How I'm Saving $87 a Week (or $4,500 This Year) on My Home Loan

Kirsty Lamont

22 Nov 2017

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How competitive is your home loan rate?

  • Lenders are offering variable rates well below 4%

  • Huge savings on offer for borrowers prepared to ditch and switch

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As a Director at comparison site Mozo.com.au, I consider myself to be pretty on top of my finances. So you can imagine the shock I got recently when reviewing my home loan rate to find that it had become seriously uncompetitive.

When I took out this loan with a smaller bank a few years ago, the rate delivered a serious saving on my previous loan. Secure in the knowledge I’d secured a great deal, I stopped paying close attention to my mortgage and focused on other things.

And that’s where I went wrong, because over the next couple of years my new lender proceeded to hike our rate little by little and hold back part of the Reserve Bank’s rate cuts over the same period.

I had become a victim of that time honoured tradition of banks fattening profit margins and was now paying 4.27% - more than 60 percentage points higher than the best rate on the market.

I knew there were now stacks of lenders offering rates below 4.00%, and after comparing the best loans decided to go with an online lender offering a super low variable rate... check out what's on offer in the comparison table below and then read on for the rest of my story.

Low Rate Home Loans – May 2018 - rates updated daily

  • Promoted

    loans.com.au

    3.03% p.a. variable

    3.05% p.a.

    $1234

    Product details Close details
    Go to site
    Smart Home Loan

    A low-rate home loan that could save you thousands. No application or ongoing fees. Unlimited additional repayments. Unlimited free redraws with no minimum redraw amount, Limited time only.

    • 3.03% p.a. variable

    • 3.05% p.a.

    • $520

    • $0.00

    • $0.00

    • yes - free

    • yes - free

    • no

    • 80.00%

    • $50,000

    • $1,000,000

    • Variable

    • Principal & Interest

    • Owner Occupier

    • Weekly, Fortnightly, Monthly

    Read our Mozo Review to learn more about the Smart Home Loan

    Go to site

  • Promoted

    UBank

    3.09% p.a. variable

    3.09% p.a.

    $1234

    Product details Close details
    Go to site
    UHomeLoan - Discount Offer

    One of Australia's leading digital banks. Easy & fast to apply. Free redraw with flexible repayments. Min. 20% deposit required. Low rate and no bank fees (on variable loans). Winner of a Mozo Experts Choice Award 2019 in the Low Cost Home Loan category.^

    • 3.09% p.a. variable

    • 3.09% p.a.

    • $0

    • $0.00

    • $0.00

    • yes - free

    • yes - free

    • no

    • 80.00%

    • $200,000

    • -

    • Variable

    • Principal & Interest

    • Owner Occupier

    • Weekly, Fortnightly, Monthly

    Read our Mozo Review to learn more about the UHomeLoan - Discount Offer

    Go to site

  • Promoted

    Athena

    3.09% p.a. variable

    3.05% p.a.

    $1234

    Product details Close details
    Go to site
    Variable Home Loan

    Low rates, no fees, and automatic rate match. New-comer Athena wants you to love them and leave them. Refinance only. Minimum 20% deposit.

    • 3.09% p.a. variable

    • 3.05% p.a.

    • $0

    • $0.00

    • $0.00

    • yes - free

    • yes - free

    • no

    • 80.00%

    • $100,000

    • $2,000,000

    • Variable

    • Principal & Interest

    • Owner Occupier

    • Weekly, Fortnightly, Monthly

    Read our Mozo Review to learn more about the Variable Home Loan

    Go to site

  • Featured Product

    ME

    3.34% p.a. variable

    3.78% p.a.

    $1234

    Product details Close details
    Go to site
    Flexible Home Loan Member Package

    A flexible Home Loan with Member Package for Owner Occupiers including a low rate, redraw and offset. Annual fee $395.

    • 3.34% p.a. variable

    • 3.78% p.a.

    • $200

    • $395.00 yearly

    • $350.00

    • yes - free

    • yes - free

    • yes

    • 80.00%

    • $400,000

    • $699,999

    • Variable

    • Principal & Interest

    • Owner Occupier

    • Weekly, Fortnightly, Monthly

    Read our Mozo Review to learn more about the Flexible Home Loan

    Go to site

  • Promoted

    ANZ

    3.38% p.a. variable

    3.42% p.a.

    $1234

    Product details Close details
    Go to site
    Simplicity PLUS Special Offer LVR <80%

    Competitive low rate. No upfront or monthly fees. Flexibility to make extra repayments and redraw. Minimum 20% deposit required.

    • 3.38% p.a. variable

    • 3.42% p.a.

    • $0

    • $0.00

    • $160.00

    • yes - free

    • yes

    • no

    • 80.00%

    • $50,000

    • -

    • Variable

    • Principal & Interest

    • Owner Occupier

    • Weekly, Fortnightly, Monthly

    Read our Mozo Review to learn more about the Simplicity PLUS Special Offer LVR <80%

    Go to site

*WARNING: This comparison rate applies only to the example or examples given. Different amounts and terms will result in different comparison rates. Costs such as redraw fees or early repayment fees, and cost savings such as fee waivers, are not included in the comparison rate but may influence the cost of the loan. The comparison rate displayed is for a secured loan with monthly principal and interest repayments for the amount and term you entered.

**Initial monthly repayment figures are estimates only, based on the advertised rate, and a loan of $500,000 repaid over 25 years. Rates, fees and charges and therefore the total cost of the loan may vary depending on your loan amount, loan term, and credit history. Actual repayments will depend on your individual circumstances and interest rate changes.

Was it all worth it?

I’ve just completed the refinance process and sure, while there were some minor hassles with sending in paperwork and organising to be at home for the valuer, the time involved was actually quite minor when you consider the size of the savings. $87 a week to be precise, or just over $4,500 a year.

If that’s not worth putting in a few hours on paperwork then I don’t know what is!

The kicker in all of this is that a week before the refinance went through, I received a letter from my soon to be old lender advising of yet another rate increase. Not this time suckers!

So, if you haven’t reviewed your home loan rate lately I’d strongly advise you do. Who knows how much you could save by switching?

Rates correct at time of writing. How much you could save by refinancing your home loan depends on your personal circumstances.

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