The bank will look firstly at your income to determine how much you can afford to repay on your mortgage. They will then inspect the home you want to buy and determine whether the value of the home is more than what you would owe them. The bank hold the title to the house until such time as you discharge (pay out) your mortgage and they need to ensure that if you should default on your mortgage they can recoup their money by the sale of the house. If you are purchasing the house for $300K less than market value, you will not need a 5% deposit as you will already have equity in the home. It would help if you have evidence of your past rent history to show how much you pay and that you pay reliably - do you use an agent or just have a private arrangement? Banks aren't handing out money quite as easily as they did a few years ago - there are new Responsible Lending guidelines - but as long as you can afford to repay the loan without financial hardship you shouldn't have any issue getting a mortgage.