In 2013, we’ve been enjoying the lowest interest rates in several decades. So what does this mean for you and your personal goals? Not only is it a good time to talk to your mortgage broker about the possibility of purchasing a new property, it is a great time to look at your existing home loan to determine whether or not it is still the best product available to suit your needs. Here’s some important things to consider when conducting a home loan health check. Have your circumstances changed? If it’s been a few years since you organised your home loan, take a look at your circumstances to see if they have changed. Have you paid off your car loan? Received a pay rise? If you’ve received a pay rise, for example, you may prefer a home loan that lets you make additional repayments so that you can pay it off sooner. Earning more money may also make you eligible for a greater range of lending products – so it’s important to talk to your mortgage broker about how your current income affects your borrowing power. Do you need different features and benefits? Your current home loan may have been the best option available when you first purchased your property, but our priorities tend to change as we get older. You need to regularly look at your home loan’s features and benefits to see if they are still right for you considering your situation now and into the future. Think about your plans for the future. Have you acquired a new partner or started planning a family since you initially organised your home loan? Do you need to plan ahead for expenses like getting married or taking time off work to have children? Are you considering doing a renovation or extension on your home or investment property? Home loans can be set up with a range of different features to cater for different eventualities.  You can get offset accounts to help you reduce interest, redraw facilities so you can make extra repayments and withdraw them later if you need them … it may even be possible to add fee-free credit cards, home insurance discounts or overdraft facilities to your home loan. Talk to your mortgage broker about your plans for the future to make sure you have the right home loan for needs. Unlock your equity to invest. If you’ve held your home loan for a while and are interested in making some investments in 2014, then refinancing your home loan to unlock the equity in your property to invest again may be a good idea. The amount of equity available in your property is calculated by subtracting the loan balance from the property’s current value. Determining the current value may involve you or the lender having your property valued. You can then use the equity in your current property as a deposit for your next property purchase – or even to purchase stocks and shares if you wish. Many property investors finance their first investment property using the equity in their own home as a deposit. This is a great way to get started as a property investor to help generate wealth for your retirement. Let us help you. Interest rates are at their lowest levels for several decades and this alone is a great reason to ask your mortgage broker to give your home loan a health check right now. A professional mortgage broker is the best person to ask to see if you’re paying too much interest on your current mortgage and look at all the alternatives available to you considering your personal financial circumstances. Professional mortgage brokers have access to a number of different lenders, so we are in a great position to help you compare loan products and choose one that suits your personal financial circumstances. We can also help you to decide if locking in a fixed interest rate on a mortgage is the right move for you. A saving of just a few basis points on your home loan now could add up to big savings over the life of your loan, so it’s definitely worth your time to talk to us about a home loan health check. Why not give us a call today?

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