8 Real Estate Investment Metrics You Need To Know About

By Shane | Uncategorized

Investing in something that creates passive income is becoming a common practice in Australia. But, like all other investments, being objective about the property or home renovation project you want to take on will help increase your chances of success.

With this in mind, let’s take a look at 8 key performance indicators you’ll want to look out for before you invest in a new house or home extension.Continue reading

APRA Announces Removal of Interest Rate Restrictions

By Shane | News

In March 2017, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) introduced measures to reduce the amount of interest-only loans in the residential lending market. One of these measures was a benchmark for lenders to keep new interest-only lending below 30% of their total new lending.

On the 19th December 2018, APRA announced that they would be removing this benchmark as they have noted that there has been a noticeable reduction in the amount of new interest-only lending, with the proportion now significantly below the 30% benchmark. Continue reading

Home Loan Employment Confirmation Letter

By Shane | Uncategorized

Since the Royal Commission kicked off in April banks & lenders have really cracked down on documentation requirements for all home loan applications. This means that you may be asked to provide a Letter Of Employment for a mortgage application.

In this blog, I will walk you through all you need to know about home loan employment confirmation letters and I’ll even give you a template.Continue reading

December 2018 Interest Rate Decision

By Shane | Uncategorized

On Tuesday 4th December 2018 the RBA decided to leave the official interest rate at 1.5%. This means that the official interest rate will be stable for at least two months since the RBA does not meet in January. Their next meeting will be in February 2019.

Even though the RBA has kept rates on hold, it sometimes does not stop lenders from increasing their rates out-of-cycle. It will be interesting to see how the first few months of 2019 play out.

The RBA state that they see economic conditions improving and that the next interest rate movement is likely to be up.

You can read more about the decision here.

Home Loan Requirements For Self Employed

By Shane | Uncategorized

When it comes time to apply for a home loan there is going to be a requirement to provide the lender supporting documentation along with the application. If you’re self-employed, then the requirements may be slightly different. To make sure that you are prepared, let’s take a look at the home loan requirements for self-employed people.

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How Your Property Can Finance Your Child’s First Mortgage

By Shane | Uncategorized

It would have been easy for your child to break into the property market if prices were falling or at least stable. Sadly, the cost of home ownership keeps soaring every day, yet, it’s time for them to leave your nest and start their own family. So what can you do? Here are some ways you can help them achieve the Great Australian Dream of owning their first home.Continue reading

Using Equity To Purchase an Investment Property

By Shane | Invest

It’s common for some homeowners to assume they aren’t able to buy an investment property until after they’ve paid off their family home first. What those people might not realise is that it’s sometimes possible to use the equity you’ve built up in your family home to help you purchase an investment property.

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What You Need To Know About Your Interest Only Investment Loan

By Shane | Uncategorized

Property investors often choose to set the repayments for their investment loans to ‘interest only’ repayments. An interest only repayment means you pay only the interest due each month, but you aren’t paying down the loan balance.

By comparison, a principal and interest repayment is made up of a portion that covers the interest due and a portion that pays down the loan balance a bit with each payment made.
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November 2018 Interest Rate Decision

By Shane | Uncategorized

For the 25th consecutive month, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has left the official interest rate unchanged at 1.5% at their November 2018 meeting. If you’re anything like me and like to ‘nerd out’ on the RBA statement around their decision, you can read their statement here.

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How To Get An Investment Property Loan

By Shane | Invest

In the past, it might have been easy to get a loan to buy an investment property or to fund a project. However, today banks hold onto their money much more tightly, leaving many a hopeful wondering how to get an investment property loan. It’s not quite as easy as filling in the relevant paperwork, but the process could be much smoother if you consider these steps before even picking up the phone to your potential lender:

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