Accountant home loans: LMI waivers and deposit options

As an accountant, you may be able to buy with about a 10% deposit plus costs and pay no lenders mortgage insurance (LMI). Some waivers let you borrow 90% of the value the bank accepts; others stop at 89.99%.

I'd start with the membership you hold today. An IPA member can have different options from a CPA member, even with the same income and deposit. Then I'd compare the waiver with the other ways you could buy.

With the same $80k deposit and $720k base loan, the professional waiver removes an estimated $13k LMI premium. That's the saving I'd compare before looking at the rate, fees and repayments.

Allow for conveyancing, inspections, registration charges and any stamp duty, as well as your deposit. A lower bank valuation can also mean you need to put in more.

Compared with borrowing 80%, the 90% option needs $80k less towards the price and adds $80k to the loan. At an assumed 6% over 30 years with principal and interest repayments, that extra $80k adds about $480 a month, before fees. I’d check that the higher repayment fits your budget before choosing the smaller deposit.

The LMI calculator estimates $12,960 using an $800k price, $80k deposit and $720k base loan. The premium varies by lender and insurer. Use it with our deposit calculator for an initial comparison of your own figures.

Start with your current membership certificate. Your professional body and membership level help us work out which offers you can use. If your CPA membership is pending, use the qualification you hold now to work out your options. A lender may also need your job to appear on its eligible occupation list.

Your partner's salary or rental income may help you afford the loan. Whether it also counts towards the waiver's professional income minimum is a separate question.

Take $110k from eligible accounting work. That clears the $100k requirement in one offer, but leaves a $10k gap under the $120k offer unless another applicant’s eligible professional income can be included. That gives us a reason to compare another offer before asking you to change your deposit.

We work with more lenders than the examples here. I’d use these comparisons to narrow the options, then check the rate, fees, offset features and how much income each suitable lender can use. A waiver can still leave you with the more expensive loan.

If you run a practice, we’ll separate your salary, drawings, distributions and business profit before comparing loans. The firm’s turnover tells us how much business it does. We need to work out the income you can use personally.

A partner at a selected firm may be able to use an income letter or email instead of supplying the whole practice’s financials. Outside that offer, send us your business income records and details of the firm’s debts so we can work out what income the lender can use.

A loan using fewer income documents can have a lower borrowing limit. If you only have 1 year of business figures, we’ll check which lenders can use them and still offer the waiver at the deposit you have. Our self employed home loan guide explains the other income options.

If you’re an eligible first home buyer with a smaller deposit, I’d compare the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme alongside the accountant waiver. It can mean buying with 5% plus costs, although you’ll have a larger loan to repay.

The scheme has no income cap or waiting list. Buyer eligibility, property price caps and lender approval still apply, and you need to buy a home to live in. For an investment purchase, we’d compare the accountant waiver and other investment loans.

On a $750k purchase, a 10% contribution is $75k. The 5% scheme minimum is $37.5k before buying costs if you qualify.

That’s $37.5k less needed towards the price, with the proposed loan rising from $675k to $712.5k. Your savings and the lender’s rules affect what you can retain. Before choosing the smaller deposit, check the higher repayment and how much cash you’ll have left after buying costs.

We can also compare a general 90% loan without LMI, paying LMI or waiting until you have a larger deposit. If you already have 20%, the rate, fees and features matter more because there may be no LMI to waive.

A family guarantee loan is another possibility, but it puts your guarantor’s property at risk and creates obligations for them. Some professional packages exclude guarantees. I’d work through the options you can manage yourself before involving family property.

Send the records that match your situation. We can then work out your buying budget and prepare for home loan pre-approval while you search. The property, valuation and any changes to your circumstances still need checking before final approval.