First home buyers Archives - MO'R MORTGAGE OPTIONS

How long does it take to get a loan?

How long does it take to get a home loan? You’ve seen a property on the weekend that could be, ‘the one,’ and it’s being sold at auction soon. The problem is, you’re not pre-approved, you haven’t spoken to anyone about finance, you’re not sure how much a bank would lend you and you have no idea how long it will take to arrange a home loan. Question: Do you have a chance of being ready for auction day? Answer: It depends. It depends on a whole host of factors, … [Read more...]

What’s stopping you from buying a home?

Want to buy your first property, but feel like something is stopping you from buying a home? You know it’s the right time to break free from your parents (or the renting cycle) but you’re also worried about interest rates and the state of the property market. Is it really the right time to buy a home? Here we examine some of the fears you may have a buyer and suggest ways to overcome them. The Fear of Missing Out Good old FOMO often makes an appearance when you’re getting … [Read more...]

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...]

2023: Interest rates and the economy

Despite many experts weighing in on the debate as to where rates and the economy is headed, there’s still varying opinions as to how - and when – things will play out. Rather than adding to the noise on interest rates, we’re not going to add our own predictions here. Instead, we’re going to summarise the key thoughts and ideas being shared by leading economists, so you can get an idea of where things might be headed. What can we expect for the rest of 2023? Market commentators … [Read more...]