5 Tips to Slash Your Home Finance Costs

Five Tips to Slash Your Home Finance Costs

It makes sense that the majority of homeowners dream of one day being able to pay off their mortgage and live a life free from the constraints of interest rates, home finance, and concerns about making the monthly mortgage payments. After all, the mortgage is the majority of people's largest lifetime expense, and each month, our take-home pay is significantly reduced by our home finance payments.  

Consider all the things you could buy with the additional cash you would have if you weren't required to pay your mortgage each month.  Interested?  Here are five actions you can do right away to significantly reduce your mortgage payments, the total cost of your house loan, and even speed up your rate of repayment. By doing this, you'll be able to pay off your mortgage faster and be able to live the life you desire.

Step One – Demand Better Service!

Isn't it time you were recognised for your financial commitment, for making your monthly payments, and for being a solid, long-term customer as a mortgage lender's devoted client?  

You may be sure that your mortgage lender won't reward you unless you request a better mortgage offer, though!

So pick up the phone and call your lender. Request a customer care or customer retention representative, and let them know you're seeking for a better mortgage offer.  In order to give it to any one of the hundreds of different mortgage lenders out there who are all prepared to give you a better deal, ask them for an assessment of how much you still owe.

If you are a valued customer, your present lender should respond favourably to your requests and let you know about any better deals that are currently being offered to you.  

Keep in mind that if you don't ask, you won't get, therefore be persistent in getting what you desire!

Step Two – Shop Around.

Shop around if the first step doesn't earn you the deal you deserve.  There are actually well over a hundred lenders out there competing for your business and offering incentives for you to use their mortgage services.  

To learn about prices being charged and available discounts, use the internet.  Do keep in mind that lenders will use every effort to make their package appear to be the most alluring one available and to draw in new clients, so you must be cautious.  

Make sure you analyse goods supplied on a like-for-like basis, taking into account all the characteristics of the mortgage packages available, and keep an eye out for any hidden fees or tie-in terms.

Step Three – Call in the Cavalry.

It's not quite the cavalry, but rather knowledgeable support in the shape of a fee-free independent mortgage broker who is authorised and governed.  These individuals are currently governed by the Financial Services Authority in the UK, and The Responsible Lending Act should apply to them in the US.

They should be in the best position to help you find a better deal than the one you currently have in which your repayments will be smaller, your interest rate will be lower, and the total amount you repay over the life of your loan will be smaller because they are independent brokers and have access to and knowledge of every mortgage product available.  

Any company you choose to take out a mortgage with should pay your broker a fee-free commission.  More importantly, check to see if they are legitimately regulated and licenced, and if you can, request professional references or testimonies.

Step Four – Cut Out All Extras

Mortgage lenders are known for offering expensive add-ons like income protection, life insurance, home insurance, and contents insurance.All of these insurances have value, of course, but you can bet your bottom dollar that you can get every single one of them for a fraction of the cost by going directly to an independent insurance house or even hiring an independent financial adviser to shop around for you.  

The amount you may literally save on insurance premiums each year is thousands!

Step Five – Throw Some Money at It

Your interest rate has been dropped, your monthly payments have been lowered, you may have received a cash lump sum from a new lender, and you have saved thousands of dollars on insurance; now it's time to put all of those savings back into your mortgage and pay it off early.  

Make sure you negotiate early repayment options or lump sum annual top-ups into your new mortgage contract so you can free yourself as soon as possible from your largest financial obligation, avoid thousands in interest payments, and once again enjoy freedom from debt.