Home Loans With No Genuine Savings: Lender Options

No genuine savings loans let a borrower fund the deposit with a gift, an inheritance, an asset sale or a grant instead of savings built up over time. The borrower still needs a deposit. What changes is the evidence, and which lenders will take it at a high loan-to-value ratio (LVR).

Two separate rule sets decide a high-LVR file, and they can disagree. The lender’s genuine savings policy can reject a recent gift that the lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) insurer accepts as deposit funds. A 95% home loan with no genuine savings needs both the lender and the insurer to accept where the money came from.

Identify Acceptable Deposit Sources

Gifts, inheritances, asset-sale proceeds and grants can all contribute to a deposit, even where they fail a genuine savings test. Borrowed funds are the exception at high LVRs: Helia doesn’t count them toward its 5%, and Macquarie doesn’t accept them as genuine savings. The genuine savings guide covers the funds that do count as savings.

Each source is assessed on its own terms. Helia’s 10 August 2026 LMI underwriting guidelines list the deposit sources Helia accepts as an insurer. Macquarie’s 10 September 2026 credit guidelines list what Macquarie accepts as genuine savings, which is a narrower test.

Source of funds	Helia, as deposit funds above 90% LVR	Macquarie, as genuine savings above 85% LVR
Gift from an immediate family member	Accepted, with evidence the borrower received it	Can be accepted once held for three months or more
Gift from anyone else	Not accepted	Can be accepted once held for three months or more
Inheritance	Accepted	Can be accepted once held for three months or more
Sale of an asset, such as a car	Accepted	Not accepted, unless it’s real estate or investments held for at least three months
First Home Owner Grant	Accepted	Not accepted
Borrowed funds	Not counted toward the 5%	Not accepted, even after three months in the account

Gifts Are a Separate Route

A gift brings its own evidence, because the lender needs to know the money never has to be repaid. Macquarie’s guidelines require written confirmation from the donor of the amount and that the funds aren’t repayable. Helia accepts a gift only from an immediate family member, and the file must show the borrower actually received it.

The gifted deposit guide covers the donor documents and repayment checks in full. On this page, a gift is one source among several, with its own lender and insurer rules.

Borrowed Funds

Borrowed money never counts toward Helia’s 5% deposit funds. Once the borrower has 5% from acceptable sources above 90% LVR, Helia allows funds borrowed from another party to help complete the purchase. At 90% LVR or below, Helia allows borrowed funds with appropriate validation.

Macquarie rejects any loan as genuine savings, even one held in the borrower’s account for three months. When family or friends lend money toward the purchase, Macquarie needs written confirmation of the amount, any conditions and the repayment terms.

Compare Lender and Insurer Conditions

The lender sets its genuine savings rule, and the LMI insurer sets its own deposit-funds rule. Check both, because a file can pass one and fail the other. Each rule switches on at its own LVR.

Rule	LVR where it applies	What it requires
Macquarie genuine savings (10 September 2026)	Above 85%	5% of the purchase price as genuine savings
Westpac genuine savings, mortgage-insured loans (as at October 2026)	Above 90% base LVR	Evidence of 5% genuine savings
Helia deposit funds (10 August 2026)	Above 90% base LVR	5% deposit funds from an acceptable source, not necessarily genuine savings

Helia’s test is about where the money came from, not how long it has been saved. A borrower can meet Helia’s 5% with a recent family gift or car sale and still fail a lender’s genuine savings rule. Westpac’s documents checklist refers brokers to its Consumer Credit Policy for the genuine savings evidence it accepts.

Lenders That Don’t Require Genuine Savings

Some lenders drop genuine savings for certain loans. Pepper Money’s guide to non-genuine savings, reviewed 6 October 2025, says Pepper doesn’t require genuine savings on some home loan options. It also accepts 100% gifted deposits on some options.

Macquarie and Westpac apply their genuine savings rules only above a set LVR. Macquarie’s threshold is 85%, and Westpac’s checklist asks for genuine savings evidence on mortgage-insured loans only above 90% base LVR. Below those levels the genuine savings test drops away, though each lender still asks for evidence of where the deposit came from.

When a 95% Home Loan Stays Available

A 95% loan with no genuine savings needs a lender that waives genuine savings or accepts rental history in its place. The insurer must also accept the deposit’s source. Helia’s Standard LMI goes to 95% LVR for owner-occupied loans, measured on the base loan before any capitalised premium.

The lender’s own cap can be tighter. Macquarie lends up to 95% LVR on owner-occupied purchases with principal and interest repayments, and that 95% includes any capitalised low deposit fee. Westpac’s broker policy page, as at October 2026, accepts continuous rental history as proof of genuine savings for owner-occupied purchases.

Worked Example: One Borrower Across Three Rule Sets

Mia is a fictional first home buyer purchasing a $600,000 home to live in, with $63,000 in total. Her parents gave her $45,000 three weeks ago, she sold her car for $10,000 last month and she has saved $8,000 in a savings account over 14 months.

The example assumes $28,000 covers stamp duty, conveyancing and the LMI premium or Macquarie’s low deposit fee, and that Helia insures the loan.

After costs, Mia puts $35,000 toward the deposit and borrows $565,000. That’s a base LVR of 94.2%, within Helia’s and Macquarie’s 95% limits. She has nothing left after settlement.

Check	Macquarie	Westpac	Helia as insurer
Rule that applies at 94.2%	5% genuine savings, which is $30,000	Evidence of 5% genuine savings, which is $30,000	5% deposit funds from acceptable sources, which is $30,000
Mia’s funds that count	$8,000 savings, because the gift is under three months old and car sale proceeds don’t count	Savings evidence accepted under Westpac’s Consumer Credit Policy, or rental history	All $63,000, with evidence she received the gift
Result today	$22,000 short	Genuine savings test met if Mia’s rental history qualifies	Met
Rental history	Not in Macquarie’s list of acceptable genuine savings	Accepted as proof of genuine savings for an owner-occupied purchase	Not one of Helia’s listed deposit sources
Funds after settlement	None, so the $10,000 savings route around Macquarie’s $500 a year minimum servicing surplus isn’t available	Not part of Westpac’s genuine savings rule	Funds must be in Mia’s account before settlement

Mia meets Helia’s condition today but fails Macquarie’s genuine savings rule. If she rents and her rental history meets Westpac’s conditions, Westpac can accept it in place of $30,000 of genuine savings. At Pepper Money, a loan option with no genuine savings requirement leaves no savings test to pass, though its LVR limits and source evidence still apply.

Holding back $10,000 after settlement would cut her deposit to $25,000 and lift her loan to $575,000. That’s a 95.8% LVR, above Helia’s and Macquarie’s 95% limits. Macquarie’s 10 September 2026 guidelines can waive the $500 surplus where at least $10,000 in savings remains after settlement and all costs.

Genuine savings rules differ by lender, and a lender and its insurer can treat the same gift differently. Bulma’s Policy Advisor answers a question like Mia’s across 52+ lenders and quotes each lender’s policy wording, which you can keep in the file notes.

Prepare the Funds Evidence

Document where each contribution came from and how much remains after settlement. Helia’s 10 August 2026 guidelines make the lender responsible for verifying the ownership and origin of non-borrowed deposit funds. The funds must sit in the borrower’s name at application, or reach the borrower’s account before settlement.

Match each source to a document that shows its origin and a statement that shows it arriving.

Source	Document showing the origin	Document showing the funds
Gift	Donor’s written confirmation of the amount and that it isn’t repayable	Statement showing the gift paid into your client’s account
Inheritance	Estate distribution paperwork	Statement showing the payment
Asset sale	Sale receipt or contract	Statement showing the proceeds
Grant	Grant approval and expected payment date	Statement or settlement figures showing the grant applied
Savings	Account statements	Statements covering the period the lender’s genuine savings rule requires

Subtract the deposit and every purchase cost from the verified funds, and show what’s left after settlement. Macquarie’s 10 September 2026 guidelines set a $500 a year minimum servicing surplus. When $10,000 or more in savings remains after settlement and all costs, Macquarie applies a net serviceability ratio of at least 1.00 instead.

When Rental History Changes the Route

Rental history gives your client a different eligibility route when the lender accepts it in place of genuine savings. Westpac’s broker policy page, as at October 2026, accepts continuous rental history as proof of genuine savings for owner-occupied purchases. Macquarie’s 10 September 2026 guidelines don’t list rental history among acceptable genuine savings.

Rental history replaces the savings test, not the deposit. Your client still needs the deposit and costs from gifts or other sources, and the insurer still checks those funds. The rent as genuine savings guide explains the tenancy evidence lenders ask for.

Choose the Safest Route

The safest route is the one where the lender and the insurer both accept the funds without an exception. Compare Mia’s position with each route below before you choose a lender. The right choice depends on when your client needs to buy and which evidence they already hold.

Waiting produces a stronger file when the gap is a holding period rather than a shortfall. Under Macquarie’s 10 September 2026 guidelines, Mia’s gift can count as genuine savings once it has been held for three months, giving her $53,000. That clears Macquarie’s $30,000 requirement, so waiting about ten more weeks opens Macquarie without changing anything else.

Rental history produces a stronger file when your client rents and wants to buy now. With Westpac, as at October 2026, a qualifying rental history can stand in for genuine savings on an owner-occupied purchase. Your client still needs the deposit, and the insurer still checks its source.

Changing the structure produces a stronger file when neither waiting nor rental history fits.

• Lower the LVR. Mia would need a $90,000 deposit to reach Macquarie’s 85% threshold, or $60,000 to reach Westpac’s 90% threshold, before any change in costs.
• Use a family guarantee instead of a larger deposit. Helia’s 10 August 2026 Family Pledge covers loans up to 85% LVR and $750,000, with no deposit required, secured by a parent, child or sibling’s property. The home loan guarantor guide covers guarantor requirements.
• Choose a lender without the requirement. Pepper Money’s guide, reviewed 6 October 2025, says some of its home loan options don’t require genuine savings.
• Check the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme for an eligible first home buyer. The scheme removes LMI, so no insurer’s deposit-source rule applies. The participating lender’s own deposit rules still apply.

For Mia, waiting ten weeks keeps her original structure and opens Macquarie. If she needs to buy sooner, Westpac’s rental history route answers its genuine savings test, and a Pepper Money option without the test removes it altogether. Choose the route that matches her timing, then gather the evidence before you lodge.