HAS your home loan been sitting stagnant for as long as you can remember?
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Why not reassess your financial goals and get a home loan health check to assess your loan's suitability to your lifestyle and finances?
When you first took out your home loan, it may well have been perfectly suited to your needs - and it still could be today.
But it is well worth considering reviewing your options to make sure you are getting a red hot deal that is matched to your lifestyle and finances.
Keep in mind that if your circumstances have changed since taking out your loan, you may now be eligible for a different loan type, one that potentially has a lower interest rate, additional features and better facilities.
With low-interest rates and increased competition between banks and other lenders, now is a good time to be actively seeking a better, well-suited deal.
To determine whether your home loan is in need of a health check, here are a few questions to ask yourself as a starting point:
1. Do you know your home loan's interest rate?
You could be paying too much. A local mortgage broker, like myself, could perform a home loan health check which could reveal another option with a lower interest rate that is also a better fit to your current needs. You will need to weigh up the cost versus benefit of switching lenders and/or loan products.
2. Have you just received a pay rise or bonus?
Adding a lump sum contribution to your home loan can help to reduce the interest owed and the term of your loan.
A home loan health check can confirm whether your home loan has the ability to make extra repayments.
3. Have you recently moved from a single income to a double income?
You may choose to use your second income to repay your home loan sooner and/or build up equity to upsize, buy an investment property, etc.
Using an offset account could be a good option, particularly if you now have more income to add to the account, which would reduce the overall interest charged on the loan.
4. Are you looking to expand your family?
If you want to lower your loan repayments for a set period to alleviate pressure or to use your funds in a different way you may consider switching to an interest-only loan.
These loans offer many of the same features as principal and interest loans with the benefit of lower monthly repayments.
5. Do you have plans to upsize or downsize?
If you are looking to move to a different dwelling to suit your changing needs, there are a number of options available.
For more information phone Richard Windeyer on 1800 01 LOAN.