If you are currently a property owner in Australia, there is an abundance of opportunity to take advantage of in this very competitive lending market and you should seriously consider refinancing your home loan.
So, how could you benefit today from refinancing?
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- You could save money! Generally if you haven’t reviewed your home loan over the past couple of years you are missing out on the opportunity to secure yourself a much better deal. Remember, every extra dollar that you are paying in interest could instead be saved and used to pay down your loan faster. Over time these extra repayments will add up to even more savings and help you get ahead at an even faster pace.
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- You could lower your repayments! Perhaps your situation has changed since you first took out your mortgage and cash flow is more important now than ever. You could consider extending your loan term back out to 30 years or you could consider switching to an interest only period for a couple of years, both of which would lower your monthly commitment to the bank and boost your monthly cashflow.
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- You could restructure your finances! There are a number of ways in which you could restructure your banking to suit your current lifestyle. For example, if you run a household budget you should consider a home loan that offers multiple offset accounts. If you are the nervous type you should consider locking in a competitive fixed rate to provide some comfort around your repayment for the next few years.
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- You could consolidate your debts! If you have a number of unsecured debts, you may find that you are paying more money on your interest bill than you need to. Home loans are without doubt the cheapest form of retail borrowing available. Consolidating your car loans, personal loans and credit cards into your home loan will not only simplify your monthly budget, but also lower your repayment and save you some cash in the process.
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- You could release equity! You could be sitting on a potential gold mine of equity in your home. By releasing this equity you could pay for renovations, purchase a big ticket item or my personal favourite, use the cash released to put a deposit on an investment property! I have recently written an article titled ‘How do you Build a Property Portfolio?’ which goes into detail on how you can use your equity to build an investment property portfolio.
A reliable rule of thumb is that you should have your home loan reviewed every couple of years by a reputable mortgage broker to ensure it is still the best deal and the most suitable structure for your circumstances today. Outside of your tax bill, it is likely that your bank mortgage is the biggest expense you have every month and as such it pays to spend some time staying on top of it!
If you would like to sit down for a courtesy review of your home loan, feel free to contact me today and I will be happy to arrange a strategy meeting.
Best of luck!
Sam Panetta
