6 tips to prepare your property for valuation

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Looking to refinance your home loan? A valuation is a vital part of the process. So today we’ll look at some ways you can help get your home in tip-top shape.

When you refinance to try and get a better deal on your home loan, the lender you’re applying with will arrange a valuation to estimate what your property is worth.

However, a survey by an online lender recently found that one in seven homeowners were unsuccessful in refinancing their mortgage because the value of their property had fallen.

With that in mind, it’s important to tick off as many of the below tips as possible to not only make the whole process smoother, but to give yourself the best chance at a favourable valuation.

1. Spring clean!

Roll up those sleeves, get out the spray and wipe, and get ready to apply some elbow grease.

Ensuring you present a well-maintained property can make a big difference when your property is being valued.

Inside, you’ll want to make sure your kitchen and bathrooms are spotless, your floors are mopped/vacuumed, your windows have been cleaned, and the rooms aren’t cluttered.

Outside, mow the yard, weed the gardens, rake the leaves, clean the deck, and don’t leave any toys or sports equipment scattered around the yard.

2. Get your documentation in order

If you have a copy of your building plans, give them to the valuer – preferably in advance of the valuation to help speed up the process.

Valuers sometimes also request council rates notices and/or land tax valuations, so it doesn’t hurt to have all relevant paperwork compiled in a dossier in case the valuer requests it.

3. Be present

Your valuer will need to be able to easily access every room in the house – not to mention your house itself.

By being present, you can speed up the process and be on hand to both showcase your home and answer any questions, which leads us to our next tip…

4. Compile a list of your property’s features

Sure, you’re not ‘selling’ your house to the valuer. But it doesn’t hurt to highlight its features.

Therefore compile a list of everything your house has to offer – especially if it’s not immediately apparent.

Not only will this ensure the valuer doesn’t overlook anything, but you can also give them the list to keep afterwards.

Your list could include things such as a newly-installed reverse-cycle air conditioner, insulation, solar panels, new carpet, top-of-the-range pool filter, or details of any recent renovations and how much they cost.

5. What’s going on in your neighbourhood?

Your home’s features aren’t the only factors that can impact its value.

If there are any community plans slated for nearby – such as a new bike path or bus stop – have the information ready so you can let your valuer know.

Likewise, it doesn’t hurt to have the details of any recent sales figures for nearby properties on hand.

Do try and read the room though. Some valuers don’t like to be bothered too much, so if you start to get the feeling they want some space then definitely give it to them.

6. Secure your pets

Sure, we love our furry friends. And they may even be considered a member of the family in many households. But not everybody feels that way about them.

Therefore it’s best to err on the side of caution and either secure your dog and/or cat, or ask a friend to look after them for a few hours.

In doing so they won’t get in the way of the valuer while they’re doing their job, and the valuer won’t have to worry about accidentally letting them out of the house.

A few final notes

A valuation can take anywhere between 30 minutes and 2 hours – it depends on the size of your property and how thorough the valuer is.

After the inspection, it typically it takes 24 to 48 hours for the valuation report to be returned to the lender.

So with all that said, if you’re looking to refinance and want to find out a little more about what the process involves, then definitely get in touch. We’d love to help guide you through it.

Disclaimer: The content of this article is general in nature and is presented for informative purposes. It is not intended to constitute financial advice, whether general or personal nor is it intended to imply any recommendation or opinion about a financial product. It does not take into consideration your personal situation and may not be relevant to circumstances. Before taking any action, consider your own particular circumstances and seek professional advice. This content is protected by copyright laws and various other intellectual property laws. It is not to be modified, reproduced or republished without prior written consent.

Has the tide turned? Household lending surges

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Lending to Aussie households spiked 3.9% in July, the strongest growth seen since October 2014, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The bumper month follows a 1.9% rise in June 2019, suggesting the tide has finally started to turn in the lending market.

“Whoa. Quite the surge in housing credit in July,” remarked CoreLogic’s head of research Tim Lawless, “haven’t seen numbers like this since 2015/16”.

Lending for investors rose 4.7% in July with rises across all states and territories, while lending to owner-occupiers also recorded substantial gains at 5.3%.

Meanwhile, home loans to first home buyers rose 1.3% in July. This is the fourth consecutive month of growth for this segment.

Why the surge?

The rise came the same month that the prudential regulator, APRA, eased loan serviceability standards.

Essentially, APRA stopped telling lenders to assess whether borrowers could afford their repayment obligations based on a minimum interest rate of 7%.

BIS Oxford Economics’ Maree Kilroy adds that investor sentiment also received a boost following the Coalition government’s federal election victory, and pointed to back-to-back rate cuts in June and July.

“After withdrawing from the market for several years, investors have reacted positively,” Kilroy says.

Lawless agrees that the surge is due to “two rate cuts, easier credit, sentiment boost post-election and removal of macro-prudential”.

And his colleague, Cameron Kusher, suggests this might only be the beginning.

“Importantly this is only to July. We could see these figures go much higher by the time we are right in the middle of spring,” Kusher says.

Get in touch

As Kusher suggests, this might just be the beginning of a lending surge.

Spring usually brings plenty of new properties onto the market – everything looks nicer in spring!

So if one of them happens to catch your eye, get in touch and we’ll be happy to guide you through the process of obtaining finance.

Disclaimer: The content of this article is general in nature and is presented for informative purposes. It is not intended to constitute financial advice, whether general or personal nor is it intended to imply any recommendation or opinion about a financial product. It does not take into consideration your personal situation and may not be relevant to circumstances. Before taking any action, consider your own particular circumstances and seek professional advice. This content is protected by copyright laws and various other intellectual property laws. It is not to be modified, reproduced or republished without prior written consent.

5 ideas to help first home buyers break into the property market

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While housing affordability is improving across the country, for many young first home buyers cracking into the property market can feel like breaking into a fortress. Here are five ideas that can help bust down that door.

Housing affordability for new mortgage borrowers in Australia will continue to improve over the next 12 months because of declining housing prices, shows the latest research from Moody’s Investors Service.

That said, there’s no denying that hopeful first home buyers have a much harder time breaking into the market than those who house-hunted in decades past.

In fact, the dwelling price to income ratio showed a 78% increase between 1980 and 2015.

With that in mind, here are five tips to help you bang down the property market front door.

1. Consider “rentvesting”

Rentvesting is a term used to describe the act of renting a property in the neighbourhood you’d like to live in, while purchasing an investment property in a more affordable neighbourhood and renting it out to a tenant.

That way, you’re able to live where you want while building equity in a home at the same time.

This tactic has become so popular in recent years that conventions, seminars and dedicated property investment businesses have begun popping up to help people do it effectively.

2. Take advantage of government schemes and incentives

Government schemes and incentives, such as the First Home Owners Grant (FHOG), can be a great way for first-time home buyers to offset some of the cost of purchasing their first home.

Similarly, many states and territories offer stamp duty discounts for first home buyers, which can also save you thousands of dollars.

Each state and territory has different rules around who is eligible to apply for them, but by and large, they make buying your first home more affordable.

3. Live at home while you save for a deposit

As unappealing as it may first seem to live with your parents while saving for a home, the idea becomes a lot more digestible when you consider that the national median rental price in Australia is $450 a week.

That’s $23,400 a year.

If you include all the money you’ll save by splitting food and utility costs (including water, gas, electricity, internet and phone bills) with your parents, you could save up to $30,000 a year.

4. Share the cost of ownership with a friend

If the property you want is out of your reach, why not consider going in on it with a friend or relative?

Splitting the cost of a home purchase with another person can allow you to build equity in the home of your choice, without overstretching your resources.

Just keep in mind that you’ll want to speak with a lawyer and draw up an agreement regarding ownership and mortgage liability, plus things like how maintenance costs will be met and what happens if someone wants to sell in future.

5. Rent a room in your house out to a tenant

If you want to own the property you live in and don’t want the mess that can come with sharing ownership with another individual, then renting out a room in your house can be another great option.

By renting out the room for $200 a week you can make $10,000 a year – plus you’ll save on utility bill costs.

If you’re not too fond of having a full-time housemate, consider creating a guestroom and leasing it out on Airbnb.

Just be sure to take out appropriate insurance and keep accurate records of the income you earn from Airbnb as the ATO is cracking down on undeclared income from the platform.

Final word

The Australian housing market may have cooled off in recent months, but pricing is still high enough that it can be very challenging for first-time home purchasers to break into the market.

By getting creative with some of the tips in this post, you’ll stand a better chance at turning your dream of owning your first home into a reality.

If you’d like any other help cracking into the property market then please get in touch – we’d love to help out any way we can!

Disclaimer: The content of this article is general in nature and is presented for informative purposes. It is not intended to constitute financial advice, whether general or personal nor is it intended to imply any recommendation or opinion about a financial product. It does not take into consideration your personal situation and may not be relevant to circumstances. Before taking any action, consider your own particular circumstances and seek professional advice. This content is protected by copyright laws and various other intellectual property laws. It is not to be modified, reproduced or republished without prior written consent.

Property buyers are increasingly turning to mortgage brokers

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Excuse the humble brag, but property buyers are turning to mortgage brokers in record numbers. Here’s why that’s great news for the both of us.

Ok, ok, sure, we know we’re beating our own drum a little here.

But there’s a good reason why, we promise.

Firstly, it’s fantastic to see that at a time when the royal commission is dominating headlines and consumer confidence in the big banks is tanking, our industry is proving worthy of people’s trust.

During the September 2018 quarter, mortgage brokers settled an unprecedented 59.1% of all residential home loans.

That’s up from 53.6% in 2016 and 55.7 per cent in 2017 over the same period.

MFAA CEO Mike Felton points out that the result reflects not only the trust and confidence customers have in their mortgage broker, but the systemic importance of the mortgage broking industry.

“As banks have persisted in making it more difficult to secure a loan, turning many would-be borrowers away, consumers have continued to increasingly utilise the broker channel for experience, expertise and greater market choice to secure access to credit,” Mr Felton says.

Take that, banks

The figures emerge as the big banks continually try to curb the effectiveness of mortgage brokers. And it doesn’t take Einstein to figure out why: mortgage brokers promote a more competitive lending market at their expense.

According to Deloitte Access Economics, over the past three decades brokers have contributed to the fall in net interest margin for banks of over 3% points. This saves you $300,000 on a $500,000 30-year home loan (based on an interest rate fall from 7% to 4% pa).

Furthermore, on average, mortgage brokers have 34 lenders on their panel, and 28% of the time arrange residential loans through lenders other than the big four banks.

“In addition to providing customers access to a panel of 34 lenders on average, brokers are ideally positioned to help customers, especially those with more complex lending scenarios, to understand the ever-evolving application process and provide the information necessary to meet changing lender requirements,” adds Mr Felton.

Current model under threat

There’s been a recent push by at least one of the big four banks to make the customers pay for the services of a mortgage broker. If they had their way, that would be an industry-wide standard.

However, news that more and more customers are flocking to mortgage brokers under the current system will hopefully help us both out in the long run.

Better yet, a recent report shows that 9 out of 10 customers are satisfied with the services provided by mortgage brokers, so we sincerely thank you for your support.

Got a minute help us out a little more?

Besides continuing to use our services, and recommending us to family and friends, another way you can support us is by contacting your local MP to let them know you’re happy with the mortgage broking service we’re currently providing.

By letting your local Federal Member of Parliament know this you can help prevent the cost of our future services being transferred from the bank over to you – and you’ll also be showing your support for us.

If you’d like any more information on this issue don’t hesitate to get in touch. We’d love to speak to you more about it.

Disclaimer: The content of this article is general in nature and is presented for informative purposes. It is not intended to constitute financial advice, whether general or personal nor is it intended to imply any recommendation or opinion about a financial product. It does not take into consideration your personal situation and may not be relevant to circumstances. Before taking any action, consider your own particular circumstances and seek professional advice. This content is protected by copyright laws and various other intellectual property laws. It is not to be modified, reproduced or republished without prior written consent.

Top Ten Mortgage Broker Secrets

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Ten questions to ask a mortgage broker Using a mortgage broker to help you choose a home loan can save you considerable time and could result in huge savings. However, before you decide on a broker, you need to make sure they’re going to meet your needs. Here are some questions to ask. 1. How […]

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