Lender review
Is Firstmac a good home loan lender?
The short answer
A privately owned non-bank that does the mainstream well: variable and fixed loans to 90 per cent, with an offset, free redraw, construction, bridging and expat options. But the credit screen is strict. Any default listed by a bank or finance company is declined, and there is no alt doc product.
How we rate them
Our assessment, not a lender claim. Five dimensions, scored out of five, revisited when the policy-checked date changes. Rate & fees is judged on the pricing borrowers actually transact at, not the advertised rate card. Firstmac publishes no turnaround or app measures, so speed and service are scored from documented process only.
- Rate & fees competitiveness
- 3.5/5
- Approval speed
- 3/5
- Technology & apps
- 3.5/5
- Product & policy flexibility
- 2/5
- Service
- 3.5/5
Firstmac charges no application, monthly or annual fee on its main home loans. Borrowers above 80 per cent pay either mortgage insurance or, in the strongest postcodes, a lender risk fee that cannot be refunded. Bundling an owner-occupied loan with an investment loan lowers the rate on both. Variable rate changes have also applied to applications already in the pipeline.
Can I get a loan with them?
Yes, if your credit file is clean and your income is standard. Firstmac lends to Australian and New Zealand citizens and permanent residents, including self-employed borrowers with two years in business. It declines almost any history of defaults, court judgments or bankruptcy.
Firstmac lends against a conventional file. Salary is assessed on payslips, and self-employed borrowers show two years of tax returns, with a short list of professions paid through their own company allowed to use payslip documents instead. Companies and trusts can borrow only through a corporate trustee, with directors' guarantees, and hybrid trusts are out. The firm lines: borrowers on temporary visas are not accepted on the standard range, loans signed under power of attorney are refused, and location matters, because postcode categories cap the loan size and the highest loan-to-value ratios apply only in the strongest areas. Defaults from telcos and utilities under a small limit, paid and explained, may be considered. That is the only crack in an otherwise firm door.
What they will and will not do
Facts from the lender's current policy, not judgements.
- Yes: Offset account (Standard variable)
- Yes: Free redraw (variable)
- Yes: Interest only (up to 5 years)
- Yes: Construction loans
- Yes: Bridging finance (owner-occupied)
- Yes: Expat borrowers (investment only)
- Yes: SMSF lending (refinance and commercial)
- Yes: Trust or company borrowers (corporate trustee only)
- Yes: Borrowing above 80 per cent without mortgage insurance (strongest postcodes only)
- No: Alt doc or low doc
- No: Borrowers with defaults or bankruptcy
- No: Temporary visa holders
Pros and cons
What works
- No application, monthly or annual fees on its main home loans, with free unlimited redraw on variable loans.
- A fully featured range: variable, fixed, interest only for up to five years, offset, construction and owner-occupier bridging.
- Bundling an owner-occupied and an investment loan lowers the rate on both.
- Borrowers above 80 per cent can avoid mortgage insurance with a lender risk fee in the strongest postcodes.
- Self-employed borrowers paid through their own company in listed professions use standard payslip documents.
- Broker tools include an application wizard, loan tracking and live chat.
What doesn't
- Any default listed by a bank or finance company, a court writ, petition or bankruptcy leads to a decline.
- No alt doc or low doc product exists, and self-employed borrowers need two years in business.
- Temporary visa holders and non-resident guarantors are not accepted on the standard range.
- Postcode categories cap loan sizes, and the top loan-to-value ratios apply only in the strongest areas.
- The offset is a sub-account inside the loan, not a bank deposit, and fixed loans do not have one.
- Variable rate changes have been applied to applications already in the pipeline.
What are they distinctly good at?
The clean, conventional borrower who wants a no-fee loan with the usual extras. Firstmac pairs a no-annual-fee structure, free redraw and an offset with construction, owner-occupier bridging and expat investment loans. If your file has no defaults and your income is standard, it is a direct, uncomplicated lender.
Beyond the standard range, Firstmac runs separate products for building, buying before selling, expats investing in Australian property, and self-managed super funds with a corporate trustee. Bridging runs for 6 or 12 months and requires the existing home to be listed for sale. Construction loans pay interest only during the build for a 12-month period, and owner-builders are not accepted. For borrowers over 50 whose loan runs past 67, the lender asks for an exit strategy. The common thread is policy discipline: the range is broad, but each product has firm edges.
Who it suits, and who it does not
A good fit if
- Clean-credit PAYG and self-employed borrowers with standard documents.
- Owner-occupiers and investors who want an offset and free redraw.
- Buyers who need bridging finance or a construction loan.
- Australian and New Zealand expats buying an investment property.
Look elsewhere if
- Anyone with a default, writ or bankruptcy on file.
- Self-employed borrowers with under two years of trading.
- Temporary visa holders.
- Borrowers who need an alt doc or low doc loan.
Our verdict
A solid, no-fuss lender for the clean file. Firstmac combines a fee-light structure, free redraw and an offset with construction, bridging and expat options, which is a wider range than many mainstream non-banks offer. The price of that clarity is a strict credit screen: one listed default from a bank or finance company ends the application, and there is no alt doc fallback. Used for the right borrower, it is straightforward. For anyone whose file has a story, the answer is a different lender.
We can arrange loans with this lender.
Comparable lenders
Lenders that solve a similar problem, and that we can arrange.
Lender assessments are our own opinion, based on the policy and product terms in force on the policy-checked date shown above, and are not a recommendation.
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