The case in summary: Mari Hvidsten has become more concerned with personal finances after the interest rate increases. She contacted several banks to get a better interest rate and found out that she qualified for a green mortgage. With a green mortgage, she saved NOK 3,300 a month. 118,615 homes qualify for green loans, which require energy class A or B. Marie Olaussen encourages people to follow the interest rate, negotiate it or change banks to save money. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – I haven’t really cared much about it until now, says Mari Hvidsten, who lives in a home from 2018 in Skien. She is one of many who feel the rise in interest rates on her body and has therefore become more concerned with personal finances. Hvidsten has, among other things, taken steps to buy food and has become better at shopping for used clothes and equipment for the children. – A bit brutal What eats away at the private economy the most are the interest expenses every month. Hvidsten has a normal income and tries to keep his expenses down. Photo: Lars Tore Endresen / Lars Tore Endresen – It’s a bit brutal for normal people with a normal income, she says. Recently, she contacted her bank, DNB, to try to get the interest rate down. Then came the message that she already has the bank’s best interest rate. – We make do with that. I think many people trust what the bank says, she says. But it turned out not to be true. Hvidsten’s home has energy label B. This means that the house is well insulated. Photo: Lars Tore Endresen / Lars Tore Endresen Contacted several banks For Hvidsten also contacted other banks in search of a better interest rate. When her home was completed, it received an energy class B. Only then did she learn that she qualified for a green mortgage with a much better interest rate. Also in DNB where she is a customer. She saved NOK 3,300 a month on that, a total of NOK 39,600 a year. – It’s a mistake that she didn’t find out straight away, says Ingjerd Blekeli Spiten, who is executive vice president for personal markets at DNB. Ingjerd Blekeli Spiten, who is executive vice president for personal markets at DNB. She says they are trying to reach out with information about green mortgages. Photo: Sunniva Linjord / news She says that the customer advisor should have been informed about this in the conversation and that the bank wants to provide more such loans. – Green mortgages are really something we try to communicate in all our marketing, she says. Have you heard of a green mortgage? 118,615 homes qualify for green loans, according to the energy label database. To qualify for a green loan, you must in most cases have energy class A or B. This is as much as 14 per cent of energy-labelled Norwegian homes. Here you can check the energy labeling of your home. No one knows how many of these people currently have green mortgages. Finans Norge is now working on compiling an overview of how widespread the green loans are. – In addition to green mortgages, many banks offer green rehabilitation loans where the requirement is usually that you get 30 per cent less energy consumption after upgrading, says Kristian Ruth, director of sustainability, Finans Norge. Asking people to negotiate the rent Marie Olaussen has become popular on social media with her savings advice. She believes that many people have a lot to save by paying extra attention to the interest rate, negotiating it or switching banks: – Calling the bank or checking finansportalen.no and seeing how many banks can give you a lower interest rate right now: It’s a small job which means a lot to your personal finances, she says. Marie Olaussen is the author of the book “How to get rich”. Photo: Privat And Mari Hvidsten is well on her way to taking control of her own finances. Recently, she also contacted the bank about her car loan: – They just reduced the interest on the car loan as well. So you have to do a few things. Really take some action, she concludes. Hvidsten has become good at negotiating interest rates with the bank. Here she had automatically received a green loan as the car is an EL car. Photo: Lars Tore Endresen / Lars Tore Endresen Interest calculator The calculator uses the formula for annuity loans to calculate your monthly costs. Nominal interest is used here. This means that there will be an additional transaction fee which will vary from bank to bank. Today’s interest rate is taken from DNB’s mortgage interest rate for young people, and different banks will have different interest rates. The figures given here will therefore be approximate for you. Monthly expenses are interest and repayments combined. Read more about sources and reservations here. See how much you have to pay if the interest rate increases. Policy rate in percent The policy rate is set eight times a year by Norges Bank. The policy interest rate governs the interest rates in the banks, and affects your housing costs. The aim of raising the interest rate is for the high prices to come down again. The forecast tells us how Norges Bank thinks interest rates will develop in the future. Read more about sources and reservations here. A higher interest rate means increased expenses if you have a mortgage
ttn-69
Saved thousands a month by switching to a green mortgage – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
