Many investors choose fixed rate home loans for repayment certainty. Find out if a fixed rate is right for you and your investment property.
A fixed rate home loan is a loan where the interest rate is set for a certain amount of time. It is common for a loan to be a fixed rate loan for a period of one to five years, before it changes to a variable rate. The advantage of a fixed rate is that during the fixed term, you know exactly how much your repayments will be.
If you’re new to the market and don’t feel comfortable taking any risks then you may want to consider choosing a fixed rate home loan, much like many new property investors do for the first several years of their investment property loan.
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Buying an investment property or looking to refinance? The table below features home loans with some of the lowest fixed interest rates on the market for investors.
Lender | |||||||||||||
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| Variable | More details | ||||||||||||
Variable Investor, Principal and Interest (LVR < 80%) | |||||||||||||
| Variable | More details | ||||||||||||
| FEATUREDNO UPFRONT OR ONGOING FEES | Low Rate Home Loan - Prime (Principal and Interest) (Investment) (LVR < 80%)
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Low Rate Home Loan - Prime (Principal and Interest) (Investment) (LVR < 80%)
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| Variable | More details | ||||||||||||
| AN EASY ONLINE APPLICATION | Yard Investment Loan (Principal and Interest) (LVR < 80%)
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Yard Investment Loan (Principal and Interest) (LVR < 80%)
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| Variable | More details | ||||||||||||
| REFINANCE IN MINUTES, NOT WEEKS | Variable Investor, Interest Only (LVR < 80%)
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Variable Investor, Interest Only (LVR < 80%)
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- Fast turnaround times, can meet 30-day settlement
- For purchase and refinance, min 20% deposit
- No ongoing or monthly fees, add offset for 0.10%
Base criteria of: a $400,000 loan amount, variable, fixed, principal and interest (P&I) home loans with an LVR (loan-to-value) ratio of at least 80%. However, the ‘Compare Home Loans’ table allows for calculations to be made on variables as selected and input by the user. All products will list the LVR with the product and rate which are clearly published on the Product Provider’s web site. Monthly repayments, once the base criteria are altered by the user, will be based on the selected products’ advertised rates and determined by the loan amount, repayment type, loan term and LVR as input by the user/you. *The Comparison rate is based on a $150,000 loan over 25 years. Warning: this comparison rate is true only for this example and may not include all fees and charges. Different terms, fees or other loan amounts might result in a different comparison rate. Rates correct as of May 22, 2022. View disclaimer.
Advantages of fixed rate investment loans
The key advantage of a fixed rate loan is repayment certainty. By knowing exactly what your repayments will be, you’ll be able to budget for the future. This factor often makes fixed rate home loans very popular for investors over the first two to three years of owning a property. This enables investors to get off the ground and find tenants without worrying about their repayments going up.
Disadvantages of fixed rate investment loans
The downside to an interest rate being locked in for a length of time is that it’s locked-in. This probably goes without saying, but there’s a few considerations:
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Interest rates could drop: If interest rates drop, chances are you could be paying too much on your home loan, and it’s tempting to switch, but…
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Break fees could apply: Break fees often occur if you break out of a fixed loan term early. This fee, payable to your lender, is often a calculation based on the difference in interest rates, and how long you are into the home loan. This could add up to many thousands of dollars, negating any benefit of refinancing.
Another disadvantage is that there is often less flexibility with a fixed rate loan. One example of this is additional repayments. There could be penalties for making additional repayments beyond the allowed limit - usually the allowed limit is up to $10,000 but check with your lender to make sure. Because of this, the ability to redraw or add an offset account might not be offered on a fixed rate loan, effectively reducing the flexibility of the loan.
Fixed rate investment home loans can present a useful opportunity to have repayment certainty while starting a new investment property, but there are some considerations to keep in mind.
Image via Nathan Van Egmond via Unsplash
