Want my opinion”¦. There’s only one good way to have a credit card. That is to only have one, if you actually don’t need to have one. Stick with me. I know it seems a bit counterintuitive.

You find a property you love, you sign a contract, your awesome mortgage broker gets your finance approved and in your head your home and hosed… BUT… your building inspection comes back and it’s not great.

We get asked that question so often as brokers and there’s not a simple blanket answer that fits. First of all – that amount will vary as a percentage of the price of what you want to pay based on whether you’re going to live in the property or buy as an investment. That’s question number 1. For the purposes of this article – let’s imagine you’re buying a property to live in. For further simplicity, let’s say it’s your first home (this is the when we’re most often asked this question).

As real estate markets heat up (as is happening in Tassie right now) buyers find themselves in multiple offer situations more and more often. It can make the already stressful situation of buying a home (especially if it’s your first!) that little more nerve wracking. Given that, we thought this handy list might give you some guidance on some options for a multiple offer situation and hopefully some innovative ways to make your offer stand above the rest.

Not to confuse it with debt elimination.
If you’re swamped with credit card debt and personal loans, it can sometimes help to talk to a professional about debt consolidation. However, you need to be wary. You might end up paying more in the long term and/or reduce the equity in your home.

One reason you have a broker – is for their advice. We work with banks all day every day and we know which ones are running fast and which ones are running slowly with their approval time frames. As much as we’d always like to put you with a faster bank – we also want to find you one that will suit your needs, approve your loan and offer you a great rate to suit. There’s a lot to consider!

Ideally – you should gather up:  – your last 2 x pay slips (last 2 years personal and business returns if you’re self employed – 1 year if that’s all you have)  – your driver’s license and then have a good understanding of what your current debt situation is:  – what are the limits on your credit cards (yes, even ones you don’t use like that interest free […]

Hundreds. The key is finding the right one for you.

Not sure what an offset account is? Kirsty does her best to explain.

Saving for a home loan or mortgage isn’t glamorous but it has to be done (unless you have a large non repayable gift or have the option of using equity in a direct relative’s home). So here are some savings tips for first home buyers to help get you into the property market.