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. 

The average Australian investment portfolio size is $31,613 but there are growing numbers of ‘emerging affluent’ investors who have an average investment balance of $716,352. So how do they do it?

It’s the hope that kills you. Just ask Carlton fans, NSW Blues supporters, Wallabies sufferers, and hopeful homebuyers who have fallen victim to underquoting. Obviously, you can’t change your footy team, but you can follow these tips to avoid the sketchy real estate practice.

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?

Drive or walk around your local suburb mid-morning on a Saturday and chances are you’ll pass a few freshly banged up ‘Auction’ signs. But is Saturday actually the best day to auction your home? New data suggests perhaps not.

Rental yield is essentially the rate of rental income returned against the costs of an investment property, and can be a great indicator of a property’s investment potential.

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.

For many years the mortgage industry has been pushing the argument that repayments on investment property loans should be interest only (IO) for better cash flow management, and also possible tax advantages. However, I wish to present the case to you that making principal and interest (P&I) repayments can also be a good option to consider.

In this article we will explore how to calculate how much equity you currently have, and then I will present a scenario that will show you how you might be able to start your investment property portfolio sooner than you thought.

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).