Working out LVR

Fixing interest rates is a risk mitigation strategy, it shouldn't be seen as a money saving strategy. I don't see that you're mitigating much risk with the 1 year fixed at 4.59%. If you're going to fix, I tend to prefer 3 year fixed rates.

At age 64 however, risk mitigation probably isn't your biggest concern, that should have been dealt with long ago (and your LVR and cash position suggests it has been dealt with). This suggests you're attracted to the deal because of the rate, not the risk.

You might consider that BankWest does have variable products priced well below 5%.

The problem I see with BankWest is they tend to have a 'killer deal' from time to time. This tends to be a product with a really cheap interest rate which attracts a lot of business. Within 2 years they usually replace this product with another product that's the next killer deal. The rates on the old product then increase to the point where they're very expensive. They've been consistent with this behavior for at least 8 years now.

You can switch products, of course they charge a fee for this. Enough people simply don't review their loan so the bank makes a significant profit on it. My feeling about BankWest is they're a fundamentally dishonest lender. Plenty of other lenders have comparably cheap rates and they don't screw their customers on the back end.
 
Back
Top