How to get the best investment loan deal
Whether you’re a first time investor wanting to get a foot in the property door or an experienced property pro after an addition to your portfolio, there’s one main thing you’ll probably be on the hunt for when it comes to your investment loan - a low interest rate.
Even a 25 basis point difference could slash the interest you’ll pay over the life of the loan significantly. For instance, an investor looking to borrow $600k over a 30 year period, would pay $31,850 less in interest if they went for a home loan with a rate of 4.25%, compared to a slightly higher rate of 4.5%.
See why a great rate is an absolute must?
Okay you might be thinking, “Mozo we’ve got the point, a lower rate loan could save me bucket loads of cash. Now how do I track down the best deal?”
Well there are several options and it all comes down to which method works best for you. Starting from the top...
Home Loan Comparison Table - last updated 20 March 2024
-
Featured Product
Ultra Low Rate <95% LVR
Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest
interest rate
comparison rate
Initial monthly repayment6.30% p.a. variable6.58% p.a.Only 5% deposit required to apply. Low upfront costs to pay. No LMI Required. Unlimited Redraw and additional repayments. No Application or ongoing fees. No guarantors or equity sharing required.
CompareCompareUltra Low Rate <95% LVR
Only 5% deposit required to apply. Low upfront costs to pay. No LMI Required. Unlimited Redraw and additional repayments. No Application or ongoing fees. No guarantors or equity sharing required.
- interest rate
- 6.30% p.a. variable
- comparison rate
- 6.58% p.a.
- interest rate
- 6.30% p.a. variable
- comparison rate
- 6.58% p.a.
- Upfront fees
- $790
- Ongoing fees
- $0.00
- Discharge Fee
- $795.00
- Extra repayments
- yes - free
- Redraw facility
- yes - free
- Offset account
- no
- Maximum loan to value ratio
- 95.00%
- minimum borrowing amount
- $350,000
- maximum borrowing amount
- $2,000,000
- type of mortgage
- Variable
- Repayment types
- Principal & Interest
- Availability
- Owner Occupier
- Repayment options
- Monthly
- Special Offers
- -
Read our Mozo Review to learn more about the Sucasa Ultra Low Rate <95% LVR
-
Featured Product
Mozo experts choice awards won:
- Low Cost Home Loan - 2024
Unloan Variable
Owner Occupier, Refinance Only, LVR <80%
interest rate
comparison rate
Initial monthly repayment5.99% p.a. variable5.90% p.a.For refinancers only. Built by CommBank, the Unloan is the first home loan with an increasing discount (conditions apply) for borrowers. No application or banking fees. No monthly account keeping or early exit fees. Apply in as little as 10 minutes.
CompareCompareUnloan Variable
For refinancers only. Built by CommBank, the Unloan is the first home loan with an increasing discount (conditions apply) for borrowers. No application or banking fees. No monthly account keeping or early exit fees. Apply in as little as 10 minutes.
- interest rate
- 5.99% p.a. variable
- comparison rate
- 5.90% p.a.
- interest rate
- 5.99% p.a. variable
- comparison rate
- 5.90% p.a.
- Upfront fees
- $0
- Ongoing fees
- $0.00
- Discharge Fee
- $0.00
- Extra repayments
- yes - free
- Redraw facility
- yes - free
- Offset account
- no
- Maximum loan to value ratio
- 80.00%
- minimum borrowing amount
- $10,000
- maximum borrowing amount
- $10,000,000
- type of mortgage
- Variable
- Repayment types
- Principal & Interest
- Availability
- Owner Occupier
- Repayment options
- Weekly, Fortnightly, Monthly
- Special Offers
- -
Read our Mozo Review to learn more about the Unloan Unloan Variable
-
Straight Up
Obliterate, Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest, <50% LVR
interest rate
comparison rate
Initial monthly repayment6.24% p.a. variable6.24% p.a.Get a low variable rate depending on your deposit with Athena’s Straight Up Variable Home Loan. AcceleRATES feature helps you to reduce your home loan even faster (T&Cs apply). Zero fees to pay. Free redraw facility. Handy mobile app to manage your home loan.
CompareCompareStraight Up
Get a low variable rate depending on your deposit with Athena’s Straight Up Variable Home Loan. AcceleRATES feature helps you to reduce your home loan even faster (T&Cs apply). Zero fees to pay. Free redraw facility. Handy mobile app to manage your home loan.
- interest rate
- 6.24% p.a. variable
- comparison rate
- 6.24% p.a.
- interest rate
- 6.24% p.a. variable
- comparison rate
- 6.24% p.a.
- Upfront fees
- $0
- Ongoing fees
- $0.00
- Discharge Fee
- $0.00
- Extra repayments
- yes - free
- Redraw facility
- yes - free
- Offset account
- no
- Maximum loan to value ratio
- 50.00%
- minimum borrowing amount
- $100,000
- maximum borrowing amount
- $2,500,000
- type of mortgage
- Variable
- Repayment types
- Principal & Interest
- Availability
- Owner Occupier
- Repayment options
- Weekly, Fortnightly, Monthly
- Special Offers
- -
Read our Mozo Review to learn more about the Athena Straight Up
-
Neat Home Loan
Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest, LVR <60%
interest rate
comparison rate
Initial monthly repayment6.14% p.a. variable6.16% p.a.Competitively-priced variable rate loan. Ideal for owner occupiers and investors. No service fees to pay. Make free extra repayments and redraws. Flexible repayment schedule available.
CompareCompareNeat Home Loan
Competitively-priced variable rate loan. Ideal for owner occupiers and investors. No service fees to pay. Make free extra repayments and redraws. Flexible repayment schedule available.
- interest rate
- 6.14% p.a. variable
- comparison rate
- 6.16% p.a.
- interest rate
- 6.14% p.a. variable
- comparison rate
- 6.16% p.a.
- Upfront fees
- $250
- Ongoing fees
- $0.00
- Discharge Fee
- $300.00
- Extra repayments
- yes - free
- Redraw facility
- yes - free
- Offset account
- no
- Maximum loan to value ratio
- 60.00%
- minimum borrowing amount
- $80,000
- maximum borrowing amount
- $5,000,000
- type of mortgage
- Variable
- Repayment types
- Principal & Interest
- Availability
- Owner Occupier
- Repayment options
- Weekly, Fortnightly, Monthly
- Special Offers
- -
Read our Mozo Review to learn more about the ubank Neat Home Loan
-
Mozo experts choice awards won:
- Fixed Rate Home Loan - 2024
- Investor Fixed Home Loan - 2024
Fixed Rate Home Loan
Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest
interest rate
comparison rate
Initial monthly repayment5.99% p.a.
fixed 2 years6.24% p.a.Secure a low rate and enjoy the certainty of repayments, with the BCU Fixed Rate Home Loan. Save with no ongoing annual fees. Pay up to $25,000 extra during a fixed period (T&Cs apply). Lock in for up to 5 years.
CompareCompareFixed Rate Home Loan
Secure a low rate and enjoy the certainty of repayments, with the BCU Fixed Rate Home Loan. Save with no ongoing annual fees. Pay up to $25,000 extra during a fixed period (T&Cs apply). Lock in for up to 5 years.
- interest rate
- 6.29% p.a.
fixed 3 years
- comparison rate
- 6.30% p.a.
- interest rate
- 6.29% p.a.
fixed 3 years
- comparison rate
- 6.30% p.a.
- Upfront fees
- $0
- Ongoing fees
- $0.00
- Discharge Fee
- $395.00
- Extra repayments
- yes, up to $25,000 during fixed period - fee applies
- Redraw facility
- no
- Offset account
- no
- Maximum loan to value ratio
- 95.00%
- minimum borrowing amount
- $20,000
- maximum borrowing amount
- $2,500,000
- type of mortgage
- Fixed
- Repayment types
- Principal & Interest
- Availability
- Owner Occupier
- Repayment options
- Weekly, Fortnightly, Monthly
- Special Offers
- -
Read our Mozo Review to learn more about the BCU Bank Fixed Rate Home Loan
Your selected home loans
Your selected home loans
Your selected home loans
Your selected home loans
Your selected home loans
1. Visit each provider’s website
If you have a bit of time up your sleeve you could use it to visit each home loan provider’s website and jot down the different rates, fees and features of the varying loans available to see which one comes out on top as the best. But when you consider there are over a hundred different home loans in the market, this option could be a considerably time consuming process.
2. Use an online comparison tool
Instead of doing the investment loan research yourself, you could hop online and use an online comparison website, which pulls all the different home loan offerings into the one place. So you can see what’s on offer from the big bank lenders in Australia to the smaller online providers and compare them side by side.
Mozo.com.au has several different comparison tools you can use, including a home loan search tool that allows you to compare our entire database or a Switch & Save Calculator if you’re an investor looking to refinance to a better deal.
3. Negotiate
Perhaps you are happy with your current provider and want to continue banking with them? That doesn’t mean you should settle for the interest rate advertised, as many lenders leave a bit of wiggle room for negotiating down the rate. For help on how to haggle with your provider, read our top home loan negotiating tips.
4. Use a mortgage broker
If haggling isn’t your thing, then there are services like mortgage brokers and home loan negotiators available. These professionals have relationships with a number of banks and can haggle you a competitive rate on your behalf. You can speak with Mozo’s home loan negotiators for free by filling out your details on our site.
Top questions to ask yourself before taking out an investment loan
So those are the varying ways to get the best investment loan deal, but wait, before you begin your home loan search, here are a few things to ask yourself:
- Should I repay both the principal and interest or just the interest?
When you choose an investment loan deal, you can usually choose between paying both the principal and the interest or opt for interest only repayments for an introductory period. There are three main reasons many investors go for the latter option:
- Relying on the property value increasing due to capital gains
- Only paying the interest results in lower repayments
- If the property is negatively geared, the interest may be claimed at tax time
If you do decide to opt for the interest only repayments option, keep in mind you will have to start paying down the loan amount eventually, so ensure when the interest only period ends, you can comfortably afford the higher repayments.
- What features should I put on my investment loan shopping list?
There are plenty of home loan features to look out for but two that are often the top of the list for investors are:
Think of this account as just like your everyday bank account - which you get your salary deposited into and use for everyday purchases with the linked debit card. The big drawcard of having an offset account is any money in the account is offset daily against your loan amount. So if you have a loan of $300,000 and a balance of $20,000 in the account, you’ll only pay interest on $280,000. The reason an offset account is more popular with investors than a redraw facility is because it’s easier to access your cash for future investment purposes without the slap of a fee. See why investors like it?
This option is for investors who already own property and have equity to draw on. To put it simply, a line of credit facility is a revolving line of credit that you can draw upon as you please up to a set amount. The best part is you’re only charged interest on the amount you use. Say you’re renovating your investment property in Sydney and are approved for up to $50,000 for a new bathroom and kitchen. If you pay $20,000 to your Sydney electrician and $15,000 to your plumber, then you’d only be charged interest on $35,000
Of course, those are just two features used by investors, to get a full rundown of the different options when it comes to taking out a home loan read our ‘Home Loan Features in a Nutshell’ guide.
- What investment loan fees should I look out for?
Many investment loans come with an upfront fee, for the administration costs associated with assessing you for the loan. You may also be charged a valuation fee, when the bank goes to assess the property you’re purchasing to ensure you have not overpaid for it. On top of these fees, an ongoing service fee could be charged on a monthly basis.
Keep in mind just like the interest rate, you can haggle with the lender on fees too or get our in-house negotiators to do it on your behalf.
Want to know more about investing in property like a pro? Then read our ‘Buying an Investment Property’ guide.
* 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 $150,000 over 25 years.
** Initial monthly repayment figures are estimates only, based on the advertised rate. You can change the loan amount and term in the input boxes at the top of this table. 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.
^See information about the Mozo Experts Choice Home Loan Awards
Mozo provides general product information. We don't consider your personal objectives, financial situation or needs and we aren't recommending any specific product to you. You should make your own decision after reading the PDS or offer documentation, or seeking independent advice.
While we pride ourselves on covering a wide range of products, we don't cover every product in the market. If you decide to apply for a product through our website, you will be dealing directly with the provider of that product and not with Mozo.