Life is filled with unforeseen surprises that may include costly educational expenses, falling ill and covering medical bills, or being involved in an accident and having to pay for repairs. These unexpected expenses can accumulate, and when you try to make various repayments to multiple lenders, it can become chaotic.  It can be very stressful to have multiple debts owed to different lenders. Consequently, you might see yourself sinking deeper and deeper into debt without any solution. This is when debt consolidation can be useful. It’s an effective method to refinance your debts which h ..read more

Scams and cybercrimes continue to be a problem in 2024. While many of us are enjoying the new year, scammers are busy working on new scams.   As a result, two of Australia’s main four banks, NAB and ANZ, have warned their customers about the dangers of scams and identified prevalent tactics used by scammers.  According to the National Australia Bank, the top emerging scams in 2024 include:  QR code phishing scams: Criminals use QR codes to cover up malicious links, which is known as QR phishing. They try to convince individuals to give over their personal information or do ..read more

Fixed-rates terms last for a set prearranged period between you and your lender. Fixed-rate periods last between 1 and 5 years. When your fixed rate term ends, your loan will usually revert automatically to the standard variable interest rate unless you have provided instructions to refix your loan. As the end of your fixed rate term approaches, it’s important to plan and talk to your mortgage broker about what your new, or roll-off, interest rate and repayments might be and what your options are. Refix with your current lender A lot of clients that come off fixed rates often will like to cons ..read more

Dreaming of buying your first home in Australia? Have you saved up for that hefty down payment? We understand that it can be challenging, so here’s the solution. The Australian government has introduced a lifeline for first-time homebuyers- it is the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS). This FHLDS scheme aims to make homeownership more convenient for people by helping them secure their dream home with a lower deposit. That’s great, right?  The Latest numbers have indicated that there are still 25,000 spots remaining for this financial year of the original 35,000 spots. Furthermore, the ..read more

Purchasing a property is the Australian Dream. There is a reason we invest so heavily in property, and property is usually around 30% – 60% of most households’ net wealth. Buying a property is a step towards life-long achievement and proves a sense of security.  So “What is the right time to buy a property?”. Many pundits try to predict the market and predict the top/bottom of the market so that they can buy or sell at the right time. However, the truth of the matter is that any time is the right time to buy as long as you are doing it for the long term. The only time you lose money on a ..read more

More property buyers, continuing low volumes of supply and higher clearance rates are pushing bidders into adopting much more aggressive strategies at auction in order to win the homes of their dreams. Auctioneers report a surge in the number of buyers now jumping in quickly with strong first bids – sometimes even over the vendor’s reserve price – or waiting till the end to jump in at the last minute. “There’s no strategy that can guarantee anyone will secure a property at auction other than having the greatest emotional connection to a property coupled with the best access to funds,” said Sco ..read more

The impact of COVID-19 on the Aussie Property Market There is a lot of discussion at the moment on how the COVID-19 crisis will impact property markets throughout Australia. The latest BIS Oxford Economics report released on Wednesday forecasts all major property markets across Australia will be negatively impacted for the remainder of 2020 with stabilisation and rebound set to occur in 2021. The recent strength in most capital cities is expected to go into reverse in the June quarter, as the disruption form the coronavirus feeds through. Australian residential property markets are historicall ..read more

It’s the beginning of a new year and now is the time when the so called “experts” make their property market predictions for the year ahead. 2019 went from freefall to boom in just a few short months, find out why below and keep reading for what to expect in 2020. Just as the slump in the property market was related to APRA’s decision to restrict lending amidst alarm about poor lending standards, the upturn coincided with a relaxing of credit restrictions. Scott Morrison’s surprise election victory on 18 May also seemed to change the regulatory landscape and APRA quickly told banks they could ..read more

While most Australians dream of owning their own home, the majority of hopeful homeowners admit they don’t fully understand how home loans or mortgage rates work. That’s why we make it our mission to enlighten you during your home buying journey. They say knowledge is power. But this week we stumbled across some interesting stats from UBank’s Know Your Numbers survey. It found that 84% of Australians who are yet to buy a property admit they don’t know enough about how home loans, mortgage rates and deposits work, while 3 in 10 admitted to knowing nothing at all and having no idea where to star ..read more

Keen to buy a vehicle, asset or another vital piece of equipment for your business and immediately write off the cost? Well, you better get cracking, as we’re officially entering end-of-financial-year territory. How time flies. It feels like only yesterday that we were gearing up for the year, and now, it’s all systems go to beat the EOFY deadline. Why the hurry? Well, businesses keen to invest in their future can immediately write off the full value of any eligible depreciable asset purchased, at any cost, under the federal government’s temporary full expensing scheme. But there’s a small cat ..read more