How easy is it to get a mortgage right now?

[HotI]

Also depends on where you want to live. Banks will sometimes lend you less cash if you are buying in a less 'profitable' area.

You can always get an anppointment with a bank or mortgage broker to find out your options. Most times doesn't cost anything to get info.

[Snacks]

You can always get an anppointment with a bank or mortgage broker to find out your options. Most times doesn't cost anything to get info.

S'right - PM me if you want details of a pair of great brokers
Banks are still lending, and some are offering great deals atm. They have indeed tightened up on no- or low-deposit loans though. St George is the only bank I know of who are still offering 100% loans, and the Lenders Mortgage Insurance is horrendous.
If you have 20% of the value of the house you want to buy in savings already, (i.e. you want to borrow 80%) then that is safer because you won't have to pay the insurance premium.
Give a mortgage broker a call or drop in and see your bank rep and they will have a program that works out how much you can afford to borrow based on your financial situation.
HTH.

[2CheekyMonkeys]

i;m not sure about other banks but commonwealth has just changed it so that they require you to have at least 3% deposit before they will loan to you.

also, if you go for pre-approval it is taking upwards of 2 weeks to get it through to the banks, they are very back logged apparantly.

lenders mortgage insurance was quoted to us about a month ago as heing $4800 which is kind of annoying.

[Cassius2]

hi, i can offer some advice as we just went for pre-approval today...

DH is the only income earner and we have savings to cover 20% of the deposit (after we take out the roughly $26,000 in fees and charges like stamp duty). we are also first home buyers.

we found that in relation to last year (when we first started enquiring) the banks have become alot more conservative in relation to how much they lend. for us the amount dropped by $200K despite the fact that we are now earning more!
in all honesty though, we feel more comfortable with this. the low interest rate and the loan amount we are asking for means only a $100 difference a week between the mortgage and the rent. this time last year it was a completely different picture and threatened to really impact on our lifestyle ITMS.

so although it kinda sucks not being able to borrow so much, it is also a little reassuring to know that we feel 'safer' with the amount we have.

It shouldnt be a problem that your DH has only been working there for 6 months. they usually just want 3 payslips...so that time-frame should hopefully cover it.

[Salsa]

Can someone explain the stamp duty and extra fees?
Where I come from they do not have stamp duty. You buy your house and pay only extra for legal fees (about $1000) . Are mortgage brokers in Australia free?

[2CheekyMonkeys]

well in qld you dont have to pay stamp duty if its your first home.

you do have to pay for legals and other fees though, like pest and building inspections. mortgage brokers are a free service to you but charge a commission to the organisation/ bank you end up borrowing through. as far as i know anyway.

[Snacks]

Salsa, stamp duty on transfer is a government fee and varies from state to state. From what I understand, in VIC you still have to pay stamp duty even as a first home buyer (in NSW you don't pay stamp duty if your first home purchase is $500k or under). The duty increases depending on the purchase price of the house. It is usually a good few thousand dollars.
Registration of mortgage is about $100 in NSW - I am pretty sure that's another govt charge, but can't remember.
Mortgage stamp duty is payable for some lenders. Some lenders waive this fee. It is often a few hundred dollars, but varies from lender to lender. Lenders will also have other fees, like an establishment fee or a settlement fee. Ask your lender or your broker to give you a full breakdown of fees when you are investigating which product would suit you best.
Lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) is payable when you want to borrow more than 80% of the value of the property. It doesn't protect you, it protects the lender. LMI increases as the amount you wish to borrow increases. [Hollo: $4,800 is annoying yes, but it's actually pretty conservative. I have seen people pay over $10k in LMI recently. It is ridiculous.]
I am not sure if all brokers in Australia are free. The ones I work for are: they are paid on a commission basis by the lender, and they disclose all those details to you if you decide to go ahead and apply for your loan through them.
If I were to buy a house (DH and I will look into it in about 5 years) then I would go through a broker.

ETA: Yes, you'll also need to pay legal/conveyancing fees. These can be $1,000-$3,000.