If you’re in the market for a personal loan and wondering how much you’ll be able to borrow, there are several factors worth considering. These include the type of loan you take out as well as how you’d like to maintain and use it.
- Unsecured personal loan
- Car loan
- Flexi loan
- Your financial situation
- Find out how much you could borrow
Unsecured personal loan
Westpac Unsecured Personal Loans allow you to borrow anything from $4,000 to $50,000 without offering an asset as security. You can then use the loan for a range of purposes, from car purchase to home renovations and even debt consolidation. With an unsecured loan at Westpac, you have a fixed interest rate and the option of choosing the loan duration, typically between 1 and 7 years. This means repayment amounts and the interest rate will never change for the life of the loan, which can help with long-term budgeting.
Car loan
The Westpac Car Loan is a secured car loan, which means you can borrow more than you might be able to with an Unsecured Personal Loan – anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000. As a secured loan, this loan type requires you to offer the new car you’re buying or another used car as security on the loan. While the rate is fixed, it may be lower than an unsecured loan and will again be for a set loan term between 1 and 7 years.
Flexi loan
A Flexi Loan can give you a similar amount to an unsecured personal loan (around $4,000 to $50,000) but is different as it offers you access to a line of credit. Rather than lasting for a set loan term, a line of credit allows you to withdraw funds up to an approved credit limit without reapplying.
Unlike an unsecured personal loan, the rate is variable, so you don’t have as much certainty with the amount of interest you’ll incur on the funds you’ve used. But you only pay interest on what you’ve used and you can repay in your own time, provided you’re meeting your monthly minimum. Unlike set term loans, you also won’t pay any break costs or early repayment fees for repaying the loan in full.
Your financial situation
When working out how much you can borrow, the bank will look into your financial situation. But don’t take it personally – this process is to help us check whether you could comfortably pay off your debt without getting into financial difficulty.
Here are some of the things Westpac will look at when you apply for a loan:
- Your personal situation – this includes if you’re borrowing by yourself or jointly, and whether you have any dependents.
- Your income – this is made up of your salary plus any additional sources of income.
- Your expenses and financial obligations – these can include rent or mortgage payments, other debts such as credit cards and living expenses.
Find out how much you could borrow
If you’re interested in discovering your borrowing power, Westpac’s Personal Loan Borrowing Power Calculator gets you to answer some simple questions online and then gives you an estimate of your loan amount and monthly repayments instantly.
You can also estimate how much repayments could be on a Westpac Car Loan with our car loan calculator.
Want more information? Learn how to get a personal loan with Westpac.
Alternatively, read about our Unsecured Personal Loan and Car Loan.