Home Loan Rates
Things to consider when you compare home loan rates:
1. Shop Around
Compare home loan rates
There is a large difference between the rates offered in the Australian Home Loan marketplace. It is important to go beyond your local bank and look at a wide range of home loan offers from different banks and lenders. Compare home loans overall and not just the rates because there are fees and other factors which can add substantially to the cost of a home loan.
2. Consider the long term not just the next year or two.
Introductory rates or capped rates may be tempting but it is important to think beyond the first one or two years of your home loan. Look at the standard rate of the mortgage products that you are considering. After the introductory period, will you be able to comfortably afford the repayments? Special introductory rate home loan offers can also have strict terms and hefty penalties attached with them which make changing your mortgage a costly and difficult exercise if you need to refinance for some reason.
3.Special Offers
Every week a banks or lenders are advertising so called “special offer” or “discount rate.” but these offers are meaningless unless you examine the deals closely and consider your own situation carefully. Because lenders charge different fees and penalties, comparing home loans can be tricky if you don’t know what to look for. The good news is that with modern technology and the Internet, comparing home loan rates and home loan offers in general is much easier than it used to be due to comparison tools that objectively compare home loan offers.
4. Use good online comparison tools
The offers with the lowest home loan rates may not necessarily be the best because fees and penalties can add significantly to the cost of a home loan. That is why good objective comparison tools are important.
A good advanced home loan calculator can do a lot of the hard in comparing home loans. That’s because these tools can tap into a live database of rates and fees. They also give you a comparison of repayments and even total costs.