Intel.

If saving a big deposit is holding you back from buying a home, don’t give up your goal. There are plenty of options to buy a house with less than 20% deposit.

A fixed rate home loan can protect you from rising interest rates and extend the savings of low rates, but there’s a lot to consider before locking in your loan’s interest rate.

Lenders mortgage insurance is a type of insurance that lets you buy a home with a deposit below 20%. This type of cover protects the lender, not the home buyer, so it’s worth looking at ways to cut the cost.

A home loan comparison rate includes the loan's regular interest rate as well as most upfront and ongoing fees, helping you make an ‘apples for apples’ comparison between different home loans.

Redraw is a feature of most variable rate home loans, letting home owners withdraw extra payments out of their loan if cash is needed in an emergency.

Redraw and offset accounts both offer opportunities to save on home loan interest and become mortgage-free sooner. But there are key differences between the two. We weigh up how redraw works compared to offset.

The loan-to-value ratio – or LVR – refers to the percentage of your home’s value you are borrowing through a home loan. The bigger your deposit, the lower your LVR – and the more you can save on loan interest.

Which is better – a personal loan or a credit card? Both are useful financial tools, and making the right choice can come down to your personal goals and knowing your spending habits.

A first home buyer in Ipswich says the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme has saved him thousands of dollars and helped achieve his dream of home ownership much sooner.