How does Homepay work?

From a process perspective, there’s no difference for your client. The client will come through, meet with one of your sales consultants, and they’ll be connected with a partner mortgage broker who’s able to offer the Homepay loan. From there, they’ll assess their financial situation, if the loan is a right fit for them, and determine their borrowing capacity. And why that’s important is that what we’ve found is that Homepay, with some of the lenders, can actually offer more generous borrowing capacity than some other lenders in the market. So that’s the first piece. From a process perspective, pretty normal. But what’s different is that after their initial deposit, from that point forward, their mortgage repayments are paused. And that’s on the build and the land, meaning no cash coming out of their pocket during the build. So if you’re a renter, you’re not worrying about both that rent and your mortgage repayments at the same time. Or an investor. An investor, well, during the build, they don’t have a tenant in the property, so they don’t have to make those mortgage repayments either. So that’s what Homepay helps deliver.

What makes Homepay different to other financial options?

Well, in the traditional finance options, if your client’s building a home, they’re having to make monthly repayments on that loan while they’re waiting for the build to be completed. And that’s on the land, so they’re paying for that before the build’s even started, while they’re waiting for that builder to get to site, and then throughout the course of the build. Well, with Homepay, you don’t. We pause your repayments for up to 12 months on both the build and the land. The other piece that’s really important is borrowing capacity. So often, clients will have been to one lender where their borrowing capacity, they’ve been told, is X. And so with some Homepay’s lenders, our borrowing capacity is very generous. So that can actually help clients get the home that they want today. Or if they’re an investor, get that investment journey, their next investment property sooner. So that’s the value of Homepay. Pausing your repayments up to 12 months and getting access to that generous borrowing capacity.

Why is Homepay such a good option for first time buyers?

First home buyers are either living at home or they’re renting, and if they’re renting, a massive issue they’ve got is paying their rent and then an additional mortgage while they’re waiting for that new home to be built, because that’s what’s required under a standard home loan product. With Homepay, they don’t have to worry about that. 12 months, paused repayments on that mortgage on both the build and land, giving them time to just worry about their rent and not the stress of a mortgage while they’re waiting for a new home to build. Secondly with Homepay some of lenders offer generous borrowing capacity so we do find that some first home buyers just haven’t able to get over the mark with some of traditional lenders to actually start their new home whereas with Homepay we’ve able to offer that generous borrowing capacity and the paused repayments up to 12 months helping them get their new home sooner.

What are the main benefits of Homepay?

Two key benefits. First, pause mortgage repayments for up to 12 months on your build and your land while you’re waiting for your home to be built. So as a client, you’re not having to fund those additional payments out of pocket towards your mortgage while you’re waiting for the build to be completed. Secondly is borrowing capacity. So, with some of Homepay’s lenders, you can access really generous borrowing capacity. So you think, it might be a client around school catchment zones. We can actually help that client build the home they really want today in the area they want today. That’s why generous borrowing capacity can help with a client’s outcome.

How flexible is Homepay when it comes to repayments & terms?

No, there’s no catch, and it’s a great question. So Homepay’s lenders, for example, our lender here in New South Wales at the moment, is the oldest non-bank lender in the country. Okay, so from a client’s perspective, there’s a catch because all that’s happening is the interest that they would normally pay during that build process is just added on to the remaining part of their loan. It’s about giving them the financial flexibility when they need it most. Clients also ask us, “Well, am I locked into this loan product for two, three, four or five years?” whatever it may be. Well, if you’re on the variable loan product absolutely not. You can refinance any time post-construction. It’s a $795 discharge fee, and you could refinance to another lender if you wanted to..

Who is eligible for Homepay?

So, first home buyers, second home buyers, upsizers, downsizers, Homepay can help even investors. Can you imagine for an investor having a product where you’re not having to worry about your mortgage repayments during the build when you don’t have a tenant in the property paying you rent? So Homepay, standard loan process, standard loan application process. So yes, clients need to have jobs, so they can show that they can afford to repay that loan. But it’s not restricted to just first home buyers, or just second home buyers or just investors. We want to help everyone get into the property market in Australia with the best builders in the country that we’ve independently audited.

What financial criteria do applicants need to meet with Homepay?

Homepay is a responsible lending product, so it’s normal, just like with any other lender that we’ll need to ask and our lenders will ask for your payslips if you’ve got a, if you’re employed with another company or if you’re self-employed looking at some of those company documents as well. So we allow clients to be PAYG, pay-as-you-go employee, self-employed, but they can also use Homepay through a company or trust structure, but those documents will need to be provided to the lender for review, just like you would expect for any other lending product.

Does Homepay work for investors as well as owner-occupiers?

Absolutely. So, for investors using Homepay, they’ll make their initial deposit. For us, that’s around 10% or more if they choose. But from that point forward, there’s then a pause on their mortgage repayments on the build and the land for up to 12 months. Now, what are your average build times? Let’s take a standard single-storey at the moment at Hibbards. Probably between four to five months. Okay, so four to five months, that investor is going to have the keys. Let’s say at the end of five months. Well, normally they’d start their mortgage repayments from that point. But with Homepay, they don’t. We provide them up to 12 months of paused repayments. So they can get property tenanted, generating cash flow for them, but not actually start those mortgage repayments until the end of the 12-month time frame.

Can people with lower credit scores still qualify with Homepay?

So, Homepay is a responsible lending product, so our lenders do still require clients to have a good credit score, generally from about 600 or above. But if a client is under that, that’s where we recommend them engaging with credit agencies etc., to come up with strategies for how they can actually clean up that credit score to help them, then plan out their new home journey and get in with home pay when they’re ready.

How does the cost of Homepay repayments compare to rent payments?

Well, your rent may be more or less than what your mortgage repayments would be once you actually built your own home, and that depends on where you live and what your rental situation is. But the key point is that when you own your own home, you are the landlord. There’s no more rental inspections, but importantly, that land that the home is built on is your land. So as that increases in value, your wealth increases in value for you, your family and your future and that’s what we actually designed Homepay for because so often for renters it’s so hard renting and then having to pay an additional mortgage at the same time when you’re waiting for that home to built. With Homepay Hibbards, you don’t. We pause those repayments up to 12 months so you actually get out of the rental trap, own that land yourself and start increasing value for your family and your future.

What additional fees and costs should buyers be aware of with Homepay?

Well, whether a buyer’s using Homepay or another lender, there’s traditional costs that the clients do need to be aware of. If you’re an investor, there’s gonna be a stamp duty, most likely, on that land that you’re purchasing. From a loan product perspective, if you’re lending higher amounts up into the 90s, 90%, there’s going to be lenders’ mortgage insurance or something along those lines as well. And that’s the same whether you’re using Homepay as a loan or any other lender in the market. The key is sitting down with a mortgage broker who understands Homepay along with other lending products to be able to do that comparison for you and make sure it’s the right fit in your situation.

What if a Homepay customer wanted to refinance?

That’s absolutely fine. So, for example, if a Homepay client is using a variable home loan product, there’s no fixed term or locked-in term at all. So they can refinance after construction whenever they would like. There’s a standard discharge fee at the moment here in South Wales, that’s $795. So then that client would be free to refinance with whatever lender that they choose.

Real life success stories with Homepay

Yeah, we actually just had a recent example where a client wanted to go away on a babymoon but wanted their home to be built at the same time while they were travelling the US with their partner for six months, spending quite a bit money, I believe was the plan. Well, they used Homepay because they didn’t have to worry about their mortgage repayments while they’re waiting for their bill. Their repayments were paused for up to 12 months. So they went away, six months travelling around the US, came home to a newly built home, picked up keys and moved on in and then were able to start their mortgage repayments once they were comfortably settled back into that new home.

How has Homepay changed the home ownership journey for customers?

For so many of those clients that just said, look, actually we won’t build now, we’re to have to keep saving, saving, saving. Well with Homepay we’ve actually been able to help those clients get into the market today. That means they’re getting the value of that property increasing from today. Why? How? Because we’re pausing their repayments for up to 12 months on the build and the land. So that means if they’re renting, they don’t need to worry about their rent. And mortgage repayments at same time. Or if they’re an investor, they can actually get that investment journey started without worrying about their mortgage repayments during the build. Get it completed, get it tenanted and generating income and then start their repayments from there. So it’s been huge for so many clients that actually thought the door had been closed or that they had to keep waiting and waiting, saving and saving. All the while chasing their tail with Homepay to actually help them start their journey today.

What are the first steps for someone interested in Homepay?

Contacting the Hibbard Homes team. So either through the online form on the website or popping into one of the displays. The team will be able to take you through the journey and get you started so you can build your home today.

What advice do you have for buyers considering Homepay?

Look at options. So, contact one of the consultants at Hibbard Homes team to actually see what could be possible with Homepay. What we’ve found is that through pausing repayments up to 12 months on build and land, we’ve been able to help so many people start their home ownership journey or property investment journey when they didn’t think it was previously possible.

Where can people go to find out more and apply for Homepay?

Jump on the Hibbard Homes website and complete the online form. One of the teams will be in touch to actually show you how to get your own property journey started.

Why did Homepay choose Hibbard Homes to partner with exclusively?

Well, for us and our clients, it’s really important that we are working with the best builders. It’s a requirement for our lending product. So many builders have gone insolvent over the last few years, leaving clients with uncompleted homes, slab or frame or whatever it may be. That’s not what we want for our Homepay brand and Homepay clients. So we actually audit every single builder that we partner with. So we went through five years of Hibbard Homes’ financial history to make sure that you’re strong, solvent and in a great position. Your build quality, our team flew up and continues to look at a large range of your builds to make sure you’re complying with Australian standards and National Construction Code and importantly, your build time frames. Why is that important? Well, if a Homepay client is using the Homepay loan and building with Hibbard Homes, and you don’t deliver in the allocated time frame, Hibbard Homes have to pay an additional daily penalty. So many builders aren’t willing to sign up to that. So that was a real testament. A multi -generational builder. Hibbard Homes have been around for so, so long. That to us was really attractive and then obviously when we went through the audit, looked through everything in detail, it just validated that we made the right decision to partner Homepay with Hibbard Homes.