Fixed interest rates

[2jzlux]

Hi
Looking at fixing my interest rates for 5 years and just wondering what others have managed to get for their mortgages and where is the best place to go and any good or shit experiences.

[Damo 69]

4.9% through CBA

[The_Senator]

4.65% through Teachers Mutual.. Catch is you have to BE a Teacher and Live with one.. (From Memory)..

We had a good Mortgage broker and he got us a great deal.. They are out there if you are willing to look and haggle a little..

[Lonewolf]

4.9% through CBA

Ditto, for 3 years (1 year ago), with Mortgage Advantage Package
Handled through broker so hassle free, have a secondary $30k loan variable so that I can use it for offset/redraw

[Saint_23]

3 years fixed with ANZ via Mortgage Choice. Easy.
Also have a secondary loan variable so that I can use it for offset/redraw.

[Lmx]

Don't really see the point in rushing to fix interest rates yet, i doubt they are going to go back up rapidly anytime soon.
There was a mad rush to lock in rates when they were originally going down and there are still people locked in at 7%.

[Lmx]

ME Bank - http://www.mebank.com.au/pages/rates/personal-rates/
3 year fixed 4.59% p.a

[SircatmaN]

I've always locked my rates in because it just makes it easier knowing exactly how much you are paying back. Also I've pretty much always paid lower than what people on variables do because they keep getting jacked up. Variable really is a gamble.

[S13]

Banks are in the business of making money not losing it.. On average over time they win on rates spreads on fixed interest otherwise they wouldnt do it

[Lonewolf]

they're both a gamble.
Variable in that its great if it goes down or stays the same, lose out if it goes up
fixed is great if it goes up, and provides security with repayments

[mys1]

It really comes down to how tight you are income wise.

Do you have Plenty of surplus income and are you paying more of your mortgage?

If so I'd leave variable as paying it off faster (or if you have a 100% offset account - which you can't normally get with fixed rate loans) wont bring you any penalties and you'll save in the long run as you are beating the interest.


If you don't have a lot of spare income and are concerned about repayments - i.e.if it rates went up by 3% would you struggle to pay it back or maybe you had to drop to one income?

Then fix for affordability.

Don't try to "beat" the bank, you'll rarely win, Borrow to suit your lifestyle and your ability to pay back and reduce debt.

[Jezzza]

I went with westpac, just for ease with bank accounts and credit cards

Im not a whiz bang on this whole mortgage thing, but I made sure I had an offset account with my mortgage
I calculated that although I could of got a 3 year fixed loan @ 4.89% with no offset, it was going to work out to be more expensive (over the fixed year period) then my current loan @ 5.19% with an offset account
Obviously depends on your repayments, and if you actually have extra you can put into the offset otherwise its worthless!

I also split my loan into 70/30 fixed/variable
This allows me to pay back MORE than the actual 'limit' on the fixed loan part (I think it was capped at $30k over 3 years), and our savings in our offset exceeded this anyways
I can also draw out of my fixed account whenever I choose too, without paying fees

[S85FI]

Watch the fixed rates. When there is a trend of them going up lock away. Variable will go past fixed.
Consolidate loans if you need too. Nearly all the banks will give you an extra .8% off the rate if you borrow so much. Then chip away. ...

Should be able to get deals in the low 4% mark.

See a good account to make it work in your favour.

[Buckas]

I just settled on the 29/7. Our mortgage broker got us in at Citibank just before everywhere released 5 year fixed rates at 4.79%. There were slightly better deals out there but Citi would give us 85% loan with no mortgage lenders insurance where other places were 80%. We went fixed because for the first 3 years we wouldn't have any spare cash to sit in an offset account anyway and if interest rates do go up we'd start to struggle. Fixed at our rate we can more than easilly manage.

[2jzlux]

Best I have seen so far is anz fixed for 5 years at 4.9%
Will change some to variable so I can pay it off earlier.

[Tocchi]

anybody working for CBA here?
currently on their variable 5.05% with the Mortgage Pack, and wondering my options, whether if i can get a better rate, or, fixed rate is the way to go

[Lmx]

Go see a broker.

[MadDocker]

Should be able to get in the 4.9s for sure. Depends on your personal situation obviously but over 5% at the moment is a rip. Call around a few other banks, get info on what they are offering, call the CBA hotline and tell them that you're interested in staying but XYZ bank is offering 4.9% and it's too good to pass up. They'll drop at least some in an attempt to keep you.

Loan retention team will get onto you if you push hard enough and offer you a final deal.

If you do swap banks, haggle them as on top of a lower rate, they'll probably drop the application / setup fees to sign you up.

[DRKWRX]

I saw with the CBA fixed interest you only get a 40% offset account and can only pay 10k more a year off your mortgage, so if you want to pay more than 10k a year over your repayments you are better off sticking with a slightly higher interest rate because you will save more paying down your mortgage.

[S13]

Suncorp - 4.69% variable or = 1.3% off std variable rate for life of loan offer till Dec 12th apparently

[waxdass]

4.79% fixed and 4.83% variable through ANZ.

[RELEASE]

4.79% fixed and 4.83% variable through ANZ.seems i need to go see my anz bank manager....my current breakfree package variable rate is at 4.97%

[Trolley]

edit: question answered

[180SXTCY]

pretty sure i seen bankwest on the TV last night offering somewhere around 4.5X on fixed rated.

[drft180]

We are in the process of changing to the new Bankwest product - Fixed Rate for 2 years @ 4.59%.

[huggy_b]

General home loan question for those experienced/in the know:

if you (hypothetically) lock in a fixed rate of 7.0% for 5 years, rates then went down to 5.0% over the next 3 years and you break contract/refinance, obviously you are then up for tens of thousands of dollars in penalties (to pay the bank for their lost interest - 2% / 2 years). If you lock them in whilst low (eg. 5.0%), they increased over 3 years (to 7.0%) and you sold the house thus paying out the loan early, you wouldn't have the same penalties would you?

Depends on the stipulations of your mortgage contract - but potentially yes you could have the similar penalties.

[DRKWRX]

pretty sure the bankwest offer is the one with 40% offset account and you can only pay off 10k more a year on your mortgage.....

[drft180]

That is correct.

Just fix a portion of your mortgage if you think you will pay off more than 10k.

[Trolley]

Depends on the stipulations of your mortgage contract - but potentially yes you could have the similar penalties.

Yeh, they (Commonwealth) don't give too much away in regards to how they work out the payout in that situation. They only give a working example of "if interest rates fall" rather than go up...
Think I will just stick with 2-3 years...