Are you looking to refinance?

Or perhaps you are looking for the very best first home loan you can get.

Either way, this guide will walk you through what it takes to find the best home loan for you.

In a previous article on refinancing your home loan, we mentioned researching your home loan as one of the five steps involved in refinancing.

With this article we want to show you how you can research home loans to find one that is right for you.

The first thing you will want to do is to find out what’s out there.

There are a few easy ways to do this:

• Ask family and friends for recommendations (this could reward them as well!) 
• Talk to one or more brokers, but using a broker can limit your options 
• Compare home loans on the numerous comparison websites that are available

Using comparison websites is an easy way to find home loan options, but one thing to be aware of is some of these comparison sites make their money by placing paid listings at the top of their results.

So you will need to make sure you are seeing all your possible options, and not just the sponsored results.

A few of the more popular comparison websites are Mozo, Canstar and Infochoice.

Mozo

When you look for a home loan on Mozo you are initially presented with sponsored options only. These can be good, but they may not be the best home loans for you.

You can see all the options available by following these directions:

1. Head to the home loans page and you will see a list of loans to compare. These are limited to loans where the lender has paid to have their product listed in the most prominent position.

You can tell these are promoted listings as they have a small grey “promoted” image next to them (see image below).

2. You will then need to scroll down past all the sponsored listings until you see the “Compare all home loans” button.

3. Once you click that button you will be taken to a page where you can enter some details about the loan you require. Simple fill in the details and click “Get Results”.

4. The results page you are taken to will still just show the promoted listings so you will have one final step before you can see all the home loans on offer.

5. Simple click the “Want to see all products” link at the top of the page and you will be shown all the listings available – both organic and paid.

Once you have the full list you can sort by interest rate, comparison rate, initial monthly repayment, and total savings in interest and fees.

Canstar

Canstar’s comparison website is easy to navigate and view the full range of loans on offer.

While you can rank the home loan listings by the usual criteria (see image below), Canstar also allows you to rank by star rating.

This star rating system is one developed by Canstar themselves and is updated every six months to provide an accurate picture of each loan based on the criteria set by Canstar.

Infochoice

Like Mozo, Infochoice show sponsored posts first. However, they allow you to expand your view to all listings with one click – making it much easier to assess the full range of loans available.

After de-selecting the “Show sponsored listings first” you will get a full listing of all the home loans available.

Now you know how to navigate some of the more popular comparison websites, it is worthwhile considering other aspects of a home loan.

Further consideration

When considering which financial institution can offer you the best home loan, it may be worth looking at several different lenders.

Smaller, boutique lenders can surprise you with interest rate deals, features, and customer service.

In fact, customer-owned lenders such as credit unions consistently outrank the Big 4 when it comes to customer satisfaction.

And as this video shows, service can mean a great deal.

Not all interest rates are created equal

While a headline rate may attract your attention, make sure you know the full picture before signing up.

Comparison rates can give you a clearer picture of the true rate of interest you pay, including any fees and charges.

Also, some of the comparison sites let you compare monthly repayments and savings (if you are switching loans).

Don’t stop with the interest rate

While the interest rate is important, it may be worth considering other factors of a home loan and the financial institution before making your final decision.

Other factors you could consider:

• Loan features, such as an off-set account, free redraw facilities, choice of payment options, and discounts off other products and services
• Any restrictions like repayment limits
• The financial institution’s customer satisfaction score
• Any reviews by real people 
• Any awards the financial institution has won (especially for their products)

When deciding on your loan, it’s important to think about which factors would be important to you and your own financial situation.

Key fact sheet

Finally, there are key fact sheets which all financial institutions need to give you access to which will allow you to compare the fees and repayments for each home loan.

Conclusion

There are over a hundred home loan lenders to choose from and it’s not always an easy task to sift through all of them, but by using a combination of recommendations, reviews, comparisons, and personal choice you will find it much easier to find the right home loan for you.

How will you go about finding your next home loan?