How to Succeed at Borrowing and Other Money Secrets

If you are looking for a new mortgage, it makes sense to get the best interest rate to make sure your required payments are as low as possible. There are so many mortgages on the market that it can be hard to know which might be the one for you. Here are some ways to make sure you are getting the best rate.

Work out which features you will need

Often the lowest rate mortgages are 'no frills' in that they have few features. These can be great to keep your payments low. However if you would like to utilise extra features such as taking a break from mortgages payments while on parenting leave, using an offset account to minimise your interest payments or making lump sums payments (such as depositing some of an annual bonus) into your mortgage, these features are often not available with no frills loans. It's a good idea to work out the features you need to help you narrow down which type of mortgage you might want, and find the lowest rate for products in that category. 

Speak to your bank

If you already hold financial products with a bank or financial institution it can be sensible to see what they can offer you as a mortgage rate. Many banks and financial institutions have special discounted rates (or waive fees) for customers who hold multiple products. It can be worth exploring if this package rate is competitive with products from a new bank. 

Meet with a mortgage broker

Mortgage brokers are familiar with the details of mortgages from a large range of institutions, including some non-traditional options such as credit unions. They are familiar with changes in policies such as when professional credit unions start accepting applications from people outside of their core demographic of customers. They can also help you to easily weed through which mortgages are most likely to accept your application so that you don't waste time applying for mortgages that you are not likely to be successful on. This can be very useful if you have previously had credit rejected, have been bankrupted or have other issues. Often the very lowest rate mortgages are open to people with the best applications and fewest credit issues. 

Finding a great rate for your mortgages starts with fully understanding your needs. Then you can start to explore your options for low rate mortgages. A mortgage broker can often be helpful when negotiating the large range of mortgages on the market.