HomePath

Terrible – What a joke it was to have our loans with Homepath....they are quick to approve top-up loans but not to explain that if monies in that re-draw facility, we will need to take them out as will be swallowed by the re-settling of the loan. The staff i spoke to over and over did not know their products and when we asked to speak with a supervisor, only an e-mail could be sent to them...which is totally bad customer service!! I cannot believe that if there is an issue we cannot speak to someone straight away...i was told they only work from 8-5pm....guaranteed to call me back within 24 hours, but 2 weeks later still hadn't received a call. We have now left them and even when my settlement agent tried to and settle, they were mucking us around and delaying the whole procedure...and admitted they have a staffing issue!!

To top it all off everytime we faxed something across, such as authority to withdraw monies from our re-draw facility, it would be lost and have to be re-faxed or it would take certain time to get through the system.....

So i have re-financed and we are very much happier....

Thanks for nothing Homepath!! Instant approval..... $1300- exit fee.....staff are not trained...no supervisors in call centre....no call backs when promised...no communication about how your loan is going and what will happen with monies in re-draw facility....everything has to be done by e-mail.....staff should be trained before being put on telephone to know their products....

Good – took out my home loan in 2000, which was the lowest standard variable interest rate available at the time. Everything done via post, email, and telephone; no bricks and mortar office. Often need to leave a message if you want to speak to someone. A few years ago, they stopped taking new customers, and on the upside, they made details of repayments available on line via netbank. Over the years, there have been other companies that offer a slightly lower interest rate, however those companies don't remain the lowest for that long. Homepath has consistently been in the best 5 in terms of offering the lowest standard variable rates amongst all lenders. I have not had any need to contact them since the early days of my home loan. consistently low interest rate no longer taking new customers

Terrible – I gained preapproval from homepath and was told a very clear set of events should occur once i purchased a property. The process was a shamoozle! I did as I was requested and called when the contract of sale was signed.. I was told to send it through and my loan specialist would send the appropriate paperwork out immediately to get the ball rolling. I called back the following day and wanted some things about the loan confirmed. I asked to be called back urgently, they assured me they would call me by the end of the day. I had to call several times (you can't actually access the person who is dealing with your account, you speak to someone who then send your 'specialist' an email). When I was called back finally the loan specialist 'cut me off' and didn't call back. I had to ring back and leave another message for her to call me. This didn't happen. I called several times and I still got nowhere and had received nothing from homepath so did not know what was going on with my application. Three weeks later, several phone calls and then giving up and going to another bank, I was called. When I told Linda that I had called urgently 3 weeks earlier she hung up on me. I was in no way rude or aggressive (I hadn't yet had the opportunity to be!) I waited until the next day sure that Linda would call back (as she had my file and thus my number in front of her!) but to no avail. I rung again and the man who answered the phone thought it 'very not very good' but left a message for someone in a more senior role to call me back (again in 24 hours!) another couple of weeks went by and I still hadn't had my chance to complain to 'someone more senior' and then a package arrived requesting the documents i would need to acquire to progress the loan. 5 weeks after initial contact! 5 weeks after waiting for a reply to an urgent phone call. Needless to say I threw out the documents and went with another bank (whose fixed interest rate was less than homepath's anyway). nothing.. a low rate that you can't actually access has no benefit customer service customer service customer service... and the lack thereof

Bad – Before signing a contract to purchase a property I did a lot of online research on various lenders to find the best variable rate for an investment home loan with fewest fees. After signing a contract for the purchase of an investment property in Qld, with a 14 day finance clause on my contract, I immediately applied for finance with Homepath online. This was the start of a very long process….

I had to call Homepath after 5 days of not hearing anything, only to be told it takes over 48 hours for them to receive online applications and that they hadn’t assigned a client officer to process my application yet. I was given a homepath email but have only ever received one email from them (a notification they had received my application).

Later that day my client officer called to let me know he had begun processing my application. I accentuated the fact that I had less than 2 weeks to have my finance approved, and was told that timeframe would be fine…

To cut a long story short, it took a whole 4.5 weeks before I was given finance approval in writing… This also included over 60 phone calls to homepath following up my application approval (many calls which were ignored or not returned), and often being told they were short-staffed so there would be a wait on my approval or that my client officer was away or not available (nobody else can continue to process your application). I didn’t feel my officer listened to me (maybe due to his poor English skills), and even now am fixing up his mistakes i.e. My repayment frequency was not as I had asked for. Also, on settlement day, Commonwealth bank (which owns homepath) refused to accept the money I had given my solicitors for payment of extra cheques, and paid it themselves and then proceeded to send me letters demanding reimbursement in the form of a bank cheque sent to them (I don’t understand why they did this??. Throughout the process, even up to 2 days before I receieved my final approval, I was still being asked for documentation my client officer had forgotten e.g. rate statements etc.

My eligibilty of obtaining finance wasn't an issue for me. I only required 85% finance, have a perfect credit rating, am in a well-paying job and would also receive a high rental income which would easily cover repayments (this was not what created a slow application process).

Overall, I was very disappointed in the lack of customer service and professionalism by Homepath and could never recommend them. I was lucky I was purchasing through a good real estate agent who held my contract together, because after 3 extensions of finance, the owners wanted to pull out of the contract… It was too late for me to change lenders, but If I were to get another loan, I’d stay away from online companies offering cheap rates and stick with the big banks who know how to get their work done. Low 7.21% Standard Variable Rate Investment Home Loan – and with this loan, no establishment fee, no monthly fees, no limit on extra repayments, no drawing fee and flexibility in repayment frequency. High deferred establishment fee of $1300 if you repay loan within 4 years, poor customer service and laborious application process (it took 4-5 weeks)

Excellent – I opted for Homepath because of their great rate. When I sat down and compared about 20 lenders, Homepath were one of the best. I pay weekly, and that turns a 30yr loan into a 23yr loan and I am pretty much paying the same amount monthly. Usually, with regards to fixed rates, most lenders have staggered interest rates (i.e. 1yr fixed 7.10%, 3yr fixed 7.15% & 5yr fixed 7.20%) however I have noticed Homepath usually has the same fixed intetest rate regardless of the length of time. I think this is a very good aspect.

The staff are very friendly, and the telephone hours are open from about 8am to 10pm so it is easy to contact them most of the day. The staff are very friendly.

My formal application took almost 4 weeks (I was expecting it would only be about 2 weeks) so just plan that into your contract or settlement. Low interest rate compared to competitors. Able to repay monthly, fortnightly or weekly. Friendly staff. Formal application seems to take 3-4 weeks