Planning Ahead Could Make 2022 Your Best Year Yet!

Things are pretty sweet right now if you’re a home owner with a manageable mortgage. Interest rates remain low and steady, house prices continue to rise, and with the country slowing moving into a post-pandemic period, we’re beginning to see what this brave new world will actually look like.

Can things get any better? Well, that depends. How long since you’ve taken a good, long look at your home loan and the finances surrounding it?

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Can you get a better interest rate?

Interest rates remain at an all-time low. Whether you’re locked into a fixed rate home loan or prefer the flexibility of a variable rate, you’re onto a winner. But when was the last time you called your broker or lender to discuss your interest rate?

Just because you’re already on a low rate doesn’t mean there’s no room to shave off a few teeny, tiny tenths of a percentage point. The flip side of soaring house prices is larger mortgages, so that tenth of a percentage point can mean considerable savings for you. And as they say, you don’t get it if you don’t ask.

So contact your lender or broker today and see if there’s a better interest rate with your name on it. 

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Home loan health check

And while you’re on the phone, in the office, on Zoom or however you’re doing your home loan negotiating these days, how healthy is your home loan package looking?

Do you know what home loan package you’re on? Are you paying fees you don’t quite understand? Is the package you signed up for as a new home buyer no longer the best option for you?

The days of the one-size-fits-all home loan are so last century. These days, there’s a loan for everyone. As your needs change, so should your home loan.

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Are you paying a loyalty tax?

The aptly named loyalty tax is the name given to the higher interest rates loyal, existing customers are paying compared to those offered to fresh, dewy-eyed new customers. Can you avoid paying this loyalty tax? Absolutely! Contact your lender or broker and negotiate a better interest rate or home loan deal for yourself.

Your home loan, you decide

It pays (we know, we’re funny) to remember banks and other lenders want your business. You’re worth a great deal of money to them, no matter how small your home loan is.

Be proactive and make the current economic situation work for you. A few dollars saved every month soon adds up to many dollars saved over the term of your home loan – even more so if you stick to your previous repayment amount.

Calculations count

Not sure how much impact a few dollars will have?

Grab a coffee and play around with one of our home loan calculators. You might be surprised by the numbers you see (and playing around with online calculators is so much fun!)

And don’t forget, these very low interest rates won’t last forever. While the Federal Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has previously flagged that it may not raise interest rates until 2024, this intention isn’t written in stone.

Another way to plan for the future is to keep making those extra repayments now.

• Useful reading: Extra Home Loan Repayments: How Effective Are They?

Keen to chat about your home loan now? One of our experienced brokers is just as keen to help you plan ahead for 2022 and save you some dollars too!