Refinancing
When Is Refinancing Actually Worth It?
It is worth it when the saving clears the costs quickly enough. Here is the test, and the five situations where switching is the wrong move.
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.
Loan Types and Structure
What Happens When Your Fixed Rate Ends?
Your loan rolls onto a revert rate that is rarely the best the lender offers. What to do about it, and when to start.
Read more →Loan Types and Structure
Interest Only vs Principal and Interest: When Each Makes Sense
Interest only lowers your repayment now and raises it sharply later. Where it is a legitimate strategy, and where it is a sign of trouble.
Read more →Loan Types and Structure
Offset Account vs Redraw: Which One Should You Use?
Both reduce your interest by the same arithmetic. They differ on access, on tax, and on whether the bank can take the money back.
Read more →Loan Types and Structure
Fixed vs Variable Home Loan: How to Actually Decide
Fixing is not a bet on rates, it is a purchase of certainty. What you give up for it, what break costs really are, and when splitting is…
Read more →Costs, Fees and Tax
What Is a Comparison Rate, and Can You Trust It?
The comparison rate was designed to stop lenders hiding fees behind a low headline rate. It half works, and knowing where it fails is the useful part.
Read more →Costs, Fees and Tax
What Is LMI, and How Do You Avoid Paying It?
LMI protects the lender, not you, and you pay for it. What it actually is, when it applies, and the four legitimate ways around it.
Read more →Costs, Fees and Tax
How Much Is Stamp Duty in NSW, and When Do You Pay It?
Transfer duty is the biggest cost after the deposit, and it is due long before most buyers expect. What it costs, who avoids it, and when it has…
Read more →First Home Buyers
Buying Your First Home in NSW: How the Process Actually Works
The full sequence from saving to settlement, what happens at each stage, and the points where first home buyers most often come unstuck.
Read more →First Home Buyers
How Much Deposit Do You Need to Buy a House?
Twenty per cent is the number everyone quotes, but it is not a rule and plenty of people buy with less. Here is what each deposit size actually…
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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