Settlement ends the purchase and starts a long relationship with a loan. The first weeks set its course.
Your first repayment is usually due about a month after settlement. Set up the offset or redraw, align the repayment date with your pay, check the rate and loan details match the approval, and diary a yearly review.
Lenders reprice constantly, so a rate that was sharp at settlement rarely stays that way.
Part of the first home buyer loans guide.
If you have an offset account, start using it as your everyday account so the balance works against the loan daily.
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The first statement is worth reading properly: the rate applied, the loan structure, whether any split is set up as agreed, and whether fees match what was disclosed.
Errors are uncommon but they do occur, and they are far easier to correct in month one than in year three when they have been compounding quietly.
A loan that was competitive at settlement drifts. Lenders price new customers more sharply than existing ones, so the gap opens gradually and without notice. The post-settlement centre covers the whole rhythm.
An annual check, comparing your rate against what is currently available and asking your lender to reprice if it has fallen behind, is the single habit that keeps a mortgage competitive.
Four things worth doing before life moves on.
Typically about a month after settlement, and the exact date is in your loan documents. It is worth confirming rather than assuming, and worth checking that the account it draws from has the funds, because a missed first repayment is an avoidable mark on an otherwise clean file.
Yes: keep money in it. An offset only saves interest while money sits in it, so have your salary paid into it and pay your expenses from it.
Setting that up in the first month is easy; introducing it two years later rarely happens.
Once a year, and sooner if rates move or your circumstances change. Lenders price new customers more sharply than existing ones, so a yearly check and a phone call is usually all it takes.
Raise it immediately with the lender. Errors are uncommon but not unknown, and they are far simpler to fix in the first month than after they have compounded. Read the rate, the structure and any fees against what you agreed.
On a variable loan, generally yes and without limit. On a fixed loan, most lenders cap extra repayments during the fixed term, and exceeding the cap can attract a cost. Check your specific loan before setting up anything automatic.
Charles can check the structure, the rate and whether the offset is doing what it should.
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General information only, not credit or financial advice. Professional lending policies, eligible occupations and loan-to-value thresholds vary by lender and change over time. Eligibility is confirmed against current lender policy in an assessment; nothing on this page is a promise that any lender will approve any application.
