Offset mortgages and intelligent finance loans were first introduced in 1997 and were an import from Australia. Simply put, an offset mortgage or intelligent finance loans is where you use your savings in a bank account to lower the interest you have to pay on your mortgage. It is easier to explain intelligent finance loans and offset mortgages by using an example.

Jack Jones has savings of $163;40,000 and a mortgage of $163;240,000. To save money Mr Jones opts for an offset mortgage. He therefore pays interest on $163;200,000 rather than $163;240,000. If Mr Jones wanted to finance $163;20,000 for his daughter’s wedding next year, he could ask when he set up his mortgage for a borrowing limit of $163;260,000. That’s $163;200,000 for the mortgage, $163;40,000 in savings + $163;20,000 for wedding. He would then have a debt of $163;260,000 however due to the offset feature of his mortgage and his $163;40,000 savings he would only pay interest on $163;220,000 rather than the $163;260,000 owed after the wedding. The main point to remember with offset mortgages is that you only pay interest on the money you actually owe. In Mr Jones’ case prior to borrowing for his daughter’s wedding this figure would have been $163;200,000 and after the wedding $163;220,000.

During the credit boom of the late nineties and early millennium, banks started to expand the offset principle to include credit cards and current accounts. The lenders who offer offset mortgages and intelligent finance loans usually offer two types of offset mortgages.

1) Current account mortgages – these give the borrower a single account with a large overdraft. The borrower’s savings, current accounts, credit cards and loans are all combined into this single account. The interest rate offered varies from lender to lender. This has the obvious advantage that there is only one payment for the borrower to worry about.

2) The second option available for borrowers is where the borrower keeps their separate accounts however they are linked together. As no interest is paid on savings as it is tied into the intelligent finance loans, the offset mortgage is extremely tax efficient and a great way to lower the amount of taxes that are owed.

As with the example above, both types of intelligent finance loans or offset mortgages have borrowing limits set when the intelligent finance loans set up. The borrower can then spend up to their limit without any penalties being imposed. If you are looking for finance speak to an expert adviser.

By: Mark Inglis