Ratings
Fixed term options
Unlike in the US, there are no lenders in Australia that offer 20 or 30 year fixed rates for standard residential home loans. Heritage Bank Home Advantage offers fixed loan terms between 1 - 5 years.
Selling the property or refinance during the fixed rate term can trigger hefty fees for breaking a fixed rate contract, and fixed rate loans tend to have restrictions on making extra repayments. Before you lock your rate in, you need to be sure that a fixed rate home loan is suitable for your situation.
LVR options
LVR is an acronym for Loan-To-Value Ratio. The LVR is the amount you are borrowing against the property value being used as security, represented as a percentage.
Heritage Bank Home Advantage does not offer tier pricing for lower LVR. With Home Advantage, you can borrow upto $90% LVR.
90%
LVR
Heritage Bank
Repayment options
Interest only loans have traditionally been tailored to investors so they can reduce their mortgage repayments and maximise their tax benefits and overall return on investment (ROI). However, getting home loan with interest only (IO) has its place and some lenders are willing to consider your application if you can provide valid reasons.
Tips: To get approved for an interest only home loan you need to have a strong enough income to afford principal and interest (P&I) repayments once your interest only term expires. Sometimes extending your interest only period can be tough and getting approved for a P&I refinance is a lot easier.
Paying pricinpal and interest
Heritage Bank
Paying interest only
Heritage Bank
Q&As
Does Heritage Bank Home Advantage comes with an offset account?
No, Home Advantage does not come with an offset account.
Generally speaking, offset accounts is more common with variable rate home loans than fixed loan options.
What are the costs to apply for Heritage Bank Home Advantage?
There is upfront costs of $210 to apply for Home Advantage.
- Settlement fee: $210
Home Advantage also comes with ongoing account fees of $350 per year.
- Annual fee: $350 per year
Are there costs when I exit or refinance to another lender?
Heritage Bank charge a discharge fee of $345, which covers the cost for removing the mortgage that has been registered on the title of your property.
Heritage Bank may also charge you a fixed-rate break cost if you refinance out of Home Advantage or sell your house before the fixed term ends. It can cost thousands of dollars, and the advantages of breaking the fixed loan won't always outweigh the disadvantages.
IMPORTANT: Lenders change their policy from time to time so this information is current only accurate at the time that it was written. You should always check with Heritage Bank or a mortgage broker just to be sure. This information should be used as a guide only.