What type of home loan is best for a first home buyer?

Because every first home buyer is in a different financial situation and has different personal goals, the best home loan option for each borrower will be different. Understanding some mortgage features and benefits that are popular with first home buyers can help you compare home loans and find a deal that best suits your needs.

Can you deposit cash in your home loan account?

Many banks and other mortgage lenders will let you make extra repayments onto a home loan. Depositing your extra cash into your mortgage like this can help to lower your loan principal, reducing your interest charges and bringing you closer to exiting the loan early. However, it’s not always easy to take this cash back out of your mortgage again in a hurry, unless your home loan has a redraw facility.

Some of the best home loans in August 2021

With lockdowns in parts of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland, banks large and small have been extending relief packages to affected home loan customers, offering mortgage repayment deferrals and more.

Citi enters Buy Now Pay Later race with Spot

Citi Australia has announced its new Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) product Spot, to be available from October for use anywhere Mastercard is accepted; online, in-store, overseas and in Australia.

Do you need a bank account to get a home loan?

To get a home loan, you’ll need a bank account in order to manage the repayments. However, you aren’t required to bank with the same financial institution that holds your mortgage.

What happens to my super if I’m a temporary resident working in Australia?

Working in Australia means a percentage of your wage or salary must be put aside in a superannuation fund. But what happens if you’re only working in Australia on a temporary basis? Will you be unable to access this money until you retire, or can you access your super early?

What factors go into a home appraisal?

Before you get ready to sell your home or investment property, you may want to work out what kind of sale price you can expect. Whether you’re planning to use the money from the sale to fund your next property purchase, or if you have some other project in mind, appraising your property’s value before you sell can help you start planning your budget in advance.

What to do if the house valuation is less than your offer

Getting a home loan preapproval doesn’t mean your mortgage is automatically guaranteed. Many lenders preapprove home loan applications on the condition that the value of the property being bought is enough to secure the loan. If the lender’s valuation comes back short of the price you’ve offered to pay, you could be left in a difficult financial position, though there are steps you can take to try and recover.

CommBank releases Green Loan to mortgage holders nationwide

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has made its Green Loan available to all of its eligible home loan customers nationally.

How fast can you get a home equity loan?

To get a home equity loan, you’ll first need to get some equity in your property. While it will likely take some time to build up your equity, you may find that you have more equity available than you realise, which could help things go faster.