Are banks lending during COVID-19?

For all the mortgage brokers and anyone currently buying.

Are banks lending?
Assuming you still have a job and meet serviceability requirements can you get finance for property?

Will be interesting to keep this thread going and see how things change as the CV recession evolves.

 

Yes

 

Also, regarding finance/refinancing, are brokers able to do everything online these days? Some pretty good deals are hitting the markets (ANZ 2.29% + cashback etc...)

Is it too early to refinance? Should we just wait for another few weeks to see or better to jump in while you can get it?

 

lending as per normal.

I have been doing everything online for about 4 years now. No issues and many of the more stringent banks have relaxed requirements about meeting face to face.

 

They are lending, but few banks reduced valuation and removed overtime and other incomes from borrowing capacity calcs. Cumulative impact is just 10% at this stage I guess.

 

Worth keeping a thread on this, we haven't noticed anything yet to note in terms of lending decisions changing.

 

The banks don't reduce the valuations, valuers do. Even so, only in areas that have had a drop in value overall.
What banks have removed overtime from their policy?
As a broker I haven't heard any of that? Business as usual

 

I agree

 

My broker slashed my friend's borrowing capacity- this was the reason he stated. He got Friday updated borrowing capacity. Though that was not Big4. Finance company..

 

Brokers don't slash borrowing capacities.

 

Ha ha.. Read that as finance company, Brokers dont.

 

But even lenders generally don't. perhaps the broker is covering a mistake made by themselves.

 

Broker previously said 18% deposit is adequate with no LMI now he went extremely negative territory and saying 20% is a must. My friend pretty much missed an auction few weeks ago by a final bidder. If he would have won that bid, I am sure my friend would have lost 10% deposit.

If broker made mistake he wouldn't have got pre approval from bank with higher amount- that was 2 months ago. May be bank might have made error.

 

This doesn't sound like a change is serviceability, but a LMI issue.

 

LMI was separate topic. The serviceability was the reason behind it. Check with other lenders those who are not Big4.

 

Depends which lender, most pre-approvals are not credit assessed

This was my thought, easy to just blame corona virus then admit to your own mistakes. Or possible the overtime wasn't declared and not noticed until the payslips were sent through.

I can confirm - no lender has removed overtime from their policies big four or otherwise, on Friday last week. There are 40 lenders on my panel.

 

Not for much longer they won’t be
Bit by bit , they’ll play the game and talk the talk , lets see how much is getting approved tho .

 

Absolutely no chance , they will he lending as per normal in 6 weeks. If lending at all for a few months

 

will anyone have a job in a few weeks?

 

Banks will always want to lend to people who can afford it and business that can keep operating
Time will tell, I don't believe that banks will make it harder to borrow, more so that there will be less people that can meet the requirements to borrow due to loss of income