Our Team Has a Report Card Worth Bragging AboutOur team of lending specialists are here to find you the perfect loan. We can find you a lender to meet your specific financial needs. Residential, commercial, personal loans or Asset Finance. We do them all.
|
|
Why Use a Mortgage Broker?Using a mortgage broker has plenty of advantages. We have access to 35 Australian lenders so we can save you the time and effort to find the best loan. It, due to the banking royal commission, it is getting a lot harder to qualify for a loan. Every lender has different lending policies so we can find a lender for almost any financial situation. We negotiate better rates with lenders and best of all, our services come at no cost to you.
Did you know that 53% of Australian home loans are done through a mortgage broker? |
Tips on Choosing the Best Loan
Choosing the right home loan type for your Australian residential or commercial property is an important decision and can have very positive effects on your cash flow if done correctly. Here are some pointers to get you started.
How much can I borrow?
If you already have equity in your own home or in other investment properties, Australian lenders will lend you up to 100% of the purchase price plus purchase costs provided your total loan to value ratio (LVR) does not exceed 80% for residential property loans or 70% for commercial property loans.
If you don’t have your own home as equity and are just getting started then you will need to provide a deposit. You will need to pay lender's mortgage insurance (LMI) and be required to have between 5% and 20% deposit saved. The lower the deposit, the higher the LMI fee, so it pays to maximise your deposit.
Lenders will also look at your ability to service the loans by looking at your income, loan repayments and expenses. Most lenders are currently using an assessment rate of around 7.4% when they calculate your ability to meet the loan repayments. If you are buying as an investment, they will include 80% of the expected rental income for the new property in their calculations.
You will also find that different lenders have varying methods for calculating your maximum borrowing capacity. If you are looking to borrow close to your maximum capacity then you will find that some lenders will lend to you while others won't.
Contact us and we can help you understand your maximum borrowing capacity across a panel of 35 of lenders.
Fixed or variable rate loan?
Whether you are buying your own home or investing, interest payments on your loan can have a huge impact on your cash flow. Consequently, you want to aim to minimise interest expenses where possible. Variable rates are best when you expect official rates to stay on hold or start to fall. Fixed rates are usually best where you expect an increase in official rates in the near term or where you want to lock in interest rates to manage cash flow risk.
If you choose a variable rate loan, be sure to factor in the possibility of an interest rate rise into your cash flow and affordability calculations.
One other thing to remember is that if you lock in for a fixed rate then it is sometimes more difficult to move that loan to another lender mid-term since large break costs may be involved. So variable rate loans are generally better if you need the flexibility to move loans in the near future.
Update: Economists are tipping an interest rate decrease sometime in 2019.
Interest-only or principal+interest?
For investment loans, an interest-only period is sometimes used to help free up your initial cash flow and help maximise the tax benefits. Lenders will typically allow you to establish investment loans with interest-only payments for up to 5 years.
The disadvantages with interest-only loans is that you don't pay down the loan, future principal+interest payments will be higher once you come off your interest-only period and you will end up paying more interest over the life of the loan. They also reduce your borrowing capacity since the lenders will assess your repayments based off the reduced principal+interest period of the loan. Many lenders charge a higher interest rate for interest-only loans.
Contact us and we can help you decide whether you should go with interest-only or principal+interest.
Offset accounts
It is often best to have a single account set up to receive your salary and any rental payments and then have the loan payments automatically come out of this account. You can set this account up as an offset account to your home loan so that cash balances can help offset the interest costs. Be wary though - some lenders will charge a higher interest rate for loans with an offset facility.
Getting the best home loan deal
Australians tend to pay much higher interest rates due to a lack of shopping around. Be sure to ask your bank for a “better deal” on interest rates. Mention that you would hate to shop around for a better deal since other lenders would certainly like to acquire your business. If your bank won’t play ball then let us help you compare lenders and get you a better rate - there is usually a better deal out there and each 0.1% saving can make a big difference over the life of your loan.
How much can I borrow?
If you already have equity in your own home or in other investment properties, Australian lenders will lend you up to 100% of the purchase price plus purchase costs provided your total loan to value ratio (LVR) does not exceed 80% for residential property loans or 70% for commercial property loans.
If you don’t have your own home as equity and are just getting started then you will need to provide a deposit. You will need to pay lender's mortgage insurance (LMI) and be required to have between 5% and 20% deposit saved. The lower the deposit, the higher the LMI fee, so it pays to maximise your deposit.
Lenders will also look at your ability to service the loans by looking at your income, loan repayments and expenses. Most lenders are currently using an assessment rate of around 7.4% when they calculate your ability to meet the loan repayments. If you are buying as an investment, they will include 80% of the expected rental income for the new property in their calculations.
You will also find that different lenders have varying methods for calculating your maximum borrowing capacity. If you are looking to borrow close to your maximum capacity then you will find that some lenders will lend to you while others won't.
Contact us and we can help you understand your maximum borrowing capacity across a panel of 35 of lenders.
Fixed or variable rate loan?
Whether you are buying your own home or investing, interest payments on your loan can have a huge impact on your cash flow. Consequently, you want to aim to minimise interest expenses where possible. Variable rates are best when you expect official rates to stay on hold or start to fall. Fixed rates are usually best where you expect an increase in official rates in the near term or where you want to lock in interest rates to manage cash flow risk.
If you choose a variable rate loan, be sure to factor in the possibility of an interest rate rise into your cash flow and affordability calculations.
One other thing to remember is that if you lock in for a fixed rate then it is sometimes more difficult to move that loan to another lender mid-term since large break costs may be involved. So variable rate loans are generally better if you need the flexibility to move loans in the near future.
Update: Economists are tipping an interest rate decrease sometime in 2019.
Interest-only or principal+interest?
For investment loans, an interest-only period is sometimes used to help free up your initial cash flow and help maximise the tax benefits. Lenders will typically allow you to establish investment loans with interest-only payments for up to 5 years.
The disadvantages with interest-only loans is that you don't pay down the loan, future principal+interest payments will be higher once you come off your interest-only period and you will end up paying more interest over the life of the loan. They also reduce your borrowing capacity since the lenders will assess your repayments based off the reduced principal+interest period of the loan. Many lenders charge a higher interest rate for interest-only loans.
Contact us and we can help you decide whether you should go with interest-only or principal+interest.
Offset accounts
It is often best to have a single account set up to receive your salary and any rental payments and then have the loan payments automatically come out of this account. You can set this account up as an offset account to your home loan so that cash balances can help offset the interest costs. Be wary though - some lenders will charge a higher interest rate for loans with an offset facility.
Getting the best home loan deal
Australians tend to pay much higher interest rates due to a lack of shopping around. Be sure to ask your bank for a “better deal” on interest rates. Mention that you would hate to shop around for a better deal since other lenders would certainly like to acquire your business. If your bank won’t play ball then let us help you compare lenders and get you a better rate - there is usually a better deal out there and each 0.1% saving can make a big difference over the life of your loan.
Our Services
We have access to a panel of 35 Australian lenders with hundreds of loans so we can find you the best lender and loan without you having to do run-around. We help people with establishing new loans and refinancing existing loans at a better rate. We provide fixed rate, variable rate or split loans for residential and commercial property purchases. We provide complimentary property valuations to our clients to help with making a realistic offer. Our service comes at no-cost to you since we are paid by the lender when the loan settles. Apply for your home loan online.
Most importantly - we listen to your lending needs and provide genuine advice without the hard sell.
Most importantly - we listen to your lending needs and provide genuine advice without the hard sell.
Purchasing a homeWe can help you with financing the purchase of a new or existing home. Owner occupiers and investors. First home buyers. Loans for PAYG and self-employed. Even those with black marks on their credit file.
|
Refinancing your loanWe help you save money by finding you a better rate loan. Every 0.1% saving can make a big difference over the life of your loan. We often save clients thousands of dollars per year.
|
Commercial LoansWe have access to all of the top commercial lenders and specialise in financing warehouses, offices, retail stores and asset finance. We offer great rates on commercial lending and can guide you through the lending process.
|
Have one of our lending specialists reach out to you.
|
Credit Guide and Fact-Find Questionnaire
![]()
|
![]()
|
About Us
Accent Loans are mobile lending specialists located in Sydney's North Shore and Northern Beaches area. We also service any state in Australia to help Australian customers with finding the best home loan.
Our charter - To find the best loan for you, not us.
Despite the fact that we are paid by the lenders, at Accent Loans we put your needs first. We don't focus on any one lender - we regularly write loans across most of our 35 lender panel since customer needs are different and we look to fit the loan to the client need. We tend to write more loans to the smaller lenders since their interest rates and loan features are often the best. We openly communicate the commissions that will be paid to us from lenders before your loan settles.
Accent Loans operates as Red Axe Pty Ltd - Credit Representative 489892 of Beagle Finance Pty Ltd ACL 383640.
Our charter - To find the best loan for you, not us.
Despite the fact that we are paid by the lenders, at Accent Loans we put your needs first. We don't focus on any one lender - we regularly write loans across most of our 35 lender panel since customer needs are different and we look to fit the loan to the client need. We tend to write more loans to the smaller lenders since their interest rates and loan features are often the best. We openly communicate the commissions that will be paid to us from lenders before your loan settles.
Accent Loans operates as Red Axe Pty Ltd - Credit Representative 489892 of Beagle Finance Pty Ltd ACL 383640.