First Home Buyers
Home Loan Pre-Approval: What It Is, and What It Is Not
Not all pre-approvals mean the same thing. The difference between an automated one and a fully assessed one is the difference between comfort and certainty.
Read more →Home Loan Guides
Plain-English guides to borrowing, buying, refinancing and investing in Australian property, written by the broker who places the loans.
Borrowing Situations
Self-Employed Home Loans: What Lenders Actually Want to See
Being self-employed does not make borrowing hard. Not knowing which lender reads your figures the right way does.
Read more →Borrowing Situations
Why Home Loan Applications Get Declined, and What to Do Next
A decline usually means the lender’s policy did not fit your situation, not that you cannot borrow. The five common causes, and the worst thing to do afterwards.
Read more →Borrowing Situations
How Much Can I Borrow? What Lenders Actually Look At
Borrowing capacity is not a formula on your salary. Here is what lenders actually assess, and what quietly reduces it.
Read more →Investing
Rentvesting: Renting Where You Want, Buying Where You Can
Rent where you want to live, buy where the numbers work. It suits some people well, and the costs it carries are usually understated.
Read more →Investing
Negative Gearing Explained (And Why It Is Not a Strategy)
Negative gearing means the property loses money and you deduct the loss. That is a fact about your position, not a reason to buy.
Read more →Investing
How to Use Equity to Buy an Investment Property
Equity is what lets most people buy a second property without saving a second deposit. How much you can actually use, and how to structure it properly.
Read more →Refinancing
Should You Consolidate Debt Into Your Mortgage?
It lowers your repayments and can easily increase what you pay overall. The arithmetic that decides it, and the one condition that makes it work.
Read more →Refinancing
Fortnightly vs Monthly Repayments: Does It Actually Help?
It works, but not for the reason usually given, and only if your lender sets it up one particular way. Here is how to check.
Read more →Refinancing
How to Pay Off Your Home Loan Faster
Five levers genuinely shorten a mortgage. They are not equally powerful, and the order people usually try them in is close to backwards.
Read more →Run your own numbers
Or find out where you stand first. The home loan readiness check asks eight questions and tells you what would hold up an application. About a minute, no credit check.
Borrowing power
A realistic range from your income and commitments, before you start looking.
NSW stamp duty
Current Revenue NSW brackets, including the first home buyer concession.
All 33 calculators
Repayments, offset, refinancing, equity, yield, capital gains and more.
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