Home Loan Guides and Mortgage Tips
Plain-English guides to buying, refinancing and investing in property, from our Melbourne mortgage brokers. Browse by topic or start with the latest articles.
Featured guide
How Much of Your Income Should Your Mortgage Be?
Learn how much of your income may go toward a mortgage in Australia. This guide explains common affordability rules, debt-to-income ratios, mortgage stress, and how lenders typically assess borrowing capacity.
Read the guide →: How Much of Your Income Should Your Mortgage Be?Latest articles
What Happens to Your Home Loan When Settlement Is Delayed?
No mortgage interest accrues until settlement, but a long delay can lapse an approval, rate lock or valuation and trigger a reassessment.…
Buying At Auction: How to Arrange Finance Before You Bid
A Victorian auction contract has no cooling-off period and usually no finance clause, so the loan needs to be checked before the…
How Lenders Assess Partnership Income and Bonuses for Lawyers
Lenders typically count base salary in full but discount bonuses by at least 20%, and many want two consecutive bonuses before counting…
Getting a Home Loan While on Parental Leave
Many lenders may assess the salary you return to instead of your leave pay, provided a return-to-work letter confirms your date, hours…
Cross-Collateralisation Explained for Property Investors
Cross-collateralisation means one lender holds two or more of your properties as security, so your home can end up backing your investment…
Can You Transfer Your Mortgage to Another Property?
Portability, also called substitution of security, lets you keep your existing loan and swap the property it is secured against, provided your…
Conveyancing Fees in Victoria: A Home Buyer’s Cost Guide
Conveyancing fees in Victoria can include professional charges, searches, certificates, registration fees, electronic conveyancing costs and work outside the original quote. Shern…
Bank Valuation Lower Than the Purchase Price: Your Options
Lenders fund a purchase against the lower of the price and the valuation, so a low figure trims your loan and lifts…
Relocation Loans: How to Buy a Home When Moving Interstate
‘Relocation home loans’ name a situation, not a single product; buying interstate usually pairs a standard home loan with short-term bridging finance…