With so many home loan providers to choose from it’s important to factor in which provider will help you make your mortgage work smarter, not harder, so you can realistically reach your goals.
It is great to see one of the major banks actually campaigning around reducing your mortgage. They are proposing a system to pay down your mortgage quicker based on three main practices:
- Paying slightly more than the minimum repayment amount
- Increasing your repayments each year (inflation adjustment)
- Offset some of the interest cost with your income
So this system offers sound theory in paying down debt. But in practice would it be an effective long term solution to finances and mortgages? To be an effective solution I would say your mortgage could work smarter with the following:
Factoring in future changes
Typically our financial position has key ‘life’ changes to it, including time off for children, purchasing a bigger house, or the big overseas holiday. It is important to be able to factor these changes in to be able to understand their impact and to then make sure you are comfortable and prepared for these changes.
Managing these changes
Sometimes changes can be planned for, sometimes they just happen. A mortgage system should be flexible enough so in times where there is no money you can dial back repayments and when times are better you are able to advance your position.
Tracking
Probably the most important factor for an effective long term solution is being able to accurately measure your progress. Firstly, this will encourage you to stick with the plan if you can see your progress and also allow you to respond appropriately if you are falling behind.
The information contained in this article is of a general nature and should not be taken as advice. It reflects the opinions of the writer only and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of New Zealand Home Loans.
