Will they or won’t they? An Interest Rate Story

Unless you have been stuck under the covers the last couple of weeks, you would have seen the media frenzy surrounding the financial markets roller coaster that has hit both the local and international market.

This in turn has led to a lot of speculation on whether the RBA “will or won’t” drop the cash rate in their next meeting to counter the confidence levels in the industry at the moment (they next on 5th September). As many know, any drop in the cash rate generally means lenders passing on the discounted rate to a consumer (which is what every property owner wants!).

I do find it quite interesting considering just a couple of months back, a lot of analysts estimated several rate hikes by the end of the year – but I guess that’s the whole nature of guestimates.

Based on the current market, I do think it’s fair to say there won’t be any rate hikes in the short-mid term – or as many economists believe in the foreseeable future.

Regardless, you can form your own opinion – but my advice is to keep at paying off your existing mortgages and working to build your investment portfolio as best you know how. There is nothing you can do to control the market anyway, but you certainly can manage your own portfolio for long term growth.

Need a Home? It’s Time to go Shopping!

I have pulled together my July Top Tips for you to keep in mind when you go out shopping for your home:

  • Be a Smart Buyer

Need some tips for shopping for a home?An informed buyer is a smart one. There are numerous resources available to you through the internet. Realestate, Domain, RPData and even the ABS are fantastic sources of information on the property or area you are looking to buy in.Know

  • What You Can Offer

There is no greater feeling than finding the house of your dreams after you have been shopping around for months (or what might feel like years!). You put your offer down, and it has been accepted by the vendor! and now you just need to sort out the finance.. right? To avoid the horrible feeling that you have overestimated your spending capability and won’t get approved by a bank for what you offered to pay – make sure you find out your borrowing capacity and obtain pre-approval before you offer.

  • Get Your Inspections Sorted

This might sound simple, but it still surprises me that many people don’t get (at least) a pest and building inspection done on a property. Most buyers would spend several hundred dollars getting a 10 thousand dollar car inspected – so why wouldn’t you do the same with a purchase worth hundreds of thousands? It’s always better to know what you are in for – than find out the hard

  • Know Your Settlement Date

I feel a little silly putting this tip in – but problems occur from this too often for me not to. Especially if you are moving out and need to leave your own home as a vacant possession – you need to plan for when you are able to move in or make final payment. It’s equally important to note the date on the contract of sale specifies a number of “days” till settlement. One common mistake is to think this is from the end of the cooling off period – but it’s actually from the day both parties signed/exchange.

  • Do your final walk through

Pretty straight forward – but I recommend you make sure this happens. There may be something you missed or you notice a contract inclusion that isn’t physically there anymore.

It was fantastically simple

John managed the investment structure for my recent refinance and was able to help me extract the maximum equity in my property without it costing me a cent. It was fantastically simple. Not only has the change saved me money, but it has set me up for purchasing another property much sooner than I realised possible!

 

The post settlement support was also great – John went out of his way to help me sort out an issue in dealing with my old lender, which saved me over 4k in unrealised and overcharged fees!

 

Thanks John!

 

Ramesh Bhardwaj, North St Mary’s NSW

Mortgage Matters is AMAZING!

“Mortgage Matters is AMAZING! John’s knowledge and expertise is second to none. He helped my wife and I obtain our first home loan with ease and assurance. He was with us every step of the way and was there to answer all questions however simple or complex. I will definitely be using Mortgage Matters again when looking for our next property and already have referred friends and family.”

 

Bryson Mohan, Merrylands NSW