It depends on the actual loan. There is no set rule but most standard variable rate loans and honeymoon rate loans will allow them but most discount variable rate loans won't. They are useful to have because they save on interest and are convenient however there are other ways to set your loan up to do the exact same thing.

You can potentially save very large amounts in interest cost by paying the loan off more frequently and by paying off extra amounts. The software used by Home Loan Advice Centre can show you exactly how much you would save in any given scenario and suggest ways you can achieve the greatest savings. Setting your loan up with an offset account also can be a way to pay your loan off more quickly because any funds placed within this account is effectively equivalent to paying principle off your loan.

As long as it’s a variable rate loan, virtually all banks allow you to pay off as much as you like in extra repayments. With fixed rate loans the situation varies between banks. Most limit the extra amount you can pay off to $5000 per year but some allow up to $10,000 extra per year. Splitting your loan to half variable and half fixed overcomes the problem if you want pay extra and still have the security of a fixed rate loan.

It costs you nothing. Home Loan Advice Centre is a member of the Professional Lenders Association Network of Australia. As a group we refer large volumes of loans to each bank and commissions are paid back from these lenders based on this volume.The end result is that you end up with exactly the same loan as if you went to the bank directly but gain through getting our knowledge and advice on which banks it is worthwhile for you to approach and which banks are not. You also gain from our knowledge of loans and advice on the best way to structure your loan. The whole picture. The right loan.

It depends on your circumstances and your outlook. Fixed rates are usually a little higher than variable rates so you have to weigh up the alternatives ie comparative cost of each option, the requirement you have for certainty in your repayments, what you believe rates will do in the future, and the question of how long to fix for. Fixed rates have the benefit of giving you full knowledge of what you repayments will be over the term you fix however they also have a number of disadvantages.

See table 1 below for Lender interest rates. The table shows a brief summary of current interest rates of the banks on our lending panel. Please note - that many discount rates offered by each lender are not shown. Please contact your Home Loan Advice Centre loan consultant for more information on other discount rates that may be available to you.

When you purchase a house, the amount you can borrow and property price capacity is generally based on the following ... The amount of deposit you have available The level of your income. Each bank's internal serviceabilty criteria which amongst other things is linked to interest rates, cost of living, your exiting liabilities etc. The following table gives you a rough idea of how your "level of income" (item 2 above) affects your borrowing capacity. Your maximum will differ between different lenders. Please note that for simplicity, this table assumes you have no liabilities (ie no other loans).

It's possible to get home loans with interest rates discounted by up to half a percentage point lower than the standard variable rate. The big banks and some smaller lenders offer a package of discounts and bonuses to those who conduct all their planning with them. These packages require a minimum loan of $150,000 -$250,00, using the lender's credit card, opening a transaction account, and having an above-average income. An annual fee for the package may apply. Borrowers can save nearly $19,000 in interest on a $200,000 loan over 25 years if the rate is cut from 7.07 per cent to 6.57 per cent. This will reduce monthly repayments by $63 and borrowers can save more than $25,000 in interest if the monthly $63 saving gets put towards the loan at the lower interest rate. The package may also include fee-free planning and discounts on products such as margin loans, insurance and personal loans. The packages are generally not promoted actively: the customer has to seek them out.

The more you pay off your home loan, the more of the property you own or the more 'equity' in the property you build up. With a more flexible planning system these days, it is possible to borrow against this equity for further investment; a second property, shares etc. The advantage of borrowing against this equity rather than taking out a personal, investment or business loan is that the interest rate will invariably be lower – the better the asset you put up as collateral, the better the terms a lender will offer. Nothing beats bricks and mortar security (in this case, your home).

Disciplined borrowers can make use of the increasing range of line-of-credit loans, also called salary account or all-in-one loans, which offer the chance to make every spare dollar work to reduce your home loan. These loans allow your income to be paid directly into the loan account to reduce the loan outstanding sooner than waiting for the repayment due date. You are also effectively making larger repayments because you only withdraw the money you need to live on each month, leaving all surplus cash in the loan account to reduce the balance. In this way, the loan can be paid off much quicker and thousands in interest saved. Line-of-credit borrowers must be disciplined, however, and not withdraw more money over time than is going in. Income you bank must exceed your total expenses by at least the value of your principal-and-interest loan repayment before there is any financial benefit.