Benefits of a packaged home loan

It's not uncommon to have your mortgage with one bank and credit card with another. It's likely your insurance products are with another company too. Wouldn't it be great if they could all be bundled together to save you time and money? Luckily, such a thing exists in the form of a packaged home loan.

A packaged home loan – the home loan with the lot

A packaged home loan can combine your mortgage with other related financial products. Depending on your circumstances, owner-occupied and investment property home loans may be eligible. A packaged home loan will usually have an annual package fee – often around $400 per year.

What's included in a packaged home loan?

Packaged home loans vary depending on the financial institution but some of the inclusions that may be bundled together include:

• Standard variable mortgage – potentially at a lower interest rate than a standard variable mortgage
• Mortgage offset account – a transaction account linked to your home loan which may reduce the amount of interest you pay on your loan
• Term deposit account – you may be eligible to earn bonus interest on a term deposit account when packaged with your home loan
• Personal loan application benefits – you may also be eligible for a fee waiver on a personal loan or a discounted interest rate, based on the package inclusions and your circumstances
• Credit card – potentially receive a waiver of the annual fee on a credit card when bundled with your home loan
• Insurance benefits – you may be eligible for discounted rates on a range of insurance products which may include car, home and contents, landlord, travel, life or income protection insurance
• Financial planning benefits – you may be able to take advantage of discounted or complimentary sessions with the financial institute's financial planners

Can a packaged home loan save me money?

Potentially yes! However, it of course, depends on your circumstances and whether you use the bundled products and benefits and how you use them too. There are a few potential ways you could save if you take out a packaged home loan as opposed to a standard mortgage.

• Simplified annual fees 
  Rather than paying separate fees on each product or account, you may be able to pay one annual package fee to cover them all.
• Discounted mortgage interest rates
  The interest rate on a packaged home loan may be lower than on a standard mortgage. This could save you thousands in interest repayments over the life of your loan.
• Convenience
  No more running around with multiple companies trying to remember who you're with for each product. Having one place to go and one person to deal with may save you time.

What else do I need to know?

A packaged home loan can be useful. However, before you sign on the dotted line, there are things you should consider:

• Do I need all the extras?
  Depending on the inclusions, you may be paying for products you won't actually use. Shop around to find the package with the benefits that will suit your circumstances.
• Will the annual fee outweigh the savings of the products I use?
  If you're not going to use all of the products, the cost of the annual fee may be greater than the savings on each of the products you do use.
• How much will I save?
  Use a mortgage calculator to work out if the savings will be worth it for your own circumstances.

How do I find out more?

Qudos Bank has a Low Cost Home Loan (Value Package) with one of the best home loan rates in Australia. To find out more about it and see if it suits your needs, contact Qudos Bank on 1300 747 747 or send us a message.