Insights · Page 37 of 40 · FinancialPlus Mortgage Broker Gold Coast

Looking for a lower interest rate

Home Loan lending over the last few years has actually seen a huge increase in competition between lenders. This is particularly the case with second tier lenders that are usually offering interest rates well below many larger lenders. Changing home loans to a new lender may save you a lot of money and we will work with you to identify the possibilities and also the cost of refinancing and the amount that you will save by doing this. Lower interest rates may seem attractive but it is not enough to just look at rates on offer. There are costs involved

Claim your investment property expenses

There’s no shortage of expenses for an investment property that are usually claimable as a tax deduction with the following list being supplied by Aviate Property Group: Advertising for tenants Bank charges Body corporate fees & charges Cleaning Council Rates Electricity & Gas Gardening and Lawn mowing In-house audio/video service charges Insurance (building, contents, landlords and public liability) Interest on Loans Land Tax Lease document expenses (preparation, registration and stamp duty) Legal expenses (excluding acquisition & borrowing costs) Mortgage discharge expenses Property agent’s fees and commission Pest control Registration Stamp duty Quantity Surveyors Fee’s Repairs & Maintenance Secretarial and bookkeeping

Are Fixed Rates for me?

This would have to be number one question that I am asked at the moment but there is no simple answer. It’s as difficult a question as trying to work out whether you should be selling shares because there is no simple answer on what is likely to happen. If I was trying to convince someone that fixed rates are right for them. I would be offering the following arguments: You will know exactly what your repayments will be for the duration of the fixed rate period which will allow you to comfortably budget knowing what your home loan repayments

Transition to Retirement

Planning for retirement is a critical function for anyone and the closer you get to retirement, the more important it is to have appropriate plans in place. We have asked for some information to be provided on this topic by Kate Zerbst of Affordable Financial Advice and this is shown below. Please note that this is intended for general information and should not be relied on as being applicable to your own circumstances without checking with Kate or your financial advisor. Whether retirement is 10 years off or just around the corner, if you are over 55 and have reached

Aviate and their thoughts on why Sydney is not the place to invest at the moment

We like to pass on information that can help people that are looking to invest in property and a recent email from Aviate does just that. It’s basically their views on Sydney but the thrust of it is that because it’s a seller’s market, there’s too much heat in the Sydney property market at the moment, making it difficult to negotiate favourable terms or pricing. Have a look and let me know if you have any comments.

House affordability

House affordability – houses are just so much more expensive these days compared to when I was young. This is the usual train of thought but statistics produced by Craig James – chief economist from Commsec- show that this may not be quite right especially over the last ten years. During this time, disposable incomes per household has risen about 70% while average house prices have risen by 67%. Could the issue be though that disposable incomes are higher because more families are double income families so that they can meet the loan repayments? Interested in your thoughts on this.

Property & lending insights