AMP: A household name offering competitive home loans

AMP is one of the oldest and most recognisable banking brands in Australia. Read on to see how it stacks up in the home loan space.

Founded in 1849, AMP has a long history in providing Australians with an extensive range of financial solutions and services. AMP Bank provides an array of home loan products for both owner-occupiers and property investors. Besides home loans, AMP Bank also offers a range of other financial products including savings accounts, transaction accounts, term deposits, superannuation and self-managed super funds (SMSF).

What home loans does AMP offer?

AMP Bank offers home loans to meet the needs of a wide variety of customers, whether that’s first home buyers, refinancers or investors. Its key home loan products include:

• Variable rate home loans

• Fixed rate home loans

• Package home loans to bundle your loan with other products and features (explained further below)

• Land loans for purchases of land

• Construction loans for building or renovating a home

• Line of credit for consolidation of all your debts into one easy-to-manage loan account

Here’s a snapshot of some of AMP’s home loans for owner occupiers:

Advertisement

Smart Booster Home Loan Discounted Variable - 2yr (LVR < 80%)

Product Features

• Fast turnaround times, can meet 30-day settlement
• For purchase and refinance, min 20% deposit
• No ongoing or monthly fees, add offset for 0.10%

Monthly repayments:$1,499

2.10%Advertised Rate (p.a.)

2.46%Comparison Rate*

More details

AMP Professional Package Explained

AMP’s longstanding Professional Package series of home loans is a suite of packaged home loans for both investors and owner occupiers.

With the package, borrowers are able to:

• Access an offset account on variable loans

• Split the home loan between fixed and variable rates

• Make unlimited additional repayments on variable rate loans, $10,000 per year on fixed rate loans, or $10,000 per year on each fixed rate portion of a split loan

• Get a pre-approved lending limit to borrow against equity in the property

• Request a redraw above your minimum repayments with variable rate loans, depending on loan type

Investors are also able to access a line of credit up to $500,000 - some restrictions apply. Across all Professional Package home loans, an annual package fee applies.

AMP mortgage features

Below are some of the features that come with select AMP home loan products:

• Redraw facility: Some AMP home loans let you redraw any extra funds you’ve deposited with no withdrawal fees.

• Additional repayments: You have the option to make additional repayments anytime at no extra cost.

• Offset account: 100% offset accounts are available with eligible loan accounts.

• Split loan: You will have the ability to split your loan between a fixed rate and a variable rate.

• Interest-only loans: Interest-only payment options are available with a land loan or construction loan.

AMP Bank’s director of home lending Michael Christofides told Savings.com.au about some other interesting features.

“AMP Bank has a unique facility called the 'master limit'. Customers get a pre-approved lending limit to borrow against the equity in their property should they need it,” Mr Christofides said.

“It allows loans to be restructured without creating a need to reapply and pass a credit assessment. Customers can borrow 90% of the value of the property and make changes to the structure of their loan without needing to complete a full application.”

Savings.com.au asked Mr Christofides what the future holds for AMP Bank’s home loan service.

“The bank is looking to establish a digitally-enabled direct channel, including improved digital capability for existing customers - for example self service, and real time payments," Mr Christofides said.

“We will deliver step-change improvements in service and customer experience, leveraging technology investments. Some of the improvements include use of electronic signatures for applications, further electronic ID and verification of identity, and leveraging open banking."

How to apply for an AMP home loan

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for an AMP home loan, you generally need to:

• Be 18 years of age or over

• Be an Australian citizen or permanent resident

• Have a regular source of income

• Demonstrate your ability to service the loan

If you meet the criteria, you can apply for an AMP home loan through:

• A mortgage broker

• An AMP-aligned financial adviser

• Phone or internet banking

Documents needed

To ensure that your home loan application goes smoothly, you generally need to have the following documents handy:

• Identification documents such as your driver’s licence, passport, birth certificate etc.

• Proof of income like your most recent payslips or most recent tax returns if you’re self-employed

• Your most recent tax returns showing your ownership of the rental property, if you earn a rental income

• Monthly living expenses, including your food expenses, transport, utilities, health care etc.

• Asset and liability documents, such as credit card debts

• The latest three to six months of transaction statements from your bank

• If you own an existing property, you’ll need to show your current building insurance policy or contract of sale as proof

Photo by Larry Snickers on Pexels