Financial planners and mortgage brokers alike have worked with a lot of clients in and around Perth who purchase homes as “fixer-uppers” and plan to maximise their investments by fixing them to increase their market value. However, can you always increase the value of your property enough to cover the costs of renovation? If you [Continue Reading]
Review of Policy for Residential Developments with Split Contracts
If you are one of the many using investment loans to finance residential developments with split contracts, our financial planners would like to tell you how the new Commonwealth Bank of Australia policy can affect your properties in Perth. We know that CBA isn’t the only lender out there, but those who haven’t adjusted to [Continue Reading]
Australian Home Buyers Hammered by Stamp Duty Tax
As many who have recently obtained a home loan in the Perth area probably noticed, stamp duty taxes can often brutalise those who are buying a home. As most mortgage brokers can tell you, the tentative recovery of the Perth real estate market has been a mixed blessing for many. It has helped those who [Continue Reading]
The Hidden Metric for Increasing Your Borrowing Capacity
If you talk to any mortgage broker in Perth, you will quickly find out that the lending companies have a lot of metrics by which they determine who is going to get credit and how much they are going to get. There are a lot of standard metrics that make common sense, but there is [Continue Reading]
How Quickly can You Save a Deposit?
Due to a high cost of living, mortgage brokers and financial planners in Perth are often asked by potential first home buyers how to save up for a deposit on a home. The next question is usually “how long will it take?” The answer, of course, is dependent on how much money you can put [Continue Reading]
3 Factors that Determine Whether a Property is Right for You
Our mortgage brokers and financial planners have a lot of experience with home loans and investment loans in the Perth area. In our office, we offer both services. While each professional performs his or her speciality, there is still a lot of knowledge that “bleeds over” between positions. Consequently, our mortgage brokers know a substantial [Continue Reading]
What Everybody Ought to Know About Reverse Mortgage
Of the many different kinds of home loans and investment loans available in Perth, a reverse mortgage sounds like a great deal–it is great in theory. When you are older, you can use the equity in your house to live on, and then your estate can sell the house when you die, and your heirs [Continue Reading]
Is Overseas Investing Worth the Risk?
Financial planners in Perth are often asked if investors can make a lot of money investing overseas. The short answer is “yes, but it is really risky.” While the risks can be overcome and some investors can make money with overseas investments, we would rather see you use your investment loans right here in the [Continue Reading]
Questions to Ask Your Loan Provider
The market for home loans in Perth has become extremely competitive. Now, a person who just takes whatever the “home bank” has to offer can leave thousands of dollars laying on the table. There are so many different factors affecting home loans that we always recommend hiring one of the many qualified mortgage brokers in [Continue Reading]
7 Tips for Finding the Right Investment Property
Our mortgage brokers handle a lot of home loans for investment properties in Perth. While we would like to report that every investor we have ever helped get a loan has prospered, there are unfortunate exceptions. While no investment property is ever guaranteed to make money, we can state with confidence and experience that following [Continue Reading]
What the Superannuation Changes Mean to You
Since the recent changes in the Superannuation legislation, the financial planners in our Perth office have been working hard to figure out all of the ramifications. While we will have more in later months, we thought we’d share our collective thoughts here now that we have had slightly over a month to see how people [Continue Reading]
How Parents Can Help Their Kids Get A Home Loan
In the process of brokering home loans in our Perth office, we have noticed a trend that we really like: More and more first-home buyers are receiving assistance from their parents in coming up with the down payment. In today’s ever-changing economy, home ownership has become more difficult for many. Even with the First Home [Continue Reading]
The Importance of Regular Home Loan “Health Checks”
How is the home loan on your Perth property doing? Is it in good health? When the financial planners or mortgage brokers in our Perth office ask these questions, they are often greeted by puzzled looks and furrowed brows. The reality though is that homeowners should always have regular home loan health checks to ensure [Continue Reading]
De-mystifying the Western Australia First Home Owner Grant
If you have taken out a home loan in Perth, you may have heard about Western Australia’s First Home Owner Grant (FHOG). Exactly what is the FHOG? How much money can you get? What are the qualifications? Does everybody get the same amount? We would like to cite and explain the important parts of FHOG [Continue Reading]
Consumers Turn to Financial Planners to Relieve Mortgage Stress in Perth Real Estate Market
Financial planners in Perth have been busy lately due to a study by Auspoll. The study showed great concern on the part of consumers regarding mortgage stress and rental stress. Let’s take a look at the numbers in the poll first, then we’ll tell you what they mean and then we’ll provide some tips for [Continue Reading]
5 Secrets to Paying off your Mortgage Sooner
If you were to poll financial planners in Perth about the single best thing average homeowners can do to improve their finances, the answer would be: To pay off the home loans on their Perth properties early. For those on a tight budget, this appears to be anywhere from difficult to impossible. Luckily, there are [Continue Reading]
Hidden Fees that You Must Know About when Buying Property
Mortgage Brokers in Perth are used to all the extra fees involved in buying residential or investment property. We see them on a daily basis and know that they are part of the cost of doing business. Unfortunately, many first-home buyers are caught by surprise and fail to anticipate the full cost of buying a [Continue Reading]
Why do I Need a Mortgage Broker?
There are lot of providers for home loans in Perth. Currently, we offer over 2,000 different home loan products in Perth and in the surrounding areas, including approximately 30 different banks and lenders. Prospective borrowers often think that all they need to do is go to their bank, talk to a loan officer and expecting [Continue Reading]
Fixed Home Loan or Variable Home Loan: Which is Best for You?
When we talk to potential customers about home loans in Perth, we are often asked, “Could you please explain the difference between a fixed rate loan and a variable rate loan?” While it can sound like a simple question on the surface, it is actually more complicated than one would think. Moreover, the choices one [Continue Reading]
Economic Update March 2013
Economic update March 2013 The Australian housing market has recently seen the beginnings of some promising improvements. New data from housing research specialists SQM Research found that, nationally, residential property listings fell slightly in January*. Property listings acrossAustraliahave, on average, declined by three per cent since January 2012 which would suggest increased buyer activity. “There [Continue Reading]