Changing your home loan repayment schedule from monthly to fortnightly can save you a small fortune by helping your pay your mortgage off faster. My mates at Compare the Market (where I am Economics Director) crunched the numbers and found that a person with a $600,000 loan could save over $160,000 in interest over the… Read more »
How do you calculate an LVR? Should you go with P&I or Interest Only? Are you better off on a fixed or variable rate? Do you need an offset account, and what does it offset? Buying a home is one of the biggest investments you’ll make, but let’s be honest, the home loan lingo can… Read more »
Interest rates may be on hold after this week’s RBA board meeting but thousands of homeowners are still paying more for their home loan because they have fallen onto so-called “back-book” rates. Back-book rates are where existing loyal customers are being charged a higher interest rate than new “front-book” customers. That difference is as much… Read more »
Borrowing power has plunged over $260,000 for some Australian families, trapping many mortgagees that can’t qualify for better rates, and hampering house hunter hopefuls. Lenders have been far more cautious in an effort to offset the risk of recession and higher rates that could impact long-term serviceability. Fixed rate borrowers who have just had their… Read more »
You know how ropeable I am about the Reserve Bank’s comments two years ago reassuring Australians to go out and borrow with the comfort of knowing interest rates would not rise until 2024. It was negligent for them to make those comments. Financial markets were warning of a then-imminent breakout in inflation and the need to… Read more »
Everyone wants to get the best possible interest rate from their bank. And this is the best home loan bargaining tool you’ll ever get. Okay, listen up if you have a home loan or know someone with a mortgage. I constantly encourage you to negotiate with your financier to get a better deal, to ask… Read more »
Those on a fixed-rate mortgage could be in for a huge shock when their fixed term ends. RateCity analysis of the big four bank half-year results and APRA loan book data show approximately 38 per cent of home loans are currently fixed, in dollar terms, with the peak of people coming off their fixed rates… Read more »
While it feels like a major hassle, the fact remains that refinancing your home loan is often the only way to get a good deal. According to digital mortgage broker Finspo, the average home loan duration is surprisingly short at 4-5 years. It’s not that people are powering through their mortgage and paying it off… Read more »
I don’t mean to be rude, but you need to get your financial SHIT together. That’s your Savings, Housing, Income and Taxes. Allow me to simplify personal finance into a word we’ve all used at some stage to describe our financial position: SHIT. Your money can be as complicated or as simple as you want… Read more »
CoreLogic’s November property market analysis saw house values rise 1.3 per cent for the month – the 14th consecutive monthly rise – for an annual rise of 22 per cent. That means the median value of an Australian house has risen $126,000 in a year. That’s a $126,000 increase in the equity in your property, which means… Read more »
