Here’s how to become a haggling pro and save $45k on your home loan

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Kelly Emmerton

17 Oct 2017

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The property market is an expensive place to be these days, but we’ve uncovered a strategy that might allow homebuyers to loosen the budgetary belt a bit: haggling.

Mozo recently went undercover for our annual Big 4 home loan mystery shop and found that scoring a discount of up to 0.82%* on your home loan may be as easy as asking for it.

“Our mystery shoppers found that the big banks were willing to give out pretty sizeable discounts to all kinds of borrowers if they were willing to haggle for it,” said Mozo’s property and home loan expert, Steve Jovcevski.

“With savings as high as $45,000 on offer for first home buyers or $86,000 for refinancers*, that’s a sign you should definitely be asking for a better deal when you approach a home loan lender.”

The first step to scoring a great deal is to start out on the right foot with an offer that suits your needs - so check out some of the top mortgage offers around in the table below, then read on for our expert tips on how to haggle like a pro.

Home Loan Comparisons - November 2017 - rates updated daily

  • Promoted

    loans.com.au

    2.88% p.a. variable

    2.90% 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.

    • 2.88% p.a. variable

    • 2.90% 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

    2.84% p.a. variable

    2.84% p.a.

    $1234

    Product details Close details
    Go to site
    UHomeLoan - Discount Offer

    Free redraw with flexible repayments. Min 20% deposit. Winner of a Mozo Experts Choice Award 2019 in the Low Cost Home Loan category^.

    • 2.84% p.a. variable

    • 2.84% 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

    2.84% p.a. variable

    2.80% p.a.

    $1234

    Product details Close details
    Go to site
    Variable Home Loan

    Get the low rate you deserve with Athena, one of Australia's newest direct lenders. No fees and fee-free redraw. The same low rates for new and existing customers. Score loyalty bonus for making repayments. Min 20% deposit.

    • 2.84% p.a. variable

    • 2.80% 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

  • Promoted

    Tic:Toc

    2.79% p.a. variable

    2.80% p.a.

    $1234

    Product details Close details
    Go to site
    Variable Home Loan

    Get full approval online. Award-winning platform could save you thousands with super-low rates. No application, valuation or settlement fees. Fee-free redraws and extra repayments. Optional offset account for $10 per month. Winner of a Mozo Experts Choice Award 2019 for Online Home Lender of the Year 2019.^

    • 2.79% p.a. variable

    • 2.80% p.a.

    • $0

    • $0.00

    • $325.00

    • yes - free

    • yes - free

    • Optional - $10 per month

    • 90.00%

    • $50,000

    • $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

  • Promoted

    Homestar

    2.74% p.a. variable

    2.77% p.a.

    $1234

    Product details Close details
    Go to site
    Star Essentials Home Loan

    One of the lowest home loan rates in town packed with essential features. No application or ongoing fees. Unlimited additional repayments with free online redraws. Min. loan size $150k, no construction loans.

    • 2.74% p.a. variable

    • 2.77% p.a.

    • $596

    • $0.00

    • $535.00

    • yes - free

    • yes - free

    • no

    • 80.00%

    • $150,000

    • $850,000

    • Variable

    • Principal & Interest

    • Owner Occupier

    • Weekly, Fortnightly, Monthly

    Read our Mozo Review to learn more about the Star Essentials Home Loan

    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.

Mozo’s home loan haggling tips

Ready to save a bundle on your mortgage? Here are our top tips for haggling like a professional and squeezing the best deal out of your lender.

  • Don’t settle for the first offer. “Banks often won’t give you the best deal they can the first time you ask - they reserve the lowest rates for customers who really push for it,” said Jovcevski. So if you want to save as much as possible, it’s time to dig in your heels and really work for it.

  • Be prepared for price matching. Our mystery shop found that some lenders won’t come to the party unless you’re asking them to price match an offer from a competitor, so make sure you compare home loans and have a rate in mind to ask for. The upside is that if haggling doesn’t pan out, you’ve already found another low rate offer!

  • Bundle other products. You might have more luck securing a big discount if you bring other financial products across to your home loan lender as well. Think about bundling your home insurance, credit card, or bank account as incentive for a better mortgage deal.

  • Think about other bonuses. Things like frequent flyer bonus points, cashback offers or waived fees can sweeten your home loan deal almost as much as a lowered interest rate. “Don’t be scared to think outside the box when it comes to things that might sweeten the deal for you,” Jovcevski said.

  • Call in the experts. If the thought of haggling on your home loan has you breaking out in a cold sweat, then don’t worry. Instead, you can head over to check out our Mystery Bank Deal, and snag a rock bottom rate for your mortgage, no haggling necessary.

*Savings and discounts based on discounts from ANZ, NAB, Westpac and CommBank between 11 - 14 September 2017. Potential annual savings calculated for first home buyer on a $300,000 home loan and refinancer on a $500,000 loan over 30 years.

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