Honest Customer Review 2022
Thank you for taking the time to read this Athena home loan review. Since you’re hear, I assume you’re looking to refinance with Athena!? Let’s take a look at how I rate Athena home loans and if you should make the switch!
If you apply for a loan, please use referral code: ATH-20481 and receive $250 back after settlement.
Who are Athena?
Athena Home Loans is a 100% online lender for home finance. They don’t cater for personal loans or car loans…just home loans! Their seriously low rates from 1.89% are hard to match and this is backed up by awards from RateCity, Canstar and Mozo to name a few. Founded by ex-NAB execs they have backers including the likes of Macquarie Bank, Hostplus, Apex Capital and more.
Founded in 2017 they have made their presence felt by ensuring existing customers are treated exactly the same as new customers….very rare in this space!
The Application Process
In a nutshell…super easy!
This is the 3rd time I have refinanced in the last 10 years and this experience has been somewhat unique. First, the process was completed online. Athena’s home loan application portal gives a step-by-step guide (with a checklist of required documents) once you have started the application process. The Athena loans gurus will be in constant contact via SMS and phone to ensure you’re kept on track.
Let’s take a closer look at the timeline:
10th November: Completed the online application form
11th November: Conditional Approval, time to upload the documents…
3rd December: Supporting documents certified
3rd December: Valuation completed (done online, no visit needed)
4th December: Unconditional approval, digitally sign and upload documents
17th December: All documents uploaded…
31st December: Settlement Booked
13th January: Settlement!!! 
Very nice turn-around considering they were waiting on me multiple times for uploading documentation and this was over the Christmas period.
Loan Tools and Feature
Website: The website interface has everything you need, but is pretty basic. It isn’t to the same level as the big banks such as CBA (and no one should expect that with their IT budget) but has what you need to get the most from your loan.
iPhone/Android App: **April 2022** Currently Athena Home Loan has a Beta version of the app for an existing customer. The app looks nice and should shortly be released fully.
Instant pay (OSKO): Just rolled out and working from Athena to supported institutions.
Offset Account: Athena has an offset account which can be enabled quickly through the website or app. Unfortunately, there is currently no option to have a debit card linked to the offset account.
What sets Athena apart?
THIS is where it gets interesting! As I mentioned earlier, this isn’t our first time refinancing our home loans. However, there is a reason we stayed and haven’t refinanced since, here’s why:
- Bank of Queensland: Messed up our loan, instead of giving us the 100% variable rate we requested and discussed with them, they changed it to 50/50 fixed/variable. We were in a very tricky situation and proceeded to complete the process as we were due to settle
- Bank of Queensland: They were very quick to start creeping up the loan. The rate advertised was not what existing customers were paying. We did call them to negotiate with mixed success, eventually getting fed up and leaving for loans.com.au…
- Loans.com.au: They were good, very similar to Athena in terms of features. HOWEVER, they were also quick to increase the loan for existing customers. These increases were frequent and frankly, very disappointing! You can be certain, that existing customers are not paying the same as the new customer rate on the website.
Athena Home Loans Review: After Settlement
Okay so you have now got the new loan…now what?
Head on over to the Athena All Access Facebook page. This page is run by Athena for existing customers to keep them updated on the latest information (new tools, features, delays, and even merch!). This site also has instructions on installing the iPhone and Android apps once you have made the switch.
I hope you found this Athena Home Loan Review useful!
Athena Home Loans Review: YouTube Review
Check out this Athena Home Loan Review video for more information on this awesome lender:
Links mentioned in the video:
Athena Hacks Page – become a loan guru with some great tips and tricks to pay down your mortgage sooner
AusPost Identity Checks – required during the application process
Return to our HOME page for the latest code and information.
