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Auusie Home Loans - are you looking for a home loan
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Little Aussie Stories - Aussie Home Loans
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Q: We rent in Tamworth and like the idea of buying about 20 or 30 acres close by and would like to ask if interest rates on properties are higher than if we buy a house in town?
A: Hi Matt
Generally, if the property is under 25 acres, & is not 'income producing' i.e. you're buying it for 'lifestyle' reasons, a larger rural/residential block will attract the same interest rate as if buying in town.
Happy to discuss this further, or, we also have an Aussie store in Tamworth you can drop into as well.
Cheers
Craig
Aussie Coffs Harbour
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Q: Hi, our home was valued at 660k 18 months ago and we have a home loan for around 476k. For various reasons (no credit issues) the credit card balance is now 18k and we want to know if it is possible to increase the home loan to pay off the credit cards. We both work and earn about 132k combined and have no other debts, is this possible?
A: Hi Robert. Sounds like it's something we can help you with, given the equity you have in your property.
It's worth having a chat to discus the options available, & if you've had your loan for several years, it's worth checking your current rate & loan features at the same time.
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Q: Why is it that I could get about a 0.50% lower rate on my home loan with my bank if I was a new customer? Shouldn't existing customers be getting a lower rate for loyalty? Is this just happening at my bank or with other banks as well? Seems unfair!
A: Hi Steve
No, unfortunately it happens at all the banks/lenders. The old adage that 'it's cheaper to keep your old clients, rather than buy new ones' seems to be wasted on them.
The good news is, by speaking to your lender or broker, you can often have your rate reduced. The reason behind this is that the lender usually doesn't make much out of your loan the first year or so. After a couple of years, they are finally making some profit out of your loan, & are therefore very keen to see you stay.
We are often arranging discounts on our clients existing loans, rather than simply refinancing, which costs money.
The discount may not be quite as low as that on offer to new loans, but once the refinancing costs, (& lets face it, the hassle of doing so) are taken into account, its still a better deal.
Cheers
Craig
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Q: There's so many brokers. Do they all have access to the same bank deals? And when I get my loan, will my broker proactively identify when I should refinance - or do I need to do this investigation myself every year?
A: Daniel, first of all, you really don't want to be refinancing every year, as you'll never own your home.
While you may get the latest 'good deal' your broker is the one making the money, as we get paid for each settlement.
What we prefer to do is each year or two, check with the lender if they're willing to decrease your rate. This costs you nothing, and saves up to $1,000 in refinancing costs, and to be honest, you can do this yourself with little fuss.
Banks really only start making money from your loan after 1-2 years, so after that time, (when they're actually making a profit from you) they're keen to keep you even at a reduced profit margin.
As a broker, this is easy for us to check & arrange for you.
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Q: Are redraw facilities easy to use? Can they be online or do I have to call the lender every time I want to access funds?
A: Very easy, & pretty much all of them prefer you to use them online, which is likely to be free.
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Q: If a financial institution calculates interest daily, is it only business days? Is this the same for deposits as loans?
A: No, everyday. They calculate interest on the loan every day you owe them money. No free rides from banks unfortunately! :)
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Q: I've been told I can use a deposit bond instead of cashing in some investments to buy a property, is that possible?
A: True. The bond will cost you 1.3% of the bond amount, & substitutes cash until settlement, when the full purchase price is payable.
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Q: Are there options for being a guarantor to help your kids buying their first home for only part of their loan, say for the deposit only, instead of their whole loan?
A: Most decent guarantor loans (or Family Pledge as some banks call them) don't require the guarantor risking their entire home.
These days they're known as a 'limited guarantee', with most of them simply covering any amount up to 20% of the purchase price, plus costs, less whatever deposit the borrowers (kids?) have available.
There are more variations, but largely that covers most situations.
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Q: The markets are a bit bumpy at the moment – should I be looking to changing my loan to a fixed rate?
A: There's no simple answer to that, but....it depends on your reason for fixing. My experience tells me, that those who simply lock a fixed rate as they 'think' they'll play the rate game and win, usually don't.
Over the longer term,generally, someone on a variable rate would come out in front of those always fixing.
That said, if you're comfortable with the repayments on whatever the fixed rate is, & you want some certainty that your repayments will stay the same for a number of years (handy during maternity leave for example), then by all means, fix your rate.
If rates fall after you fix, you just need to remember the reason you fixed, being certainty, not lowest rate.
You'd really benefit from having someone look at your entire situation before making the jump though.
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Q: I am paying 4.60% on my home loan - is that too high and what should I be paying?
A: It may be a bit high, with around 4% available, but that depends on the overall details of your situation. It has to be worth the costs involved to change too.
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Q: Coming right out of school and heading into the job market, is now a reasonable time to start a line of credit?
A: Hi Kayla. What would you be doing with the Line of Credit (LOC)?
If you're buying property, I'd seriously suggest a good chat with a mortgage broker first, as LOC may not be the solution. A broker will discuss with you the pros and cons of such a product.
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Q: Is a 10% deposit still required by most banks/lenders for a home loan?
A: Many do, but 95% borrowing is still available, provided any Lenders Mortgage Insurance that is added to the loan amount, sees your borrowing stay under 97% of the security value.
Bill Vasiliadis
9 years ago
