Accelerate home loan repayment: There are only 4 ways

A key financial goal for most people is to eventually repay their home loan. Last year I outlined 3 questions you must ask yourself to determine whether repaying your home loan is your top priority – see here.   The internet is filled with countless ideas on how to repay your home loan faster. However, many …

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Three steps to avoid becoming a banking scam victim

The government projects that scams cost Australians $3.1 billion per year. Given that more of our life is becoming digitalised, especially with banking and financial services, we are more susceptible to scams. It’s critical that you take active steps to protect your money.    Most common scams are… According to the National Anti-Scam Centre, scams …

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Tips for dealing with higher interest rates

Most homeowners and investors are long term borrowers. That is, they will have a mortgage for many decades. We must realise that over many decades, there will be periods where interest rates will be higher than the average and vice versa.   The average standard variable rate since 1959 is 8.20% p.a. Noting that most …

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Tips on how to maximise your borrowing capacity

Borrowing capacity has reduced by around 30% over the past year due to the impact of higher interest rates and the increased 3% interest rate buffer that banks must use to calculate your borrowing capacity. This was eloquently depicted in this chart by CBA in February 2023. I wanted to explore the common strategies that …

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eBook: Everything you must know before you refinance in 2023

Many Australian borrowers need to navigate significant changes to their mortgages throughout 2023 including fixed interest rate and interest-only term expiries. The banks understand borrowers are likely to be more active this year and are well-prepared to offer discounts and cash incentives to retain customers. This eBook aims to help borrowers make informed decisions, minimise …

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To what extent does rental yield affect your borrowing capacity?

The very first article that I wrote for a magazine was published 19 years ago! No wonder I feel old. The article was called ‘Unlimited finance…’. My thesis was that investing in high yield properties, doesn’t magically extend ones borrowing capacity allowing them to invest a lot more. Some investors believe targeting high rental yielding …

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Important changes to your borrowing capacity

Borrowing capacity has probably never been tighter in the 20 years since I started ProSolution! This is delaying investment plans for some clients. However, my expectation is that this is temporary and an easing in borrowing capacity might not be too far away.   How borrowing capacity rules have changed over recent years In 2019, …

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Beware: existing customers always pay higher interest rates

Banks will usually offer higher interest rate discounts to new customers to win their business. But, of course, the banks never offer these higher discounts to existing customers, unless they ask for them. Whilst this has always been the case, it is noteworthy that interest rate discounts have increased substantially over the past 10 years. …

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