One of our clients recently approached us and was looking to refinance their owner-occupied home loan, as well as their investment property loan. The investment loan was previously on an interest only term and had recently come to an end, and given the recent changes and restrictions, unfortunately their current lender would not extend the interest only product.
This caused issues for the client, as they did not want to pay principal and interest on the investment loan due to their financial plan, therefore the client wanted to move all of their loans to a lender who offered interest only on the investment loan.
When the client approached the new lender, they conducted a property valuation on the two properties. To the client’s surprise, one of the properties came back with a slightly lower valuation than expected, which resulted in the client’s Loan to Value Ratio (LVR) being just above 80%. This meant the client would have to pay Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) with a premium of approximately $15,000.
We opened discussions with the valuation firm who valued the property, negotiated the valuation of the property for nearly a month, providing extensive sales evidence and proof that it was valued higher. We were able to convince them that one of the properties was worth more than the initial valuation, a whole $20,000 more. This brought the client’s LVR below 80%, which meant they did not have to pay LMI and saved $15,000.
If you know someone who would like a second opinion on their home loan, get in touch with today. A second opinion won’t cost you anything, but not having it might.