The federal government has announced that a new First Home Buyer Deposit Scheme will be in place, commencing on January 1st, 2020.
Applications for the Scheme are not yet open and there is no waitlist for people wanting to apply. Once the Scheme commences, applications will be lodged through participating lenders and their authorised representatives

The Boom is Back! The housing market has taken off again, and we don’t need a long memory to know where this could end up.
Having said that, there should be a degree of optimism this time.. Unlike the boom which ended in 2017, a huge sector of foreign investors have been taken out of the

As the title suggests, if you’re self employed you may soon be required to update your tax returns before applying for a loan.
Each lender is different, with some lenders asking for 2019 tax returns as soon as December this year, with others a little more lenient and not requiring tax returns until as late

As you may have seen, the RBA decided to decrease rates today by a further .25% – the third decrease by the same amount this year.
In line with the previous rate decreases, we will be sure to update you on what each bank is doing in terms of passing this on and you can expect

If you have a home loan or an investment loan, it’s most likely your biggest monthly expense. That is what makes this possibly the most important message you’ll ever read. Why? Because, odds are, you’re paying way too much.
Always having the lowest cost home loan for your situation is critical, as a home loan

Did you finance your mortgage to 20 or 30 years? Was it to 15, perhaps? If you are reading this you are likely wondering if it’s possible to pay off your home loan earlier, or if it’s all too hard and you should just keep your cash and stick to the original plan.
A good

Last week we heard that Citibank (the 11th largest bank in the world) and Heritage bank (Australias largest customer owned bank) are no longer offering preapprovals for their customers. This means unless you have exchanged on a property, or are refinancing, they will not accept an application from you.
This is in addition to some

It takes foresight to look 10 or 20 years into the future and consider what your finances will look like. It takes discipline to put in place a plan to improve the outcome.
If you are quite comfortable living day to day or week to week, it’s easy to overlook the long term power of

Tip 1: Location matters
Have you considered locations outside of your postcode for purchase, or even outside your interstate? If you delay buying your home so you can find something in your price range, you can use the time to save up for a bigger deposit. The problem is, you have no idea when property

1. When loyalty doesn’t pay
There’s a good chance you’re one of 40% of all Australians who still bank with their childhood bank. It may be less out of loyalty and more out of convenience, but nearly half of us use the same bank for all financial needs.
The thing is, when it comes to