Athena Home Loans

Athena is a digital non-bank lender that specialises in home loans. As a fintech company, it prides itself on being a disruptor providing homeowners and investors a platform to secure home loans with competitive rates and flexible repayment options. 

Founded in 2017 by former NAB bankers, Athena Home Loans leverages technology to streamline its processes and significantly reduce operational expenses, which translates to savings passed on to customers. 

To set itself apart from big banks and other traditional lenders, Athena incentivises borrowers to pay off their mortgages early without imposing penalties.

The lender does not charge exit fees and gives customers access to reduced rates proportionate to their loan-to-value ratio (LVR) via a pricing system called ‘AcceleRates’. This ensures that as borrowers progress through the life of their mortgage, their interest rates are lowered based on how much they have already repaid.  

Another standout offering of the Sydney-based digital lender is its ‘Automatic Rate Match’ designed to ensure a fair deal for all customers. Essentially, this feature guarantees that existing customers on like-for-like home loans (i.e. same product and same LVR tier) get the same reduced rates offered to new clients.

Athena also has a mobile app that allows customers to manage their mortgages and make instant payments.

Athena Home Loans is backed by venture capital funding from major investors including AirTree Ventures, Apex Capital, AustralianSuper, Hostplus, Macquarie Bank, Resimac Group, Rice Warner, Square Peg, and Sunsuper. 

What home loans are available at Athena?

Athena currently offers standard owner-occupied and investment home loans. Borrowers can choose from fixed or variable rate options with a maximum of 80% LVR.

Fixed rate home loans

Borrowers who prefer locking in their interest rates can choose from Athena’s fixed rate home loans available in one-, two-, and three-year terms. It allows flexible payment frequencies and additional repayments of up to 5% of the outstanding loan balance per year. Upon the expiry of the fixed rate period, customers will be automatically rolled onto the lowest AcceleRate tier they are eligible for. 

Variable rate home loans

Athena offers two home loan products with variable rates. 

Straight Up

Straight Up is a basic home loan that offers the lowest rate in Athena’s lineup. It comes with a fee-free redraw facility with no minimum transaction limits and is accessible online. Like other providers with a redraw facility, Athena’s enables borrowers to reduce their interest payments based on the difference between their home loan balance and the amount in their redraw. 

Power Up

Athena’s Power Up comes with all the features of Straight Up plus a few extras. Borrowers signing on to this mortgage get access to a linked fee-free offset account and up to 10 offset sub-accounts where they can easily withdraw or deposit money, which reduces the interest charged to their loan balance in the same way redraw does. Customers, however, must choose between using the offset account or the redraw facility. 

Split home loans

This is not a standalone product, but rather a feature available on Power Up that lets borrowers divide mortgage for a single property into multiple loans. Each split loan can be customised into either fixed or variable, owner-occupier or investment, principal and interest (P&I) or interest-only (IO), and with varying loan terms.

All you need to know about Athena Home Loans

What fees does Athena charge from customers?

In an effort to fulfil its mission to eliminate the traditional industry practice that saddles borrowers with fees that complicate debt clearance, Athena got rid of application fees, monthly/annual service fees, redraw and offset fees, discharge/exit fees, and settlement and valuation costs. 

However, it may still pass on government-related charges, such as title registration and stamp duty, and apply break costs for modifications to a fixed loan.

How much can borrowers get from Athena Home Loans?

Athena offers mortgages to borrowers with at least 20% equity, meaning they must have an 80% loan-to-value ratio (LVR) to be eligible. Customers can take out home loans as low as $100,000 to as much as $2,500,000.

What type of properties can be bought with an Athena home loan?

Athena currently provides home loans exclusively for established properties with a minimum floor space of 50 square metres, not including balconies and garages.

This means borrowers who intend to buy vacant land, student accommodations, as well as rural, commercial, or industrial properties are not eligible. It also will not finance the purchase of leasehold properties (except ACT), display homes, transportable or mobile homes, or any properties standing on more than six hectares of land. 

How to get approved for a home loan at Athena

To get approved for a home loan from Athena, applicants must be either an Australian or New Zealand citizen or a permanent resident living in Australia. 

During the online application process, applicants must present the following:

• At least one photo ID (driver’s licence, passport, or Medicare card) 

• Proof of income and employment

• A list of assets and liabilities

• A breakdown of fixed and everyday living expenses

After submitting their application, would-be borrowers would then be required to furnish documents demonstrating their financial ability to meet their mortgage repayments. 

• Two most recent payslips for employed applicants

• Tax returns and notice assessments in the last two years for sole traders

In some cases, Athena may also ask for transaction account statements and credit card statements if available. 

All required documents must be uploaded in PDF format to Athena’s Home Hub.

How long is the approval time for Athena home loan applications?

Athena says its online application can be completed in approximately 15 minutes. Applicants will then receive the decision of whether they can proceed to the next step in 60 seconds.

Once the documents are submitted, Athena “aims” to give an update in 2 to 3 business days, but it can vary depending on the volume of applications.