IANCASTLE:FREELANCE

NewWorld mortages consumer guides, Commonwealth Bank

Consumer copywriting for the UK launch of NewWorld mortgages. With over 10 million customers and a 25% share of mortgage lending in Australia, the Commonwealth Bank sought to bring its range of flexible discounted, fixed, capped, and buy-to-let mortgages here to the UK. Producing the launch collaterals, agency Clarke Hooper Momentum briefed me  to develop copy across the consumer enquiry and product fulfilment pieces. A direct copy style let us showcase the straightforward Australian approach to mortgage borrowing - presenting the flexibility of the product range as a more appealing lifestyle choice.

  • COPY: Ian Castle, Freelance Copywriter
  • AGENCY: Clarke Hooper Momentum

Retail Finance copy sample: NewWorld mortgages consumer guides

Extracts:

Choosing your mortgage type

Interest only or repayment?

 There are two types of New World Home loan: ‘Interest only’ and ‘Repayment’ (sometimes also called ‘capital plus interest’). There are important differences between them.

With an interest only loan, throughout the period your borrowing is agreed (the ‘term’), you pay only interest on the money you’ve borrowed (the ‘loan capital’). At the end of the loan, you must repay the original loan capital in full – either from your own savings, or a separate investment taken out to grow over the term of the loan. Types of investment that can be used to repay loan capital include Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs), PEPs (Personal Equity Plans) and Endowment Policies.

  • Interest only loans offer lower repayments than repayment loans, but also require contributions to a suitable investment. An attraction is that if the investment performs well, at the end of the term it may pay off your home loan with money to spare.
  • Before making an ‘interest only’ loan, we’ll check with you to ensure that you already have (or are starting) the necessary investments or security to repay it at the end of the term.

Example:

  • You take out a £100,000 Interest only home loan over a 25 year term
  • After 24 years the loan capital you owe remains £100,000
  • In year 25 your investment matures producing (say) £110,000
  • You repay your loan capital and have £10,000 surplus from your investment

With a repayment loan, your repayments pay the both interest due on the loan and some of the loan capital. Initially, most of each repayment settles interest. But as time goes on, more of each repayment is used to pay back loan capital.

  • The advantage of repayment loans is that there is no other financial investment needed. Provided you’ve made all the repayments, by the end of term you’ve paid back all that you’ve borrowed and own your home.

Example:

  • You take out a £100,000 repayment (capital plus interest) home loan over a 25 year term
  • After 24 years the loan capital you owe has reduced to just £7,824
  • In year 25 you make your final home loan repayment and owe nothing more

How long can I have to repay?

The decision is up to you. Our minimum loan repayment term is 35 years. The most common period chosen to repay a home loan is 25 years. Our absolute maximum is 35 years. You must be no more than 65 years old at the planned end of the loan.