Accessing equity. How can you do it, and most importantly should you do it? Put simply, when you’ve been a good borrower, mortgage lenders may let you access the equity on your home - that is, the amount no longer owing on the mortgage. Usually, the equity release will be capped at 80% by most lenders. 

New data from the lending watchdog reveals almost one in four new mortgages are risky. How are they deemed risky? Well, it’s got something to do with your debt-to-income ratio, which we’ll explain in this week’s article.

Australian homeowners are loading up their offset accounts in record amounts, so much so that the average household is now almost four years ahead on their mortgage payments.

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.

Cross collateralisation is a complex term for a borrower offering two properties as security for a new loan.

It keeps the loan to value ratio (LVR) as low as possible, which increases the likelihood of securing the loan, and helps to avoid other costs like lenders mortgage insurance (LMI).

The world’s economy is coming back into a slightly inflationary cycle, and is slowly starting to show green shoots. The message is – if you have a home loan then now’s the time to consider fixing it if that suits your situation; or if you are looking to purchase then consider a fixed rate.

With the right guidance you can find lenders that will be open to your needs and timeframes. By having an understanding of the market of lenders’ policies and timeframes, SGB Finance are able to help.

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.

You have a home on the market for sale, which is getting interest from buyers, and so you start looking around for a new home to purchase. But how do you find the 10% deposit that the agent is asking for to secure your new home?

The good news is you have a few different options.

If you’re about to purchase a property, you can expect the process to take about 4-6 weeks (differs between states). Here is a brief run-down of the property settlement timeline.

The amount of documents a broker will ask for when applying for a home loan can seem huge - but we have some time saving ideas that can make it pretty easy, or so our clients tell us 😊

Normally you have to fumble through old filing cabinets to find the documents, and then get them to the lender/broker via post, in person, or by email. We have instituted technology that makes the whole process a lot quicker and easier!