Blogs

If you live in Melbourne or Sydney in 2021, you may be noticing some strange phenomenon in the property market. Suddenly, it has become unusually affordable to rent in the CBD area, and increasingly difficult and more expensive to get a lease further out of town. It's a unique side effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it could present a rare opportunity for Australian first home buyers. In 2020, the Domain Rent Report found that from March to September, inner Sydney and Melbourne unit as...

Thanks to a booming real estate market, housing affordability for city-dwelling Millennials in Australia is a widely recognised economic challenge.  If you've done any research into buying your first home, we can almost guarantee you've received some very bad, or at least, tone-deaf advice.  
 
There's no magic pill to saving for a first home deposit, other than financial discipline and finding the right home for your budget and objectives. This ...

  Pre-approval is a green light from a lender. Put simply, it confirms you're eligible to apply for a home loan up to a certain amount. Essentially, the lender checks your financial circumstances, to decide if you'll meet their criteria and can afford to repay a mortgage. A home loan pre-approval usually lasts for three to six months and gives you a set budget during your property search. Here's why home loan pre-approval is so important. To confirm your borrowing power B...

Getting ready to buy your first home? As your mortgage manager, we're here to help you every step of the way. It's an exciting time and it's easy to make mistakes. Here are 5 common mistakes that you should try to avoid!
1. Relying on advice from family and friends Family and friends are people you can trust, so it's understandable that you listen to their advice. However, while they may have the best of intentions, it's always best to seek independent professional advi...

If you're self-employed, meeting the strict lending criteria of many banks can be tough. What's more, each bank has its own lending policies making it even harder to know exactly where you stand. When all your time is focused on running your business (as it should be), it can be difficult to do the leg work to find out things like: Do you need bank statements or pay slips to apply for a self-employed home loan? Should you be registered for GST? How does your fluctuating income e...