Showing posts with label home loan offset accounts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home loan offset accounts. Show all posts

Saturday, 4 August 2012

What Are The Benefits Of A Home Loan Redraw Facility And Offset Account


Attempt to create a loan buffer into your home mortgage by making added monthly payments anytime you can. This will give you certain flexibility should you find yourself in temporary difficulties. You can do this either by means of making additional installments, or saving extra cash into an offset account.

Central Coast mortgage brokersA redraw facility on your home loan allows you to pay in extra money into the mortgage, usually by means of higher ongoing loan monthly payments that you may withdraw again as its needed.

In other words, rather then making (taxable) interest through your savings, putting your savings on the mortgage loan saves you money on your interest costs and helps you pay off your mortgage loan a lot quicker. At the same time, you are still saving for future years. The benefit of this kind of home loan interest charged is often less expensive than the standard variable rate and it does not incur regular fees.

Some, although not all, loan providers charge a fee to use the redraw facility and/or a fee any time you redraw, therefore these types of fees have to be considered. As a result, it’s probably best implemented as a facility to save cash for a large future purchase, like a new vehicle, family vacation or renovations, instead of obtaining cash from it constantly.

These loans are suitable for low to medium salary earners who will put away that little more every month.

Having an offset account, the balance is offset against your mortgage. Money will be put into the account into the Offset Account and you simply use the Offset Account for any EFTPOS, check, internet banking, and credit financial transactions. What is in the Offset Account then comes directly off the mortgage, or 'offsets' the loan amount for interest earned.

As an example, if you have $15,000 in your offset account against your $300,000 loan; you actually pay only interest earned on $285,000. The more funds you keep in the offset account, the more interest earned you save on the home loan. In effect you are generally not earning interest earned on your personal savings, but will be benefiting as everything that will be interest earned on personal savings would be calculated on a reduction on your mortgage loan.

Your offset account can also be used as a savings account for a substantial purchase, or is sometimes used by people to ‘park’ money which they may need to quickly gain access to in the future - as an example, a couple starting a family some time in the next couple of years may take advantage of this option.

These types of loans are suited to people on medium to high money earners, who are disciplined spenders because the more money put into the offset account the quicker you will be able to pay-off your home loan.

To find out more on what sort of redraw facility or an offset loan can benefit you, check with our highly trained and expert home mortgage team at Central Coast Mortgage Brokers, they can help to get you a mortgage which includes a great low rate of interest, and also awesome loan features and benefits.

Saturday, 31 December 2011

What You Need To Consider Before Applying For A Home Loan Mortgage


Home loan mortgages are for people who want to buy a house, provided that they can fit the qualifying criterion that a majority of mortgage lenders want. This requirement includes having a good credit score, a stable job with regular income and either equity in an existing home or a deposit saved up in their banking accounts.

Central Coast Home Loan Services
A home loan mortgage is probably the most significant commitment that any of us are ever going to consider. Making sure your income capacity is satisfactory and steady is vitally important prior to applying for a home loan, considering you will have to pay it along with interest for many years based on the terms and conditions of your loan.

Home loan mortgages can be secured home loans or unsecured home loans. With secured home loans, any valuable asset of the borrower acts as security against loan.

The majority of mortgage loans are principal and interest. Principal will be the amount you borrow. Interest is what you pay to use those funds. At the beginning of the home loan, your repayments will largely consist of interest, plus a small amount being paid towards the principal. As you pay down the principal, your interest charges fall until ultimately the loan is paid off.

Fixed home loans will be the choice of people who would like to be able to budget with safety and always really know what the interest installments will be in the near future. By taking out a fixed rate home loan most people are typically set to repay a marginally higher rate of interest compared to a variable home loan for that additional security of knowing that the installments cannot increase throughout that fixed period of the home loan.

Variable rate home loans are the most preferred type of home loan in Australia. As a home loan option, they are more flexible compared to fixed rate home loans and provide the largest range of home loan options. The added options that will ordinarily be offered with the variable rate loans are the capability to make additional repayments, the capability to redraw on your loan; a home loan offset account along with the ability to be flexible with your monthly payments.

Variable rate home finance loans are generally those that will certainly fluctuate with the varying Reserve Bank rates - certainly these can go up or down in the future and usually hinge on macro economic elements. Usually when the cash rate decreases then your rate of interest goes down, but obviously the opposite applies as well, therefore it is more of a gamble.

The kind of home loan mortgage you decide on can be the difference between living your dream and becoming trapped in a finance nightmare. This is almost certainly the greatest investment decision you'll ever make. Regardless of what your situation is, ensure you do your research and speak to your personal mortgage adviser to find a personalized home loan that is best for you.

Sunday, 11 December 2011

How To Use An Offset Account To Pay Off Your Home Finance Loan Much Faster!

Lake Haven Home Loans Offset Accounts
An offset account is really a separate deposit account linked to your home loan. The interest earned on these savings is offset against the interest you'll pay on the home loan.

You can choose to direct your income into the savings account and use it for all EFTPOS, cheque, internet banking and credit transactions. Another benefit is that you do not end up paying income tax on any interest earned as it is used to offset the interest payable on your loan.

Your balance in the account is offset against your loan. The more money you keep in your account, the faster your loan is reduced. These types of home loans are usually charged at the standard variable rate or higher, and may also have other fees attached.

For Homeowners with some extra funds in the bank, it may be well worth thinking about a mortgage offset account. It offers a tax-friendly way to put your savings to work by lowering your home loan interest repayments.

An offset account is generally a savings account connected to your home loan. Instead of being paid interest on your savings and paying separate interest on your mortgage loan, the balance of the offset account is subtracted from the balance of the loan when interest is calculated.

Here’s the way it works. We’ll say, as an example, that you’ve got a mortgage of $200,000 with interest charged at 7.1%. Let’s also assume you have got an offset savings account with a balance of $15,000. Instead of receiving interest on the deposit of $15,000 and paying interest on the full balance of the mortgage, interest 7.1% is charged only on the first $185,000 of the home loan ($200,000 less $15,000) and no interest is paid on the deposit.

This has significant tax benefits. So far as the Australian Tax Office is concerned you haven’t received any interest on your deposit, therefore it is not a part of your taxable income. Which means you are receiving the full benefit of the return on your deposit without losing up to as much as 45% in tax.

An offset account can also help you to repay the mortgage sooner as more of each and every regular repayment is going toward repaying the principal - not just the interest charge.

With this mortgage, the regular monthly payments would be around $1178. If the offset account has a balance of $15,000, the interest charge on that $200,000 loan would be based on a balance of $185,000.

Which is around $90 additional from the principal each month than without having the offset. It’s a fantastic method to swing the mortgage pendulum in your favour instead of your lender’s.  Put another way, if you keep a minimum of $15,000 in your offset savings account over the term of the loan that is a saving of more than $85,000 and lowers the loan terms from 30 years to less than 25 years.

The most effective offset accounts are the type which offer you the same interest rate on both the deposit as well as the home loan. This is often what’s called a ‘full’ or ’100%’ offset and it means you receive a double-whammy gain on your deposit as the rate is higher than you’d normally expect to get on the separate savings account, plus you’re receiving it tax-free.

Having said that, on the downside, several lenders make up for this by charging you a higher rate of interest on the mortgage. as with all financial products, it is advisable to do your sums to be sure an offset makes it worth while for you personally.