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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.

Laine Gordon

Money Editor

Getting match fit: how to prepare for a mortgage

Buying your first home can be an exciting but also nerve-racking experience. Traipsing from home inspections to auctions can be time-consuming and traumatising, bank-speak can be mind-boggling and the paper work seems endless.

Home Loans

06 Oct, 2011

3 min read

Getting match fit how to prepare for a mortgage

Laine Gordon

Money Editor

Need a mortgage? Think beyond the big banks

Sometimes the question comes up: “are you better off getting a home loan from a bank or a non-bank?” The answer is that it doesn’t really matter as both are perfectly viable options. The key issue is shopping around to find the lender who provides the best mortgage for your circumstances.

Home Loans

27 Sep, 2011

3 min read

Need a mortgage? Think beyond the big banks

Laine Gordon

Money Editor

First home buyers back in the game?

First home buyers are still showing signs of caution this year making up just 15.5 percent of all borrowers on average for the 12 months to July 2011, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics numbers.

Home Loans

22 Sep, 2011

3 min read

Laine Gordon

Money Editor

How to tailor a home loan for you

If you’re in the market for a home loan and unsatisfied with the standard offering, don’t despair – some lenders provide customised home loans.

Home Loans

14 Sep, 2011

3 min read

Laine Gordon

Money Editor

Are you ready for the next interest rate rise?

It’s nine months since the last interest rate rise by the Reserve Bank and while opinions vary on the timing of the next upward swing, one thing is certain – interest rates cannot remain at historically low levels.

Home Loans

14 Sep, 2011

3 min read

Are you ready for the next interest rate rise?

Jodie Humphries

Personal Finance Editor

How you can compare home loans to save

The elusive “cheapest mortgage” spurs home loan hunters to scramble the market for weeks before settling on a good deal. But while it’s easy to compare interest rates, few learn what it really takes to find the cheapest mortgage until they’re paying more than they have to.

Home Loans

12 Sep, 2011

2 min read

Laine Gordon

Money Editor

The age old question: to rent or buy?

It seems like a perennial debate, but for many Australians surrounded by financial and economic uncertainty, the decision about whether to rent or buy a home has arguably never been more relevant.

Home Loans

12 Sep, 2011

3 min read

Laine Gordon

Money Editor

How to spot a dodgy home loan

Dodgy deals, misleading ads, and fake companies are just some of the landmines in the home loans market. To keep yourself safe from stress and scandals, here are some common symptoms of bad lending for the savvy borrower.

Home Loans

07 Sep, 2011

3 min read

Laine Gordon

Money Editor

The biggest purchase you'll ever make

There are no 'secrets' to buying a house or affording a mortgage, rather following simple principles for money management should see you through the biggest financial commitment of your life.

Home Loans

05 Sep, 2011

3 min read

Laine Gordon

Money Editor

Is fixing your home loan your best bet?

Lenders have started competing aggressively in the fixed home loan market by dropping rates, and it seems to be working.

Home Loans

05 Sep, 2011

3 min read

Laine Gordon

Money Editor

Saving for a home easier now than five years ago

Average Australians face a better prospect of saving for a first home now compared to five years ago and especially two years ago, new research has shown.

Home Loans

22 Aug, 2011

3 min read

Saving for a home easier now than five years ago

Laine Gordon

Money Editor

Are you ready for mortgage season?

It's only one week until spring and that means neighbourhoods across the country will be dotted with 'open house' signs every weekend. Thanks to steady house prices nationwide, it's a buyer's market.

Home Loans

12 Aug, 2011

3 min read