Lender review
Is Thinktank a good home loan lender?
The short answer
A non-bank that lends on residential and commercial property. Its rates follow the value of the security, and it offers fixed rates, splits, redraw and an offset. It stays away from credit-impaired files, and its offset is still a pilot.
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; Thinktank publishes its pricing to brokers, so this score rests on structure rather than a quoted rate.
- Rate & fees competitiveness
- 3.5/5
- Approval speed
- 3/5
- Technology & apps
- 3/5
- Product & policy flexibility
- 3.5/5
- Service
- 3/5
Thinktank sets its rates on the value of the property securing the loan, and Thinktank reviews the rate on request when the property value rises or the balance falls.
Can I get a loan with them?
Probably, if you want a 15 to 30 year loan against residential property, with a clean credit history and income you can show. Purchases, refinances and equity release are all in scope, for owner-occupiers and investors.
Thinktank's residential target market is individuals who can provide residential property as security and afford the repayments. The loan can be variable, fixed for up to five years, or split between the two, up to four ways. Interest only is available for up to five years, then the loan converts to principal and interest. Thinktank says it does not do credit-impaired lending, so a file with credit problems belongs elsewhere. A separate commercial range covers loans secured by commercial property for purchase, refinance or equity take out.
What they will and will not do
Facts from the lender's published target market determination and customer pages, not judgements.
- Yes: Fixed rates (up to five years)
- Yes: Split fixed and variable loans
- Yes: Redraw on variable loans
- Yes: Offset on variable loans (pilot)
- No: Offset or redraw on fixed loans
- Yes: Interest only
- Yes: Equity release
- Yes: Commercial property loans
- No: Credit-impaired lending
Pros and cons
What works
- Rates follow the value of the property: a borrower whose equity grows can have the rate reviewed rather than being stuck on the day-one price.
- Fixed rates, variable rates and splits of up to four ways are all available, with redraw or offset on the variable portion.
- Interest only for up to five years, for owner-occupiers and investors.
- A commercial range sits alongside the residential one, so one lender can handle a mixed borrowing.
What doesn't
- No offset or redraw on fixed rate loans.
- The offset is still a pilot, offered on new loans only, and a loan can have an offset or a redraw but not both.
- Thinktank says it does not do credit-impaired lending.
- Its residential target market is individual borrowers, so entity structures need a separate look.
What are they distinctly good at?
Clean-credit borrowers who want a non-bank with real features: fixed and variable splits, redraw or offset, and interest only. Residential and commercial lending sit in one range.
We place Thinktank through Connective Advance, the white-label range Thinktank funds and assesses. Thinktank is the credit decision-maker, and the lender of record on the contract is BNY Trust Company of Australia Limited. That is normal for a securitised non-bank. The practical point for a borrower is that the loan, the servicing and the support come from Thinktank, whatever the range is called.
Who it suits, and who it does not
A good fit if
- Borrowers with a clean credit history who want fixed and variable splits.
- Investors who want interest only for a set period.
- Borrowers combining residential and commercial property needs.
Look elsewhere if
- Anyone with credit problems.
- Borrowers who want an offset on a fixed rate.
- Borrowers who want a long-established offset, because this one is a pilot.
Our verdict
A solid non-bank with a broad feature set and a firm credit line. Thinktank prices on the value of the security, offers fixed, variable and split loans, and runs commercial lending beside residential. The offset is still a pilot and credit-impaired files are out. We place Thinktank through Connective Advance, the range it funds and assesses, and put it beside the other non-banks we can arrange on your actual file.
We can arrange loans with this lender, through Connective Advance, the Connective-branded range Thinktank funds and assesses, for residential and commercial lending.
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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