Taking care of basic maintenance tasks before you sell your home is a no-brainer, but a quick and not-too-costly renovation can add a lot of appeal for potential buyers, and may boost the final sale price. 1. Basics first Fix those little faults that you no longer notice – leaky taps, rusty gutters, broken window catches. They can make a huge difference to a buyer’s perception of value. 2. Landscape the garden A well-kept garden can create a low-maintenance feel before buyers even step inside. 3. Bring the outside in Opening living areas to the garden can be as simple as adding big bi-fold doors that create an inviting sense of flexibility. 4. Take the inside out The garden is a place to
A new baby completely changes your life. Are you also prepared for how a new baby might affect your chances of buying a home? Here are some things to consider before you submit your application. When a lender assesses your home loan application, they look at your income, assets, debts and expenses before deciding whether they think you can make the repayments. Those figures are likely to change when you have your first child. That means your eligibility for a home loan could also change. Changes to your income A lender needs to know that your income will cover your mortgage repayments, even while someone’s taking time off work to be a new mum or dad. If you’re the primary carer and you
Whether you’re after lower repayments or want to tap into the equity sitting in your home, refinancing can offer a world of benefits. Here are some things to be aware of so that you don’t find yourself hooked into a bad deal. Don’t be fooled by the interest rate Finding a lower interest rate doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve scored yourself a better deal. In fact, a product with more features may cost you a bit more in fees or interest, but could save you more in the long run. Including features such as an offset account will prove valuable as it will allow you to make larger repayments or put any extra cash against the loan. Products without this feature may charge a fee for early repayments.
Before you apply for a home loan with your partner, there are a few discussions that you need to have that go a little beyond what you may know already. You’ve found someone you want to spend your life with (or a significant chunk of it, at least) – the hard part is over, right? Wrong. You know each other well enough to know whether or not you each blow the budget every month, but you probably don’t know each other’s complete credit history. So, before you buy a property together, there are plenty of discussions you need to have. Here are three of them. Have they defaulted on any payments? He or she might be relatively debt free now, but has this always been the case? One bad mark on a credi
