It’s a good idea to regularly assess whether refinancing makes sense if you have an existing mortgage or another loan. There are many factors to keep in mind when you go through this process. Here are five essential elements to consider when assessing whether exiting one loan and opening another is a wise idea. 1. […]
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Mortgage brokers and lenders use your credit rating to determine if you’re a good loan candidate. A bad credit score – caused by missed payments or excessive debt – can hurt your chances of getting your first home loan, but no credit rating can be detrimental as well. At Smartline, our brokers want to help […]
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Winter is here! Despite many Australians opting not to heat their homes to the point of complete comfort, many of us nevertheless will soon receive a nasty surprise when the energy bills arrive. With Australia’s historically cheap energy, old housing stock in many areas, mild climate and frequent emphasis on low building costs, many homes […]
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Taking on a mortgage is a big step, so it stands to reason that you want to make sure all your paperwork is perfectly in order before signing on the dotted line. However, despite a home loan being a massive commitment, many property seekers – particularly first home buyers – unintentionally skip over the finer […]
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In the final part of this series on life stages and property, we look at the financial questions concerning Australians of retirement age. At this point in your life, you’ve had to make a great deal of financial decisions. You’ve probably had big successes – as well as failures that you’ve learned from. For this […]
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Stamp duty is being abolished for first home buyers in Victoria as part of changes the Government is making to existing legislation. Stamp duty adds significant costs to property purchases, so this change will reduce the fees that property seekers will be up for. However, it may not necessarily make housing more affordable. The Victorian […]
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Australians face varying financial challenges at different stages of their lives. Your relationship with your biggest investment – your home – changes over time as well. When you’re in your twenties and thirties, you’ll be focused on saving up for your first property. By the time you reach middle age, you’ll likely own your own […]
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As Australian property values increase, many first home buyers are turning to “The Bank of Mum and Dad” for help with purchasing their first property. Whether you have adult children on the brink of moving out, or have a young brood who won’t be buying property for another couple of decades, it’s understandable that you’d […]
Read MoreWhether you live in an apartment yourself and are refinancing for some new features, or own one as an investment property and are keen to squeeze some more value out of your real estate, you might be considering some major renovations. These kinds of upgrades can add a significant sum to the price tag or […]
Read MoreNobody wants to end up accidentally buying a home that doesn’t live up to expectations. It would be incredibly frustrating to use your home loan on a property that then ends up requiring even more capital to bring up to standard. However, people across Australia still continue to sign off on sales without doing their […]
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