He’s probably NOT off to apply for a home loan!

While there are plenty of good intentions around, it’s not converting into home loans activity in the Australian housing market.

If evidence from the latest QBE Lenders Mortgage Insurance survey is anything to go by, people are sitting on decisions to buy until they are more confident that the worldwide financial problems have settled.

The QBE Lenders Mortgage Insurance Survey

This survey, by one of Australia’s largest lending insurers, conducted across the country with 1162 participants, found that 60% of Aussies intend to buy property within the next five years; of these, one in five were hoping to buy in 2012.

The state break-down shows that West Australians were the most eager to buy and those in NSW were second. Continue reading →

Be patient when saving for your home loan deposit

For first time home buyers saving for a home loan can be a daunting task and that deposit can seem far, far away at first.

There is nothing that a little perseverance and discipline cannot achieve and below we take you through how you can work towards the deposit you need for the house you’re after.

Aim High

When we say “aim high” we are not talking about buying a bigger, better house than you actually need.

Continue reading →

Big is not necessarily beautiful when it comes to home loans!

It is generally accepted that the banks have relaxed their lending laws recently, so that Australians can again take up a home loan of almost the entire value of the property.

If it is offered to you should be looking at such a loan and, if so, what are the risks you need to assess?

Loan Figures

Recent research shows that 70% of Australian home loans are provided with a deposit of only 5%. In other words, you can secure a $500,000 home with a deposit of only $25,000. Continue reading →

Line of credit is another home loan option you have

Line of credit home loans are another way you can afford to get on the property ladder, if the usual avenues are not attractive or not open for you, for whatever reason.

Firstly, here are some reasons why you may want to consider one of these loans.

• They Are Not Too Difficult to Acquire

If you have the right assets, line of credit loans can be relatively simple to arrange with the loan provider. Continue reading →

Home loan fact sheets – no substitute for research!

There was more evidence recently that the introduction of the new Australian home loans fact sheets is no reason for people to let their guard down or do any less research when shopping around for the best deals.

We featured the new home loan fact sheet in a recent blog post and took a thorough look at why the Australian government introduced it from the start of this year and the information it includes, but it seems that not many of the banks are “playing ball.”

Choice Findings

The consumer advocacy group Choice ran a test in Sydney and found that just one of 18 branches they tested volunteered the necessary information on comparable home loan rates – and then only after repeated requests. Continue reading →