Five Tips to Slash Your Home Finance Costs

It's no wonder that the majority of homeowners dream of one day

being able to pay off their home loan and live a life free from

the shackles of interest rates, home finance and worries about

meeting the monthly mortgage payments because the largest

expense the majority of us take on in a lifetime is our mortgage

and each month our home finance payments take a substantial

chunk out of our take home pay.

Just think what you could do with all the extra money you would

have spare if you didn't have to meet your mortgage each month!

Interested? Well, here are five steps that you could take today

to substantially slash your mortgage repayments and the overall

cost of your home loan and even speed up your rate of repayment

so that the day when you've paid off your home finance and are

free to live the life you want comes that much sooner.

Step One – Demand Better Service!

As a loyal customer of your mortgage lender isn't it about time

you were rewarded for your financial commitment, for making your

regular payments and for being a good, long term customer?

Well, you can rest assured your mortgage lender will not reward

you unless you ask for a better deal on your mortgage!

So get on the phone, call up your lender, ask to speak to

someone in customer services or the customer retention

department and explain that you're looking around for a better

mortgage deal. Ask them for an evaluation of how much you have

left to pay so that you can give it to any one of the hundreds

of other mortgage lenders out there all willing to give you a

better deal.

If you are indeed a valued customer you should receive

favourable feedback to your demands and receive details of

better offers currently available to you from your current

lender.

Remember, if you don't ask you don't get and be adamant about

what you want!

Step Two – Shop Around.

If step one doesn't get you the deal you deserve, shop around.

There really are well in excess of a hundred lenders out there

all seeking new customers who will offer you incentives to take

up their mortgage product.

Use the internet to get an idea of rates being offered and

special deals available to you. Do remember that lenders will do

everything they can to make their deal seem like the most

attractive one available and do everything within their power to

attract new customers so you need to be shrewd.

Look for any hidden charges or tie in clauses and make sure you

evaluate products offered on a like for like basis taking into

account all the features of the mortgage offers available.

Step Three – Call in the Cavalry.

Well, not the cavalry exactly but expert assistance in the form

of a licensed and regulated fee free independent mortgage

broker. In the UK these guys are now regulated by the Financial

Services Authority and in the US they should come under the

scope of The Responsible Lending Act.

As independent brokers they have access to and understanding of

every single mortgage product available and they should be best

placed to assist you find a better deal than the one you have

now where your repayments will be less, your interest rate will

be lower and the amount you repay over the entire duration of

your loan is reduced.

Make sure your broker is fee free and remunerated by any company

you decide to take a mortgage out with. More importantly than

this, make sure they are regulated and licensed correctly and if

possible ask for professional references or testimonials.

Step Four – Cut Out All Extras

Mortgage lenders are notorious for selling overpriced add-ons

such as life insurance, home insurance, contents insurance,

income protection cover…all these insurances have their value

of course – but you can bet your bottom dollar that you can

every last one of them for a fraction of the price by going

directly to an independent insurance house or even seeking the

services of an independent financial adviser to find you the

best deal available.

You could literally save yourself thousands each year in

insurance premiums!

Step Five – Throw Some Money at It

So, you've cut your interest rate down to size, reduced your

monthly repayments, maybe received a cash lump sum from a new

lender and saved yourself thousands on insurance products – now

turn all those savings back into your mortgage and repay early.

Make sure you have it negotiated into your new mortgage contract

that you can make early repayment or lump sum annual top ups and

get rid of the millstone round your neck, free yourself from

your largest financial commitment as soon as possible and save

thousands in interest payments and enjoy freedom of life once

again!

About the author:

Rhiannon Williamson is a freelance writer whose articles about

property investing and emerging real estate markets have

appeared in publications around the world. She is currently

working on a brand new property investment resource http://www.amberlamb.com/

Written by: Rhiannon Williamson