How to Spring Clean your Home Loan

26 Aug How to Spring Clean your Home Loan

As we kiss winter goodbye and dust off the dirt the cold weather had left, it also pays to take the time now and spring clean your finances—starting off with your home loan.

At this time of the year, you may want to invest in another property or you wish to cut down your debts because of an unforeseen circumstance. Small changes could make a huge difference over the term of a home loan, so it’s important to weigh up your options and factor in those fees and charges. Reviewing your home loan may give you a great opportunity to help cut your mortgage by getting ahead on your repayments. Interest rates have been hovering around historical lows, in turn borrowers have started refinancing or pursuing a purchase loan.

Spring season provides us time to clean up but it should not be limited to the insides of our home. Below are the ways to ‘tidy up’ your current mortgage. Happy spring cleaning (your home loan)!

 Check your interest rate.

Many Aussie home loan customers are guilty of not knowing what their interest rate is. Phone your bank or ask your broker. Better yet, check also the interest rates offered by various banks and non-bank lenders.

This will give you an idea on whether you’re paying too much in terms of interest, and could give you a good bit of bargaining power should you decide to switch lenders. Make sure you look for loan rates that are at or below the market average.

Review your fees.

Annual fees, application costs, redraw costs, exit costs—there are multiple fees that come with home loans which secretly affect customers. Educate yourself with these or ask your finance broker about these. Review your fees on your mortgage account and always look at the comparison rate on rival products as this rate factors in all the additional fees and charges associated with your loan.

Consolidate your debt.

You and your finance broker could put all of your debts together to come up with a single loan, a single interest rate, a single monthly mortgage payment. This enables you to minimise your monthly expenses and make your credit more manageable.

Debt consolidation is for you if:

• you have a hard time paying your monthly payments on time due to having to many commitments
• you have equity in your home
• you have a bad credit and a large amount of debt

Refinance your home loan.

The ultimate reason for refinancing is for you to take advantage of a better, more competitive interest rate. You can also refinance to access a home loan feature your current loan doesn’t provide.

Other reasons for choosing to refinance are:

• To facilitate home renovations
• To consolidate existing debts
• To reduce your borrowing cost
• To purchase or build a new home

Ask for a Complementary home loan health check.

A home loan health check simply means reviewing the features of your home loan which provide you with an efficient and cost-effective method when looking at your home loan options. No sweat! You could ask yourself the following questions:

✔ Am I paying an unreasonably high interest rate?
✔ Am I paying outrageous fees?
✔ Am I frustrated by inadequate service?
✔ Does my loan give me the features I need?
✔ Am I paying for features I don’t use?
✔ Have my financial circumstances changed?

If you’re not sure of your answers or you don’t have any idea at all, don’t fret! As a finance broker, I can offer a complementary assessment for your home loan.

Disclaimer:

Credit Representative Number 486927 is authorised under Australian Credit Licence 389328.

This article provides general information only and has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. We recommend that you consider whether it is appropriate for your circumstances and your full financial situation will need to be reviewed prior to acceptance of any offer or product. It does not constitute legal, tax or financial advice and you should always seek professional advice in relation to your individual circumstances. Subject to lenders terms and conditions, fees and charges and eligibility criteria apply.