Why?  The publisher has to hire the skills of web designers, pay for webpage hosting and such.  So why should they give you access to the product for free?

I used Aussie once – won't ever do it again.  The broker actually had a clue about structures and in the end I got an appropriate loan for my needs.  However the guy was constantly missing in action at all the crucial points of the loan application process.  He'd vanish for days… not return calls or emails… and of course the bank would not talk to me directly about my loan application because it went through a broker… so as the bank told me, I had to talk to my broker.  Highly irritating and could easily have caused me to miss the target on the finance clause on my contract of sale.  More concerning to me was that his manager didn't seem to understand the severity of the issue.

Hi Richard

Indeed !!   

Jac

Hi waydo

It will save you a week or so in approval time after you find the property… but hey, three weeks, four weeks… I think agents are getting used to the fact it now takes 28 days or so to secure finance.  I think so long as your broker has done some calculations for you on how much you can reasonably expect to borrow, and is solid in his/her confidence on getting you finance with a particular lender, you ought to be fine.

For my next purchase, I'm really hoping for a particular kind of property.  But if a different kind comes along in the meantime so be it.  The lender that my broker will approach will depend on the kind of property I want to buy, so there is little point in arranging pre-approval.  For instance, some lenders would not touch small apartments, others will.  Just using this as an example. 

Um… why would you bother applying for a loan if you didn't want it?  you know the terms up front so what is the issue?

Alright then.  If you repay your loan then it is possibly because you have come into a giant pile of money, in which case the broker fee is irrelevant.  Otherwise, why would you pay off a loan?  Interest only loans with offset accounts.  That is the way forward.  Heaps of threads on this.  Read up on it.

If you refinance the loan within 2 years it will be for one of two reasons.  One: because you have found a better deal, in which case part of the savings in the refinance deal will pay for the broker fee anyway.  Or two:  because the property has gone up in value (that is known as free money by the way) and you are pulling out the free money.  You can use a small portion of this free money to pay the broker.

You are engaging the use of the broker for a reason.  They know which lender to approach for people with your situation, to give the best likelihood of a loan approval.  Choose not to use the broker if you like.  Maybe you will approach the wrong lender and get rejected.  This will go on your credit file and last a few years.  Then try and get an approval from another lender and see how badly that goes with a rejection stamp on your file. And watch how many tens of thousands of dollars the properties go up in value while you are trying to save yourself a few hundred bucks….

The broker fee is just a cost of doing business.  And anyway, if you are applying for a loan it is because you want one and will accept the loan offer. Thus the bank will pay the broker fee. Non issue for you.

If you are looking to rent the place out, you need to be quite solid in your understanding of whether the local market demands furnished accommodation.  If not you might find it tough to get a tenant, or indeed get tenants of the short term variety.

I still think $18k is a lot of cash for furniture… have you compared it to what it would set you back to buy package deals from a furniture shop yourself?

I might as well weigh in on this one too.

My thoughts on houses are:

I am not a big fan of a large backyard if it does not earn its keep.  Do I really want to pay bank interest on a bigger mortgage for a backyard that does not earn extra rent?  No.  However if the backyard is a wee bit bigger and could accommodate the construction of an additional dwelling, well that's a different story.

Always remember with units to factor in body corporate fees – how much are they, and are they likely to get hiked up a lot for no real reason?  Also factor in your personality… if you are not into sharing and having a meeting with others about whether or not you are allowed to paint your own fence, then perhaps a property in a body corporate is not for you.

There is no way that I would pay half a week's rent for lease renewal.  $50 at most.  And once you have a couple of properties with them, negotiate it to zero.  Remember that all a lease renewal is, is a phonecall to the tenant from the agent asking if they want to renew, and posting them a renewal notice.  That's not half a week's rent money worth of effort.

Two weeks letting fee is a lot.  I'd be aiming for 1 week – payable only if they find you a suitable tenant.  On the other hand this is sort of offset by the lower management fee.

You also want to be sure they are using TICA database to check up on tenant's background, and not charging you per search.

Hi Victoria

Terryw and Qlds007  are very knowledgeable chaps.  If you do a search of all other posts they've made on the forum you'll be overwhelmed with a wealth of knowledge.  Listen to these two carefully.  They know their stuff.

Best of luck!

  Great advice!  Some people will have some ideas you like and some you don't.  Pick and choose from everyone's ideas and assemble a set of ideas you are comfortable with