Articles Archives - MO'R MORTGAGE OPTIONS

What’s happening with property values in 2024?

If buying a home is a priority this year, here are some thoughts on where property values might be headed in 2024. Before we pull out the crystal ball for the coming year, let’s look back at the change in home values we saw over the past 12 months. In 2023, despite five official rate hikes, increases in living costs due to inflationary pressures, home values still increased nationally by 7%. On top of that, there were three capital cities which experienced growth above the national … [Read more...]

What’s changing with the RBA and their interest rate decisions?

RBA Feb 24 Cash Rate Decision The Reserve Bank kept the cash rate steady in February. However, a change to the RBA’s 2024 meeting schedule has commentators theorising about how this will impact interest rates changes this year. The RBA’s decision to keep the cash rates on hold at 4.35% earlier this month wasn’t unexpected, given the latest inflation data. Because after months of steadily rising living costs, inflation seems to be finally heading south, currently at 4.1% down from 7.8% in … [Read more...]

Home loans for Self Employed Borrowers

When you’re self-employed, applying for a home loan can be a little more complex. There are additional checks a lender may want to perform and it’s likely you’ll need to jump through a few extra hoops before you get the green light to go house hunting. If you’re self-employed and hoping to borrow money soon, here are a few things to keep in mind to ensure you give yourself the best chance of getting your finance approved quickly. Understand borrowing requirements for self-employed … [Read more...]

3 ways a pre-approval can put you ahead of other buyers

You don’t have to wait until you’ve found a home you’d like to buy before you reach out to us. In fact, we’d strongly recommend you contact us first. Arranging a pre-approval before you start making offers, will ensure you’re well placed above the competition and also ensure you’re not taking any unnecessary risks. Here are three reasons to arrange a loan pre-approval before you officially start house hunting. 1. A Pre-approval gives you a budget to stick to When it comes to a … [Read more...]

Buy a house with only 5% deposit? Yes, it’s possible with the First Home Guarantee Scheme (FHBG)

Buyers are ignoring the advice it can take years to save for their first home deposit. Instead, they’re taking advantage of government schemes - like the First Home Guarantee Scheme (FHBG) - which allows first home buyers to get into the property market with as little as 5% deposit. National Housing (previously the National Housing, Finance and Investment Corporation - NHFIC), which runs the federal government guarantee schemes, reports that in 2022/23, almost one-in-three first home … [Read more...]

How can I maximise interest savings with my offset account for minimum effort?

You already have an 100% offset account as part of your loan, and you know it’s correctly linked against your owner occupied home loan.* With each monthly statement, you can see you're saving interest but you'd like to see if you can push those savings higher. Here's a few things you can try: Ensure all household income is paid into your offset account You should already have all wages, tax returns, investment income and windfalls (if you're lucky!) paid into your offset … [Read more...]

How to buy your first home without a large deposit

We get it. There's nothing easy about saving for your first house deposit. Especially when you're renting, paying off a HELP debt and trying to cover the increased costs of living. But you just really want to buy your own home. The more cash you have saved, the more options you'll have when it comes to buying your first home. However, there are a few ways you could buy property now - even without a large deposit. We outline these options below. Pay Lenders Mortgage … [Read more...]

How can I use equity to purchase an investment property?

If you own property, it's likely you've already heard the term 'equity.' Here we outline what it is, how you calculate it and how it can help you with your next property purchase. What is equity? Equity is the difference between the market value of your home and the current balance of your home loan. Equity typically grows over time due to your property increasing in value and/or the balance of your home loan decreasing. How much of the equity in my home can I release? The … [Read more...]

Under-the-radar rate hikes

You're not alone if you sighed in relief earlier this month, as the RBA announced the cash rate would remain on hold for the second consecutive month. This hasn't stopped some lenders from hiking their variable home loan rates anyway. These rate hikes - sometimes known as ‘out-of-cycle’ rate rises - easily fly under the radar. Especially when we've all been getting regular letters in the mail advising our interest rate (and repayment) is about to increase again. Out of interest, how many … [Read more...]

What’s stopping you from exploring your refinance options?

We’ve had 12 interest rate rises over the last 13 months. That’s 12 times your interest rate has increased on your home loan. And 12 times your monthly loan repayment has increased. (Actually, if we’re being technically correct here, the number of times your repayment has increased is likely to be slightly less than 12, because the last few rounds of rate hikes may not yet be reflected in your minimum monthly repayment.) If you haven’t reached out for a home loan review lately, … [Read more...]