Yes, however right now you can't claim anything as you live in the property. But when you purchase your next property, you can use any offset account against that debt and reduce the interest payable.The debt against your current property ($240K) will then be tax deducatable and as it is a higher debt, you get a greater tax deductability.

The $50K will give you leverage, no doubt about that and can be used if you want to reduce your LVRs and the LMI you would pay. It does also buy you time for your loan repayments if things go awry.If you are turning your existing property into an IP, then the higher the debt you have against it, the higher the tax deductions you can make in the…[Read more]

Hi Ryan,Depends what is best for you – service or savings?The difference in interest rates means Homeside will save you $640 in interest and $275 in costs, which is a pretty compelling argument (although Homeside/NAB have a lower SV rate and I'd expect these rates to get back to parity with STG eventually). The $120 annual fee is for each loan you…[Read more]

Get both once off and then see which you prefer (I like API's databank pages)

You won't be able to release the full 80% as the bank will only lend up to a certain Loan to Value Ratio (LVR) against the value.Based on a 90% LVR loan for the $320K property ($288K) would free up $48K in equity and LMI would be in the range of $3,000 – $4,000 (less if you paid LMI initially and stayed with the same lender).With that $48K equity…[Read more]

As long as the investment purchase was made after July 2000 and neither you or your partner has been on title for a property you lived in, then you should be able to claim FHOG. Retrospective has been done before but best to put your case to the revenue office in your state and then you'll have the confidence to go for it.

Hi Pete,If you want to balance out your cashflow, then renting it out and finding yourself a rental could help you do this. It will also expand your opportunities as you would also be able to find areas that are performing well that you yourself may not want to live in.It also means you can pick and chose where you live yourself without getting…[Read more]

Hi Daniel,It depends what you’re after. If you want a CBD lifestyle then perhaps it might be worth a go, but if you’re after capital growth then the CBD apartment may not perform as well as other areas outside the CBD.From personal experiences (before I got educated), I bought a CBD apartment, and it hasn’t appreciated nearly as much as prope…[Read more]

If you pay Interest Only, it doesn't make a difference (if you are with the right bank) in paying it down of having the offset account.This also keeps the cash free for deposit and costs for your investment property.There are also ways to restructure your current loan to help with any investment property to ensure you use as little cash as…[Read more]

It will come down to what you want to take the refinance to (and what Lenders Mortgage Insurance you are willing to pay) and what the bank valuation comes in at. If the valuation came in at $350K and you took it up to a 90% LVR (and paid the LMI fees), you could release $70K in equity, which is enough to cover the deposit the bank has…[Read more]

Terry and Richard both have good points.It depends on what will make you feel more comfortable. Paying the loan down might give you comfort, whereas having the offset account buys you time.Consider if you paid down say $200K into the loan and had the remaining $130K in the offset account. This will give you $130K worth of cover for payments that…[Read more]