Once you have set up your mortgage with regular automatic payments being made, it can be easy to forget about it. It is important however, to regularly review and assess it over time to make sure it is working as effectively as possible as lifestyle or market interest rate changes affect your mortgage needs. Some of these changes may include:
-Finding a more competitive interest rate
-Accessing equity in your property
-Paying off your loan faster
-Consolidating debt
-Starting a family, and possibly reducing income
- Moving from a fixed to variable home loan rate or visa versa
There are a vast array of choices being offered by banks and other lenders in order for you to take out finance with them such as cash backs, limited time interest rates, gifts or even holidays! As enticing as such offers may seem, it is important you take a step back to consider the most important factors in determining how much it will cost you in the long term such as interest rates and the structure of your mortgage.
The interest rate is obviously an important factor in your decision. Even just a small reduction in your interest rate can add up to tens of thousands of dollars saved over the lifetime of your mortgage. However, the loan with the best interest rate is not necessarily the best option and over the long term may actually cost you more.
It is also important to also consider the structure of the loan in determining how much you pay in the long term. This will involve decisions about whether you have your mortgage on a floating rate, have a revolving credit account; use a fixed rate, a capped rate or an offset mortgage. Or maybe you would be better with a combination of these. Whilst having this range of options can help ensure that you get a mortgage to suit, it can also be confusing! That is where a mortgage adviser can help.
How can a Mortgage Link Adviser help?
With so many options out there, how do you know if you are getting the best deal? Your bank or other lender may know a lot about their own offers but a Mortgage Link adviser deals with a range of banks and lenders. This means they are able to not only compare interest rates across all options, but they will also consider the fees/break costs, any cash incentives offered and flexibility of the loan. They can then help you do the sums, look at the long term benefits against the actual costs and help you work out if it’s a good time to refinance your mortgage.
Get in touch with a Mortgage Link Adviser today to check and see if your mortgage is performing its best. You may end up saving thousands of dollars in interest, allowing you to pay off your loan faster. Remember it costs nothing to talk to us, so you have nothing to lose!
