La Trobe

Founded: 1952

Lender Type: Specialist Lender

Owned by: Privately Owned

La Trobe Financial was founded by Ray O’Neill upon the belief that, The opportunity to acquire your own home is a central tenant of our economic freedom and a measure of our success as a country. Australia’s oldest specialist lender, La Trobe offers a range of niche home loan products including low doc loans and loans for first-time homebuyers, those with bad credit, and for SMSF loans. They do have higher than normal interest rates to tailor to the higher risk involved with untraditional borrowing but their solution-oriented approach can be a refreshing alternative for many borrowers.

Home Loan Products

Home Loans Description

Salary Full Doc

This variable rate home loan is a great option for self-employed borrowers who can prove their income with two years of financial documents. You’ll enjoy a competitive rate with this full doc loan, as well as plenty of flexibility. You can use your loan to purchase a new home or to refinance to have money for investment purposes and for debt consolidation. You can borrow up to 95% of the purchase price; with La Trobe, you can get a competitive loan product with a low deposit. However, you will need lender’s mortgage insurance if you borrow more than 80% of your home’s value.

Self Employed Lite Doc

La Trobe makes a point to reach out to self-employed borrowers, who may not always have the necessary two years’ worth of financial statements in order to qualify for a full doc loan. This low doc loan option comes with a moderately competitive rate and plenty of great features like free redraw and the ability to make additional repayments. Borrow up to 80% of the property value.

SMSF Residential

For those who have a self-managed super fund, SMSF Residential is a useful product for investing in a second property. This variable rate loan lets you borrow up to 70% of the property’s value. You won’t need to pay LMI but keep in mind the fees on this loan are quite high.

Performance Plus Loan

Something you won’t see with many traditional banks – La Trobe’s Performance Plus offers rebates at if your account is up to date and you’ve maintained your loan without any problems. You can redraw your rebate funds or they can be used towards your loan. This loan product comes with both full doc and low doc options.

Construction

With either a full doc or low doc verification, you can qualify for a Construction home loan product to be used for either your own home or for investment purposes. To benefit investors, you can take advantage of an interest only repayment period, even for the low doc version of this loan. Redraw and additional repayments are available.

Aged Care Loan

Always creating solutions for customers, La Trobe offers a short-term Aged Care Loan for families looking for a cost-effective way to cover the costs of aged care accommodation. You can borrow up to 50% of the value of your current home. The money can be used for ongoing care fees, renovations or to repay existing debt. This product does have some caveats to be aware of including high fees, an interest rate hike in the last two years of the loan, and it is only available for individuals who are over 80.

Parent-2-Child – First Home Assistance Loan

This loan product is specifically for parents who want to help their child buy their first home but are not interested in putting their own home up as equity. With this product, the parents can contribute as much of the home value as they want without taking on any risk. The child is still eligible for the First Home Owners Grant. As La Trobe sets up all the paperwork and takes care of the legal requirements, P2C becomes a safe financial arrangement for both parents and their children looking to purchase their first home.