Month: November 2018

  [intro] Knowing what a property is worth is central to avoiding paying too much for it.   Set a benchmark Comparing nearby properties that have sold recently is the best way to assess an acceptable price for the property you are looking at and provides a valuable bargaining tool when you are negotiating with…

Lender’s mortgage insurance (LMI) is required in many instances when a loan is worth more than 80 per cent of a property’s purchase price, as well as in some other circumstances. In very basic terms, when a lender considers a loan to carry a high risk, LMI is likely payable. Here’s how you can avoid…

Exit and early termination fees can put the brakes on plans to sell, to refinance, and to renovate or purchase an investment property. Here’s how to avoid them from the start. Fees charged for the early repayment of variable-rate loans were phased out by government reforms in 2011. However, fixed-rate loans may still carry these…

  Brokers can help connect you to the lender best fit to serve your mortgage needs by shopping around on your behalf. Five qualities In order to decide whether or not to provide you with a loan, lenders will generally assess you against five qualities. Your ability to repay the loan. To establish your capacity…

 With so many products offered by various lenders, it can be quite perplexing trying to figure out whether or not you’ve scored yourself a good deal on your home loan.   While doing your research and comparing what’s out there in the market is one of the most obvious ways to find out whether you’re…

A simple home loan health check led two police officers to refinance for a saving of $7600 a year in interest. When police officers Ben Dixon and Sara Peters were looking for a home loan, they thought the choice was obvious. They secured finance through the same community-owned bank most of their colleagues used, bought…

Paying off a mortgage can seem relentless – every payment counts of course, but it can seem to be taking forever to make a dent. Here are some simple ways you can increase the amount you pay off and own your home sooner. Reducing the principle on your mortgage as quickly as you can means…

When a busy doctor who had worked with banks to set up finance for her investment properties visited an MFAA Approved Credit Adviser, she walked away with three more properties and a newly simplified finance structure that saved her money. Lisa Cole*, a doctor who had purchased six investment properties while working with bank loan…

Borrowing to buy a property and repaying only the interest for a set period can be a great choice for some, because interest-only loans can offer the right candidate financial flexibility while they invest. There are, however, some very important risks to take into consideration. With interest rates at historical lows, interest-only loans may sound…

Insurance for something you can’t see or touch, such as your income, may seem strange. But how would you pay your mortgage if you were unable to work? When considering insurance, it’s common for people to pass it off as a pesky added fee involved in owning a car, running a business or protecting a…