Author bio
Rebecca Pike is the senior writer for home loans at Finder. She has been writing about the mortgage market in Australia for almost 6 years and regularly appears on TV, radio and in newspapers providing commentary on Finder’s insights and research.
Greater Bank has secured its position as one of the best investor home loan providers in the country after taking out two accolades at Finder’s 2024 Home Loan Awards.
It received gold medals in the categories of Investor Home Loan - IO - 2 Year Fixed and Investor Home Loan - IO - 3 Year Fixed for its Great Rate Home Loan.
Finder’s awards run each year and celebrate the best products across not just home loans, but also banking, insurance and mobile phone providers.
To find the best home loan products Finder looked at more than 3,000 home loans from more than 200 banks and lenders.
Spanning 14 different categories, the awards highlight the best loans and providers for a range of different borrower types. The awards include categories across owner-occupiers, investors and first home buyers, as well as for both variable and fixed rate products.
What an award-winning home loan means for investors
Finder looked at 12 months’ worth of interest rates to ensure any winning products provided competitive interest rates throughout the period. With such a large weighting towards interest rates, it was Greater Bank's low rates that ultimately secured its top spot in the two winning categories.
Having a strong interest rate offering throughout 2023 was particularly crucial for borrowers. 2022 and 2023 saw 13 rate rises and so being able to fix the most competitive interest rates would have been really important for a lot of people.
But it’s not always just about the interest rates. Loan fees can have a huge impact on the overall cost of the loan.
Greater Bank’s Great Rate loan was not dragged down by charging fees: it offers no establishment fee and no monthly or annual fees, meaning more of your money can go towards your loan or into your pocket.
Why Greater Bank is worthy of gold
While the overall cost of the loan is what made Greater Bank an award-winning lender, there are many other features that make it worthy of those gold medals.
First of all, it offers high-LVR options, meaning you have the opportunity to get into the property market even if you don’t quite have the deposit saved up.
Second, you can make extra repayments towards your loan. This means you can pay off your loan faster, but its redraw facility also means you can access those additional funds when you need them – bearing in mind there may be limits or fees if you have a fixed rate.
Third, as a customer-owned bank Greater Bank really does work for the customer. It means it can continue to offer great rates and support because it’s not making money for shareholders and it works to support the communities it’s based in.
So, whether you’re looking for a bank that wins awards, one that doesn’t cost a fortune on top of your loan or one that aligns with your values, Greater Bank ticks all the boxes.
If you want to read more about the Finder Awards and how winners are chosen, you can read more here.
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