Lenders Mortgage Insurance

The Australian housing market moves fast, and prices seem to get higher and higher each year. That’s why it makes sense to become a homeowner sooner rather than later. After all, once you own a house, rising prices become a benefit, not a barrier. Yet, a healthy property market can make saving a down payment an even bigger challenge for many of us, and when you’re looking to get on the property ladder, a 20% deposit is often easier said than done.

Getting started with property is the hardest part. A deposit is a big hurdle to get past, and with interest rates so low, many buyers don’t want to wait several years to own their home. In a lot of ways, it’s a great time to get a mortgage, and that’s where lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) can help. LMI is a one-off insurance premium for home loans. If you’re buying a home or investment property and you need to borrow more than 80% of the purchase price, you’ll need to pay LMI.

What is LMI?

All home loan lenders make decisions based on risk. That goes for whether you’re buying a house, a car, or just applying for a personal loan. When you approach a home lender with a 20% deposit, it signals you’re likely to repay your mortgage with no issues. Having such a sizeable lump of cash tied up in your house or apartment displays commitment, and that’s what lenders want to see. Buying a home with less than 20% of the asking price upfront is more problematic, and LMI is designed to compensate for that.

Let’s say you want to own a home now, but you haven’t saved up a 20% down payment. LMI is a way to protect the lender against the potential losses resulting from a default. To them, it’s as good as you turning up with the deposit because the insurance pays out if you experience financial difficulties during the term.

Buying a house with less than 20% deposit means you’ll likely increase the figure you need to borrow. That’s because your lender will allow you to add the cost of LMI to your loan. You’ll need to budget for that when you look for a home, so it’s helpful if you know how much you’ll need to pay. In a nutshell, LMI isn’t complicated:

• It’s a one-off insurance premium that you pay when you take out a home loan with a deposit equal to less than 20% of the purchase price.
• You won’t need to look for LMI. Lenders will arrange the insurance for you when you apply for a home loan with less than 20% deposit.

How is LMI calculated?

LMI gets calculated according to a few different factors. The first is the loan to value ratio of your home loan, also known as LVR. That basically expresses your loan amount as a percentage of the value of your home. The second factor is how much you need to borrow. The higher your home loan, the more LMI you’ll need to fork out too.

For instance, if your new home is worth $500,000 and you save a $100,000 deposit, your LVR will be 80%. In that case, you won’t have to pay LMI because 80% is the magic number for homebuyers. However, if your LVR rises above 80%, that’s when the requirement for LMI kicks in. Here’s a rough guide to how LMI gets calculated based on your loan:

Property Value & LVR	Up to $300,000	$300,001 – $500,000	$500,001 – 750,000
80 – 81%	0.5%	0.6%	0.71%
81 – 82%	0.60%	0.73%	0.85%
82 – 83%	0.66%	0.85%	1.12%
83 – 84%	0.70%	0.96%	1.25%
84 – 85%	0.75%	1.07%	1.4%

In the table, the rate for LMI gets based on the total value of your new home and the LVR. Let’s take that $500,000 house again. If you use a $75,000 deposit instead, your LVR increases to 85% – so you’ll pay 1.07% of $500,000 in LMI. That means you’ll be adding $5,350 to your home loan.

Our table only runs up to 85% LVR, but you can borrow up to 95% of your home’s value. You can expect to pay around 4% LMI when you get to that point, however. On the same $500,000 home, that would equate to approximately $20,000.

Your LVR isn’t the sole influencer on LMI. Additionally, if you’re looking for an investment property home loan, you’ll pay more LMI than if you intend to live in the house. That’s because lenders see homes as being less risky than buy-to-let properties. It’s less likely a buyer will default on the place where they live than on an investment.

Another factor in calculating LMI is employment. Self-employed homebuyers will pay slightly more than full-time employees. Again, the thinking behind that is risk-based. It’s about your job and income security. The more reliable your income, the less likely you are to default.

Pros and cons of buying a home with LMI