It goes without saying that nobody likes to be locked into a mortgage for longer than they need to be.
If you’ve been thinking about what you’d rather do with your mortgage repayments, it might be time to build a strategy to say goodbye to your home loan sooner. Here’s some food for thought as a starting point…
Extra repayments: early and often
Additional repayments can significantly reduce the term of your loan and the total cost of interest, and the earlier you start, the greater the potential savings. There are a few ways you can go about it, for example – increasing the frequency of your repayments; using the bonus from work (or other windfalls) to make a lump sum payment; and of course, you might be able to increase your regular repayment amount. Not sure where to start? Contact us and we can talk through your options and help you understand what the impact of additional repayments would be on your mortgage.
Put your savings to work
If you have savings, you might like to consider using these to reduce your home loan interest costs. Here’s how it works: let’s say you have savings of $50,000 in an offset account or a revolving credit account and a home loan of $450,000, instead of paying interest on the total mortgage amount of $450,000, you could pay interest on $400,000. Interesting thought? Get in touch for more information.
Give your home loan a regular health-check
It’s not always a good idea to switch lenders based on interest rate – break costs, fees and other factors need to be weighed up as part of the equation. But it is always a good idea to keep your mortgage top-of-mind and give it a regular ‘health-check’. If you think it’s time to go back to your lender and check that you are receiving the best from your bank, get in touch for a complimentary home loan health-check and conversation about your mortgage options.
It’s not just interest rate that counts
Break fees, establishment fees, ongoing fees – home loans come with costs other than interest rate and it’s important to know what these are. Like interest rates, fees are negotiable, so if you’re looking at ways to pay your mortgage off faster, but are unsure about the associated fees, talk to us.
A pinch of wisdom
Of course, one of the simplest ways to say goodbye to your mortgage faster is applying a sound savings / spending mentality to everyday life. Even the small things count: that morning coffee, the extra magazine at the check-out, can all add up to a sizeable amount which can be redirected into your home loan. It may seem like a drop in the ocean, but every little bit counts.
USE THE MORTGAGE EXPERTS IN YOUR CORNER
As dedicated mortgage advisers, we’re here to help. If you’ve decided that you’d like to say goodbye to your home loan sooner, let’s get together and talk about the different approaches and options for your personal circumstances and goals.
It’s a service that comes at no cost to you*, and puts your interests first – learn more here.
An Adviser Disclosure Statement is available free of charge, and on request.
* Our standard Mortgage Advisory service is provided free of charge as we are remunerated (paid) by the banks, but we also provide specialised services and advice for non-conforming, credit-impaired, business and complex cases. After our free initial no-obligation consultation, we will advise you if a fee may need to be charged before we undertake any work. In many cases we may find a simple solution for you.
