The mortgage market is full of options as lenders try to attract business in a competitive landscape.
Getting advice from a mortgage broker can be a great way to get an idea of what type of home loan will suit your situation, but it’s also good to educate yourself on the types of products that are out there.
Let’s take a look at two main categories when considering a home loan product: package loans versus basic loans.
Do good things come in packages?
Package loans have become very popular in recent years and account for more than 50% of loans written by major lenders.
Package loans usually combine your home loan with other common financial products, which may include a mortgage offset account, transaction or savings account and credit card. They are eligible for interest rate discounts off the standard variable rate, fee waivers on loan approval and valuation fees.
Basic home loans are not packaged with anything. They are ‘no-frills’ loans where you save money on upfront and ongoing fees, because you don’t have the flexible features that cost more to administer but often allow you to save much more money long term.
What a fee-ling
In return for packaging products, lenders will make it worth your while by charging one annual fee for multiple loans, rather than separate fees for each product.
If considering a package loan, find out whether that one annual fee includes the other home loan fees you may not know about, such as an application fee, property valuation fees, redraw fees, switching fee (from variable to fixed and vice versa) and offset account keeping fees. Other fees to be aware of are the application or establishment fee, bank solicitor fee and settlement fee, when setting up your home loan.
These can vary in price, but average between $150 and $700. They are usually non-refundable but major banks are often happy to waive these fees, so make sure you ask ahead or negotiate, as this could be the difference between choosing a package or basic.
Rate expectations
Banks will often give you a discounted rate for package loans. Market comparison platforms generally find that interest on average package loan products is between 0.25% and 0.5% lower than average standard variable rate loans.
That saving alone is more than enough to make up for the annual fees which can be higher than what you would be charged for a basic loan.
Unique borrowers can benefit
Flexibility is the key for borrowers such as property investors or the self-employed who want to free up cash flow and maximise future borrowing power. Features such as interest only repayments, line of credit and others will appeal to investors as long as they choose the package that suits their strategy, while credit cards and transaction accounts are useful to small business owners.
Break it down to the basics
So when would it be better to shun a package for a basic home loan? You may just want a simple, no frills home loan that you can quietly pay off.
Basic loan products will likely offer you the low interest rates you want, but there may be loan features and loan flexibility that you may not realise you need.
