Home Loan Comparison Calculator

How to use the Home Loan comparison calculator 

Using the Home Loan comparison calculator is easy: 

1. Enter your loan amount and term at the top.
2. Add all the details about the loans you want to compare. At the very least, you’ll need to add in the product type and interest rates, but if you click ‘show more’, you can get into the details and add things like repayment type and optional extra monthly repayments.
3. See the comparison all laid out! 

How will the interest rate affect my Home Loan? 

Interest may not be your biggest up-front cost, but it might very well be the biggest cost that comes with buying a property. A difference of 1% in interest rates can make a huge difference to the amount you have to pay back over the lifetime of your loan. 

Let’s work through an example. 

*Products shown are principal and interest home loans available for a loan amount of $500,000 in NSW with an LVR of 80% of the property value. 

Of course, that calculation is assuming that nothing else changes in that whole 30 years, but even so, you can see how the interest rate can have big impacts on your budget, both in the short and long term. 

What other charges will affect my home loan? 

At the end of the day, any charge that impacts how much you can put down as a deposit will affect your Home Loan. Here are some significant charges associated with buying a home that might impact your Home Loan. 

Stamp duty 

Stamp duty, also known as transfer duty, is a state and territory government tax you sometimes have to pay when you buy a property. Different states have different ways of calculating it, but it depends on the value of the property. 

Lenders’ mortgage insurance 

You might have to pay lender’s mortgage insurance (LMI) if you put down less than a 20% deposit. LMI is an insurance that protects the lender if you default on your loan. It’s calculated based on the property value, and it can be lumped in with your mortgage. 

What can I do to reduce my Home Loan? 

If the name of the game is to reduce your Home Loan as much as possible, there are few things you can do. 

Change your repayment frequency 

If you’re paying your loan off monthly, you can pay it off faster by switching to fortnightly payments and paying half the monthly amount every two weeks. There are 12 months in a year and 26 fortnights, so switching gives you the equivalent of an extra month’s repayment every year! 

Make extra repayments 

Got a bonus? A tax return? Some birthday money? If you get an extra bit of cash, putting it towards your mortgage can make a big difference over time. Even if it feels like a smaller amount in the scheme of things, any bit that gets your principal down helps. Remember, the smaller your principal, the less interest you pay. 

Use a redraw facility or offset account 

If you have savings or money set aside for, say, a holiday in a year, consider keeping it in an offset account or a redraw facility.  

• An offset account is a transaction account linked to your mortgage. The amount you have in it, is subtracted from the amount of principal you owe when your interest amount is worked out. That means the more you keep in there, the less interest you pay.
• A redraw facility allows you to access any extra money you’ve paid towards your loan. That means you can pay extra towards your mortgage, and still access the money if you need it. 

Quick tip

Did you know you can get a Split Loan? That’s when one portion is fixed and one is variable. There are different advantages to both fixed and variable Home Loans – this way, you get to have your cake and eat it too.

Debbie Shankar

Former Group Content Manager, Lendi

What else should I look at when comparing Home Loans? 

As we said above, the interest rate will be the biggest ongoing expense, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only thing you might want to think about. Here are some other factors that are useful to look at when comparing Home Loans. 

Loan type 

Is the interest rate fixed, variable or split? Are you repaying principal and interest or interest only? If it’s interest only, how long is that for?

Redraw or offset facilities 

Does the loan have redraw or offset facilities? Do you have enough cash to make them worthwhile? 

Upfront fees 

Loans might come with up-front fees such as establishment fees, which are up-front costs for setting up a loan. You also might have to pay a mortgage registration fee. 

Exit fees 

What about if you finish paying off your loan early or you want to refinance elsewhere, will you have to pay extra for that? 

Introductory rates 

Some lenders offer cheaper introductory rates which expire after a set period of time. Is the interest rate you’re looking at going to expire? 

How else can I compare Home Loans? 

Here at iSelect, we’ve partnered with the friendly team at Lendi to help you compare a range of different Home Loan options on the market. You can do it from the comfort of your couch – try it now!