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Good news if you’re an essential worker – some lenders offer LMI waivers to professions such as police officers, teachers, firefighters, nurses, midwives and paramedics.Lender’s mortgage insurance, or LMI, is an insurance premium you generally get charged when you provide a deposit of less than 20%. For example, if you were a first home buyer and wanted to buy a $600,000 property with a 10% deposit, you would generally have to pay an LMI premium of about $13,000.However, depending on your profession and choice of lender, you may be able to take out a low-deposit home loan without needing to pay LMI.This LMI waiver is not something that all lenders offer to all essential workers; rather, it’s something that some lenders offer to some essential workers.As your broker, I know the credit policies of a range of lenders, so if you’re an essential worker, get in touch to discuss your options. Depending on your circumstances, I might be able to find you a better home loan deal than you realised was possible.Need a home loan? Let’s chat.Hit the button below to arrange a conversation with one of my loan specialists to find a deal that's best for your situation. Chat to us today We partner with over 50 lenders so you can find the perfect solutionFollow Facebook Linkedin Do you have questions about mortgages or loans?Ask us in the comments below … [Read more...] about Banks offering special deals to certain professions

Homebuilding approvals are heading in the right direction, opening up the possibility of more residential construction activity in the near future.A total of 16,579 approvals were issued in January, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. This marked a 6.3% month-on-month increase and 21.7% year-on-year increase, and was also the highest monthly total since December 2022.“These increases in approvals signal positive momentum heading into the new year, with households slowly returning to the market and building new homes,” Housing Industry Association economist Maurice Tapang said. “New housing approvals had been strengthening on the back of low levels of unemployment, recovering real wages and ongoing strong population growth, even before the first interest rate cut was delivered [in February].”Master Builders Australia chief economist Shane Garrett also welcomed the increase in approvals numbers, but warned that without a further rise, housing supply would continue to fall short of demand.“Higher-density home building has been at woeful levels for nearly a decade with insufficient new supply in this part of the market forcing rental prices sky high,” he said.Get in touch if you want to finance a building projectHit the button below to arrange a conversation with one of my loan specialists to find a deal that's best for your situation. Chat to us today We partner with over 50 lenders so you can find the perfect solutionFollow Facebook Linkedin Do you have questions about mortgages or loans?Ask us in the comments below … [Read more...] about Building approvals hit two-year high

The gap between the average variable interest rate and lowest variable rate on Finder, a comparison website, was 1.57 percentage points in early March, while the gap between the average and lowest fixed rate was 1.37 percentage points.It is very important to note that interest rate comparisons are not always equal, and some loans may be more suitable for certain borrowers depending on their eligibility criteria and extra loan features, such as an offset account or redraw facility.Nevertheless, the data does highlight the importance of reviewing your home loan every two or three years, because lenders that may have offered very competitive interest rates in the past may have since fallen behind other lenders.To show you the considerable savings that may be available through refinancing, let's consider some basic calculations: if a borrower had 25 years left on their mortgage and switched from a loan with a 6.50% p.a. interest rate to one with a 6.00% p.a. rate, here's how much they could potentially save over the life of the loan:$46,359* if they had $500,000 left on their mortgage$69,538* if they had $750,000 left on their mortgage$92,717* if they had $1,000,000 left on their mortgageI can research the market for you to see if there are more competitive loans available and can also discuss other potential options that might save you money.* The figures provided are for illustrative purposes only and are based on a hypothetical scenario. They assume the borrower has an owner-occupier home loan with principal-and-interest repayments and 25 years remaining on the loan term. They also assume no changes to the loan term, all monthly repayments are made on time, and no additional fees, charges or changes to repayment frequency apply. Actual savings will vary depending on your individual circumstances, loan terms, interest rate, fees and lender policies. This is not financial advice and should not be relied upon as such. Please speak to a licensed mortgage broker to understand whether refinancing is suitable for your situation.Let’s chat about your refinancing optionsHit the button below to arrange a conversation with one of my loan specialists to find a deal that's best for your situation. Chat to us today We partner with over 50 lenders so you can find the perfect solutionFollow Facebook Linkedin Do you have questions about mortgages or loans?Ask us in the comments below … [Read more...] about Research exposes big gap between average and lowest variable rates

There was a sharp rise in the number of consumers taking out car loans in 2024, as motorists purchased a record number of new vehicles.Australians bought an unprecedented 1,220,607 new vehicles last year, with Toyota, Ford, Mazda, Kia and Mitsubishi being the most popular brands, according to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.As a result, consumers took out a record $4.7 billion of car loans in the December quarter, which was 13.0% more than the year before, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Interestingly, there was an even larger rise in personal loans taken out to purchase holidays, household goods and other items – that rose by 25.9% to a record $3.9 billion.If you’re looking to secure funds for a car or a consumer purchase, please get in touch, as a car loan or personal loan may be a better option than a credit card.Need a home loan? Let’s chat.Hit the button below to arrange a conversation with one of my loan specialists to find a deal that's best for your situation. Chat to us today We partner with over 50 lenders so you can find the perfect solutionFollow Facebook Linkedin Do you have questions about mortgages or loans?Ask us in the comments below … [Read more...] about More consumers using loans to purchase cars, holidays & whitegoods

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has instructed financial regulators to make it easier for Australians with student debt to take out a mortgage.Currently, the banking regulator, APRA, and the financial services regulator, ASIC, expect lenders to take HELP-HECS debt into account when assessing home loan applications. However, Dr Chalmers said he wanted lenders to be able to exclude student debt repayments from serviceability assessments when they expected the borrower to pay off the debt in “the near term”, the Australian Financial Review reported.“I’ve agreed these changes in discussions with regulators and convened the banks to discuss them,” Dr Chalmers said. “People with a HELP debt should be treated fairly when they want to buy a house and we’re working with the regulators to make sure they are.”While Dr Chalmers has not indicated when these changes would take effect, if you contact me, I can calculate how much you can borrow now and estimate how much you might be able to borrow under the new rules.Want to know your borrowing power? I can helpHit the button below to arrange a conversation with one of my loan specialists to find a deal that's best for your situation. Chat to us today We partner with over 50 lenders so you can find the perfect solutionFollow Facebook Linkedin Do you have questions about mortgages or loans?Ask us in the comments below … [Read more...] about Govt plans to relax home loan rules for younger borrowers

The federal government has announced plans to ban foreign investors from buying established homes and to crack down on illegal land banking, in an effort to cool demand and increase supply.Foreign investors need to apply for approval before purchasing residential real estate in Australia. Under the current rules, they’re generally restricted to buying new properties although they are allowed to buy established properties under certain circumstances. Under the new rules, they will be banned from buying established properties between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2027; a review will then be conducted to decide whether to continue the ban.The government will also take action against foreign investors who buy vacant land, sit on it and then sell it for a profit, rather than following the regulations that require them to put the land to productive use within reasonable timeframes. To enforce the policy, the government will provide funding to the Australian Taxation Office to do more auditing and compliance work with foreign investors.“This is all about easing pressure on our housing market at the same time as we build more homes,” Housing Minister Clare O'Neil said.“These initiatives are a small but important part of our already big and broad housing agenda which is focused on boosting supply and helping more people into homes.”Need a home loan? Let’s chat.Hit the button below to arrange a conversation with one of my loan specialists to find a deal that's best for your situation. Chat to us today We partner with over 50 lenders so you can find the perfect solutionFollow Facebook Linkedin Do you have questions about mortgages or loans?Ask us in the comments below … [Read more...] about Foreign investor framework gets tightened

Owner-occupiers are stepping up in the property market as investors are stepping down, according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, while average loan sizes now range from $465,000 in the Northern Territory to $811,000 in New South Wales.During the final three months of the year, loan commitments fell 4.5% quarter-on-quarter for investors while rising 2.2% for owner-occupiers, reflecting a changing dynamic in the market.Meanwhile, the average mortgage across Australia reached a record $666,000 at the end of 2024, an increase of 8.5% on the year before. Given those large loan sizes, accumulating a deposit can be hard. So here are five things you can do to either save your deposit faster or reduce the size of the deposit required:Ask me about borrowing strategies that require less than a 20% depositSpeak to your parents about a guarantor home loan, which could potentially reduce your share of the deposit to 5% or even 0%Consider buying in conjunction with a partner, relative or friendResearch the Home Guarantee Scheme, which lets eligible buyers purchase a property with just a 5% deposit without having to pay lender’s mortgage insuranceIncrease your savings rate, by looking for opportunities to cut your spending and grow your incomeLet’s talk home loan strategiesHit the button below to arrange a conversation with one of my loan specialists to find a deal that's best for your situation. Chat to us today We partner with over 50 lenders so you can find the perfect solutionFollow Facebook Linkedin Do you have questions about mortgages or loans?Ask us in the comments below … [Read more...] about Five deposit strategies to consider as loan sizes rise higher

Australia's median property price fell by 0.1% in December, after 22 consecutive months of growth, according to CoreLogic. So while most property markets tended to favour sellers in 2023 and 2024, they're likely to favour buyers in 2025.With that in mind – subject to local market conditions – there's a good chance you can be more calculating in your property search. Reduced buyer competition will give you more time to shop around and conduct due diligence. It will also give you more scope to ask vendors for discounts and more favourable settlement terms. There are several steps you should take before you start home-hunting. Try to restrict your spending, to make yourself look as creditworthy as possible in the eyes of lenders. Also, order a free copy of your credit report and look for errors: if you find any, apply to have them removed, otherwise they might affect your credit score.Most importantly, apply for a home loan pre-approval before you attend open homes, so you know what your budget will be. I can help you with that.Need a home loan? Let’s chat.Hit the button below to arrange a conversation with one of my loan specialists to find a deal that's best for your situation. Chat to us today We partner with over 50 lenders so you can find the perfect solutionFollow Facebook Linkedin Do you have questions about mortgages or loans?Ask us in the comments below … [Read more...] about Property market predicted to favour buyers in 2025