Home Loans Articles

How can I pay my loan off faster?

Whether you have a home loan, a personal loan or a car loan, it’s likely that you’d prefer your debt to be paid off as soon as possible. The longer you owe money to a bank or lender, the more interest you’ll be charged, until the total cost eventually exceeds any benefits offered by the loan.

What is APRA?

APRA, or the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority as it is officially known, is the prudential regulator of Australia’s financial services industry.

What is a principal and interest home loan?

Home loan repayments are either made on a ‘principal and interest’ basis or they are paid by ‘interest-only’ instalments.

Is it safe to get a home loan with a small lender?

While there are certainly benefits to getting your mortgage from a major bank like Australia’s Big Four, it’s the smaller lenders that tend to offer the more competitive interest rates, fees and charges that give the big banks a run for their money.

Why smaller mortgage lenders often come out on top

Borrowers are doing themselves a disservice if they refuse to at least consider taking out a mortgage with a lender outside the big four banks.

What Is a Mortgage Broker? | RateCity

A mortgage broker helps consumers take out home loans with lenders. As such, mortgage brokers act as middlemen between consumers and lenders.

The 5 mistakes people make with home loans

A home loan is arguably the most expensive purchase you will make, so you can’t afford to make mistakes. RateCity has compiled a list of the most common miscalculations you can make when choosing a home loan.

Is the cheapest home loan always the best?

We all want to pay as little for our mortgage as possible, but it would be wrong to assume that lower-rate products are automatically better.

What the new bank levy could cost you

One surprise to come out of Australia’s 2017 Federal Budget was the introduction of a new 'budget repair' levy on Australia’s big banks.

Why more Australians are rentvesting

‘Rentvesting’ is an option being taken by some younger Australians who want to enter the property market but don’t want to live in the outer suburbs.

Good debt and bad debt, how to consolidate and save

Even if you didn’t pay much attention to the 2017 federal budget, you may remember how it was presented a little differently. Rather than focusing solely on surpluses versus deficits, the federal government sorted its borrowing into "good debt" and "bad debt".

Looking beyond the rate, other home loan features to get excited about

Many of us get hung up on interest rates when comparing different home loans. It’s easy to understand why – “the lower the rate, the better the loan” is a very simple formula to understand.

Don't make this big refinancing mistake!

The main reason people refinance their home loan is to save money. But sometimes people make a crucial mistake and actually lose money.

How offset accounts can strip years off your home loan

Unless you have a bachelor degree in finance, really smart friends or a great financial advisor, you may never learn all the tricks of the trade. For instance, did you know that offset accounts reward the conscious saver by saving you thousands in interest charges and shaving years of your loan term?

How can refinancing help you pay off your home loan quicker?

You may have heard that refinancing your home loan to a cheaper rate can help you pay off your mortgage sooner. This can be true but there are certain steps you need to follow to make sure this is the case.

Looking at interest only loans

The governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), Philip Lowe, has shown support for new housing affordability regulations from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, including limiting interest-only loans to 30% of all new loans supplied by banks and lenders.

How will the big four's interest rate increases affect you?

Yet another of the big four banks has increased home loan rates, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) raising borrowing costs for owner-occupiers and property investors.

What is a Mortgage Discharge Fee? | RateCity

Also known as a termination or settlement fee, a discharge fee is paid when you finish paying off the balance on a loan, or refinance with another lender.