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Home loan application checklist

If you’re almost ready to complete your home loan application, gathering the right information and supporting documents can help accelerate the process. Here’s a checklist of information you’ll need to help get you started.

• Lenders are most concerned about your capacity to repay your loan over the life of the loan.
• If you don’t have the right information it can stall the process. 
• You’ll need to provide details about your income, assets, liabilities and expenses. 

What sort of information do you need to apply for a home loan?

You’ll need to know the following to get started:

• Income: How much do you earn?
• Assets: What do you own? 
• Financial liabilities: What do you owe?
• Living expenses: How much do you spend monthly?

In short, a mortgage lender’s main objective is to work out whether you can comfortably meet your mortgage repayments, without causing you any financial hardship. The information that is requested by a lender might seem extensive, but they have to fulfil certain requirements under Responsible Lending laws—so it’s important to get it right. If you don’t provide the correct information upfront, this can lead to a delay in the process and multiple back and forth communications between yourself and the lender. 

Income

What types of income can you declare?

You may have different sources of income so, when it comes to declaring your income on your home loan application, try to think about what you declare to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) when you lodge your tax return. Anything you declare to the ATO as income can usually be declared on your home loan application. 

Sources of income might include: 

• Wages or salaries earned from full time, part-time or casual employment.
• Self-employed income (sole trader, partnerships, company or trust).
• Rental income.
• Investment returns (interest and dividend income).
• Pensions and/or any Government benefits.
• Other income, such as, child support payments.

Assets

What assets should you include?

When thinking about the assets you own, this is anything that has a tangible value. That means anything that has a precise measurable value. When you quote values for each item, think about what a current market value might be for them. If the items are insured, you can quote the insured amount as a guide. 

Valuable assets might include: 

• Property, including land.
• Motor Vehicles (Car, motorbike, boat, etc.).
• Investments, such as, share portfolios or term deposits.
• Superannuation.
• Savings.
• Professional equipment (i.e. tools of trade).
• Home Contents (i.e. the insured amount).

Financial liabilities

What financial liabilities will you need to quote?

When lenders enquire about any existing financial liabilities you might have, you’ll need to tell them how much you repay each month along with the outstanding balance, as well as who the lender is and how long is remaining to repay it. 

Some examples of financial liabilities include:

• Existing mortgages, including any loans you may be guarantor on.
• Personal loans or car loans.
• Credit cards or overdrafts.
• Hire purchase or leases.
• Outstanding HECS fees. 

Monthly expenses

What monthly expenses do you need to provide? 

You’ll be asked to provide a summary of your daily and monthly spend or your overall cost of living. Here is what you need to consider when calculating your living expenses:

• Clothing and groceries.
• Landline phone, mobile phone, internet.
• Health costs, including optical, dental and health insurance. 
• Insurance, including home and contents, building, car, life and income protection.
• Property costs like council rates, gas, water, electricity and maintenance.
• Transportation costs, including petrol, vehicle servicing and registration, and public transport.
• Education and services, including private school fees, childcare, cleaning and gardening. 
• Entertainment and recreation, including Pay TV, gym membership, sporting fees, etc. 

Once you’ve thought about, and gathered all of the relevant information above, you’re ready to take the next step and apply.