Home Loan Portability

What is home loan portability?

Just because you’re moving home doesn’t mean you need to switch loans. Many home loans have the option of taking your loan with you when you move. Known as loan portability, this is a feature offered on Westpac home loans that lets you transfer your existing loan to your new property without having to go through the hassle of refinancing and the inconvenience of closing one loan and having to apply for a new one. It also means you can keep the features and facilities you already have set up with your loan, such as Online Banking or a linked offset account.

How does loan portability work?

In a nutshell, when you port your home loan to your new property you’ll be transferring the current balance and interest rate as well as any attached features such as a linked offset account to your new home. However instead of the loan being secured against your old home, it will instead be secured against your home.

What are the benefits of porting your home loan?

• The process is generally much quicker than applying for a new loan
• You can avoid potential upfront costs involved with applying for a new loan

When you port your home loan you could also switch your loan from fixed to variable (or variable to fixed) and may also be able to top up your loan with extra funds when you move your loan to a new property.

Same time settlement or deferred purchase settlement?

If you have a home loan with Westpac and you want to port it to a new home, you can choose from two options depending on if you’ll be settling on your existing home at the same time as your new one, or if you’ll hold off on buying your new home, either because you aren’t able to settle yet or you’re still on the lookout for your new home:

• With same time settlement you’ll be buying and selling at the same time
• Deferred purchase settlement is when you’ve sold your current home but haven’t yet bought a new one (or you’re waiting to settle). With this option you’ll have up to six months to settle on a new property and can use a term deposit as a security on the loan during that time.