force Employees
  • Australian Border Force Employees
  • Corrective Services Employees

ME can accept 80% of the overtime income for professionals that work outside of the essential services.

Compare ME to other lenders

Not sure which lender is right for you? Our Home Loan Experts can help!

Talk to one of our mortgage brokers by calling us on 1300 889 743 or complete our free assessment form.

ME Bank Client Story

Jeremy and Liz, NSW

Goal

To buy first home.

Situation

First home buyers, off the plan, short term employment.

Background

Jeremy and his fiance wanted to buy an off the plan property as their first home but they were going to have a problem getting approved for a home loan.

They wanted to borrow 97% of the property plus the cost of Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI), which lenders will only approve in strong cases. Most lenders will only capitalise the cost of LMI at 95%.

Although Jeremy was working full-time and earning a good income, Liz had recently changed jobs and had only been in her new role for 2 months.

Not many lenders will accept borrows on probation and will generally only go up to 95% of the property value.

Solution

ME Bank can be flexible on the lending policy for probation and because the broker was able to show that Liz would be earning a strong income after probation, they were able to get approved.

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Find out if you are qualified to apply with this lender

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Quick tip when applying with this lender

  • Around 5,000 of Australia's 11,000 mortgage brokers are accredited with ME Bank so a good place to start is by asking your mortgage broker if they offer ME's home loans.

  • Unlike other lenders, it's rare to see ME offer a special discount for larger loan sizes, so if you are borrowing over $1 million we'd recommend that you ask your mortgage broker to put in a pricing request with several banks to see if they can offer you something better.

  • Use ME Bank’s home loan documents checklist to prepare for your home loan application.

  • Note: This is the latest home loan checklist as of December 2020. Please refer to Liberty for their most up-to-date document requirements.

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