Author: Mortgage Finder

Switching home loans can be a really smart move under the right circumstances, but there are also times you’re better off staying with your current mortgage. If you refinance at the right time, you could take advantage of lower monthly repayments and be able to pay off your mortgage sooner, or access some of the […]

Interest rates are at historic lows in Australia, and are likely to stay at very low levels for the foreseeable future. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) cut official rates three times during the second half of 2019, reducing the cash rate from 1.50% to a record-low of just 0.75%. And the RBA might not […]

Sometimes, life happens, and it can be hard to keep up with mortgage repayments. If you’re in that situation, don’t panic, because there might be a way to solve your problem. Borrowers sometimes struggle to meet their mortgage repayments. The list of possible reasons is long, but some common ones include job loss, illness/injury and […]

When you’re applying for a mortgage, lenders don’t just look at your income, your deposit and your equity – they also look at how much you spend each week, month and year. Many lenders use the Household Expenditure Measure (HEM) to calculate the living costs of applicants HEM takes into account essential expenses like groceries, […]

Refinancing your home can save you money, but be warned: it can also impact your credit score. Refinancing means applying for a new loan and giving permission to a lender to make a credit enquiry – which could (but not necessarily) cause your credit score to drop slightly Making several credit enquiries over a short […]

Before purchasing a property, it’s worthwhile knowing the differences between buying at an auction and buying through a private treaty. Auctions: Depending on your state, there may not be a cooling off period if you’re the successful bidder You won’t know what the reserve price is until it’s been reached on auction day Depending on […]

Traditionally in Australia, agents have charged commission when they sell a property, which is calculated as a percentage of the property’s final sale price. Now, some real estate agents are charging a fixed fee for managing the sale of a property, which isn’t impacted by the sale price. Using a fixed-fee agent could save you […]

History has shown that no matter what internal and external shocks batter Australia, our economy always bounces back. During the 20th century, we coped with two world wars, the Vietnam War, the Great Depression, regular recessions, two oil shocks and stagflation in the 1970s, the stock market crash of 1987 and the Asian Financial Crisis […]

Setting up a self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) and using it to buy an investment property can be a successful strategy for some, but has the potential to be a costly mistake. For certain individuals with the right management and market conditions, it can help build their retirement nest egg. However, for others, it can result […]

For many Australians, the process of selecting and purchasing a new property is both exciting and stressful. But for some, it can be more time-consuming than expected, and even intimidating. There are several variables and unknowns – such as the budgets of other buyers and the seller’s expectations – that can lead some buyers to […]

When you’re looking to purchase a home using finance, one of the first decisions you’ll face is who to borrow from. The home loan market now has a wealth of options, from traditional bricks-and-mortar institutions like the big four banks to online lenders like Well Home Loans. The online shift As competition intensifies in the […]

When considering buying a property, a potential buyer is faced with endless options, from family homes in the suburbs, investment starter homes in the country, fixer-uppers in the inner city, apartments in the CBD, and so many others. It really depends on you, the buyer, what you can afford and what you find appealing. One […]

Many borrowers simply want a home loan with the lowest interest rate possible. It makes sense: a low-interest home loan can mean lower repayments and less interest charged over the lifetime of the loan. But while interest rate is a very important factor when weighing up your mortgage options, there is much more you need […]

There’s more to a home loan than just the price tag. That’s why borrowers should aim to find the most suitable loan rather than the loan with the lowest interest rate. That’s not to say the interest rate isn’t important – it is. But rate is just one of several things that borrowers should consider […]

If you are selling an investment property, you may question whether to put it on sale with or without a tenant in it. Selling a tenanted property has pros and cons. Here’s what to consider and how best to manage the selling of a tenanted property. The pros 1. You’ll still receive rental income Selling […]

Dig deep into the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ residential property data for the past 15 years and you’ll discover some surprising truths about real estate. The statistics, which cover the most recent 15-year period, between the June quarters of 2004 and 2019, demonstrate that some real estate ‘facts’ might not be facts at all. For […]

It’s the dream of many an aspiring property investor: buy when the market is low and sell right as it peaks a few years later. But is short-term speculative property investing really all it’s cracked up to be? Historically, Australian real estate has delivered strong returns on average over the long term but also experienced […]

Many Australians have built long-term wealth through investing in property, while others have done the same through shares. So, which is better? The short answer is that it depends. There are several factors that come into play when deciding on the most appropriate investment strategy in any situation. To that end, there’s no magic formula […]

For home owners with multiple sources of debt, the idea of bundling several financial obligations into one loan may be tempting. Instead of having to keep on top of credit card and personal loan repayments, all their debts can instead be funnelled through their home loan. However, debt consolidation home loans are not for everyone. […]

Not all real estate agents are created equal. The reality is that some real estate agents are exceptional, some are sub-par and most fall somewhere in the middle. When you sell your property, you want to find an agent who will maximise your selling price while also charging reasonable fees. Choosing a good agent could […]

Not all real estate agents are created equal. The reality is that some real estate agents are exceptional, some are sub-par and most fall somewhere in the middle. When you sell your property, you want to find an agent who will maximise your selling price while also charging reasonable fees. Choosing a good agent could […]

Renovations might seem fun and profitable when you’re watching The Block, but they can prove stressful and costly if you don’t nail the basics. We’ve all heard of nightmare renovations that drag on forever, suck up astonishing amounts of money and don’t produce a return on investment. Good renovations, by contrast, tick these three boxes: […]

Did you know that there are more than 100 mortgage lenders in Australia? And did you know that many of them offer superior pricing and service to the big four banks? Many Australians automatically use one of the big four banks when they take out a home loan. Most of the time, this is because […]

Buy-now-pay-later services have exploded in popularity in recent years. Afterpay recently revealed that it is adding more than 15,000 customers a day and reported 6.1 million active customers globally at the end of October. It’s easy to see the surface appeal: they make spending money extra easy, there’s (usually) no interest charged, and the product […]