Get Your FREE Property Valuation
Are you looking to buy, sell, refinance or invest in property? Find out the value today with your FREE property report voucher! Get quality information to help you make an informed decision. Your complementary Residex CMA Report will: •Help you assess the worth of a residential property by providing a price estimate •Give you past sales history including upgraded sales prices, highest and lowest property value on the street •Equip you with suburb demographics and predicted future property trends. Ask for your FREE property report voucher today by contacting Mark Coonan on 0417 755 776, phone 1300 883 453 or via the “contact us” link at the top of this page.
Stay Variable or Fix my Home Loan Rate?
This is the most commonly asked question today regarding home loans… If we look at the average 3 year fixed rate at 6.79% (loans over $250,000 receiving a 20pt discount) and then the current average discounted variable rate at 5.11% for P&I payments for a loan of $250,000, the variable monthly repayment would be $1360 approx. The fixed monthly repayment would be $1630 approx. Therefore, an extra $270 is required.
Often the question then arises if the extra payment is better off used in the principal payment? An option then could be to pay the higher amount (3 year fixed rate payment) and leave the loan on a variable rate. The principal balance should then be reduced and also provide additional funds in redraw. At the end of 3 years with the interest rate rises being chronologically consistent, the variable rate would need to be 8.4% approx (monthly/annual fees have not been included).
7 Things You Need to Know When Purchasing a Home
Stamp Duty: A government cost calculated on purchase price. First home buyers are exempt up to a purchase of $500,000. If building you only pay on the land cost.
Mortgage Insurance: A deposit of 20% or more is required so as not to have to pay Mortgage Insurance to lenders.
Building Insurance: The building, not the land, needs to be insured prior to settlement of the purchase.
Fixed Loan Rate: Penalty fees may be issued if paying loan off in lump sums, making higher repayments or paying off in full before its due date.
Discounted Variable Rate: This rate may only last for a period of one, two or three years and then will revert back the standard variable rate.
Split Loan: Your loan may be part fixed and part variable and some lenders do charge fees for set-up, accounts & discharge on both portions.
Conveyancer/Settlement Agent: A Conveyer organises the legal transfer of property title from the seller to the buyer. A settlement fee will apply as well as other fees including title search.
0.9% Discount off Standard Variable Rate = 4.85%*
This fantastic variable interest rate offer is for the first three years of your home loan and you can even have a 100% offset account that can save you thousands in interest as well.
The 0.9% discount is based on the average standard variable rate of the big four banks, calculated monthly. There is a single establishment fee of $595 and no ongoing fees.
* Of course you should contact us for information regarding lending criteria and fees and charges that apply. Terms and conditions apply and we will be happy to go over them with you or send them to you. You should consider the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and whether this product is right for you. A PDS is available from us on request by phoning 1300 883 453 or email info@loaneasy.com.au.
Grant for First Home Buyers ends 30th September
Only 4 months to go for first home buyers to claim the full grant of $21,000 if signing a contract to a newly built home and $14,000 for an established home.
If the contract is signed after 30th September, but before 31st December a first home buyer will still be eligible to a lower grant of $14,000 for a newly built home and $10,500 for an established home. In 2010 the grant will revert back to $7,000 for a newly built home and established homes.
Call us now on 1300 883 453 or simply get our Free “First Home Buyers” Report to find out more.
The Advantages of Loan Advice
Because of the global credit crisis it is a lot harder for Australians to access finance eventhough there is a lot of lenders and products available to choose from. Lenders policies have changed and some of their products are not available to the purchaser anymore.
Evidence of savings to access finance for Australian purchasers is now a pre-requisite, however the interest rate cuts that we have witnessed recently still make home loans readily available for those homebuyers that have a secure job and a good credit history.
It will be very beneficial to you that you get the right loan advice the first time by talking to a Loan Advisor from Loaneasy to ensure you get a product that suits your individual circumstance.
Mark will cover all aspects of a home loan with you as well as all the additional features so you are fully prepared “For the Great Australian Dream”.
Mortgage brokers work for you: MFAA
Mortgage brokers are there to help you find the most appropriate home loan – you just need to ask the right questions, according to the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA).
“Choosing a home loan can be a daunting task. Mortgage brokers help guide you through the market and find a home loan appropriate to your individual situation. Brokers are there to help demystify the process of selecting a loan,” said Phil Naylor, CEO of the MFAA.
“The first thing you should ask when sitting down with a broker is, ‘are you a member of the MFAA?’ All members of the Association have to abide by a strict accreditation process and Code of Conduct.
“Mortgage brokers can provide you with a lot of information and choice, guide you to avoid pitfalls, saving you time and headache and ultimately, help find the right loan for you,” said Mr Naylor.
The latest MFAA/BankWest Home Finance Index showed that consumers saw clear benefits from using a broker. Respondents listed the main benefits of using a broker:
* They do all the leg work for you (75.1% of respondents)
* They have a wider loan range (72%)
* They are experts in a range of mortgages from numerous lenders (71.1%)
* You can get the right loan for your circumstances (63.7%)
Mr Naylor concluded: “Couple the tips from our consumer education websites, Essentials of Borrowing, with the knowledge and experience of an MFAA broker and you’re set.”
To help consumers better understand all the factors that surround borrowing, the MFAA has set up the Essentials of Borrowing – an educational website that walks people through all they need to know about loans, including some case studies. Visit www.essentialsofborrowing.com.au
(source – MFAA. http://www.mfaa.com.au/default.asp?artid=2253&menuid=381)
First Home Buyers Cash Boost
CASH grants to first home buyers will be doubled to $14,000 – and trebled to $21,000 for those buying newly built properties – over the next eight months under the Federal Government’s economic package.
The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, said the move was designed to stimulate construction and help first home buyers, tackling the economy’s “twin challenges” of a subdued housing industry and poor affordability.
First home buyers are already eligible for a grant of $7000, which is funded by the Federal Government and administered by the states.
Now anyone who signs a contract to buy their first home from yesterday until June 30 next will be eligible for a grant of $14,000 if they buy an established dwelling and $21,000 if they buy a new house or apartment.
Mr Rudd said about 150,000 people were expected to benefit and the measure would cost the Government almost $1.5 billion.
“The construction sector and private dwellings investment are important generators of economic activity,” he told Parliament. “They are also important for the well-being and the living standards of Australians.”
The higher grants, which follow last week’s 1 percentage point cut in official interest rates, will give a shot in the arm to a housing market hit by higher interest rates and falling consumer confidence.
The latest statistics show housing loan approvals in August were down 25 per cent from their peak in the middle of last year and council approvals for construction of new dwellings were down more than 8 per cent compared with a year earlier.
The housing industry welcomed the move but developers warned it needed to be matched by action by local and state governments to release new land and speed up planning approvals.
The managing director of the Housing Industry Association, Ron Silberberg, said the grants would stimulate activity and help address the housing shortage.
He said that in 2001 when the Howard government doubled the first home owners grant for new house purchases, the number of dwellings built rose by 3000 a month in nine months. He expected yesterday’s initiative to boost new dwellings by 15,000.
(source www.smh.com.au)
