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Home Loans for Pharmacists

There’s a wealth of options available to you if you’re a pharmacist looking for a home loan. Find out more about them with Savvy.

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, updated on August 8th, 2023       

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A pharmacist looking for a home loan has numerous options to choose from, so the hardest choice to make may be which loan offer to apply for.  Learn more about home loans for pharmacists and all the options available with Savvy to make your loan choice that much easier.  We bring you comparison information in an easy-to-read format to help you make the best possible financial decisions for you and your family.

What are my home loan options as a pharmacist?

Like any other applicant, you can choose from a range of different home loans.  These include a fixed rate home loan, which will be for a set period (usually one to five years), or a standard variable home loan with an interest rate that will fluctuate in response to national economic trends. 

You can also choose to split your loan in two and have a portion of your loan fixed, and a portion variable.  Split rate home loans can offer you the best of both types of loan.  If you choose a variable interest rate loan, a variety of loan features will also be available for you to choose from. 

Of course, if you are considering building a home rather than buying one, there are also construction loans available, as well as finance for house and land packages.  Home loans for pharmacists are relatively easy to get approved, as lenders have high regard for medical professionals in stable, high-paying employment.

Are there any special deals available to pharmacists?

Home loans aren’t designed specifically for any one particular occupation; rather, the lowest home loan rates are often reserved for those professionals who present as the lowest risk borrowers. Most medical professionals fall into this category, including pharmacists, pharmacy managers, pharmacy specialists and clinical pharmacists. 

Doctors and lawyers have long been treated well by home loan financiers and now these advantages are being offered to other healthcare professionals, including pharmacists.  Earning higher-than-average incomes, and with a reputation for stable employment, pharmacists are being courted by lenders with offers of high loan-to-value ratio (LVR) loans and Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) waivers.

Usually, lenders will approve home loans up to 80% of the value of the property to be purchased.  This means the borrower is required to provide a deposit equal to 20% of the value of the property.  However, for medical professionals including pharmacists, home loans of up to 95% LVR are being offered, meaning the borrower only has to provide a deposit equal to 5% of the value of the property to be purchased. 

For those borrowers unable to provide a sufficient deposit, one option is to pay LMI, which is an insurance premium which protects the lender in case of loan default.  LMI can amount to thousands of dollars, depending on the size of the loan to be insured.  However, many lenders are now offering 90% LVR loans (as a pharmacist mortgage loan special deal) without requiring any LMI payment.

What are the best home loan features on offer?

As a pharmacist earning an above-average wage, you may be interested in paying off your home loan as quickly as possible so you can build up your home loan equity or even look at buying an investment property down the track.  These are the time- and interest-saving features you can choose from:

  • an offset account – an account linked to your home loan which acts like a savings account. Every dollar you have in your offset account reduces the amount of interest you are charged on your home loan on a dollar-for-dollar basis.  If you have your salary paid into your offset account, you can save thousands of dollars in interest over the years (because home loan interest is calculated daily).
  • unlimited additional lump-sum repayment option – meaning you can make additional repayments off your home loan at any time with no penalties for paying down your loan faster. If you have a fixed rate loan, you probably won’t be able to make additional repayments without incurring fees or caps on the amount you’re able to pay per year.
  • flexible repayment options – allowing you to make your home loan repayments weekly or fortnightly instead of monthly. This is another interest-saving option, as making more frequent loan repayments can help you pay your loan off sooner and reduce your overall interest
  • a redraw facility – allowing you to redraw any additional payments you’ve made into your loan without penalty or fees. This can be useful if you wish to make a major purchase such as a car or a caravan, as redrawing additional amounts from your home loan can be far cheaper than taking out an additional car or personal loan
  • a mortgage holiday or reduced payment options – just in case life throws a curveball at you. If a new family member is expected or you are unable to work, a mortgage holiday can give you temporary relief from loan repayments until you’re able to get back to work. While this doesn’t necessarily save time or interest, it ensures you remain comfortable with your repayments.

Pharmacist home mortgage loan – frequently asked questions

Do I still qualify for a discount if I’m a pharmacy student?

That’ll depend on the lender you choose.  Some lenders insist you gain your full qualification before allowing you occupation-specific discounts, while other lenders will allow you such discounts if you are two or three years into your study period, but haven’t yet fully qualified.  Because lenders are keen to lend to pharmacists, pharmacist home mortgage loans can be relatively easy to gain approval for even if you’re still studying.

Do most lenders offer pharmacist mortgage loan special offers and waive LMI?

No – not all lenders offer these advantages to pharmacists.  That’s why Savvy can help you find the best home loan: by comparing offers from various lenders and presenting you with clear comparison information so you can make the best choice for your family.

As a pharmacist, how much can I save by not having to pay LMI?

You can potentially save thousands of dollars by not having to pay LMI on your home loan.  For example, a couple are wanting to buy a property costing $850,000.  They’ve saved up $85,000 towards the cost of their purchase.  However, because they only have 10% to offer as a deposit, they’re liable to pay LMI, which their bank calculates as costing $20,655.  In this instance, if the LMI was waived due to one half of the couple being a pharmacist, they’d be able to save a significant amount of money.

How much can I borrow on my salary?

You can use Savvy’s borrowing power calculator to work out how much you could be offered as a home loan.  Simply enter in your income, and that of your partner if you’re applying jointly, and fill in your expense details, the period over which you’d like to repay your loan and the interest rate on offer.  The calculator will tell you how much you may be able to borrow and what your loan repayments would be.

What can I do to improve my chances of having my loan approved?

The higher the deposit you’re able to offer, the higher your chances are of being offered a great home loan deal. If you’re able to offer 30% or even more as a deposit, you’ll be able to apply for the very lowest home loan interest rates in Australia

Another option to improve your loan approval chances is to enlist a guarantor for your home loan.  A guarantor is usually a close family member who is prepared to offer their own home loan equity as security, or is prepared to offer other security to guarantee your loan will be repaid.  Guarantor loans add considerable security to a loan agreement and can enable borrowers to get a home loan approved even if they have no deposit, provided the guarantors have sufficient equity or security to satisfy the lender.

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