It’s taking young couples roughly five years on average to save for a 20% home loan deposit, according to new research. Want to hear something crazy, though? We know how to quarter that timeframe…

Ever thought about buying a property with a friend or family member? You’re not the only one. The rising cost of property and FOMO has led to more than a quarter of Australians considering buying a property with a ‘non-traditional’ partner.

You’ve probably noticed that house prices in Australia consistently outstrip growth in wages. But by how much? And what can you do to make sure you’re not forever chasing the great Australian dream?

Lender’s Mortgage Insurance (LMI) is required when the value of a loan is more than 80% of a property’s purchase price, or property valuation if refinancing. The purpose of LMI is to protect lenders should the borrower fail to make loan repayments when the LVR exceeds 80%. A higher deposit means a smaller loan amount and therefore a lower LVR thereby reducing the lender’s risk. Here are some ideas on how you can avoid paying the costly premium.

Is the key to saving a home deposit as simple as giving up smashed avo toast for breakfast? Well not quite, but spending less does make a difference.

Start by understanding how you spend.

Back in March the Australian Federal Government introduced a range of measures to assist the economy during COVID-19, one of which was the ability for financially affected people to withdraw from their superannuation.

The purpose of the measure was to assist these people to be able to afford their living expenses in the event that they were stood down, laid off, or had their hours reduced, as a result of COVID.

However many people seemed to have other ideas in mind for the cash.

What is a Mortgage Broker? Mortgage brokers are professional lending people who are independent from any one bank. They have qualifications with many banks in the Australian lending landscape, including major banks such as CBA, Westpac, St George, ANZ, and NAB. Brokers also have access to many non-bank institutions that lend money at a competitive rate (these include Pepper Money, Liberty, and Bluestone, to name a few).