More than half of Australian house hunters spend the same amount of time inspecting a property as they do watching an episode on Netflix, according to new research. We get it. You see a house you like and you immediately want to buy it, warts and all. But take a breath, as FOMO can be costly – with a third of recent purchasers admitting to “buyers regret”. Not doing your due diligence on a property can also have implications when applying for finance if the lender’s valuation

We’ve all been guilty of the odd credit card mix-up from time to time – it happens! But if you’re consistently relying on a personal credit card to pay your business expenses – like 4-in-10 SME owners – then it’s probably time to explore other funding options. The past 18 months have been tough for a lot of businesses around the country – I’m sure you don’t need us to remind you of that. As such, 2-in-3 businesses (66.1%) are trying new funding options to help them build thei

Are the days of ultra-low fixed interest rates over? It’s looking increasingly so, with two major banks increasing their fixed rates this week. So if you’ve been thinking about fixing your mortgage lately, it could be time to consider doing so. Do you know how when one tectonic plate shifts, others around it soon follow? Well, in the past week, the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) and then Westpac hiked the interest rates on their 2-, 3-, 4- and 5-year fixed-rate home loans by 0.1% (f

Almost 33,000 Australians bought their first home four years sooner thanks to two federal government schemes that give first home buyers a leg up into the property market. Could you, or someone you know, be eligible? We love a feel-good news story around here. And hearing that so many first home buyers got a leg up into the property market much sooner than they ever dreamed makes us feel pretty warm and fuzzy. This week the federal government released figures on the popular F

While many SME owners worry about their access to finance, a surge of new lenders and products is rapidly expanding the options available. And brokers have an important role to play for businesses, says the Productivity Commission. Changes to lending markets over the past decade mean there’s now a wide range of business finance options that don’t require property as security, according to a new report by the Productivity Commission. However, a lack of awareness of these new f

Some borrowers will soon find it harder to get a mortgage after the banking regulator announced tougher serviceability tests for home loans. So who will they impact most? The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) will increase the minimum interest rate buffer it expects banks to use when assessing the serviceability of home loan applications from 2.5% to 3% from the end of October. This means that banks will have to test whether new borrowers would still be able t