How do you increase your borrowing power with the banks?

How to go from renter to owner

Aggressive back to back rate rises by the RBA have put a lot of would-be investors in a much different position than they were back in April this year. While rents have been rising and some property prices have begun to fall, presenting investors with some opportunity to build wealth and bring in strong cashflow, […]

RBA Cash Rate Announcement – October 2022

RBA rate announcement - October 2022

The RBA has hiked the cash rate again in October, though this time it took the foot of the throttle slightly and hiked by 25 basis points instead of 50, to now sit at 2.6%. Many analysts had been anticipating the full 50 point rise, especially on the back of the latest inflation figures, so […]

RBA Cash Rate Announcement – September 2022

RBA Cash Rate Announcement - September 2022

Variable rate mortgage holders are in for more pain after the RBA raised the cash rate by another 50 basis points at its September meeting today. The cash rate now sits at 2.35%, which is its highest level since the beginning of 2015. RBA Governor Philip Lowe said that the outlook for global economic growth […]

Should You Fix Your Home Loan Now?

Should you fix your home loan now?

Rising interest rates have put borrowers on notice this year, after the RBA began hiking the cash rate by 50 basis points a month, following close to 12 years without a single increase. Before this, a lot of people were happy paying variable rates on their mortgage because they were at historic lows, meaning less […]

RBA’s April 2022 decision

RBA April

The RBA opted to hold the official cash rate at 0.1% at today’s monthly meeting, which came as little surprise as Australia waits for an election to be called. However, the central bank boss again flagged that changing economic conditions could see an interest rate hike in the near future. “Inflation has increased sharply in […]

Settlement & beyond

Settlement & beyond

First time investors often sign on to a loan to purchase a property, without realising they are hampering their future investment opportunities. Later on, they realise they have made fast equity and want to withdraw some for their next investment, but find they can’t because their mortgage broker has signed them onto a deal which […]

RBA’s First Meeting of 2022

RBA's first meeting

The RBA board voted to leave the official cash rate on hold today, at its first meeting for the year. The decision failed to surprise experts, though a growing number of economists are firming in the belief that the central bank will be forced to hike rates at least once this year; well earlier than […]

The Lending Year That Was In 2021

The lending year that was in 2021

The lending year that was in 2021 2021 was another crazy year in every sense of the word. Of course there was the pandemic, which put a stamp on us all for the second year running, with the Delta variant first becoming the dominant strain of Covid, followed by Omicron at the end of the […]

Buying Properties In 2022 – Get Organised

Buying in 2022 - get organised

Here we are at the pointy end of the year already. And 2021 was a crazy one. Just as people spent the year going in and out of lockdowns, worrying about vaccines and facing financial uncertainty, property markets boomed all around the country. If you were looking to buy, the year may have gotten away […]

What The New APRA Restrictions Mean

What The New APRA Restrictions Mean

This week the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) intervened in the property market by tightening some of its rules around borrowing and loan serviceability. APRA wrote to banks and told them they had until the end of this month to increase the rates at which they calculate a borrower’s servicing power from 2.5% to 3%. […]