Home Loans

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  amjadiqbalmd on 03/04/2014 - 11:39

  And also please advise if i should go for new home, if yes then should i look for land and home packages or already built homes? Kindly advise. Thanks

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  SavatteDodo on 03/04/2014 - 11:57

  This post gonna be interesting. Thanks for creating it.

  • 

    lolmao on 03/04/2014 - 12:40

    is going to be

    • 

      SavatteDodo on 03/04/2014 - 12:44

      FYI http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/gonna

      • 

        lolmao on 03/04/2014 - 12:44

        is gonna

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        SavatteDodo on 03/04/2014 - 12:47

        +1

        lol

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  battler on 03/04/2014 - 12:28

  +1

  Why go a bank? Other institutions (example only: loans.com.au) will give a much better rate.

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  Evil-Elmo on 03/04/2014 - 15:40

  +1

  I'd suggest getting a mortgage broker (e.g. Aussie) to give you an idea of what options are around. You're under no obligation to get a loan from them.

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  mini2 on 03/04/2014 - 16:58

  Speak to a broker - there are different ways of going around >80% LVR without LMI so don't be so fixated on that.

  • 

    Cheshire Cat on 05/04/2014 - 19:23

    Besides a guarantor and their equity how do you? (That's how we have always avoided it so curious about other options)

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      ShannonIngram on 05/04/2014 - 20:07

      +1

      There are some lenders out there that will go to 85% with no LMI. Also there are other lenders who will give a $20,000 credit card (at home loan rates) as part of the loan package, but that doesn't count against the LVR. Lot's of options (usually with higher rates), just need to know the costs of each of them to work out what is best for you.

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  backpaqer on 04/04/2014 - 08:51

  +2

  Probably best to find what house you want first and then figure out how much money you need. If you're new to this country, my advice is to find an inner-urban apartment/flat/unit/townhouse in a suburb as close to the CBD as you can afford. I'm not familiar with this market so can't give you any clues as to what will be the best choice - but if I was looking, I'd be trying Thornbury/Fitzroy/Northcote/Clifton Hill/Abbotsford…maybe even Footscray/West Melbourne/North Melbourne.

  If you work on staying inner-city then you're pretty much where the action is and you're then not stuck out in the boonies and at the mercy of expensive and time consuming public transport or car-clogged roads (which adds a massive hidden costs to your cheap housing).

  One piece of advice I'd heard and agree with is to rent a place first and live in the area…it's cheaper if you decide you don't like living in that area and need to move later.

  I work for the NAB, have a CBA mortgage…I'll provide my general unqualified non-financial advice that, yes, I agree with the guys above and speak with a broker. You can focus on comparison rates and they take most of the confusion out of what the industry tries to do with mortgages…generally, use those and then decide how much service you'd like with that mortgage. UBank has some pretty good rates (disclaimer: owned by NAB…people I work for)…but I've been with CBA for a long time and they've treated me pretty well and value me as a good customer - I've tried switching to a NAB staff loan, but CBA match the rate so I stay with them (provides greater stability if I left/get made redundant from NAB). Features - Banks will provide lots of ancillary services like offset accounts, linked accounts, internet banking (non-banks can do this too), credit cards, 24/7 phone contact centres…non-bank mortgages keep it pretty simple, you borrow money, you pay it back, they charge you interest and hopefully for that the rates are kept to a minimum.

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  pauldegab on 06/04/2014 - 12:13

  +1

  I'd probably say somewhere in the inner west like Footscray, though for 400k, you're probably going to need to look further out than that, so maybe Braybrook or Maidstone.

  I'm with MyRate and can't complain about them. Been with them since 2010 and they always tried their hardest to assist me when I was going through a rough time back then. No fees on their loans at all as far as I know, including redraws. Fairly low interest rate of just over 5% I think too. The only downside is that they are an internet lender, so there are no branches to walk into but they do have good telephone support.

  As always, do your own research but if you do go through them, let me know as they do have a referral bonus.

  http://www.myrate.com.au/

  • 

    backpaqer on 07/04/2014 - 09:11

    +1

    Good point…hopefully you never need hardship assistance, and I've not needed it myself. But I can imagine that banks might possibly (can't confirm from any personal knowledge or experience) that they could be a little on the impersonal side. However, I have worked closely with the collections team here and they are a great bunch of people who really take the time to understand each case and work with the borrowers (good communication on the borrower's part is the key here…if you clam up when the going gets tough…it makes it hard to help).

    A lot of people end up living near where they grew up because it feels safe and familiar and easy. If you're in a new city and you don't know where anything is…I'd recommend renting for a year first, something mid-range that allows you to continue growing your savings while you get a feel for the city. Take up geocaching as a hobby and you will explore widely and meet nice and interesting people and get a better feel for the town than many locals ever will.