Follow our Smartline blog for up to date latest Australian finance and property news.
On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me … some really handy tips for making sure your stocking is full this Christmas, and so are your pockets! 1. Have a budget and stick to it Christmas is a time for spending, and eating too much. So how can you enjoy the […]
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We frantically shop for Christmas presents, and prepare for the impending summer holiday. The end of year is nigh, which means it’s a good time to look back and review the year that was. Here, we sum up key moments in housing and finance in Australia in 2018. Cash rate on hold for two years, […]
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A survey from Roy Morgan’s research institute has found that nearly one million Australians experience mortgage stress. This equates to over 20 per cent of the population. While the results of Roy Morgan’s interviews of 10,000 owner-occupier mortgage holders are significant, mortgage stress is down slightly since this time last year, when 21.3 per cent […]
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Agent’s fees can consume a sizeable slice of the annual rental income for your investment property, but do they equate to money well spent? Australia is home to 2.03 million residential property investors, according to the ATO, while property research house CoreLogic estimates there are around 2.6 million investor-owned dwellings nationwide. One in four Australian […]
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Did you know that rather than forking out to purchase equipment outright for your new or existing business, you can potentially lease equipment? This means you effectively rent the equipment from the lender, saving you upfront costs and giving you the opportunity to upgrade or purchase equipment at the end of the lease. Here, we […]
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We all like feeling secure. Insurance is protection against the things that can go wrong. Yes, it costs a bit of money but insurance gives us peace of mind that if things go awry, we will be okay financially. But do you need insurance when purchasing a house? And if so, which insurance do you […]
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House prices in Sydney and Melbourne have fallen slightly in recent months. Falling house prices can be due to various factors, like increased interest rates, or oversupply. In current times, the drop in house prices has largely been attributed to what they call a ‘credit crunch’. What’s a credit crunch? A credit crunch is a […]
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A new report, ‘The Value of Mortgage Broking’, released this July by Deloitte Access Economics, has found that mortgage brokers increase competition and choice for customers, which brings a swag of benefits to the consumer, and the larger economy. Mortgage brokers began emerging in Australia in the mid-1980s, and now 55.7 per cent of loans […]
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Beep! Beep! You’ve picked out a car and are keen to drive it home. Rather than purchasing the car outright, consider the benefits of buying it using finance. There are loads of car finance options out there. How do you sieve through them all to find the most suitable rate and conditions for your circumstances? […]
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There are many expenses associated with setting up a small business. One of the most significant costs, of course, is equipment. Equipment finance, can help your business get going by leasing you the equipment, or offering you a loan so you can purchase the equipment outright. To get you started, we put together a list […]
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Janine Davies originally found the idea of buying a home nerve-wracking. Terminology she didn’t understand, mountains of...
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25-year-old Khris Lloyd was left in the lurch when his beloved credit union did a backflip on their pre-approval for a run-down...
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Kimberley and her partner Todd were looking at buying a home together. They had each contacted their respective banks but were...
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