Hi Fiona.  Please don't take this the wrong way, but the FHOG is meant just for that. To help first home owners 'stuggling to save a deposit and costs' to buy their first home. There are numerous people that still cannot, or have done so in the past and never received any grant at all, and are thus now still ineligible. I would hardly think someone that has 500k plus extra funds stashed away and wants to buy an 800k property would be too put off by stamp duty – unfortunatley it is a 'tax' we are stiffed with whether we like it or not. Also, your partner has taken advantage of this before, so it is not as if you have both missed out. While I hear of people applying for loans in their own name and 'forgetting' to add on partners/children/dependants etc frequentl;y remember on the FHOG paperwork, you do have to declare if you have a spouse, and all their details too. You can be as 'creative' as you wish, but regardless of how you view doing so as far as ethics goes, if it can be proved later you had a mate/partner/spouse/defacto whatever later at the time of the property purchase, you will have a sizable debt and penalty to repay , perhaps at a time when you have no funds to do so – meaning you may in turn have to sell your house!
That said, congratulations on what you have both managed to achieve so far, and your hard work.  ….and enjoy your new home.

1. The best three ways I think are – Firstly, if you know someone personally or that you trust who recommends them from having used there services that is pretty hard to go past. . Note – that you know or trust repeated for emphasis.
Secondly, what sort of image is conveyed when you walk into their office. That should help. It can be small, but should still be smart, tidy, and have a private area to talk. Are the staff well presented? Or do they look like caryard rejects?
Thirdly, if a broker is affiliated with a franchise it may give you recourse if for some reason you are not happy, but they should have membership of the MFAA or FBAA and the COSL. Lot of initials, but you'll see that referred to somewhere in their office most likely without having to ask.

2. The deals should be the same, as most should have access to the mainstream bank and non bank lenders, and a couple of non conforming ones too. I would be very wary of any brokers pushing their own 'branded' loan products at this time, as in most case this is done because they make a heap more commission – and have you locked into them for the term of the loan – that is why they are offered. (If you want more detail just ask – won't confuse you with any more info)
I would suggest once you have a lender and loan product that has been recommended, you ask why? And then ask for who would they recommend if that lender did not exist. Then, before committing to anything, go home and check out the lenders websites, and make sure that you can compare some of the other loans, and that you have been quoted any current specials or promotional loan rates. There are plenty around at the moment. St. George and the NAB are offering some terrific deals, especailly fixed rate loans, which are hard to go past, Rams has a great variable discounted loan special, with no app fees, or other fees……and that is just three lenders!.  A 'good broker' should be up on all this stuff and more; however some just use the same couple of lenders all the time without doing much work at all  because it suits them rather than suiting you.

All the best with your plans anyway.        And you have just completed the 'broker 101' course on line!!!!

Hey Todd. I'll post more details when I am not in the process of 'winding down' via a nice cab sav and a couple of Hahns…….but LVR means 'loan to valuation ratio ' – or in other words if you are buying a $100,000 property, and borrowing $80,000 (ie you have a 20% deposit) then that would be an 80% LVR. Get the idea?  As far as using your own home to get some equity to fund a property purchase, the ideal way this would work is as follows.

OK….. your home was bought at a price of 300k. and you owe 200k as of now. You think, 'hey property values have gone up in my area, plus I've built a mighty fine shed and the missus has done a masterful job on the garden AND it is 2 years since I took the loan out. Now…you have 2 options – go to another lender and 'refinance ' at the current valuation of your home, or (may save you a bit of $$$) go to your current lender and see if you can get your property 'revalued' to access some equity. Lo and behold, they believe up until this point it is worth $300,000 full stop. Whoa – the valuation comes in at $380,000! COngrats! As long as you have enough income to 'service' the loan, you could with your current lender, now in theory apply to 'top up' your loan at the 80% LVR based on the new valuation of 380k. ie @80%LVR you could acces $304,000 , but you owe them only $200,000. So you have $104,000 (80% of valuation less what you currently owe the lender) to use as you see fit. Normally, you would 'split' your loan, and the$104,000 would be what you would use to fund deposits on some new investment property – which can be for a new seperate loan with your current lender, or with whoever you like….the world is your oyster! Of course, you will be paying interest on this money as will as your new loan – but as it was for investment  it is tax deductable – and spliting the loan like this makes it easy to keep track of for your accountant. Of course there are tweaks and variations but essentially this is how it works. Keep us posted. Cheers.  PS. This is not financial advice, just a damn great idea, and please excuse any spelling mistakes above and beyond the usual.

Hi sauber. Unless you are applying for private funding, or have a switched on bank manager with some lending authority (and there still are some around…..) this is fairly florally (the website you show there) guff for a normal investment loan in Aust. Basically, unless you are doing a lo or no doc style loan you will have to meet certain criteria, which does not matter how much of a thesis you write on a good deal. Generally, it will be a formula that works around a value representing your servicing ratio or 'left over income' after meeting all your liabilities and allowing for you and your famillies' living expenses, being offset against your income, which you will need to prove via computer generated paylslips and your most recent PAYG summary.  Then, the lender will arrive at a figure that they can lend you as a maximum. Of course, rental income (actual or estimated – confirmed by valuer and or property manager) is taken into account (usually between 70 and 80 % of this as 'income' with an investment loan. And that is that. Lenders vary slightly in their calculations and amounts allowed etc. ( for example, a lender will view your credit card limit as a libilitiy regadless of balance – however some would ignore this if you can prove you have paid the balance off in full for 3 or 6 months prior.)  All the best.

Hi Richard. 'Buyers remorse' and 'analysis paralysis' are two very real things when buying or commtitting to anything that costs a bit of money. That said, you do need to 'take the plunge' as soon as you can if you have a reasonable understanding of how basic property investment works. ie. Gearing, capital growth, initerest only loans and the purpose behind them etc. And having a goal or two helps. Got any written down? Don't have to show anyone. AND something many investors may disagree with, but I think is a genuine option in the current economic climate……..start small. No major renno's, and no 300k plus propertys. There is plenty of sub $200k (or even 150k) stuff around in our fine country still, (without buying in outback areas) and buying something like this in a reasonable area, with a tennant already in place that requires very little if any work, and is close to 'paying for itself. (ie – If rent covers your loan interest and management rates, all you have to allow for out of pocket is rates, iinsurance and repairs) it will really boost your confidence, and get you some 'runs on the board' as they say. Youll wonder what all the fuss was about ….'Trust me'…..  All the best with your 'journey'.  

Tad confusing…..I know some investors here that acutally do themselves out of money by not being up on this. Occassionally in Aust, you will see a property advertised with a rental of say $1000 PCM – meaning per calander month.  This is rregardless of how many weeks or extra days there are in a month. Whereas per week is per week regardless. This is the principal behind why paying off a homeloan per week can save money if set up correctly as well. For example, If your repayments were $10,000 per year, divide that by 12 and technically you have your real monthly repayments. Divide by 52 and you have what some lenders call your 'true' weekly repayment. Eitheer way it is the same. However……get your monthly payment and divide it by 4, and pay that amount per week, and you end up taking about 6 or 7 years of a standard 30 year loan term.
As far as the rental PCM goes, in your case to work out what you are REALLY getting per week, times the monthly amount by 12 and divide by 52…..voila.   Clear as mud? Cheers

Agreed. I/O is used by some nowadays as a bit of an 'emergency' way to manage your loan particualrly on your own home. Make the payments as if they are principal and interest, (ie, pay a bit extra in each wwek/month etc) but if things get tight or you have some unforseen expenses, you can make I/O payments while going through this.
As far as making extra repayments go, absolutely BUT if the loan is/was a fixed interest rate I/O loan you may not be alble to, or you will have a maximum amount you are allowed to without penalty. 
 

Hi Erica. Richard has covered the logistics – you will both have to agree on the amount though. I know in NSW (I would imagine elsewhere too) stamp duty is not payable agaiin on a court/legal ordered divorce settlement when transferring property. From your end I hope you reach an agreemnt amicably on how much is involved as 'walkaway' price. Half of the property value? Half of the equity? Or  somehwere in between. Hope it all works out ok…..and may I also say 'welcome to the forum' Erica.

No worries Jon – and no – one should be 'blasting' someone with your obvious experience. …you are entitled to your opinion for sure. True, some on the forum have some strong opinions (i could word that differently too thats for sure…)  with finance, gearing pros and cons, structuring etc, but don't arc up too much – I'm sure others like me would enjoy to continue benefiting from you sharing your wealth of knowledge Jon. Cheers

G

Wow Jon – you must have had a bad week selling those units to all those property investors who judging by some of your other recent posts have a major gripe with – I thought ''Jon is the sort of guy who ……genuinely cares about people" – (A Brisbane Units client)

Excuse the quote!