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Types of Mortgage
When you're choosing a home
loan, there are two big decisions you need to make:
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Whether to take a fixed
interest rate, a floating rate, or a mix of both.
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How you want to make
repayments: through a table mortgage, revolving credit mortgage, reducing
mortgage or an interest-only loan.
Choice of interest rates
Multi Tier Fixed Interest Rate Loans
The interest rate you pay is fixed for a period from six months to five
years or even more depends on the package of multi-tier you select. At the
end of the term, a fixed interest loan automatically moves to a floating
rate unless you negotiate another fixed term.
Pros:
* You know exactly how much each repayment will be over the term.
* Rates are often lower than floating rates, as lenders compete with fixed
rate “specials”. A one percentage point difference in interest rates can
save you thousands of dollars over just a year or two.
* You can lock in lower rates if market interest rates are rising.
Cons:
* Fixed rates often have limits on how much you can lift repayments or make
lump sum payments without paying charges.
* If you take a long term, there is a risk floating rates may drop below
your fixed rate.
Capped rates are a variation where the interest rate cannot rise, but will
drop if floating rates drop below the capped rate. Capped Rates normally
defined by central bank
Floating Rate (sometimes called variable rate)
Lenders of floating rate loans will lift or lower the interest rate as
interest rates in the wider market change. This means your repayments may go
up or down.
Pros:
* You can usually lift your repayments or make lump sum repayments without
penalty.
* It is easier to consolidate other costlier debt into floating rate loans
by borrowing more.
Cons:
* Floating rates might higher than fixed rates if floating rate increase.
* When rates go up the repayments also go up, putting a squeeze on your
budget.
A Mix of both
It is possible to split a loan between fixed and floating rates. This lets
you make extra repayments without charge on the floating rate portion while
you get lower rates on the fixed portion.
How you split your loan is important and can be worked out by considering
the total extra cash you’re likely to get – from work bonuses or the like –
over the period you’ve set the fixed rate for. This is the amount you could
put on a floating rate.
When the fixed rate part of your loan comes up for renewal, if you’ve paid
off some or all of the floating part, you’ll need to repeat the exercise for
the next year or two.
Ways of Making Repayments
Term Loan
This is the most common type of home loan. You can choose a term up to 30
years with most lenders. Most of your early repayments go to pay interest,
while most of the later payments go to pay off the principal (the lump sum
you borrowed). You can take a table loan with a fixed rate of interest or a
floating rate.
Application fees for term loans range from nothing to over $1,000. Most
lenders which do have a fee, charge around $200 to $400. This is often
negotiable.
Pros:
* Term loans provide the discipline of regular payments and a set date when
they will be paid off.
* They provide the certainty of knowing what payments will be (unless you
have a floating rate, in which case repayment amounts can change).
Cons:
* Fixed regular payments might be difficult to make for people with
irregular income.
Revolving Credit Loan (sometimes called line of credit)
Revolving credit loans work like a large overdraft. Your pay goes straight
into the account. Bills are paid out of the account only when they are due.
By keeping the loan as low as you can at any time, you pay less interest
because lenders calculate interest daily.
You can make lump sum repayments and re-draw money up to your limit. Some
revolving credit mortgages gradually reduce the credit limit to help you pay
off the mortgage.
Application fees on revolving credit home loans can be up to $500. There can
be a fee for the day-to-day banking transactions you do through the account.
Pros:
* If you’re well organised, you can pay off the mortgage faster.
* This suits people with uneven income since there are no fixed repayments.
* Putting surplus funds into this account rather than a separate savings
account will give bigger interest savings and also avoids the tax on the
savings account interest.
Cons:
* You need discipline. It can be tempting to spend up to your credit limit
and stay in debt longer.
Reducing loan
Reducing or “straight line” mortgages repay the same amount of principal
with each repayment, but a reducing amount of interest each time. These are
relatively rare in New Zealand. Payments start high, but reduce (in a
straight line) over time. Fees are similar to table loans.
Pros:
* You pay less interest overall than with a table loan because early
payments include a higher repayment of principal.
* These may suit borrowers who expect their income to drop – for example, if
one partner plans to give up work in a few years’ time.
Cons:
* If you can afford higher payments, you would be better to take a table
loan with payments high for the whole term, thus paying less interest.
Interest-only
You don’t repay the money you’ve borrowed until an agreed time. Some
borrowers take an interest-only loan for a year or two and then switch to a
table loan; the normal table loan application fees apply.
Pros:
* You have more cash for other purposes, such as renovations.
Cons:
* You still owe the full amount at the end of the term.
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