Which financial institution is your home loan with?

redlover on 23/06/2014 - 15:51
Last edited 27/06/2014 - 11:56 by 1 other user

Hi everybody, this is my second post about home loan.

basically I am in the search of refinancing my current home loan. I currently with CBA (wealth package) . they charged 5.05 % variable rate, 100% offset account, $395 annual fee, fee free platinum mastercard and amex card .
after doing research here and there, it seems like Ubank is the one that has the lowest rate (4.87%) with no annual fee no setup fee. it almost too good to be true when I looking through their website?? does anyone have homeloan with Ubank at the moment? if you don't mind to share, is there any hidden fee that I might not aware??

Also im very happy with having CBA platinum card as they offer great reward. with amex card I got 2.5 points for 1 dolar spent which is the best feature that I love so far. thus if I switch my homeloan to another institution, I wont be able to have this credit card for no fee. to be honest this is the thing that I will miss the most should I switch my homeloan to another bank

Now.. is there anyway I can get low interest homeloan and platinum reward cc (like CBA ) or do I ask to much??

any suggestion will be greatly appreciated

Thanks guys

EDIT1: I would like to thank everyone who has contributed in this discussion. I have a better understanding and clue which institution provides better deals etc. I am in the progress of "bargaining" with CBA and threatened them that I will walk away if they cant match the rate LOL!. I will see how it go :) Thanks all again!!

EDIT2: To those of you who is with loans.com.au -> this institution is only 3 years old. should I be worried? As I considering to use the offset account and I have quiet huge amount of money in my offset acc . any comments will be appreciated. apologies if this is kind of stupid question …..

EDIT 3 : CBA give me an offer of 4.99% variable and 4.79& fixed for 2 years. woohoo

Financial

Comments

- - - Gomo on 26/06/2014 - 10:32
      
      They are both fixed rate for 3Years loan started in July last year
congo on 25/06/2014 - 23:21

I am with NAB. A couple of years ago, they had the cheapest rate for a AAA bank.
Not any more… their $400 annual fee is a killer…
- puffinfresh on 25/06/2014 - 23:43
  
  +2
  
  More give, less take.
- jellykingdom on 26/06/2014 - 11:42
  
  Just tell them you will jump ship to another lender. That fee will be gone in the week
  
  I deliberately made my point by starting the loan process with another bank, because the NAB branch manager was a bit of a pain and claimed they couldnt' offer anything better because my remaining loan was too small. It was a bit of a waste fo time, yes, but NAB rang me back within the day to offer a new deal
  - [Deactivated] on 27/06/2014 - 10:58
    
    NAB have continued to refuse to remove the fee (3 years of trying), but keep dropping my rate instead.
Aneurism on 26/06/2014 - 00:49

Hmm.. I'm on the wealth package at CBA on 5.40%. I think it is my turn to be pissed off.
- redlover on 26/06/2014 - 14:38
  
  have you tried to contact them? let me know please if you don't mind , just want to know how much they able to decrease the rate
  thank you
- Snoop on 26/06/2014 - 21:36
  
  You should be. I only went with CBA again on this new mortgage because I needed it done quickly and had previous history. I got 5.oo% on the MAV package! Even then, I got it knowing that I'd start looking for something better straight away!
Smkc on 26/06/2014 - 08:36

I can get you a 4.69 variable with Bankwest. That is a pretty good rate out in the market.
snirodha on 26/06/2014 - 08:42

Anyone can suggest me a lender who do 90% lvr with a low or no lmi ? I beleive ing used to do something similar sometime ago
nadan on 26/06/2014 - 10:31

I am with NAB and I get 0.7% off the standard variable rate for the life of the loan and no annual fee or establishment fee. I don't get an offset account but I have a redraw facility. This was a special deal that came out for a few days and they stopped it. I would say talk to them and see if you can get something similar which works out cheaper specially when you haven't got much left to pay off.
- redlover on 26/06/2014 - 10:34
  
  Thank you. :) but I specifically need offset account.
  - nadan on 26/06/2014 - 10:58
    
    They have a redraw facility which works like an offset account, you basically put whatever extra money you have into your homeloan account and when you need the money you go to the bank and redraw it. Though they charge a fee for this but it's still cheaper because you aren't paying any annual fee or establishment fee.
    - redlover on 26/06/2014 - 11:02
      
      +2
      
      I understand but I cant use that redraw facility for tax purpose .
      I want to turn this current property as an investment property in the future and having redraw facility is not good
    - conan2000 on 27/06/2014 - 08:30
      
      A redraw isn't quite as good though. With the offset every single cent you have reduces the interest you pay. If you use redraw you will always have some money sitting around nog reducing interest.
    - Snoop on 27/06/2014 - 09:08
      
      Agree… But if you can get a better rate without it, go for it. I transfer everything onto the homeloan and rarely keep more than a thousand in my everyday account, which only accounts for about $50 per annum in extra interest! So on a 500k loan it would only take a 0.01% reduction!
epicaricacy on 26/06/2014 - 10:38

+1

Push commonwealth for lower fees. I'm on the same, with 4.85% just gotta ask.
- samir on 27/06/2014 - 00:22
  
  hi are you with commonwealth i just signed with them today the lowest they offered me was 5% with offset and 365 annual fees
- kctt on 27/06/2014 - 16:40
  
  Any yearly fee or monthly fee?
  - epicaricacy on 19/08/2014 - 14:03
    
    No monthly fee, but yes, annual wealth package, includes fee free credit cards, amex and MasterCard in linked account
    - Snoop on 19/08/2014 - 14:44
      
      I'm on the MAV package with them. Similar features but also on 5%. As I have the 2 home loans with them, maybe a 3rd soon, I'll be going in to see if they want to play… Otherwise I'll be taking my bat and ball the f with me!!!
jellykingdom on 26/06/2014 - 11:40

I'm with the NAB. I started on their basic loan package (which is the same as Nadan's I think) which wasn't too bad really, but not the most competitive. Best of the big banks at the time

They offer a 0.5-0.7% discount (can't remember the details) off the standard variable rate, so I think it was running at 5.2% at the time, and minimal fees (it has since dropped even further)

However, the savings come from then trying to SWITCH providers….

Once the NAB got wind that i wanted to switch, they cut me a very nice deal

NAB Choice Package, with 100% offset, 5.18% interest (which is pretty reasonable for an offset account loan), no fees for the package (normally $400) and threw in a Qantas Platinum Visa/Amex pack for free (normally $400 per year)

Then I got married, we combined our money in the offset account, and boom, now I pay $10/week in mortgage repayments

The one thing people need to be more careful of, and do their homework, is the offset accounts. Offset account loans always have a higher interest rate and an annual fee, and you really do need to have quite a bit of cash in teh account to make it worthwhile. i was only a junior engineer at the time and didn't have significant cash savings. I did some sums, and it was actually goign to cost me MORE per year to have the offset. The bank manager's will not tell you this part(deliberate or accidental ignorance) and will constantly talk about the virtues, none of the downsides

But yes, if you want for tax purposes, you should get an offset account
ujwols on 26/06/2014 - 15:27

For a 455k property and 399k loan (inclusive of lmi ) Homeside offered me 4.99% loan with monthly charge of $10 pm (I believe for the offset a/c) ..the package name is homeside plus I guess..Is this good enough ?
- insider2 on 26/06/2014 - 15:34
  
  i'm with them currently im 4.95%
  but will ask to go down further
  - ujwols on 26/06/2014 - 15:41
    
    They are not buzzing :(
    May I ask what's your loan size and LVR ? The negotiations seems to depend on this as well
    - insider2 on 27/06/2014 - 09:48
      
      300K
- JonnoWA on 16/07/2014 - 17:09
  
  They can do better. I'm on a 380K loan (~0.65 LVR): 4.9% and a cash kickback of $1000 after 90 days. They couldn't move on the 10p/m fee.
  
  Push them & good luck.
Lancerx on 26/06/2014 - 18:09

bankwest on 4.79% =) but minimum 700k loan though ..
ally ikon on 27/06/2014 - 10:11

Love this discussion..am always thinking I need to stay on top of the best deals out there for home loans. We too have the CBA Wealth package. $195k fixed 4.99%, $60k variable 5.05%. (70% LVR). It's our first loan which we started 13 months ago. So far have loved the Amex/MasterCard options but not sure this really is the best deal overall. Had always planned to look at changing after the fixed rate ends mid next year but maybe worthwhile beforehand depending on fees to get out of it?? We also have a few Bankwest accounts so am partial to an easyish switch there maybe? Getting the best deal from others and then going back to your bank seems to be the best option?
eye on 27/06/2014 - 13:16

with CBA wealth package @ 4.95% after discount. free diamond credit card which gives me 3 point per $. Might go back to them and see if I can get 4.8% after reading the post.
[Deactivated] on 27/06/2014 - 15:59

As discussed previously, I am a mortgage broker have been able to help a few people out since this thread started.

Based loan of 395K at 80% of the property value i have been able to obtain the below rates:

Best variable - 4.74% - Full offset
Best 1 year fixed - 4.49%
Best 2 year fixed - 4.74%
*******Best 3 year fixed - 4.69%*******

Send me a message if you would like a more personal comparison. They obviously aren't going to be with your big 4, but the more business we take away from them the better I say.
- chiefbodge on 27/06/2014 - 16:38
  
  Why would someone go with the 4.74% variable loan when loans.com.au is 4.54% with no annual fee?
  
  I also wonder what peoples motivation would be to fix? You are basically placing a bet against a bank which has extremely skilled economists. I highly doubt anyone would have any insight that they don't. I have read and talked to numerous bankers that say fixing is pretty much always a bad idea.
  - Snoop on 27/06/2014 - 19:50
    
    Why would someone go with the 4.74% variable loan when loans.com.au is 4.54% with no annual fee?
    
    For the same reasons that people go with any other loan out there. It's what is best tailored to suit your needs, and also the ability to qualify for the advertised loan on offer. I've got banks that are more than happy to give me 750k and others that I'm struggling to get 400k out of!
  - edgar28 on 27/06/2014 - 22:23
    
    The above post stated some guy able to bargain down to 4.49% for loan.com.au
    
    one of the post even stated he moved away from loan.com.au as they are too strict, hence to borrow more money (for 2nd or 3rd property) he move to different lender but higher interest rate.
  - conan2000 on 06/07/2014 - 14:43
    
    I looked at them, but I don't want to deal with a company that is 100% online as I have had bad experiences with similar organisations (for small things such as a mobile, so I really don't want that sort of stress with a home loan).
    
    Regarding your other point - Just because someone is a banker doesn't mean they know what they are talking about when it comes to these things (same goes for a few accountants I know).
    
    I wouldn't consider it placing a bet, simplifying the actual situation, the bank will is in most cases borrowing money to fund your home loan, and will do so in a similar way to an individual, they can secure finance for a certain period at lower rates and for other periods at slightly higher rates. Variable they will increase in line with their funding changes.
    
    For example right now I think you'll find most economists bankers expect the RBA rate to stay the same for the near future, and possibly go up in the longer term. Haven't seen any predictions of it dropping. So my argument would be, why would you go variable at this stage if you can fix a lower rate for a couple of years? I.e. I have fixed a large portion of my loan at 4.58% for 2 years, the rest is on variable at 4.8%. I don't think anyone is predicting that the variable rates will drop any further. They could all be wrong however! It's a gamble whatever you do, I'm sure people have gone variable in the past and been stung with large and rapid rate rises.
    - chiefbodge on 06/07/2014 - 22:08
      
      Most banks have fees for fixing and they are are not insignificant and must be taken into account.
    - conan2000 on 07/07/2014 - 16:16
      
      I haven't ever paid a fee for fixing so far. I think HSBC documents said $300 though, so yes it would have to be considered if they charge that in future, would also depend largely on how much money you are fixing as well. I'd guess these can be negotiated away as with most other fees.
    - Snoop on 07/07/2014 - 16:43
      
      @chiefbodge: @conan2000:
      Certainly the rates are higher, but I can't say I've ever seen a fee for fixing… Except in the case of a split loan!
    - ilostnemo on 09/07/2014 - 11:05
      
      @Snoop:
      
      CBA charged me many years ago for fixing the loan, $300.00
      
      This was because I was switching, ie the loan was previously fixed but at the end of the fixed period, it converted to a variable loan.
Lancerx on 27/06/2014 - 21:21

just wondering how did someone like loans.com,au can offer such low rate in their loan? Wonder what's the catch in comparison to getting loan from the conventional bank
- edgar28 on 27/06/2014 - 22:22
  
  they might borrow from Japan at 0.5% and lend it to you at 4.54%
  2% as insurance, 2% as currency fluctuation (speculation)
  
  Japanese bank has been trying to enter Australia market for quite some time, but Australia regulation protects local banks.
emacs on 28/06/2014 - 22:49

Same as OP, currently with CBA, all variable in 5.4% with a 100% offset account. Two weeks ago I began to apply a refinance to UBank, which has been approved already, waiting documents pack now.

After I told CBA that I was trying to refinance to another bank, immediately they applied a 0.4% discount for me, and got approved at 0.3% in 24hr, so it would be 5.1% if I do not leave. So for those who are not satisfied with your current rate, just ask them for a better deal even without any proof!!

UBank now is offering a variable rate at 4.62%, but only with redraw facility, no offset. For me, I think their speed of process is pretty good. In the first 7 days they finished evaluation and all the other check, got approved 2 days after. A good thing is it's all free of charge, while a bad thing is $395 will be applied when you want to fix a part of your loan.

Just saw loans.com.au offered 4.54% with offset account -_-// But their $300 settlement fee and $220 evaluation fee make me feel a little bit better….
- sagrules on 30/06/2014 - 16:02
  
  Did Ubank charge you a property valuation fee ? Do you feel that Ubank valued your property less or more than current market value?
  How big was your loan?
  I'm surprised that you could finalise it all within a week - I read others reviews on Mozo that say otherwise very long approval process with lots of documentation required.
  - aumiser on 02/07/2014 - 22:44
    
    I refinanced with UBank last Oct for 4.62% including the 0.25%pa upfront discount for the life of the loan. No property valuation fee and yes they valued my townhouse less than the current market value as other units recently sold for more than what they valued my property. Because of this I had to put in extra $26k cash to bring the LVR down to 80%. But I figured I will be saving heaps more with the lower interest rate (lower monthly repayment) and no annual fee compared to the CBA wealth package I was on previously. Am happy with them as no fees and no offset account does not bother me as its not an investment property and I just put all extra cash into the loan and withdraw it for free (though $1k mini withdraw).
    - emacs on 05/07/2014 - 21:08
      
      Well done. I should refinance more earlier, paid too much to CBA :(
  - emacs on 05/07/2014 - 21:06
    
    Sorry for my late reply.
    
    No evaluation fee, now I got my contract pack, the only fee you need to pay is the discharge and registration fee to the government , about 500bulks.
    
    Actually I don't know how much they think my unit worths, but I got all the money I want. My loan is around 250k, so I am very happy with the result.
    
    Hope this helps.
- Snoop on 26/07/2014 - 19:14
  
  Forgot to mention this the other week when I heard them advertising on the radio… "Ubank a division of the National Australia Bank"!
coolhead on 09/07/2014 - 11:08

i konw at the moment.. CBA is offering 4.84% variable, 100% free offset and redraw and no account keeping fee… they will do 90% as well…
omghi on 10/07/2014 - 00:26

My broker has suggested a 4.94% rate with Bank West. IIRC there was no annual fee but a $9/month fee (different to what the website advertises) and a no mention of a valuation fee

I'm also looking at BOQ which is advertising 4.87% and $10/month fee and a valuation fee

Loan will be <$500k
JuryWheel on 15/07/2014 - 11:09

Has anyone go directly to Homeside themselves rather then through the broker? I am with them at the moment and think it might be easier to call and neg. myself rather then scheduling a meeting with the broker. Cheers
- JonnoWA on 16/07/2014 - 16:53
  
  I just got off the phone with Homesides retention team. Based on loan amount on 380k I am now on 4.9% with a $1000 cash kickback if I stay with them for 90 days. They could not remove the $10 p/m service fee.
  
  It took a week for them to get back to me with this from an intial reduction (first contact) from 5.15% to 4.95%, of which I told them it wasn't good enough to keep my business from going to loans.com.au
  
  I might still leave after 90 days. The original broker has been fairly useless in this process.
  - JuryWheel on 19/07/2014 - 12:25
    
    Can I ask which number you called? Their website says to go through your broker….
    - JonnoWA on 20/07/2014 - 17:56
      
      13 22 18. My broker has been useless, I'm thinking of sending an email to Homeside to cease his trailing commission based on his ineffectiveness.
  - dumkaze on 19/07/2014 - 20:09
    
    is it safe to take the loan from loans.com.au ?
gidxg03 on 26/07/2014 - 10:40

This post has inspired me to try and get NAB (mortgage through homeside) to drop our 5.11% rate (100% offset). Those that have had a discussions with homeside retention team what number did you call to tell them you were moving? Just the regular homeside number?
kimba88 on 23/08/2014 - 23:11

I'm also looking at possibly refinancing. I've had my loan spilt for almost a year now for my first investment property. 80% fixed for 1year @ 4.79% (ends in October) and 20% variable @ 5.08% on a $300,000 loan with ANZ. I also have a 100% offset account. Are there many better deals out there? I have been reading through this thread, but there hasn't been too many replies lately. I previously went through a mortgage broker, but I'm not sure if I should just try doing this myself this time round.
- ilostnemo on 24/08/2014 - 11:34
  
  This thread is now over a month old, so I'd say yes, there would be better deals, I had investment loans for the last 20 years and I have 80% of the time fixed them. If I was in your position, I'd fix the whole amount for probably 3 years, I believe CBA offered a good rate and then all the other banks copied. My own reason for doing this is fix = certainty, just be aware that with fixed you can't lump deposit, which you shouldn't do anyway with an investment property.
  
  This is my opinion only.
  
  A colleague of mine, is going through the barefoot investor guy, he is talking about cheap rate and getting the commissions paid to himself.
kimba88 on 09/10/2014 - 19:45

So, i've been speaking to a random broker on Somersoft forums. I am hesitant to switch from my current broker to this one as my partner has a construction loan with my current one, and i don't want him getting stuffed around.
Does anybody in this forum have the ANZ breakfree package with the 100% offset account, and if so, what rate have you got? I'm wanting to compare to somebody on about a $300,000 loan.

My current broker reckons there isn't any room to move with the advertised 5.08% variable rate on a $300,000 loan. The one i was talking to on Somersoft said he could possibly get a 0.05% to 0.1% decrease. Is it worth moving over brokers?
- [Deactivated] on 29/10/2014 - 09:31
  
  I'm with the ANZ breakfree package with the 100% offset account. Loan around $240,000 - I just converted (September) to fixed interest for one year at 4.79%. One year fixed keeps the offset account, longer than one year loses the offset account. Interestingly, 5 year fixed was 4.99%. There are probably better deals out there. This is just for your reference.
swarley on 10/10/2014 - 08:45

Hi guys,

I am a new home loan lender for one of the big 4 in the Perth Metro area.

If you're looking to refinance, PM me with your all of your loan info eg. Amount, loan type, interest rate & your current bank and I'll see what I can do for you.

Thanks
- Snoop on 29/10/2014 - 08:43
  
  +1
  
  Not sure if you're a broker, rep, etc, but you certainly seem to have an agenda in pushing the NAB on a couple of different threads now!
  
  Edit: On second thoughts… Is there actually any point in calling you to find our nearest NAB banker where we'd still have to negotiate our own deal, or are you to receive a commission/finders fee in doing so?
Snoop on 29/10/2014 - 08:34

Has this thread just become JieHu's own personal advertisement page?

Which financial institution is your home loan with?

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