I had the pleasure of working with HomeStar for the purchase of my first property, and I must say that the lending specialist, Elisa Townsend, was exceptionally helpful throughout the entire process. Additionally, Lindsay Jimenez assisted me with all the necessary bank approvals and provided excellent support. I cannot recommend HomeStar enough, as the service I received was truly incredible. They consistently prioritized the best interests of their clients, making the experience even more remarkable.
I read the bad reviews and had to pause before going with homestar, however 18 months with them now with the lowest interest rate in market, offset account with no deposit limit - no other bank stacks up. Customer service might not be what you expect but nothing worthwhile is going to be easy. The result speaks for itself. They are saving me $1000s each month
The only reason my home loan is with Home Star is because their rates are so cheap. Aside from that, the customer service is frustrating to deal with and their app needs enhancing.
I'm not even a customer yet and it was just painful trying to get information form them. Their website isn't accurate and when you as their customer service team anything that is super basic it's met with a request for your phone for the hard sell. Why organise for someone to call me when we haven't even established something as basic as wether they do construction loans or not.
I am looking to refinance existing investment loans and reached out. I had a few email exchanges and an initial interview was arranged with customer service representative. There were some confusions and I had to deal with two separate customer service reps in parallel. Everything stopped following initial interview. The last message I received said: "Apologies for the delay, however I haven’t heard back yet from management, please bear with us. If not this week I will get back to you early next week." I chased many times following this email but all my emails were ignored. Homestar Finance appear to offer good rates but customer service is the worst I have experienced. If initial interaction with them are so poor then I dread to think how they are when someone secures a loan with them. Waste of time and not professional.
There no app for customer to use. And when I use the website to log in. I could never get the verification code to send to my phone. So I can’t log in. Called the customer service. The service representative is really impatient. Terrible customer service.
Terrible customer service and incompetent staff.
I was working with a worker but absolutely slow and dependent on his Manager who in my opinion has no idea, failed to see what is important. Led me along to believe everything is OK. Made my wife and I jump through hoops, it started to make us feel whether we deserve a loan. The communication with this company is appalling. You cannot call them and expect to talk to the person your dealing with. I think this company is slow to respond and really don't understand the customer. We decided to go with another Finance Institution and it was such a relief compared to Homestar and it really showed how different Homestar works. I really believe after dealing with them they are in the Dark ages.
I was in process of refinancing, spoke to Justin, the loan specialist. I supplied the balance of my loan with the extra I paid in as savings and tried to arrange to keep my savings, so I requested a 5 min call, which he didn't respond to. Then I sent an email with a suggestion that I withdraw my savings and reapply with the actual balance. He didn't respond to me at all. I have a clean credit record and no debt at all besides the mortgage. I am a full time employee with ample money to service the loan. This is the work ethic and level of care that you will encounter. Very disappointed with Homestar.
Homestar Finance is the worst financier I have ever dealt with and it appears their staff are incompetent and untruthful in their dealings. Firstly, it took nearly a week just to find someone to talk to about seeking pre-approval for a loan. After speaking to a number of offshore staff who continually took all of my personal details then lost them, I complained and spoke to a manager based in Australia who assured me Homestar Finance could provide preapproval for a loan prior to an auction I wished to bid on. I submitted all paperwork immediately and answered all follow up questions. Not only was I provided with no outcome prior to the auction, but my mortgage specialist did not even have the decency to contact me prior to advise there would be no outcome. On the day before the auction, which was a Saturday, I spoke to a manager who advised she would try her best to get an outcome for me by that day but in any event would call me back. I never heard back from her. Fast forward to over 4 weeks later and I still do not have preapproval. I have been assured by the mortgage specialist on multiple occasions that I would have an outcome within 2 to 3 days then I hear nothing and when I call and email I am given no explanation as to why I have not received an outcome and given further timeframes that are not adhered to. It is an absolute joke and I will now be going elsewhere. I caution anyone who values their own time not to waste it with this sorry excuse for a financier.
Slow approval process, was told 2 days but I haven't heard back after two weeks despite multiple follow up by email, phone. Just promise after promise.
I have been with Homestar about 2 years now and have found them to have a competative rate who pass on most of the RBA cuts. There online banking is a bit basic but gets the job done. I would recommend them to anyone who needs a great rate!
I've only been a customer for 18 months but already my rate is higher than the one they offer new customers. Its no introductory offer its just once you sign up your individual variable rate is put up above what they offer. I've contacted the bank but no response. Regretful decision changing to the them.
I applied for a home loan through Homestar based on their reviews on customer service. I had nothing but the worst customer service experience. I was called dyslexic and asked to have my "boyfriend" pay part of the settlement figures even though my loan would cover it. I applied for a loan for a land and home build. I required an extension on financing as Homestar informed me that a loan for a build would take longer. An extension was granted based on how long Homestar told me they needed. I called three days before financing was due to ensure everything was on track. I was told it was. Come the day of financing, I was told they needed one more day as my expenses were over by $80 per month. This was despite the fact I had pre-approval based on the expenses (-$80 a month) and had since had a $2500 a year pay rise. I was also told that the evaluation was delayed as they wrote the wrong address. There was never an apology. I asked for an extension and it was refused. All my hard work to get this home was gone. Luckily the builder managed to get the land seller to change their mind. The day before settlement, the amount for settlement came through and Homestar were going to contribute a lot less than what I expected. I had paid 5% to the builder but they did not take this into account. When I asked them to explain the amount they were paying towards settling the land I was told "I can't believe you would ask me that question, you should know the terms of your loan" and "there's no way you will settle tomorrow if you make changes". The change was very easy and straightforward in the end. I hope that I can eventually be proven wrong and they can improve their customer service. I would hate for anyone else to be spoken to and treated the way I was. I am not usually one to complain but I have had no luck solving this with Homestar.
Homestar finance is not as competitive as it used to be. I wish they would treat their existing customers as new ones.
WARNING: This comparison rate applies only to the example or examples given. Different amounts and terms will result in different comparison rates. Costs such as redraw fees or early repayment fees, and cost savings such as fee waivers, are not included in the comparison rate but may influence the cost of the loan. The comparison rate displayed is for a secured loan with monthly principal and interest repayments for $150,000 over 25 years.
Want more? Compare all 465 home loans in the Mozo comparison engine.
Compare more home loansMozo gives you the inside story on the best banking, energy and insurance products as rated by thousands of real customers around Australia. We don't make subjective judgments, nor do advertisers influence our ratings. Although our reviews may be moderated to improve quality standards, they are moderated independently of any of Mozo’s commercial relationships.