Generally speaking, a deposit of 20% of the value of the property will save you from incurring additional fees such as Lenders Mortgage Insurance. Some lenders will let you borrow up to 95% of the purchase price and then let you borrow the cost of the Lenders Mortgage Insurance on top of that. Alternatively, if you don’t have a deposit, you can borrow up to 100% of the property’s purchase price, in two ways:

• Family Pledge: which means that a family member offers their property as security for you to purchase your property.
• 100% House and Land packages: allow you to borrow up to 100% of the price of the brand new home and land.

Generally, yes. You can add the stamp duty expense on to the principal amount of your loan. The stamp duty will be paid out of the cash you use as a down-payment on your loan. The amount of stamp duty you owe varies by state and by the value of your home.

Your friendly Lending Specialist can assist you with this at the time of your home loan application. Call 02 9299 2263 to discuss your options.

This means that a quick check on your serviceability of a loan has been done and it is calculated that you should be able to make mortgage repayments on the amount you have been pre approved for. However, it is not binding and cannot be used to make an offer on a property. It is important to get a full or unconditional approval before proceeding with any property purchase. This involves completing a home loan application and providing all the necessary supporting documentation. (See our home loan application checklist)

A disability pension is a valid income source for the purpose of making a loan application. As with any loan application the amount of income from a disability pension, or from any other source, factors into the amount you can borrow and affects eventual the terms of the loan.

Yes. We can help you choose the right loan product for the kind of property you are looking to buy. There are different options available for hobby farms, rural farms or vineyards with homes. Purchasing a rural home is no more difficult that purchasing a city home. We are here to support you. We offer innovative financing to help make your dream of owning a home in the countryside a reality.

We don’t charge any mandates or fees. You will need to allocated to pay for valuation and application fees.

The mortgage registration fee varies from state to state. Generally, mortgage registration fees can be found on each state’s or territory’s website.  If I am unemployed but have rental income is there any way to get a home loan? If rental income is your only source of income, it is likely that a lender will require an additional source of income. Simply being unemployed does not disqualify you from obtaining a mortgage. Having income from rental property will help make qualifying for a mortgage a bit easier.

We will actively monitor your loan as our client to ensure you are always on the best possible product.

Before making a move to another lender, check the terms and conditions of your present mortgage to see what exit fees might apply if you discharge or break your existing mortgage before its term is up. It is a good idea to look at what features your mortgage has and which of them you really use. Refinancing can be very expensive, but can work in your favour and provide you with many benefits if you do your sums correctly.

We help research types of mortgages and home loan features It is good to understand what type of home loans are on offer and which features you are really looking for in a mortgage.

Exit fees can apply if you decide to refinance with a new lender, swap from a fixed to variable loan or repay your mortgage before it is due. These early repayment fees vary widely according to the lender. It is a good idea to read your loan contract terms and conditions carefully to understand which fees will apply. If the mortgage you are exiting has no break costs, then you will recoup the cost of refinancing much quicker. Some loans (with very low rates of interest) still carry substantial and hidden discharge fees. In these cases, the borrower may see a lower mortgage payments by switching to a loan with a lower interest rate. But if hidden fees and costs are built into the refinance contract, it can take months or years to recoup the discharge cost. The exit fees can be calculated in two ways; either as a percentage-based fee or a flat fee. Percentage based fees are either equivalent to 1-2 months interest charges or a percentage of the original loan amount or loan top-up amount (whichever is greater). The flat fee is a straight dollar figure applied to the mortgage loan amount.

We will review your situation and talk with you about why you’ve missed making payments. Generally, having one or two missed payments won’t prevent you from getting refinancing. It will likely keep you from qualifying for the most favourable rates and terms though.

You purchase the land before the house is built When buying the land first you will generally have to pay a deposit of 10% of the purchase price, with the balance being payable on settlement. This way you will only pay stamp duty on the land, rather than on the construction cost of the house. In this situation, you will need two home loans – one for the land and one for the construction. Progress payments on the mortgage will need to be made at different stages of construction. You buy the house already completed on the developer’s land If you decide on this option, all you need to do is give a 5% deposit, with the rest being payable once the home is completed. There are no progress payments with this option, which you can use to your advantage for either renting whilst the home is being built, or saving a larger deposit for the home loan. Research your location and developer.

Getting an idea of the following will help:

• What experience have they got and how long have they been in business
• How many packaged homes have they sold?
• Get referrals, and ask the owners if they were satisfied with the workmanship.
• Check on appropriate builder’s warranty and insurance cover.
• Check if they offer a fixed price building contract, so you aren’t left with unexpected fees.

You purchase the land before the house is built When buying the land first you will generally have to pay a deposit of 10% of the purchase price, with the balance being payable on settlement. This way you will only pay stamp duty on the land, rather than on the construction cost of the house. In this situation, you will need two home loans – one for the land and one for the construction. Progress payments on the mortgage will need to be made at different stages of construction. You buy the house already completed on the developer’s land If you decide on this option, all you need to do is give a 5% deposit, with the rest being payable once the home is completed. There are no progress payments with this option, which you can use to your advantage for either renting whilst the home is being built, or saving a larger deposit for the home loan. Research your location and developer.

The most obvious, tried and test method is write a budget and stick to it. Using a Budget Planner is a great place to start.

• Family Pledge: where an immediate family members puts up their property as security against your home loan. Note: if you default on your loan, you could put their property at risk of being repossessed.
• 100% House and Land Packages: this allows you to borrow up to 100% of the purchase price of a brand new home located at a selected residential estate.

A comparison rate is a rate that all lenders by law must display next to their advertised interest rates. It is a rate which takes into account some of the fees and charges of a home loan to give you a more accurate representation of a loan’s interest rate once the costs are taken into account. A comparison rate is usually worked out using the example loan of $150,000 over 25 years. This is an overt attempt to stop lenders from advertising incredibly low interest rates that lure unsuspecting borrowers into home loans that actually cost them far more than they expected. AAPR stands for ‘Average Annual Percentage Rate’. This is very similar to a Comparison Rate and provides the true cost of your loan over time.

You purchase the land before the house is built When buying the land first you will generally have to pay a deposit of 10% of the purchase price, with the balance being payable on settlement. This way you will only pay stamp duty on the land, rather than on the construction cost of the house. In this situation, you will need two home loans – one for the land and one for the construction. Progress payments on the mortgage will need to be made at different stages of construction. You buy the house already completed on the developer’s land If you decide on this option, all you need to do is give a 5% deposit, with the rest being payable once the home is completed. There are no progress payments with this option, which you can use to your advantage for either renting whilst the home is being built, or saving a larger deposit for the home loan. Research your location and developer.

You can view and print off your Loan Application Documentation Checklist here.

Your entitlements will vary depending on:

• Which state or territory you live in
• Whether you are buying a an existing dwelling or will be building your home

Under the First Home Owner Grant (FHOG), a once-off payment of up to $7000 is payable to first home owners that satisfy all the eligibility criteria. Note: some states/territories have introduced a cap where first home buyers purchasing a property above this will not qualify to receive the grant. In NSW, this is currently $835,000. The government has established a website with all the relevant grants and schemes http://www.firsthome.gov.au/

Lender’s Mortgage Insurance, as the name states, protects the Lender not you as the borrower. Lender’s Mortgage Insurance (LMI) is a once off fee that normally applies to loans where the customer is borrowing more than 80% of the purchase price. LMI is scaled depending on the percentage you need to borrow (between 80 – 100%) and the amount of the loan (ie, $650,000). LMI can start from $800 and range up to nearly 4% of the loan amount. You have two options to pay this fee.

1. You can pay it upfront on settlement of the loan.
2. Some lenders allow you to capitalise the cost of your LMI, meaning that they will add this figure to your loan amount. For example, if you are borrowing $650,000, your LMI may work out to be $7000. You would actually increase your loan amount to now borrow $657,000 ($650,000 + $7,000).

A mortgage offset account can reduce interest on your loan. Your mortgage is linked to an account into which your salary and other cash can be deposited. You can then withdraw the funds to pay your bills. For example, if you have a loan of $300,000 and have $10,000 in your offset account, the amount of interest you pay will be calculated on only $290,000 ($300,000 – $10,000). Use these savings for another deposit instead of paying off your current mortgage. Extra Repayments/Redraw Facility You can make extra repayments and create a ‘kitty’ for times when you have unexpected expenses such as plumbing or electrical repairs or for when you’re not receiving a rental income. Some loans with this feature allow you to skip a mortgage repayment as long as you have enough funds in credit to cover that mortgage repayment.

Pre-approval is the confirmation from Mortgage House that, now that the property you wish to purchase has been valued and we have all required information from you, provided final checks are completed successfully, you can proceed with our financial backing. Conditional approval means a lender has assessed your financial situation and the estimated loan amount they propose for you could be formally approved once you find a property.

• Registration of the mortgage
• Stamp Duty on the mortgage
• Registration of transfer
• Stamp Duty on the property purchase
• Land tax