Your decision will usually depend on which option is more cost effective. You may wish to renovate because you love your neighbourhood and your chosen school. Yet, you don’t want to put so much money into a renovation for fear of over capitalisation. Moving to a new location brings its own set of issues. Best to consult with a professional property consultant.

This might be the first question you should ask yourself. You may live in a heritage listed property, requiring council approval before you can make any improvements. An architect or builder can help you determine if you can make the changes, you’ve been dreaming about.

This is best left to the professionals. Depending upon the extent of the changes you’d like to make to your home, you should consult with an architect, a reputable builder and your mortgage broker. Most importantly, determine what your budget will be before doing anything else. They can help you estimate the renovation cost per square meter for homes in your area.

Our Construction loan allows you to make interest-only mortgage payments for your land purchase & during construction. You will also make interest only payments during your construction. Here is how the rest of the process will look with our loan:

• We will pay your builder in draw downs, after a certain milestone of work is completed. This ensures you pay interest only on the portion of the construction loan you have advanced, not the entire loan amount.
• When your construction is complete, your construction loan will automatically become a standard variable rate home loan. Going forward you will make one payment, which will cover both principal and interest.
• You’ll have up to 12 months to complete your construction project and draw down all funds from the loan.

Equity is the difference between the market value of your home and the balance of your loan. For example, if your home is valued at $600,000 and your loan balance is $300,000, then you have $300,000 in equity. This equity can be freed up by refinancing your home loan to do a number of things, including investing in more real estate, helping someone you love become a homeowner, or renovating your property. You can only unlock equity by refinancing to another home loan.

A nice cup of coffee and two biscuits normally settles the bill. Actually, we do not charge a fee for our service.
Your mortgage broker will appreciate a nice cup of coffee and two biscuits normally works.

Low doc loans can sometimes attract higher interest rates, given the potentially higher risks to banks and lenders. While interest rates can be higher at the beginning, banks and lenders may reduce the rate once you have shown over a certain period that you are able to successfully and consistently make repayments

Low Doc stands for Low Documentation, and these loans can benefit those who don’t have access to the typical level of information banks and lenders require. If you are a business owner, freelancer or contractor, you may not be able to provide the proof of income or employment history requested. Your income may be irregular, but it may still be high and stable enough to make the required repayments. Find out more about Low Doc home loans here.

If you are self-employed, you will need to provide the following information when you apply online:

• The name of your business
• How long you have been self-employed in this business
• Whether your business is your current income
• Your net profit for the last two financial years

You may also be required to provide:

• Bank statements
• Personal Declaration stating how much you earn and whether you believe you can repay the loan
• Accountant’s letter confirming the validity of your Personal Declaration
• Business details, such as ABN number
• Business Activity Statements (BAS). If you are a small business owner, freelancer or contractor, lenders may ask for up to 12 months of BAS information, or two years of tax returns
• Guarantor – you may need to think about seeking a guarantor, or someone who will give your bank or lender a guarantee that the home loan will be repaid

Of course. We offer a broad range of home loans that cater to many different needs, including those who are self-employed.

Investment loans usually have different terms from home loans. The interest rates may be somewhat higher and the loan terms, a bit shorter. There are many variables that youÕll need to consider, including whether combining many investment or commercial loans into one may be a cost-effective option.

Positive gearing means that the income generated from the investment property is higher than the expenses. Negative gearing is the reverse: where the cost of ownership is higher than the income generated. However, in this situation, you will look for appreciation in the property’s value over time.

Advantages:

Positive Gearing

• Positive effect on your cash flow
• No out of pocket expenses in owning an investment property.

Negative Gearing

• Claiming a tax benefit on your tax return, especially beneficial if you are in a high income tax bracket.
• You may claim items such as property maintenance, land tax, depreciation etc.

Disadvantages:

Positive Gearing

• Additional tax incurred as a result of your increased income.
• Possible Capital Gains Tax you have to pay if you sell the property.

Negative Gearing

• Negative impact on your month-to-month cash flow.
• Having to service the extra debt.

As always, doing research is important: by keeping an eye on current market loans, the economic environment and your family’s needs, you can determine whether your current loan is doing right by you. You could always request a free home loan health check to see if we can offer you a better loan.

1. Once you apply online, you’ll speak with your dedicated Lending Specialist and review what home loan will be best suited to you
2. Your Lending Specialist will submit your application for approval, where you will be required to pay an application fee (depending on your loan, this may be refunded to you!)
3. We make various assessments and orders, including a credit assessment, LMI order, valuation and loan assessment
4. If your home loan and credit are approved, our legal representatives will compile the relevant legal documents and send them to you to sign
5. You will read through and sign all legal documentation, then return it to our legal representatives to review
6. Once the legal team is happy all documents are correctly signed, they’ll notify us to begin the settlement process
7. The settlement day will be booked and we will ensure everything is prepared for the big day!

Finding the loan amount you want when you are refinancing can come down to the equity you have in your existing home. If you are looking to refinance to find a lower rate or better features, then the process is relatively simple. If you are looking to borrow more money, there are a few other things to think about, most importantly, the equity in your property.

We require every applicant to pay their application fee, but some of our loans include a refund of this fee upon settlement.

• Registration of the mortgage
• Stamp Duty on the mortgage
• Registration of transfer
• Stamp Duty on the property purchase
• Land tax

Pre-approval is the confirmation from Mortgage Street that, now that the property you wish to purchase has been valued and we have all required information from you, provided final checks are completed successfully, you can proceed with our financial backing. Conditional approval means a lender has assessed your financial situation and the estimated loan amount they propose for you could be formally approved once you find a property.

Lender’s Mortgage Insurance, as the name states, protects the Lender not you as the borrower. Lender’s Mortgage Insurance (LMI) is a once off fee that normally applies to loans where the customer is borrowing more than 80% of the purchase price. LMI is scaled depending on the percentage you need to borrow (between 80 – 100%) and the amount of the loan (ie, $650,000). LMI can start from $800 and range up to nearly 4% of the loan amount. You have two options to pay this fee.

1. You can pay it upfront on settlement of the loan.
2. Some lenders allow you to capitalise the cost of your LMI, meaning that they will add this figure to your loan amount. For example, if you are borrowing $650,000, your LMI may work out to be $7000. You would actually increase your loan amount to now borrow $657,000 ($650,000 + $7,000).

Your entitlements will vary depending on:

• Which state or territory you live in
• Whether you are buying a an existing dwelling or will be building your home

Under the First Home Owner Grant (FHOG), a once-off payment of up to $7000 is payable to first home owners that satisfy all the eligibility criteria. Note: some states/territories have introduced a cap where first home buyers purchasing a property above this will not qualify to receive the grant. In NSW, this is currently $835,000. The government has established a website with all the relevant grants and schemes http://www.firsthome.gov.au/

Once you have paid at least 20% of your loan, you are able to refinance your home loan and remove your relative from your loan.

There are a few restrictions on who can be your guarantor. To help you in buying your first home, your guarantor must be:

• An Australian resident aged between 18-65
• Have strong equity in their property and a good credit rating
• Be a close family member e.g. siblings, parents or children

A close relative with enough equity in their home can pledge a percentage of the value of your new home to act as your deposit. While this means you don’t need to save for the initial lump sum or pay LMI if the guarantee is above 20%, it does mean your relative’s home is put up as collateral should you default on your loan.

Mortgage Street has construction loans allow you to borrow up to 95% of the value of the property plus additional funds to cover the total cost of Lender’s Mortgage Insurance, if required.

A bridging loan is a shorter-term loan. It is typically needed when you are selling one property and purchasing another one. It is also used when you are waiting for the arrangement of longer term financing.

Ideally, you will be able to sell your current property close to the time when you purchase a second home. Bridging loans are intended to be short term solutions to get you through that period in between buying and selling. Typically, bridging loans are six-month loans. For new construction, loans may extend to twelve months.

1. Once you apply online, you’ll speak with your dedicated Lending Specialist and review what home loan will be best suited to you
2. Your Lending Specialist will submit your application for approval, where you will be required to pay an application fee (depending on your loan, this may be refunded to you!)
3. We make various assessments and orders, including a credit assessment, LMI order, valuation and loan assessment
4. If your home loan and credit are approved, our legal representatives will compile the relevant legal documents and send them to you to sign
5. You will read through and sign all legal documentation, then return it to our legal representatives to review
6. Once the legal team is happy all documents are correctly signed, they’ll notify us to begin the settlement process
7. The settlement day will be booked and we will ensure everything is prepared for the big day!

• Passport (colour photocopy)
• Driver’s Licence (colour photocopy)
• Details of the home you wish to purchase (if you have not yet found the right property, you can choose this option in your application)
• Contact details of all applicants
• Details of income (salary, self-employed information if applicable, and all other forms of income such as government assistance, compensation or rental income)
• Details of expenses (alternatively you can securely link your bank account to save time entering the information manually)
• Details of assets (such as property, motor vehicles, home contents, shares, savings or superannuation)

No! Once you’ve applied, you will discuss your options with your Lending Specialist, who will review your requirements and explore every avenue open to you. If you want to familiarise yourself with the types of loans we offer, click here.

1. Once you apply online, you will have a chat with your dedicated Lending Specialist, where you will discuss what home loan will be best-suited to you.
2. Your Lending Specialist will submit your application for approval, where you will be required to pay the relevant application fee.
3. Our Lending Team makes various assessments and orders, including (where needed) a credit assessment, LMI order, valuation and a loan assessment.
4. If your home loan and credit are approved, our legal representatives will compile the relevant legal documents and send them to you to sign.
5. You will need to read through and sign all legal documentation, then return it to our legal representatives to review.
6. Once the legal team are happy that all documents are signed correctly, they’ll notify us to start the settlement process
7. The settlement date will be booked, and we will ensure everything is ready for the big day!

We send your loan contract, mortgage document, repayment form, certificate of witness form, borrower certificate and warranty. To learn more about the documentation required for settlement, click here.

Pre-approval is the confirmation from Mortgage Street that, now that you have had a valuation on the property you wish to purchase, and we have all required information from you, provided final checks are successful, you can proceed with making an offer with our financial backing.

Conditional approval is a confirmation from Mortgage Street that, on the basis that all required information provided is factually correct, you will be given approval subject to various conditions like successful credit checks. With conditional approval, you’ll be ready to put an offer on a property as soon as you find the perfect match.

As soon as you have correctly signed all legal documents and send them back, we can begin your settlement process. During the settlement process, your legal representatives will ensure all clauses in your contracts are being met and get all required documents ready to close the sale. On your agreed settlement date, your legal representative and the legal representative of the seller will take care of all matters relating to settlement, such as registering the title of the property and paying stamp duty. After this is taken care of, you are now able to move into your new home, start your new build process, cash out equity from your loan, or benefit from a lower rate home loan – whatever your reason for your home loan, it’s now complete and ready to enjoy.

Just log on to Internet Banking and select your Account and in the menu bar on the left click on ‘View Statements’. While you’re here, you can also view past statements, save a copy to your desktop or take a print out when you need one.

All electronic communication will be sent to the email address we have on your personal file. Please ensure this is current so that you never miss out on any email notifications and keep us updated of any change in email address.

You will receive an email notification when your next statement is available to view through Internet Banking.

Your online statement is the same as what is printed and posted to you, and are equally important. Access your statements all in one place and print out the ones you need at any time and submit them as supporting documents with confidence.

A mortgage offset account can reduce interest on your loan. Your mortgage is linked to an account into which your salary and other cash can be deposited. You can then withdraw the funds to pay your bills. For example, if you have a loan of $300,000 and have $10,000 in your offset account, the amount of interest you pay will be calculated on only $290,000 ($300,000 – $10,000). Use these savings for another deposit instead of paying off your current mortgage. Extra Repayments/Redraw Facility You can make extra repayments and create a ‘kitty’ for times when you have unexpected expenses such as plumbing or electrical repairs or for when you’re not receiving a rental income. Some loans with this feature allow you to skip a mortgage repayment as long as you have enough funds in credit to cover that mortgage repayment.

Lender’s Mortgage Insurance, as the name states, protects the Lender not you as the borrower. Lender’s Mortgage Insurance (LMI) is a once off fee that normally applies to loans where the customer is borrowing more than 80% of the purchase price. LMI is scaled depending on the percentage you need to borrow (between 80 – 100%) and the amount of the loan (ie, $650,000). LMI can start from $800 and range up to nearly 4% of the loan amount. You have two options to pay this fee.

1. You can pay it upfront on settlement of the loan.
2. Some lenders allow you to capitalise the cost of your LMI, meaning that they will add this figure to your loan amount. For example, if you are borrowing $650,000, your LMI may work out to be $7000. You would actually increase your loan amount to now borrow $657,000 ($650,000 + $7,000).

A bridging loan is a shorter-term loan. It is typically needed when you are selling one property and purchasing another one. It is also used when you are waiting for the arrangement of longer term financing.

Mortgage Street will review your situation and talk with you about why you’ve missed making payments. Generally, having one or two missed payments won’t prevent you from getting refinancing. It will likely keep you from qualifying for the most favourable rates and terms though.

Home loan are the funds borrowed from a financial institution on interest for purchasing a new property/plot/construction/upgrading a property. It is a long term loan with tenor up to 20 years depending on the age of the applicant. The loan is repaid with EMI every month. The property is taken as a security by the financing company for the loan being provided and original property documents are held with the financer.

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Yes, but this doesn’t mean you have to switch lender. You can refinance to another home loan that allows equity release, and ensure you get a great deal in the current market!

Our switching mortgage calculator can indicate what you may be able to save by refinancing. For accuracy, you should be aware of any ongoing fees and charges over the life of your loan – take a look at your loan’s comparison rate compared to your interest rate to get an idea of how much you pay. There can be application and legal fees associated with taking out a new loan.

Call us on 133 144 for a detailed and tailor made property investment strategy.

Hero Housing Loan is 30 years for salaried professionals and 20 years for self-employed professionals