Generally, when you’re borrowing over 80% of the property value, you’re required to pay Lenders’ Mortgage Insurance (LMI), which can cost tens of thousands of dollars. With an LMI waiver, eligible borrowers do not have to pay this fee. ANZ waives the LMI on home loans for eligible medical, accounting and legal professionals. These deals are known as ANZ LMI waiver home loans.

How Do ANZ’s No-LMI Home Loans Compare?

ANZ faces stiff competition in this niche home loan market, as lenders such as CBA, Macquarie, BOQ and Westpac also operate in this space. Let’s look at how ANZ compares with other lenders.

They’re great at

  • Flexible income assessment method for determining borrowing power
  • No minimum income requirement
  • Favourable lending policy for existing customers
  • Competitive interest rates

But they’ve got some drawbacks…

  • Maximum LVR of 90% for most professionals and 95% for specialist doctors
  • Approval can sometimes be slow

Do I Qualify For ANZ’s LMI Waiver?

To qualify for ANZ’s no-LMI home loans, you must be:
  • A medical practitioner, specialist or dental practitioner with at least a 5% deposit
  • An eligible legal professional with at least a 10% deposit
  • An eligible accountant with at least a 10% deposit
What that means is that doctors can borrow up to 95% of the property value with no LMI and eligible legal and accounting professionals can borrow a maximum of 90% of the property value. One of the distinguishing factors for ANZ’s LMI waiver home loans is that unlike many other lenders, the bank does not have a minimum income requirement. Some lenders require that professionals have an income of $150,000 a year to qualify for an LMI waiver. ANZ’s more flexible income policy makes its product ideal for recent professional graduates, as well as self-employed professionals with income that varies year to year.

What Are The Eligibility Requirements For ANZ’s Doctor Home Loans?

The bank offers: Up to 90% LVR with waived LMI for Up to 95% LVR for: Please note that to be eligible for a doctor home loan, you must be a member of one of these professional associations. Additionally, to qualify for a 95% LVR no-LMI doctor home loan, you need to be an existing ANZ lending customer for at least six months.

What Are The Eligibility Requirements For Accountants With ANZ?

To be eligible, accounting professionals must have completed all requirements to be fully qualified accountants. Associate and junior professionals who are yet to complete all requirements will not be considered. Accountants must hold a qualification from one of the following professional bodies:
  • Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand – or any other member of the Global Accounting Alliance
  • CPA Australia – including recognised partnering professional bodies
  • Chartered Financial Analyst Institute
  • Fellowship of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia
You must provide evidence in the form of:
  • An invoice and proof of payment from the relevant governing body or
  • An internet print out confirming current membership or
  • The current year’s certificate confirming membership.
Please note that actuaries, auditors and chief financial officers are also eligible if they hold relevant registrations.

What Are The Eligibility Criteria For Legal Professionals?

Eligible legal professionals include lawyers, barristers, solicitors and judges. Minor variations to this list are acceptable, as job titles do not always match the description of the occupation. For example, an applicant with a job title ‘associate’ or ‘legal counsel’ is usually accepted. Generally, you also require a Practising Certificate. As an exception, Australian Government Solicitor employees and judges don’t require a Practising Certificate, under the Judiciary Act 1903.

ANZ Doctor Home Loans: Client Story

Dr. K

Goal

Refinance an existing property and release equity to purchase a $3.25 million property.

Situation

Specialised self-employed doctor looking to borrow 95% of the property value with no LMI.

Background

The client was a specialist surgeon and a partner at a large medical group. He received his income through a trust, which is standard for high-income earners in the medical profession. During the coronavirus lockdown, elective surgeries were stopped. So for the first two quarters of 2020, his business activity statements (BAS) showed abnormally low income. But as the economy reopened, his income in the last two quarters bounced back. The issue was finding a lender that could allow the client to use the last two quarters’ BAS as proof of income for loan serviceability. Most banks want to see at least two year’s tax returns and use that to calculate whether an applicant can pay back the loan. In addition, the client also required a no-LMI home loan with a lender that could accept income via a trust.

Solution

After ascertaining the client’s financial situation and his needs and objectives, our specialist mortgage broker started his credit assessment, verifying income documents and loan serviceability calculations. He knew a couple of lenders that could consider the client, but before he lodged the application, he first ran the loan scenario by them, to ensure the loan would go through without any hiccups and that all of the client’s needs and objectives would be met. Our broker convinced ANZ to use the last two quarters’ BAS to derive the income and do add backs (adding previous depreciation and asset write-offs to his assessable income), which greatly improved the doctor’s borrowing power. When it was all said and done, Dr. K got his existing mortgage refinanced and settled on his new $3.25 million house.

#1 Tip When Applying With ANZ For A No-LMI Home Loan

Get pre-approved for a higher loan amount than you think you require. In our experience, initial price estimates are almost always low, which can mean we have to reapply to increase the loan amount. This requires going through the whole approval process again. Considering ANZ’s long turnaround time, this can delay settlement or may mean you lose out on the property of your choosing.

Compare ANZ’s LMI Waiver Home Loans To Other Lenders’

Not sure which lender is right for you? Our Home Loan Experts can help! Talk to one of our award-winning mortgage brokers by calling us on 1300 889 743 or complete our free assessment form.