While you may not need a six-figure salary to invest in property, those who earn a relatively low 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-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…
Category Archives: Tips
Considering transforming your home from ‘banal’ to ‘brilliant, but lack the funds to support your makeover? Never fear, we’ve rounded up five home renovation finance options that could help turn your dream into reality. 1. Equity Release / Top Up Home Loan This is probably the most common way people borrow money when they want to renovate. It involves borrowing against the current value of your home, before any value-adding renovations and in most cases allows you to obtain the funds upfront. You won’t be able to borrow the full…
While SMEs account for 97 percent of Australian businesses, it can still be difficult to make a case to a bank when looking for finance to start a new business or invest in the growth of an existing one. The good news is that applying for commercial finance through a bank is far from the only option. Personal loans A relatively young enterprise that doesn’t have a track record of success may not be looked upon favourably by banks, which make decisions based on risk. A lack of documented history…
A new way to quickly and securely share your banking data could help you take more control of your finances. With all the news about Covid last year and its financial impact – interest rates, loan repayment pauses, financial relief packages, government building incentives and so on – you may have missed the news that open banking has begun in Australia. Open banking promises to be a game-changer in the way we can all better manage our money. So what is open banking? Let me shed some light on what…
Some tips and tricks to paying off your home loan sooner. Buying a home is likely the most significant financial transaction you’ll ever make. So it stands to reason that your home loan will be your largest ongoing financial obligation. Imagine what life would be like without that monthly or fortnightly strain on your income? With the extra money in your account you can afford to work less, travel more, and do the things you’ve always dreamed of. Most loan repayments are calculated on a 25 or 30-year term. And…
Have you just spent hours of your festive break scrolling, scrolling, scrolling? It’s a fact that spending too much time staring at the small screen can create stress, anxiety and health issues. Isn’t it time we all aimed to disconnect more from our phones and reconnect more with life, health and happiness? We are more connected than ever, thanks to the internet and phones that let us check up on everything from anywhere. But it may surprise you to learn that a Lonergan Research study found that Australians, on average,…
In a recent article by Charbel Kadib in Mortgage Business titled “Investors bear brunt of Loyalty Tax” According to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) latest Lenders Interest Rates data, existing variable rate home loan customers were charged an interest rate over 30 bps higher than new customers over the month of December. Drawing on the research, RBA governor Phillip Lowe encouraged long term mortgage-holders to review their interest rate and refinance to a better deal to capitalise on the competitive dynamic in the market. [1] Looking at the differences found with…
Why do people get turned down for loans? Bank’s home loan lending rules can change Having your loan turned down by your bank can be a reflection of their current credit policy, which can change based on shifts in market conditions. This means when you may have had no issues getting a home loan from your bank in better economic times, but you might be turned down today because it’s a tougher financial climate. Boxes not being ticked They look for regular income – so being self-employed can be an…
All the major banks have a standard set of rules they use to decide if a loan application is acceptable, or not. A ‘non-conforming’ home loan is simply a term used for home loans designed for people that don’t fit those rules. Loans like these can also be called ‘specialist’ or ‘alternative’ loans (alt doc). Non-conforming may not be a common term, but you might be surprised how many Australians have been declined for a home loan because they fall into this category, and why. For example, people who are:…
An alt documentation loan (alt doc) or a low documentation loan (low doc) are mortgages that can be taken out using different sorts of paperwork to the kind needed for a full documentation (full doc) loan. Self-employed borrowers, who can find it difficult to provide standard documentation as proof of their income, often use these sorts of alternative loans. The low down on alt doc loans Once upon a time, a ‘low doc’ loan was just that: a mortgage that could be taken out using less documents to get it….