Don’t think you can afford to put more on your mortgage? Actually, you probably can! Lenders will generally calculate your ability to service your loan at a higher interest rate than what they actually offer you. Why? So that if interest rates go up they know that you can still afford your repayments. So this means that you can actually … Read More
How the Royal Commission will impact home loans…
Amongst all the questions I’ve been asked about the Royal Commission, the most asked continues to be… “I have heard that as a result of the Royal Commission it will be harder to get a home loan. Is that true??” Well, the answer is yes. But don’t panic. The reality is that it has been getting harder and harder to … Read More
What you need to know about the Royal Commission
Over the last few months I’ve had lots of questions about the banking Royal Commission. What is it? Why is it happening? How does it work? And, what does it mean for me – will it be harder to get a home loan? So, here is a quick summary of what’s going on, and our next blog will cover the … Read More
Think it doesn’t matter when you pay your bills? Think again
No doubt, at some point in your life you would have heard the terms ‘credit score’ or ‘credit report’ – and unfortunately you most often hear about these things at the precise moment you find out your score or report is a “bad” one. Not helpful! Well, here’s a new reason you may hear those terms: the government is mandating … Read More
I’ve paid off my mortgage, should I get a bigger house?
“Hi Tash, I’m 10 years away from retirement and have almost paid off my primary residence, a townhouse. Should I be upgrading to a bigger house?” Congratulations on paying off your home! What a great feeling. Now the first question I would ask you is why you might want to upgrade to a bigger home? Given that you are approaching … Read More
What comes first, the HECS debt or the mortgage?
Hi Tash, I’m wondering what the best thing is to do, prioritise buying a house or pay back my HECS debt first? Is being completely debt free better than having a HECS debt and a mortgage? Or is HECS not something I need to worry about paying back so quickly? Great question! First of all, HECS-HELP is essentially a government … Read More
Women are awesome, and yet…
Women. Are. Awesome. In case you need it, here’s proof. On top of it all, we work, cook, clean, shop, chauffeur, pay bills – often all simultaneously. You do it, I do it, together we kick some serious butt! Unfortunately, despite how awesome women are… we still tend to pass the buck on important money matters. Divorce, which is becoming … Read More
I’m a single parent, will I ever own a house?
Tash, I feel gypped! I built a house with an ex a few years ago, using my first home buyers grant and he ended up with the house. Now five years later I have full time job and I’m a single parent and it’s a lot harder getting a house the second time around. Do you have any tips to … Read More
We were bankrupt… can we get into property?
Hi Tash, we are one year out of bankruptcy and currently renting. We are in our late 30’s with three young children and have come to the conclusion it may be some time before we can purchase our own home. We are consistently saving $1K per month. I’ve come up with a plan to purchase a unit (if we can … Read More
To buy or not to buy? That is the question…
If you’re looking at purchasing your first home (or contemplating a sea change), you should factor in the costs of buying and selling. There are solicitor’s fees, stamp duty and other incidentals that pop up through the buying and selling process, and if you plan to move again in a couple of years then buying might turn out to be … Read More
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