The mortgage market – Page 2

3 tips First Home Buyers may not have considered!

August 9, 2017

| Blog, Lending tips, Purchasing a property, Specialist finance, The mortgage market, Uncategorised

First Home Buyers have a few options to consider when purchasing their first property, these options can be in addition to the government assistance of reduced purchase stamp duty and the First Home Owners Grant. Tip # 1 - Lower Interest Rate Products There are several lenders in the market that offer First Home Buyer friendly products. Some lenders are offering products with special interest rates and/or reduced fees for First Home Buyers. This assists in reducing the overall interest charged on the loan. Tip # 2 - Gift from parents or family Some parents are very keen to assist their adult children in entering the property market. A ‘gift’ from parents can be used towards the purchase of the home. A ‘gift’ can: * assist in reducing the amount of deposit that needs to be saved * reduce the...

First home buyers! At last some great incentives to help buy your home!

June 27, 2017

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| Blog, Lending tips, Purchasing a property, The mortgage market

The NSW Government has recently announced new measures to assist with housing affordability for First Home Buyers. The initiatives for First Home Buyers come with the following announcements: * Abolish stamp duty on all homes up to $650,000. * Provided stamp duty relief for homes up to $800,000 * Provide a $10,000 grant for builders of new homes up to $750,000 and purchasers of new homes up to $600,000 * Abolish insurance stamp duty on lenders’ mortgage insurance * Ensure foreign investors pay higher duties and land taxes * No longer allow investors to defer paying stamp duty on off-the-plan purchases The above initiatives commence from 1 July 2017. Below are some First Home Buyer examples and the potential savings: Renee and Peter are purchasing a brand-new home in a new housing development for $600,000 and are contributing $50,000 of...

Federal Budget 2017 and the Lending Implications

May 12, 2017

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| Blog, Business finance, Lending tips, Specialist finance, The mortgage market

Well another Federal Budget done and dusted! Here’s a bit of a summary on some points that have lending implications for individuals and small business. I have covered key topics of housing affordability, investment property, small business and Self-Managed Super Funds. Housing affordability Whilst the Federal Budget released on the 8th May did deliver benefits for prospective home buyers, it didn’t really deliver many big-ticket items to improve housing affordability in the short term. The key measures proposed in the Federal Budget to increase housing affordability were: * First Home Super Saving Scheme * Concessions for people over 65 downsizing their home * Tougher rules on foreign investment property First Home Super Savings Scheme This scheme allows first home buyers to contribute their savings from their before-tax income into their superannuation fund, and be taxed at the 15% superannuation tax rate...

Are Fixed Rate Loans the new flavour of the month?

March 28, 2017

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| Blog, Business finance, Lending tips, Purchasing a property, The mortgage market

I’m sure you’ve noticed in the media lately that the big four banks have increased their variable home loan interest rates. Whilst most increases have been for investment-loan interest rates, some lenders have also marginally increased their owner-occupied interest rates. As more lenders could potentially start to lift rates, we may see more borrowers choosing to fix their rates to avoid further rate hikes and provide themselves with certainty around their regular mortgage repayments. However, it is important to know the ins and outs of fixed-rate loans before committing to one. What is a Fixed Rate Loan? When purchasing a property or refinancing, borrowers can decide between fixed-interest loans that maintain the same interest rate over a specific period of time, or variable-rate loans that charge interest according to market rate fluctuations. A fixed-rate loan is a type of mortgage...

Line up a car loan for the New Year car sales!

January 28, 2017

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| Blog, Business finance, Lending tips, Specialist finance, The mortgage market

January and February is a great time to buy a car. Car dealers all over the country will be clearing last year's stock at knock-out prices. So, if you want to take advantage of the New Year car sales, get ready by talking to us about your finance now. Why talk to us? It's important that you get a car loan that's affordable, competitive and tailored to fit your personal financial circumstances and goals. Car dealership finance is not tailored to individuals – it's often locked in to the full price of the car and repayment terms can sometimes be too short for many people to afford. There are many options available to finance the purchase of a motor vehicle. One option is to use any available equity in your home. This could be by either an increase in your...

It’s no secret! Here’s how a finance broker can help you!

January 28, 2017

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| Blog, Business finance, Lending tips, Purchasing a property, Specialist finance, The mortgage market

Save time to help you buy your dream home! The choices now available in the mortgage market can seem limitless and completely overwhelming. There are hundreds of different loan products across many different lenders that all have different product features, such as variations of interest rate, fees, off-set accounts, split facilities, loan portability. Finance brokers save you time by doing all the leg work for you and quickly identify a selection of lenders and products that you can choose from. Finance brokers can organise a pre-approval so that you are ready to bid at auction or confidently make an offer on your dream home. If you are purchasing a new car or equipment for your business we can also save you time in finding the right finance for you. We take the stress and guess work out of applying for...

When is a good time to refinance?

October 10, 2016

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| Blog, Lending tips, Purchasing a property, Specialist finance, The mortgage market

Heard about mortgage refinancing? In the past, most people who took out a mortgage painstakingly continued with it until they had paid it off. These days, people refinance their mortgage much more frequently. The average duration of a home loan in Australia now is just 4-5 years. Here we look at some of the reasons people in Australia refinance their home loan. Renovation If you carry out renovations, it often makes sense to refinance your mortgage and take out a construction loan so you only pay interest as building progresses. Once construction is over your loan then reverts to a principal and interest repayments. Many lenders offer construction loans, however, only a few of them do them well. The renovation process is a busy and stressful time for the home owner and having the construction loan progress smoothly helps to...

You don’t need to be wealthy to buy your first investment property!

October 10, 2016

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| Blog, Business finance, Lending tips, Purchasing a property, Specialist finance, The mortgage market

While you may not need a six-figure salary to invest in property, those who earn a relatively low to average income will require a little more creative thinking to start a portfolio. Here are some tips to help you get started. Find an investor-friendly loan The challenge for low-average-income earners is the time taken to save for a sufficient deposit. Some lenders require a higher deposit for an investor than is required for an owner-occupier, so seek out a lender and loan that is investor friendly, or consider living in the property for a period after the purchase before converting it into an investment property as your portfolio grows. In any case, having at least 10 per cent of the property’s purchase price as a deposit will not only increase the likelihood of loan approval, it will also increase your...

How to invest in property through an SMSF

October 10, 2016

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| Blog, Business finance, Lending tips, Purchasing a property, Specialist finance, The mortgage market

For several years, self-managed super fund members have been able to invest in residential property. However, there are many strict guidelines that must be followed. The first step is to have a discussion with an expert to determine whether investing through an SMSF is the most appropriate approach to property investment given your personal circumstances. The expert would be a Financial Planner who can assess your current financial situation and plan your future financial needs for both the short and long term leading into retirement. If you decide that an SMSF is the way forward then the next step is to set up the SMSF, it is recommended and that you use the services of a specialist to do this. It is important that you do this before you start looking at an investment property to buy using your SMSF....