Residential

Before you take the leap into a holiday-home investment, it is essential that you consider all angles. This means taking your heart out of the equation and giving thought to rental returns – which means location really is king. When deciding whether or not to buy a holiday house or unit as an investment, you…

Whether you are buying land for an immediate build, as an investment or for a ‘one day I will build and live here’ dream, a vacant-land purchase can be financed by a range of mortgages. If you are planning to build immediately, or at least fairly soon, a construction loan might be the best option.…

Entering the property market is no easy feat for a first homebuyer, but even parents who aren’t prepared to hand over cash for a deposit may help by being a guarantor on a loan. Before taking the plunge however, it’s crucial to be aware of the implications involved. Here are three questions to ask yourself…

Asking how long it takes to get a loan approved is like asking how long a piece of string is. Every application is unique, so the time between your first contact with your bank or Finance Manager and approval can never be predetermined. There are, however, some things you can do to help hurry your…

Alexandra Cain One of the toughest parts of realising the dream of owning a home is saving for a deposit. The options seem pretty dismal – subsisting on a diet of beans on toast, never socialising, moving back in with the parents – and are almost enough to prompt a commitment to a life of…

Refinancing your assets to renovate a property is a significant decision that will hopefully improve your standard of living or add substantial value to your property. Refinancing isn’t as straightforward as you might expect. The type of renovation proposed goes a long way to dictating the loan required. If the wrong loan is chosen, you…

Reducing the life of your loan isn’t difficult; there are many simple things you can do to cut years off your mortgage. Here are some tips that will help you be mortgage-free sooner than planned.   Small extra repayments One of the most obvious ways to pay off your home loan quicker is to make…

Negotiating the best property price isn’t a matter of swindling a seller. It’s about doing your homework, knowing what you want, knowing the market and making sensible offers. When you are buying property, getting the best price can mean the difference between being able to afford it and having to settle for second best. And,…

For the best possible chance of getting the loan that suits your circumstances, you need to tick all the boxes. If an application is not completed correctly, you risk delays in approval, or even being declined by potential lenders. Other than the obvious documentation that needs to accompany an application, satisfactory identification and evidence of…

When purchasing an investment property, there are a number of factors that could increase or reduce your potential return on investment. In this case it’s not just location, location, location. When considering a property for investment purposes, the most important question to ask is ‘will be attractive to tenants?’.  But how do you know what…