1. Get pre-approved Firstly – the VERY best way to make an offer on a property is to be pre-approved so you have an understanding of what the bank you’re going to go with thinks your borrowing capacity is. Your broker can help you start the pre-approval process so you can make an offer with confidence about your ability to get a loan (and then it’s mostly down […]

We’ll always recommend you schedule a pre-settlement inspection on a property you’re buying about 2-3 days prior to settlement day (sometimes closer if furnishings haven’t ben removed). You can do this by booking in with the agent you purchased from, or if you’ve purchased privately – directly with the owners of the property. What are you looking for? Well – most of the time you’re just looking for […]

You’ve just bought your new investment property – wohoo!!  You’ve worked out your rental return, you have an awesome property manager (hopefully!), wouldn’t it be great if you could have a tenant day one of you owning the property to go along with that winning combination? There’s two simple clauses your solicitor or conveyancer can help you word up and insert into your contact which can help with that: […]

In many situations when I’m working with a buyer with a low loan size and no strong need for a package option with the banks  – I’ll often recommend a basic home loan. The contrast to this is the package options that many banks offer that come typically with offset facilities and an annual fee – usually around $395 per year at the time of writing. If however […]

Here are some handy hints. Get your property manager sorted before you find the property. In fact, as early as you can in the process. Your property manager can be an amazing guide as to what to look for and why to avoid some properties or areas based on the type of tenant you’ll attract. A good one will talk you through the pros and cons of any […]

Sometimes the right property to buy doesn’t come up at the same time as the expiry on your current lease. Or perhaps you’re building and your build is coming to an end prior to your rental lease expiring? What to do: Talk to your property manager and give them as much notice as possible. Explain the situation to them and give them all the dates and information you […]

The very first step if you’re keen to look at borrowing to purchase property in your SMSF is a good long conversation with your accountant and or financial planner. It’s not something that’s for everyone and here’s a quick checklist to see if it might be right for you: Do you have at least $200,000 in super to establish an SMSF (ASIC recommends that no less than that […]

We get asked this very question all the time so I’ve written a few handy hints: Firstly – don’t stress yourself too much on it, we can still go to the bank with the property as your own home, ultimately it’s tenanted now but if your aim is to have those tenants move out at the end of their lease or sooner, then this is still an owner […]

When a bank assesses your ability to repay a mortgage the assessment rate it’s higher than the actual interest rate. So for example, if your home loan interest rate is 4.00% the bank may be looking to see if you can repay 7.25% or even 8%!  Now what that means for the bank, is that they are being conservative and also allowing for interest rates to rise (which […]

When you’re buying property from a family member, there are times when you might be getting it for a lower than market price. Ahh”¦ family! This can be really helpful for you if you deal with a broker who gives you the rundown on what a “favourable purchase” means and which banks will consider this. Let’s take my clients from a few years ago – let’s call them […]