Category

Finance Help

Beating end-of-term blues

By Finance Help

Millions of Australians on low fixed-rate loans will be bracing for impact when they expire in the next year. It’s time to get prepared to manage the bill shock of coming off a fixed rate. Don’t panic but start planning Until recently, many Australian mortgage holders have only ever experienced…

Read More

Pitfalls and hidden gems

By Finance Help, Investing In Property

Navigating the dos and don’ts of investment property returns. Rental properties and holiday homes are once again in the sights of the Australian Tax Office, which has had growing success identifying erroneous claims. Last year about 70 per cent of returns related to investment properties audited by the ATO had…

Read More

Perfect your flip

By Finance Help, Home Lifestyle Tips

Renovating for profit can be a tricky business in a cooling market. But it’s more a science than an art if you know the pitfalls. Here are six common mistakes to avoid. 1. Not having a plan This obvious but common error is responsible for a host of renovating sins,…

Read More

Loyal to a fault

By Finance Help, Refinancing My Home Loan

It may be an admirable trait in personal relationships, but in financial matters, loyalty can come at a cost. Sticking with the same loan longer than three years can cost borrowers thousands, with competition to win business resulting in new customers paying lower rates than existing ones. This so-called loyalty…

Read More

Going for broker

By Buying My First Home, Finance Help

In a year when just about every real estate record was broken, home buyers turned to mortgage brokers in droves. More than two-thirds – a record 66.9 per cent – of residential mortgages were written by brokers in 2021.1 That’s a leap of 6.8 per cent on the year before…

Read More