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Top tips for obtaining housing finance

Top Tips for obtaining housing finance

Newcastle mortgage broker, David Hoar shares his passion for property by giving us his top tips for obtaining housing finance

The best strategy for getting into the market now depends upon your particular circumstances, and your ultimate objective(s), but remember that in December 2018 around 40% of all home loan applications were rejected – so before you get too excited talk to your broker or bank about getting pre-approved to save yourself unnecessary cost, time and stress.

Leveraging equity

If you’ve been fortunate enough to own property that has gone up in value over the last 5 or so year’s then you can look at using equity in your current property to buy another one.   In this situation the bank re-values your property, to identify the equity you have available, and will generally allow you to borrow up to 80% of your current properties value.

Most lenders will structure the deal as follows:

  • 20% of the new property value plus costs (stamp duty, pest and build, conveyancing etc) secured against your current property
  • 80% of the new property value secured against your new property

By doing it this way you avoid Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI), which is normally charged by lenders if your loan on the new property is more than 80% of its value.

Buying on low or no deposit

There are some lenders that will allow you to borrow up to 95% (including LMI) to buy an investment property, however this can be expensive as LMI ramps up quite considerably when your loan/value ratio is over 90%.

If your parents or siblings own a property, then some lenders will allow you to use equity from their property to help support your purchase and avoid LMI.

Like where you live but can’t afford to buy there?

Then rentvesting might be a good strategy for you.  In this case you continue to rent and then buy an investment property somewhere else.

Many people choose to do this – as they enjoy the lifestyle or proximity to work and social and entertainment options of where they live – but can’t afford to buy there. 

So rather than miss good buying opportunities an investment is purchased in another location. Remember, that you don’t have to like where you buy an investment property, you just need a good supply of tenants that do!

About David Hoar

David Hoar of Money Saver Home Loans is a finance lending expert with clients from Brisbane to Hobart. David is a qualified Accountant, has a Graduate Diploma in Taxation, a Graduate Diploma in Marketing and Management, and a Certificate IV in Mortgage Broking – and he is passionate about ensuring property buyers have access to expert information and help.

For more information, visit: https://www.moneysaverhomeloans.com.au/

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Top Tips for dealing with Real Estate Agents

Top tips for dealing with Real Estate Agents

Melbourne real estate agent, Bryce Houston shares his passion for property by giving us his top tips for dealing with real estate agents

Become a local expert

Try to inspect at least twenty properties of the type that meet your criteria in the town or locality you are looking at before making any purchase decision.

Don’t rush things

Make the effort to visit the area a few times. During the week, at weekends, in the day and during evenings. Talk to the locals to get a feel for the area and what it has to offer – and what it doesn’t.

Check recent sales

Look at the property sales (sold results) on realestate.com.au or domain for the last six to twelve months to ascertain the actual market value of sales. Don’t go only by the listed asking sale price – study what has sold and for how much.

Know your buy price limit and preferred type of property

Know how much you can borrow and the type of property you want before talking to agents. Then tell them that you are pre-approved and what you are looking for. This will make you a serious buyer in their eyes and they’ll try hard to find you a suitable property. Call them once a week to see if anything has turned up.

Set up alerts

Set watch alerts on your favourite real state app like realestate.com.au or domain to alert you of any new listings so you can get into action as soon as they come online.

Check the days on market

Ask the agent how many days on the market a property has been on for or simply search realestate.com.au from newest to oldest as this will show you the oldest. Older listed properties are often more negotiable and agents will be keen to sell.

Don’t be reluctant to make an offer

Real estate agents and Vendors love to get offers especially if the property has been on the market for a while. Even if it’s a low offer, it could be the one the vendor accepts.

Keep in front of the agent’s mind

Agents may not chase you, especially in hot markets, and good deals go quickly in any market. Let them know you are a serious buyer and stay in touch. You may be offered a property off-market, which can save the vendor thousands of dollars in advertising and staging costs, save the agent’s time and reduce your purchase price.

About Bryce Houston

Bryce has bought, subdivided, renovated and sold properties from Frankston to Byron Bay. He combined his thirty years of sales experience with his passion for property by becoming a real estate agent in 2016, and now gets to share his passion for property with other sellers and buyers.

For more information about Bryce: https://carrumdowns.harcourts.com.au/Profile/Bryce-Houston

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Our Accuracy

My published predictions - an unequalled record of accuracy

I publicly forecast Sydney’s and Hobart’s housing market booms, BUT unlike other commentators, my predictions were published in the property media just before the growth kicked in, not years before or after.

In July 2020, I predicted in Smart Property Investment, Australian Property Investor, Real Estate Business and Your Investment Property that Canberra was set to become our best performing capital city.  

Since I made that bold prediction, Canberra’s housing market has recorded the highest house price growth of all Australia’s capital cities!

I was the only expert to forecast (YIP Magazine, March 2020) that property prices would boom in our major capital cities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was at the same time as the economists and other analysts were all forecasting doom and gloom.