But while the 3.49 per cent rate might look like an easy target for applications, brokers said that the banks using lower rates usually also used a higher expenses calculation and required borrowers to have more money set aside for bills than the others did. That meant it could be just as hard to get a deal done. The bank assumed that some of those expenses would be cut if repayments rose, allowing the borrower to continue to service the loan. All this means that while you might baulk at the idea of your home loan payments becoming more expensive, the bank has already checked that you can cope with it – either with slack that is in your budget already, or the cuts you can make to your spending.