UBank, a digital only off-shoot of the National Australia Bank, hope today’s launch of their UrHome app will make the entire process of buying a property easier and cheaper.
Through a partnership with CoreLogic RP Data, the app allows people to research houses and units across the country, whether they are on the market or not.
Comparing properties is then made easy thanks to a built-in, customisable ranking system.
Users can then build a lending profile with-in the app by entering information such as their income, expenditures and deposit amount and the app, using UBank’s home loan rate, will give them an overview of the cost associated with buying a property, such as mortgage repayments, stamp duty and any other associated fees.
The bank has also partnered with construction analysts Cordell to allow users to factor in any renovations they wish to do into their loan amount.
The app allows users to select the area of the property they would like to renovate and to what standard they would like the work to be, and an estimated cost will then be included in the loan amount.
Existing UBank clients can also use the renovation function to refinance if they wish to carry out improvements to a property they have already purchased.
Users who have entered their details into the app can then use the app to submit their home loan application and will be contacted by a UBank representative within 48 hours.
UBank chief executive officer Lee Hatton said the bank wanted the app to simplify the way people research and buy property.
“We did some research and people spend about six months researching properties before they buy and spend about $600 on research and we thought we could come up with a way to take that stress out of the process,” Hatton said.
“By digitising the entire process we can open up opportunities that would otherwise not be there to people, they can see any property they want and how much it’s going to cost, renovations and all, all on their smartphone or tablet.”
UBank’s head of digital Paul Monnington said the development of the app had focussed on three key areas.
“What we wanted to do was take the pain out of buying, and we thought the best way to do that would to be focus on some key areas,” Monnington said.
“Those areas were personalisation, affordability and the ability for people to add their own notes and photos for particular properties; this means the app is going to work for anybody looking to no matter their financial situation or what they’re looking for.”
