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A homeowner’s guide to refinancing

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With a home loan it’s easy to just ‘set and forget’. But it’s sensible to review your home loan every two to three years or so. We’re living in a world of rapid change, where interest rates can go up and down, new lenders emerge, and more competitive products become available so keeping the same home loan for 30 years could cost you more money than you need to spend!

Here, we provide the process to refinancing your home loan, breaking it down into simple layperson’s terms. But before we get into that, let us clear up a few common questions about refinancing.

WHY should you consider refinancing?

Generally speaking, there are four main reasons to consider refinancing.

  1. Your loan may be less competitive, and you could potentially get a lower interest rate.
  2. Different home loan features and benefits could work better for you.
  3. Your financial situation may have changed.
  4. You want to access some of the equity you’ve built up in your current home.

WHEN should you consider refinancing?

We’re currently experiencing a low interest rate period, so there are many competitive home loan products available. Generally speaking, it’s a good idea to review your home loan every two to three years.

WHO should you use to refinance?

You should always talk to a mortgage broker because our opinion is not biased towards any particular lender or product. (Unlike a bank which will push whatever loans they have to sell at the time.) And we won’t suggest that you refinance if it isn’t the right move for you.

WHAT is the process to refinance?

We’ve explained the when, who and what of refinancing, but what’s the actual process involved? Here’s a simple step-by-step guide.

Step 1: Speak to us

Before we begin exploring your loan options, it’s important for us to have a sound understanding of where you’re at financially and what you’d like to achieve. We’ll start by reviewing your current home loan and compare it with others in the market. We’ll be here to help you decide if it’s the right time to refinance your home loan and what features will work best for you.

Step 2: Choose your mortgage and apply

You may opt to stay with your current lender by negotiating for a better rate or changing to an alternative product; or refinance by switching to another lender offering a better rate or loan features to suit your current circumstances. We’re here to help you find the right home loan to fit your personal goals and objectives. Then we’ll submit your application.

Step 3: Get your valuation

Your new home loan provider will require a valuation on your property as part of the application process. Keep in mind that their valuation might be more conservative than the market value you estimate.

Step 4: Get approved

Within a few days of submitting your application, it’s likely your inbox will light up with that delightful email confirming you’ve been approved for your new home loan. Yay!

Step 5: Your old mortgage will be closed

Your broker will arrange for you to complete a ‘discharge authority’ form. Your current lender will then provide a payout figure. Your new lender will fund your loan to pay out your current loan provider. If you’re refinancing to consolidate other debts, for example, credit cards or personal loans, these will be finalised with the proceeds of your new loan at the same time.

Step 6: You start afresh!

Once you have your new home loan in place, you will begin making repayments. If you need any help managing your new home loan, we are always here to lend a hand.

We hope you’ll find this guide to refinancing handy, and we would love to help you decide whether refinancing is the right step for you. Whether you are looking to refinance for a better interest rate, to access equity, consolidate debt or for a property investment to build wealth for your future, we can help you to achieve your goals. Please get in touch today!

How to compare home loans and features

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Which home loan is right for you? How can you tell when there’s so many different lenders, loan types and features to choose from? How can you compare loans properly when you’re not sure what you should be comparing?

Finding the right home loan for your situation is a process that can be confusing, particularly for first timers. Here’s a basic guide for making home loan comparisons, and the features you may need with your home loan.

Interest rates and comparison rates

Interest rates are one of the factors which determine the cost of your mortgage and how much your repayments will be. Even a small difference in interest rates can make a significant impact on the amount of interest you’ll have to pay over the term of the loan. However, the loan with the lowest interest rate may not necessarily be the cheapest, as there could be additional fees to factor in. This is where the comparison rate comes in.

The comparison rate is an indication of the true cost of a loan, once the interest rate and fees are included. It’s usually expressed as a percentage, which makes it easier for you to compare the real cost of different loan products. When choosing a home loan, it’s important to look at both the comparison rate and the features that come with the loan.

Loan Types

Principal and Interest

This type of home loan requires you to make repayments that cover both the principal (or the amount you borrowed) and the interest at the same time. People buying their own home usually use a principal and interest loan, as you pay down your loan with every repayment until you eventually own the property.

Interest-only

An interest-only loan allows you to only pay the interest you owe on the loan for a fixed period – usually from one-to five years – so the monthly repayment is lower than it would be under a principal and interest loan. At the end of the fixed period, the loan usually reverts to a principal and interest loan, but it is possible to refinance to another interest-only period. People buying an investment property often start off with an interest-only loan because the interest (and therefore the entire repayment) is tax deductible for them. However, they are not considered ideal if you are buying your own home to live in as you will likely end up paying more in interest over the term of the loan and your repayments don’t pay off the original loan amount.

Variable Home Loan

With a variable rate home loan, the amount of interest you pay may go up or down in response to changes in interest rates. This can be a good thing if interest rates go down, as the interest you pay will be less and your repayments will decrease. Another positive is that you can often make extra repayments on a variable home loan, which may help you to pay off your home loan sooner and save some interest over the term of the loan.

Fixed Home Loan

A fixed rate home loan lets you lock in your interest rate for a period (usually 1 to 5 years). The benefit is that you know exactly how much your repayments will be during that time, which can be beneficial if you’re on a tight budget or a fixed income. You’ll also escape any interest rate rises that may happen during the fixed period.

However, if interest rates fall, you won’t be cracking open the bubbly because your home loan interest rate will stay the same and so will your repayments. There may also be restrictions on making additional repayments with a fixed rate home loan.

Split Home Loan

One option that appeals to some homeowners is to fix the interest rate on a portion of their loan and keep the rest variable. This offers the certainty of knowing what your repayments will be on the fixed part of the loan, while you can make extra repayments and enjoy any interest rate drops on the variable part of the loan. It’s a way to get the best of both worlds!

Loan Features

Offset Account

An offset account is a transaction account that’s attached to your home loan. It can save you money on the interest on your home loan and help you pay off your loan sooner because the money in your transaction account is offset daily against your loan balance, and you only pay interest on the difference. For example, if you owe $300,000 on your home loan and there’s $50,000 in your offset account, you’ll only pay interest on $250,000.

Redraw Facility

A redraw facility allows you to make extra repayments on your home loan and then take out the extra repayments you’ve made later if you need to use the money for a different purpose.

What’s right for you?

The right home loan choice is different for everyone. It all depends on your personal financial circumstances and goals. We’re here to help you decide what is right for you and will make recommendations based on what you tell us about your situation and what you want to achieve. Then we’ll compare the choices from the different lenders and offer you a selection of cost-effective options.

Don’t wait to find out what’s right for you. Call us today for a chat about your plans.

Get your budget under control

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Getting your budget under control and your finances in order is essential to anyone looking to apply for a home loan, but it’s particularly important for first home buyers about to take the first step on the property ladder. Now that the new financial year has arrived, why not take stock of your financial situation and plan your budget for the year ahead at the same time? Here’s a few tips to get financially fit for a home loan application for the new financial year.

Reassess your budget and get serious about your savings

When you apply for a home loan, particularly as a first home buyer, it is important to have a thorough understanding of your financial situation and good savings habits. Lenders will want to see an established history of regular savings before they will give you their best rate on a home loan and for this reason, you should take a realistic look at your spending habits and create yourself a budget to ensure your savings will grow at a steady rate.

Work out how much deposit you’ll need and set yourself a savings target

If you set yourself a savings target, you may find it much easier to stick to your budget. To set your target, first you’ll need to work out how much you need for your deposit. The amount of deposit you will need will depend on the cost of the property you want to buy, but if you have an idea of the kind of property you want to purchase you’ll be able to set a goal. It’s recommended that you have a deposit of at least 5% of the purchase price, however if you can possibly save 20% of the purchase price you’ll avoid paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance.

Make an accurate assessment of any debts and ongoing expenses

Lenders assess your creditworthiness on the amount of money you already owe, your ability to repay your debts and your capacity to take on more debt. Paying down any credit card debts or personal loans prior to applying for your home loan will improve your borrowing capacity and give you the best chance of loan approval when you apply.

Even if you don’t have any debt on your credit cards, lenders take into consideration the credit limit on your credit cards and count this as potential debt. So if you have several credit cards, it may be a good idea to cancel some of them now if you are planning on applying for a home loan in the next financial year.

If you have a lot of debts, think about consolidating them

If you take stock of your debts and realise you won’t be able to pay them all off anytime soon, it’s a good idea to look at ways to reduce your interest liability. Credit cards, store cards, short-term personal loans and cash advances all carry high interest rates and this can make them quite difficult to pay down. Getting your finances in order may mean it’s time to consolidate your debts.

Consolidating your debts means rolling all your debts into one, usually using a loan that has a lower interest rate. If you have quite a few expensive debts it may be possible to roll these into your home loan if you have one, or perhaps a personal loan that carries a lower interest rate overall. This may save you a great deal of money on interest payments, which is money you could use to pay off your debts faster. It could also allow you to spread your repayments over time, making them more affordable. If you want to be eligible to apply for a home loan in the next financial year, consolidating your debts sooner rather than later may be a good idea.

The new financial year is a great time to get your finances in order and you never know, you may get a tax refund that could really give a boost to your savings efforts for a deposit for your home! Remember, we’re here to help you get your finances under control so you can save your deposit and get into your new home sooner. If you’re planning on applying for a home loan in the next financial year, don’t hesitate to give us a call today.

Property Update

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Australia’s housing boom rolls on with national home values lifting another 2.2% in May.

Housing markets around Australia continued to surge in May with CoreLogic’s national Home Value Index up 2.2% over the month.

The rise in May was a stronger result compared with April (1.8%), but weaker than the 32-year high recorded in March when values surged 2.8%.

CoreLogic’s research director, Tim Lawless, observes that growth conditions remained broad based both geographically and across the housing types and valuation segments. “Values were up by more than 1% across every capital city over the month, with both house and unit values lifting across the board. Of the 334 SA3 subregions analysed by CoreLogic, 97% have recorded a lift in housing values over the past three months. Such a synchronised upswing is an absolute rarity across Australia’s diverse array of housing markets.”

For the second time in three months, growth conditions in capital city home values outpaced the regional markets. The combined capital city index rose 2.3% in May compared with a 2.0% rise across the combined regional areas.

Across the capital cities, the monthly change in dwelling values ranged from a 1.1% rise in Perth through to a 3.2% jump in Hobart. Across the non-capital city regions, conditions were more diverse. Regional NSW led monthly gains (2.5%), while values in regional WA had the weakest result (-0.1%).

Mr Lawless reaffirmed the fundamentals driving strength in the housing market remain in place. “The combination of improving economic conditions and low interest rates is continuing to support consumer confidence which, in turn has created persistently strong demand for housing. At the same time, advertised supply remains well below average. This imbalance between demand and supply is continuing to create urgency amongst buyers, contributing to the upwards pressure on housing prices.

“Despite the consistently strong headline results, the underlying trends have shifted over the past year,” Mr Lawless said. “The most expensive end of the market is now driving the highest rate of price appreciation across most of the capital cities, whereas early in the growth cycle it was the most affordable end of the market that was the strongest.

“From a geographic perspective, it was the smaller capital cities that led the housing market out of the COVID slump, but now Sydney has risen through the ranks to record the largest capital gain over the past three months with values up 9.3%.”

Although housing values are now rising the fastest once again in Sydney, at least in trend terms, the annual growth rate is generally higher across the smaller capitals, as well as Regional New South Wales and Regional Tasmania. Darwin cracked the 20% annual growth barrier in May, with values now 20.3% higher over the past 12 months. For Darwin dwellings, this is the strongest annual gain on record. Housing values across Regional New South Wales are up 18.6% while in Regional Tasmania values are 18.1% higher.

At the other end of the spectrum, the weakest housing markets over the past year have been in Regional Western Australia (0.0%), and also in Melbourne (5.0%) where the extended lockdown has created a more significant drag on the annual rate of growth.

Source: CoreLogic

Want to get the tax office to help you buy business equipment?

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End of financial year (EOFY) is just around the corner, which means time is running out to purchase a vehicle or equipment for your business before June 30. If you are wanting to purchase an asset or vehicle for your business, we have access to wide variety of lenders who could offer multiple options to finance the items you need.

There are several different ways to finance assets for a business. Here are just a few options to give you an idea of how we can help.

Finance Lease

The great thing about leasing is that you can access the latest equipment and vehicles with no capital outlay. The lender retains ownership of the asset and you lease it back from them at a fixed monthly payment. Once the lease is up, you can choose to pay a ‘residual payment’ and buy the asset, then potentially trade it in and upgrade to a newer version. Another option is to refinance the residual and continue leasing.

Advantages:

  • You’ll know what your payments are and can manage your cash flow accordingly.
  • You may be able to claim the lease payments as a tax deduction (speak to your accountant to find out if you are eligible).
  • There could be other tax benefits, including potentially making advance lease payments for tax or cash flow purposes (again, it’s best to consult your accountant).
  • You may be entitled to claim a Goods & Services Tax (GST) credit for the GST included in each lease payment.
  • There’s flexibility to reduce the size of your payments by increasing the residual amount at the end.
  • You can keep your assets up-to-date and some equipment leases can potentially include a service contract.

In addition to finance leases, there are also operating lease agreements. This is when you don’t take on the obligation to pay the residual value at the end. The asset is simply handed back to the lender.

Hire purchase

Again, a hire purchase allows you to obtain the latest equipment and vehicles for your business, whilst preserving your cash flow. With this finance option, the lender purchases the equipment or vehicles you require, then hires it to your business for a specific period. It’s like a finance lease, but when the final payment is paid, your business immediately owns the asset.

Advantages:

  • Won’t tie up your cash.
  • Generally, doesn’t require additional security.
  • Depreciation and interest on any lease repayments may be tax deductable (check with your accountant).
  • You own it at the end of the hire period.

Chattel Mortgage

A chattel mortgage is another type of finance option that works well for businesses. The financier secures the loan using the “chattel”, or the vehicle or equipment you purchase. You take ownership of the asset, and the mortgage is registered with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC). Once the loan is paid off, the mortgage is removed, and the vehicle or equipment is officially yours.

Advantages:

  • If you’re registered for GST on a cash basis, you may be able to claim the GST in your vehicle’s price up-front through your next Business Activity Statement (BAS) — check with your accountant.
  • GST is not payable on your repayments.
  • You may be able to claim depreciation and the interest charges on your chattel mortgage as a tax deduction (again, consult your accountant).
  • Lower interest rates generally apply as finance is secured against the asset.
  • You may be able to decrease your regular repayments by paying a deposit upfront, trading-in a vehicle, or opting for a balloon payment at the end of your loan term.
  • You can manage your business cash flow more effectively.

Loans and other finance options

In addition to these popular ways to finance vehicles, machinery and equipment for your business, we can also offer a wide variety of business loans – both secured and unsecured. These can be used for anything from equipment purchases to inventory control and cash flow management.

Whether your business finance needs are straightforward or more complex, we have access to a wide variety of lenders with competitive financing options so we can help you find the right solution. With EOFY fast approaching, contact us today and we’ll get the ball rolling on your finance in plenty of time to make your purchases before June 30.