Hi , I have recently applied for a home loan at Westpac , on the 10th February . Since then there have been 2 interest rate rises . My question is ….do i get the interest rate at time of application or at settlement ? I presume it wouldnt matter with a variable rate loan , only a fixed rate . Cheers
You will get the rate at the time of settlement unless you paid the additional "rate lock" fee which will give you the rate at the time of signing.
i think they make you pay to lock rates in for fixed, obviously variable is variable to market rates, but unless your lender allows you to pay extra – i.e. $250 to lock rates for fixed, you will be paying the higher rate. Note i only found this out after a Macquarie fixed started at 7.5% and climbed at last count to 9.9% fixed by the time the property settled, i used another lender instead.
If you have applied for a variable rate product you will get whatever the rate is at the time of settlement. With fixed rates you should have been offered the option to “rate lock”, for an extra fee, at the time of application and this would have guaranteed that rate for up to 3 months. This would have meant you had the rate you applied for at the time of settlement, regardless of the market movement. Some lenders will guarantee you get the lowest rate, if you rate lock, even when rates go down.
Cheers,
Dean Lynch
Principle Mortgage Consultant
Australian Mortgage Brokers
E: [email protected]
W: http://www.deanlynch.com.au
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. If you don't have an account, you can register here.
