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Learn more about how to manage your personal finances with RateCity's home loan articles, including how-to-guides on comparing home loan interest rates, fees, features and other benefits.

Jodie Humphries

Personal Finance Editor

What are commercial mortgage rates?

If you need funds for your business and own a property that you can offer as security, you may be able to take out a commercial mortgage. Find out what commercial mortgage rates you may be offered.

Home Loans

29 Jul, 2021

3 min read

Alex Ritchie

Personal Finance Editor

Can I get a mortgage five times my salary?

Depending on your income, expenses, and the property you want to buy, you may be able to get a mortgage one, five, or even ten times your salary. But just because you have a high income, it doesn’t mean you’ll be approved for a loan.

Home Loans

29 Jul, 2021

4 min read

Can I get a mortgage five times my salary?

Alex Ritchie

Personal Finance Editor

Lending criteria and you: how your job affects a loan

Whether you’re in the market for a new vehicle, need to pay for your wedding or are planning on purchasing property, it’s important to note that your job plays a significant role in your chances of being approved for a loan.

Home Loans

28 Jul, 2021

4 min read

Lending criteria and you: how your job affects a loan

Mark Bristow

Personal Finance Editor

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.

Home Loans

27 Jul, 2021

5 min read

Jodie Humphries

Personal Finance Editor

What are the alternatives to reverse mortgages in Australia?

As a retired Aussie, you might be considering a reverse mortgage. A reverse mortgage can be used to meet expenses after retirement by tapping into the equity in your home.

Home Loans

27 Jul, 2021

3 min read

What are the alternatives to reverse mortgages in Australia?

Mark Bristow

Personal Finance Editor

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.

Home Loans

26 Jul, 2021

5 min read

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

Mark Bristow

Personal Finance Editor

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.

Home Loans

24 Jul, 2021

3 min read

How fast can you get a home equity loan?

Jodie Humphries

Personal Finance Editor

Finding suitable mortgage lenders for discharged bankrupts

Getting a loan as a discharged bankrupt is possible, but you may need to look for a specialist lender. Learn about the process and mortgage companies that deal with bankruptcies.

Home Loans

23 Jul, 2021

4 min read

Finding suitable mortgage lenders for discharged bankrupts

Alex Ritchie

Personal Finance Editor

Can you get a home loan without a deposit?

There may be options to get a home loan with zero deposit or even borrow 100% of a home loan without a guarantor. Let’s explore how to get a home loan with little to no deposit.

Home Loans

23 Jul, 2021

5 min read

Can you get a home loan without a deposit?

Mark Bristow

Personal Finance Editor

Is it safe to get a home loan online?

If you’ve never applied for a home loan online before, it’s easy to feel nervous about the prospect of making a major financial commitment by clicking a mouse or tapping a smartphone. But there are benefits to online home loans, which are often much safer than you may expect.

Home Loans

22 Jul, 2021

4 min read

Alex Ritchie

Personal Finance Editor

Calculating your home loan based on rental payments

Your rental payments, or lack of, make up a key component of how a lender will assess your borrowing power for your home loan. Let’s explore how you may be able to determine how much you can borrow for a home loan based on your rental payments and current living situation.

Home Loans

19 Jul, 2021

7 min read

Calculating your home loan based on rental payments

RateCity

Online mortgage lenders offering rock-bottom rates

Aussies are looking beyond big banks and turning to online lenders to save thousands on their mortgages. RateCity’s database shows that on average, online-only lenders offer lower owner-occupier home loan rates (paying principal and interest) than the big four banks.

Home Loans

18 Jul, 2021

1 min read