Insights · Page 31 of 40 · FinancialPlus Mortgage Broker Gold Coast

Should I have fixed interest rate, variable rate or split rate?

That depends on who ‘you’ are. When you take out a mortgage or home loan, you can choose to have an interest rate this is fixed, variable, or split (a combination of the two). There is no right or wrong option – it all depends on your circumstances. Fixed rate home loans With the fixed rate home loan, the interest rate on your mortgage doesn’t change for an agreed period (usually 1-5 years) – no matter what happens to official interest rates. Variable rate home loans With the variable rate home loan, the interest rate on your mortgage can change.

Where should I start looking for a home?

(Hint. It’s not a real estate agent’s window.) When you want to buy a home, the temptation is to start looking for it. However it’s much smarter to organise your finance first. And don’t just pre-qualify for a home loan – get preapproved! Why you shouldn’t find your home first You find it. Your dream home. A place with “character”, near the beach, with three-and-a-half bedrooms, walk-in pantry, off-street parking, and access to good public schools for the kids you don’t have yet. You pay for inspections, have your offer accepted, and brief an architect on your renovation vision, only

5 Simple Ways to increase loan repayments

Paying off a mortgage can seem relentless – every payment counts of course, but it can seem to be taking forever to make a dent. Here are some simple ways you can increase the amount you pay off and own your home sooner. Reducing the principle on your mortgage as quickly as you can means paying less interest, so your future payments are going even further towards reducing that principle. To find the ideal balance between the extra repayments you can afford to make and the time this will shave off your mortgage term, use a mortgage calculator. For example,

Buying a tenanted investment property

There are plenty of upsides to buying an investment property that already has a tenant, as well as a raft of risks. Here’s how to minimise them. Purchasing an investment property that already has a tenant means you collect rent from day one, with no vacant period and no lease fees to find a new tenant. The lease just carries on as it did before you purchased the property. Sound good? Of course it does. There are some possible problems to be aware of though: It’s very important to check whether the lease on your prospective investment is current or

The rise of the Mortgage Broker

There’s no doubt that the role of the Mortgage Broker has changed considerably with information made available at a recent Professional Development Day showing that the percentage of home loans written through mortgage brokers increasing from 43.9% in the first quarter of 2012 to 50% in 2014. As La Trobe Financial Asset Management report, over the last 20 years the face of Australian mortgage lending has been transformed by the development of the mortgage broking industry. All Australian borrowers owe a debt of significant financial and emotional gratitude to the brokers who assisted, together with non-bank securitisation businesses, in breaking

The amazing growth prediction for SMSF

The MFAA announced at the PLAN Australia Professional Development Day in July that there is expected to be $1.8 trillion dollars in SMSF (Self Managed Super Funds) within 15 years. This is more than the entire value of the ASX and there are currently more than 3,000 new SMSF’s being created each month. Also of interest are the results of a Roy Morgan survey of superannuation with 76.5% of people with SMSF’s being satisfied with the performance of these funds compared to 55.8% of people in Retail Funds and 53.7% of people in Industry Funds. And with these statistics in

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