Top home loan negotiating tips
It’s a sad truth in the mortgage world that lenders often reward new customers - but what about loyal customers like you, what do you get?
Often you’ll find rather than being rewarded for your loyalty, you’ll instead see your rate increase over the years.
Thankfully there’s one thing you can do to bring the ball back in your court - haggle. Here are our top negotiating tips:
1. See what’s out there
We all know the phrase “knowledge is power”, so do some online research to see what the current best rates in the market are for your borrowing situation and ask your lender if they are willing to match or at the very least drop your rate.
2. Be rewarded for your loyalty
It’s also worth seeing what home loan deals your provider is currently offering new applicants, as you could use this as a bargaining tool to see if they’ll extend that offer to you.
3. Show you’re a worthy borrower
A mortgage lender will be less willing to negotiate if you have a history of missing your repayments or not paying them in full. So show you’re a borrower worth having, by meeting your ongoing repayments or even consider topping up your home loan with extra repayments, before you try your hand at haggling.
4. Bring other banking products to the table
Have you ever heard of the term “bundling your mortgage”? It’s when you offer your other banking products like your bank account or credit card to your home loan provider and in return they bring down your mortgage rate. You may even find they’ll be willing to wipe the fees attached to those bundled products too.
5. Don’t forget the fees
While your home loan interest rate is important, make sure you also haggle on your mortgage’s ongoing fees because even a small monthly service fee could add up to big bucks over the life of the loan. For instance, a $10 monthly fee equates to $3,000 over a 25 year loan.
6. Play hardball
If your lender isn’t willing to enter the haggling game with you, then make it clear that you’re more than ready to switch to another lender. You may find they change their tune if they are about to lose a loyal customer like you.
7. Call in the experts
If you don’t think you’re up for haggling a better deal yourself, another option is using a mortgage negotiator who has relationships with a range of banks and will negotiate on your behalf. You can use Mozo’s free home loan negotiating service by calling 13 6696(MOZO) or entering your details here.
Want to check out some of the top mortgage deals currently around? Make Mozo’s home loan hub, home to over 480 mortgages your next stop.