We are more about the journey than the destination. Anyone can apply for finance, but what we bring to the table is partnership. We can save you time by conducting the loan comparisons and doing the paperwork for you; time which you can better spend with your family or on your business.
You can leverage off our access to, and relationships with, different lenders, our ability to negotiate rates and fees on your behalf, and have the confidence that someone else is also putting your needs first. Our experience and expert advice will uncover loan solutions that you may not necessarily see or know are available.
Remember, we are here for the journey.
Once we find you the right loan solution, our partnership doesn’t stop there. We will be available to you whenever you have any questions about your finances and, we will conduct annual reviews of your financial position (sometimes sooner, depending on the market changes) to ensure your current lending structure continues to be the right one for you.
Our goal is to help you meet yours, today, tomorrow and into the future, we want to develop a lasting relationship with from inception to retirement and through the generations.
None.
We do not charge you any out of pocket fees should you decide to bring us on your journey; we will do all the sourcing, comparisons, paperwork and lodgements at no cost to you. Instead, once your loan settles (and not before then) we will get paid a commission from the lender directly (each lender offers different levels of commission). Before we proceed with any application, the commissions we will receive from the lender will be fully disclosed to you.
Rest assured, our recommendations to you will not be swayed by the amount of commission we receive. Whenever we present a solution to you, we put your interest first and only recommend what we truly believe is the right solution for you.
Everyone’s ‘borrowing power’ is different, even for you, depending on what stage you are at in life will depend on how much you can borrow, and each lender will assess you differently.
Lenders look at the security of your income, your savings capacity, your level of outgoings and the loan type you are seeking, before deciding how much you can borrow. Ultimately, the lender wants to be sure that you have the capacity (and capability) to fund your ongoing loan repayments, which may include additional fees and charges beyond just repaying the principal and/or interest amount of the loan.
As your broker, we will deep dive into your financial position to understand what is possible and uncover the options available to you to ensure we partner you with the right lender and the right loan to meet your needs and objectives
The First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) scheme was introduced on 1 July 2000 to offset the effect of the GST on home ownership. It is a national scheme funded by the states and territories and administered under their own legislation.
Under the scheme, a one-off grant is payable to first home owners that satisfy all the eligibility criteria. For more information, please visit http://www.firsthome.gov.au/
For instance, in VIC, if the home being purchased is in a regional location, the buyer can receive $20,000, for non-regional homes they can receive $10,000. To be eligible, you must satisfy the following criteria’s:
Established homes in VIC are no longer eligible to receive the FHOG, however, you may be entitled to a first-home buyer (stamp) duty exemption (for homes valued at $600,000 or less) or concession (for homes valued at $600,001 up to $750,000). To qualify you still must meet the FHOG criteria outlined above.
To speak to us about your eligibility or the available concession, please contact us, we are here to help.
On 4 June 2020, the Australian Government announced HomeBuilder to provide eligible owner-occupiers (including first home buyers) with a grant of $25,000 to build a new home, substantially renovate an existing home or buy an off-the-plan home/new home.
While the eligible contract must be signed between 4 June 2020 and 31 December 2020 (inclusive), construction need not commence prior to 31 December 2020. However, it must commence within three months of the contract date and construction cannot have commenced before 4 June 2020.
The HomeBuilder Grant complements the existing First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) that is available in Victoria when you buy or build your first new home.
With a variable rate loan, the interest rate you pay can vary at any time. The RBA cash rate generally determines whether lenders increase or decrease the interest rates they offer to borrowers. Market circumstances and competition between lenders can also lead to interest rate changes, which can also affect the interest rate of your loan.
Fixed rate loans are exactly that – fixed (or set). Your repayments remained unchanged, for a specified period (usually up to 5 years), regardless of whether lenders make changes to their interest rates.
A split loan (or combination loan) is where one part of the loan is at a variable rate, and the remainder is at a fixed rate. The split between variable and fixed does not have to be equal, most lenders will allow you to nominate the ratio, i.e. 60/40. This type of loan effectively hedges against the potential of a rate rise or fall.
A comparison rate essentially ‘bulks up’ the total cost to service the loan, allowing borrowers to compare loans on an equal playing field. The comparison rate takes into consideration the costs associated with setting up a loan, including the interest rate, the loan approval fee and any other up front or ongoing fees. It excludes government fees and charges, because they are standard across all loans.
When comparing the comparison rate between lenders or between products for the same lender, it’s important to consider the features of a loan you are wanting also. For example, no monthly fee, no establishment fee, repayment flexibility and other money saving features like an offset account or redraw facility, can make a huge difference to the final cost of a loan.
The interest rate only reflects how much interest you will be charged per year on the balance of your loan. This affects your monthly repayment amount. It does not take into account the additional cost for the vary features and maintenance of the loan as per the comparison rate above.
LMI is an insurance policy which, if charged, is required to be paid by you as the borrower. The purpose of LMI is to protect the lender from financial loss if you can’t afford to meet your loan repayments.
If you default on your loan and the lender is then forced to sell your property, the lender can claim on their LMI policy to make up the difference if the sale of your home doesn’t equal the outstanding value of the mortgage.
LMI is not to be confused with Mortgage Protection Insurance (MPI). LMI protects the lender, MPI protects the borrower. Both can co-exist but only the LMI is charged by the lender.
If your lender requires you to take out LMI, it can typically be paid upfront or capitalised onto (added to) your home loan. If the LMI amount is capitalised into your loan, you would generally be charged interest on it by your lender, along with the rest of your loan.
Generally, lenders will impose the LMI fee if your deposit is less than 20% of the total value of your property, which means your need a loan-to-value ratio (LVR) of 80% or less.
We can discuss with you your options should your deposit be less than 20% and LMI is imposed, we can model different scenarios to find the right option for you.
When buying a property, it’s important to understand that it’s not just the price of the property that you are committing to. Below are some of the additional costs you should be aware of:
Pre-approval puts you in the driver’s seat. Seller’s tend look more favourably at buyers who have come prepared, are ready to do a deal and, if you find the right seller looking to sell quickly, they will be more inclined to negotiated with you over other potential buyers.
Pre-approvals are usually valid for up to 6 months, if it’s about to expire, we can work with you and the lender to extend the term or re-apply on your behalf. Keep in mind, pre-approvals don't commit you to a loan, nor is it a loan offer, it’s designed so can shop around knowing your affordability levels and bid at auctions with confidence.
Below are some of the more common supporting documents you'll need to provide to a lender when applying for a pre-approved home loan (some lenders may require additional documentation):