Home loan borrowers should watch out particularly for the big sting from 'deferred establishment fees' which come into play these days if you leave a variable home loan early, typically within the first 3-5 years. They can be as large as the break costs on a fixed term loan and run into thousands. Most borrowers don't expect to change their loan in the first few years, but the fact is that the average life of a home loan is now very short - as low as 20 months. Full story on these fees
