The best bank loan

[Mutley]

I received a letter today telling us we are about to finish our 1 year honeymoon period on our bank loan. We currently have a loan from a major bank and we are not looking forward to the hat trick of loan payment increases (not to mention the possible increase in official interest rates), fuel prices and food.

Has anyone got a competitive loan from another financial institution they are happy with and if so, what rate. Also, how have you found the service and additional costs (ie. exit costs and ongoing fees).

Finally, do you think now is a good time to lock into a fixed rate loan?

[BPXR6T]

Don't go near RAMS. I've got two loans with them and went to buy a third house not so long ago. They stuffed me around so much I ended up loosing the house to another buyer.

I am also selling a house at the moment and am in the middle of discharging the RAMS loan. They ask me, "what loan would I like to discharge, you have two loans on this property". I almost had a heart attack.

I had used equity in a previous property to buy this house. The first house was supposed to be security for the second so the first house should have effectively had two mortgages against it. Well they stuffed up the paper work somehow and made the second house security for the first!

RAMS were good a few years ago. But now I just find them plain rude to deal with. So much so that I will probably take all my business elsewhere.

Be aware of the fees when switching loans. They can bite hard! I thought about switching products a year after getting my first loan in order to get a better interest rate. RAMS were going to charge me over $15,000 in fees. I had to wait a further two years where the fees came down to something reasonable.

Locking in interest rates. The economy is going gang busters but the middle east problems are pushing up oil prices which has the effect of inflating the economy. The RBA's response to this is to raise interest rates.

Try and get a loan product where you have the option on locking in at anytime. My current loan is variable but I can choose to lock the interest rate for up to 5 years if things start getting a little rough.

[gtfpv]

find a better loan with similar features and ask your bank to match it or your out . they will match it rather than lose your business . i did this with a major bank once . they charged me $300 and dropped my interest rate by 1%. i still saved over $700 pa .
my friend went to his bank and asked for a 1% interest reduction or close the account , his bank dropped 1% for nothing.

[Laminge]

This is a very handy website

http://www.cannex.com.au/canxaust.html

[4.9 EF Futura]

Originally Posted by gtfpv

find a better loan with similar features and ask your bank to match it or your out . they will match it rather than lose your business . i did this with a major bank once . they charged me $300 and dropped my interest rate by 1%. i still saved over $700 pa .
my friend went to his bank and asked for a 1% interest reduction or close the account , his bank dropped 1% for nothing.

Awesome bit of advice.

Shop around for a loan and think outside the square. Someone like a Credit Union will struggle to compete with the Banks on price but may offer better ancillary banking services.

Lol - im not authorised to provide financial advice so i wont comment on if its a good time to fix the rate on your loan. Rates went up today - you need to make a judgement on wether they will go up much during the term you intend on fixing the rate for.

[Ringo]

I am with Wizard. Very happy with them overall but their upfront fee was higher than others. The flexibility and redraw facility are pretty good and their fixed rates were lower than their variable rate.....might still be today..haven't checked.

There was a few customer service issues but they were resolved within a phone call.

They are now owned by GE....I was waiting to 'feel' a difference but it hasn't happened yet.

[deesun]

The best home loan is one tha has been finalised. But it ain't mine :