Can they actually save me money on my mortgage? How does it work? Sounds like a too good to be true scenario
Announcement
Collapse
No announcement yet.
What is FHX?
Collapse
X
-
Without any specific detailed knowledge on FHX, I've just looked at their website and run a couple calculations. Their service doesn't really do anything.
To begin with, using their Mortgage Calculator shows that immediately using their service your total borrowings increase. This means they charge a fee for what they do. If their service is valuable, good on them.
But it's not. They can't tell you anything that you can't learn in a few personal finance books.
1) Attempt to organise a lower interest rate loan with your bank
2) Apply all spare funds after your usual monthly spending to the mortgage
3) Profit
If you want to get even more fancy, you tack on the words "flexible borrowing facility" into step 1, and add in step 2.5: "Move all your monthly spending to a credit card, leave your salary in the flexible facility until the day the card is due, then pay it off using the mortgage"
Wow, you mean paying off debt faster is as simple as paying extra off it each month? And this saves money, you say? Why doesn't everyone do this!?!?
You know, you can pay it off even faster by reducing what you spend on other things, and putting that into the mortgage too! That's not even sarcasm. It's just a really good idea.AAT Accounting Services - Property Specialist - [email protected]
Fixed price fees and quick knowledgeable service for property investors & traders!
-
There's simply no way to cut a mortgage repayment term in half without increasing your payments.
As I mentioned above, using a flexi facility in conjunction with a credit card will save you a fair amount of money each month (say your monthly bills are $3,000, you put this on a credit card interest-free for 50 days, then paying it off with the mortgage) will save you around $200 per year, or say $6,000 over the life of a mortgage.
But interesting, their FAQ says no credit card involved either.
I've just read through the FAQ, and found an ambiguity which might make sense:
3. Do I have to increase my weekly, fortnightly or monthly mortgage repayments?
No. We prefer that you maintain your existing lifestyle.
What I suggested wasn't increasing your regular mortgage payments, it was making additional payments on top of the regular ones. I also didn't suggest you decrease your lifestyle, but simply apply any and all spare money to the mortgage. I'd imagine this is what they'll tell you to do.
In fact, their calculator fails if you tell it you have less than $750 per month left over after your monthly expenses. So that's 100% got to be it.AAT Accounting Services - Property Specialist - [email protected]
Fixed price fees and quick knowledgeable service for property investors & traders!
Comment
Comment