Mortgage broking articles & tips

When is the RIGHT Time to buy your First Home?

In the November issue of Money Magazine I contributed to an article written by Maria Bekiaris on the 10 Home Buyer Traps, which was all about the pitfalls waiting for home buyers to avoid costly mistakes. (It’s a great article by Maria, so get the November issue of Money). The article got me thinking about the first homer buyers and how I ofte...

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The Impact of Leverage

In earlier articles in this series, we have been discussing the “inputs” that will be required for an Investment Strategy talking about the different ways that money, time and knowledge will be required to plan, implement and manage an Investment Strategy and their impacts on the outcome of that strategy.  In the previous article, we discussed...

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What does AFL, NRL and Mortgages Have in Common?

We love our sports; all the competitiveness and excitement that comes with it.  Have you ever wondered if the same spirit of sportsmanship also applies to scoring a good mortgage? Over the weekend we have seen the two major sporting codes Grand Finals.  These sporting contests are all about making ground on your opposition and putting scoreboa...

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Property Panel – Fixing your Interest Rates

Fixed interest rate and variable interest rate is another one a common debate points when choosing a mortgage loan. Sometimes, a fixed interest rate can be quite an advantage but on other times, it may be the cause of a difficult financial position. In this session of Melbourne Property TV (MPTV) Panel, Ben Kingsley and the panel discuss about the ...

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RBA Rates Decision – October 2012

The RBA has reduced the cash rate at its October Board Meeting by 0.25%.  This brings the cash rate down to 3.25%. Most market analysts were split 50/50 on this decision to reduce rates, but for an economy that is definitely showing signs of slowing, it comes as welcome news to a mortgage holder. How welcome that news is will be left i...

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RBA Rates Decision – September 2012

The RBA today decided to keep the official cash rate at 3.5%, which was in line with economists and market expectations.  This decision was most likely made without the full impacts of several key data releases yesterday being fully assessed, but which point to a further slowing in the Australian economy. Here is a summary of some of the data, ...

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Who do you turn to for those big financial decisions in life?

The landscape is changing in the financial services space. Financial planners are moving away, due to government intervention, from commission based selling and accountants are now held more accountable for taxation returns they help produce and submit to the Australia Taxation Office and Mortgage Brokers have been licensed for a reasonable period ...

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Investment Loan Structure

Most Property Investors realise that debt plays a part in operating most investment properties.  Furthermore, those sophisticated investors who learn that ‘sensible’ leverage or borrowings can accelerate their potential investment returns, take an active approach in better understanding finance and finance structuring through working with prof...

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RBA Rates Decision – August 2012

The RBA board met today at their August Board Meeting and decided to leave the cash rate at the current level – 3.5%.  Even though the recent inflation data released indicates that inflation is no problem at all.  In fact, it is currently sitting under the target range of 2-3%, which could have given them justification for a further rate cut th...

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Should you be looking at your Home Loan in Isolation?

Do you want someone to help you pick a home loan (Mortgage Broker) or do you want to seek financial advice when it comes to "crucial financial arrangements" by having the guidance of a Finance Advisor? So you have decided to either buy your first home, your next property or to refinance because you want a better deal or you have plans to do some...

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Alternative to the Big Four Banks

Ben Kingsley, CEO and Founder of Empower Wealth on Melbourne Property TV (MPTV) Panel speaking about the alternative to Big Four Banks, getting the best home loan, ways to deal with mortgage brokers and more. More often than not, property buyers would automatically turn to the Big 4 Banks (CBA, Westpac, ANZ and NAB) when they are looking to borrow ...

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Buying Your Next Home

When buying your next property, your thought process will consider many pros and cons. A bigger property may accommodate a growing family or provide more space for your needs. A smaller property can be less maintenance and accommodate a shrinking family as the young ones leave home over time. Maybe location and ease of access become more importa...

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RBA Rates Decision – July 2012

Welcoming in the new financial year and after two rate movements in recent times reflecting a total of 75 basis points the RBA is now at the point of sitting on its hands to see the impact of its monetary policy, especially following the recent ‘surprise’ GDP figure showing the economy growing at 4.3% p.a which caught most analysts out. We a...

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