FAQs - Athena's Home Loans

What type of loans do you offer?

We offer Principal & Interest and Interest Only home loans for Owner Occupiers and Investors on variable and fixed rates for refinancing or buying established property.

Do you really charge no fees?

We don’t charge fees! It’s true, we really don’t – no application or valuation fees, no annual or monthly fees, no discharge fees on our Straight Up or Power Up home loans. Seriously WTF, Where’s The Fees? There are no Athena home loan fees, although there will be Government charges involved, regardless if you’re buying or refinancing.


If you’re buying, there are upfront costs charged by the Government and third-parties that you will need to consider. These can include stamp duty, transfer fees, mortgage registration fees, legal fees, pest and building inspections fees, and home, building and contents insurance. Upfront costs will vary depending on your situation.


If you’re refinancing, the Government will charge you for making the switch. We will increase your loan amount by $260 - $440 depending on your State, to cover not only these but also any minor changes to your existing loan balance right before the refinance. This helps speed up your refinance and reduces the hassle of you having to cover any shortfall on the day of settlement. Of course any surplus that isn’t needed goes straight to your nominated account at settlement, which you can choose to pop back into the loan and reduce the balance again.


If you’re on a fixed rate loan, there is a break cost to us that we may pass on if your fixed loan is broken. That’s because we borrow money and enter a financial contract on your behalf for a fixed rate period. If that loan is repaid early, changed or ended before the end of the fixed rate period, we may incur break costs. The factors which influence the break costs are the movement of the interest rates, the amount of time left on the loan and the size of the loan amount.

Do you have a Redraw? Do you have an Offset?

Yes, on our Straight Up home loan we have a redraw function and both on our Power Up home loan! A fee-free Redraw and a fee-free Offset!


Both are easy to use and both help you pay down your loan faster! Read more about Athena’s fee-free offset here.

Am I eligible for an Athena home loan?

Athena home loans aren’t for everyone. There are a few boxes that need to be ticked off:

  • You’re refinancing or buying an established property
  • Borrow up to 80% of the value of your property
  • At least one applicant is employed (PAYG) where you are employed by someone else
  • If you’re self-employed, you must have been trading for more than 2 years
  • Your property is in a capital city or major population centre
  • Your property is at least 50m² in living area excluding balconies and car space and the total land size is a maximum of 6 hectares
  • You’re an Aust/NZ citizen or permanent resident living in Aus
  • You have good credit history
  • You have your own mobile and email

See here for the full list.

Can I still easily switch between redraw and offset?

If you are on the Standard Variable Rate product, you’ll be able to switch between redraw and offset the same way that you are able to now!


If you are on Straight Up you’ll only have access to a redraw, but if you’re on Power Up you can choose either a redraw or offset account.


If you’re on Straight Up and change your mind later and would like to have an offset, you can easily switch to Power Up by giving us a buzz.

Are there any costs associated with switching to Straight Up/ Power Up?

If you pick Power Up and choose to have the extra features and frills, there’s a difference in interest rate to reflect the features you’ll have access to!


But there are no pesky fees, it’s all built into the rate.

Are the new products available to new purchase and refinance?

Our Straight Up or Power Up Products and all their features will be available to both purchases and refinances.

How many split loans can I have?

You can have up to 10 loan splits per loan.

Will Straight Up & Power Up still reward me for paying down my loan faster with a lower rate?

Both Straight Up and Power Up will have access to our brand new LVR tier <50%, ObliteRATE. We wanted to reward our customers for paying down their loan even more 🙌

What is the minimum loan amount I can setup for a split loan?

$10,000.

Are there future plans to Grandfather the Standard Variable Rate Product and move all customers to Straight Up/Power Up?

No, we have no intention on mandating customers to the Straight Up or Power Up products at this time.

Meet our loan experts.

Our friendly local home loan experts are here to answer all your questions, 5 days a week.

Want to chat before you apply online?

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Weekdays 9am-5pm AET

wCall   13 35 35

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Athena acknowledges the traditional owners of the land on which we gather the Gadigal people of the Eora nation. We acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded and respect their continued and continuing connection to this place.