For those wondering if a single parent home loan scheme actually exists, the arrival of the Family Home Guarantee is set to be nothing short of revolutionary. 

Did you know that there are currently over one million sole parent families in Australia? While this figure represents roughly 15% of all households, almost 80% of these families are disproportionately being raised by single mothers. 

Amongst other things, single mums are on the backfoot when it comes to purchasing property. A recent analysis conducted by Finder revealed on average, men retire with 26% more super than women. To make up for this discrepancy, the average woman would have to supplement an extra $236 per month into their super, or alternatively work for an extra eleven years.

In addition, women are likely to have less money in savings. With $38, 932, the average man has 83% more money in savings than the average woman – a difference that has increased from 71% just twelve months ago. It’s figures like these that have no doubt spurred the Federal Government into action, and although the Family Home Guarantee isn’t exclusive to women, they are the demographic that will arguably benefit the most from it. 

How The Family Home Guarantee Works

Although the concept of a single parent home loan scheme may have once sounded absurd, the introduction of the Family Home Guarantee is set to bridge the gap between those who may have completely written off the prospect of property ownership. 

The newly introduced Family Home Guarantee will allow eligible participants to build or purchase an existing home with a deposit of as little as 2%, and isn’t restricted to first home buyers. In order for applicants to avoid paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance, the government essentially acts as a ‘guarantor’ to back the remaining percentage of the deposit, which can be as high as 18%. 

For a $500, 000 property, what this single parent home loan scheme means is that sole parent families can purchase property with as little as $10, 000. While 10, 000 Family Home Guarantees will be made available over four financial years from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2025 – or 2,500 spots per year – applicants will still need to prove their ability to comfortably pay back a mortgage on their own and to meet the criteria of individual lending providers. 

To qualify for the Family Home Guarantee, the key criteria that applicants need to meet is that they must be a single parent with at least one dependent child, and must have a taxable income that does not exceed $125, 000 per annum for the previous financial year. For a property to be eligible under the Family Home Guarantee, it must be a residential property. This term has a particular meaning, and is consistent with the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme.

For single mums and dads exploring their options for purchasing property, it’s important to get the right advice instead of making big decisions based on guesswork. A savvy mortgage broker has an in-depth knowledge not just of financial products, but can also give valuable guidance on whether an applicant is eligible for other government grants or funding as well. 

As of September 2021, mortgage brokers wrote 67% of all residential home loans in Australia – the highest number ever recorded. What’s more is that 90% of these customers reported that they were happy with the services provided to them. If you’re thinking about applying for your first mortgage, then it’s worth getting in touch with the professionals. 

Partnering With Home Loan Professionals 

Navigating the complex world of home loans has long been regarded as stressful, frustrating and time consuming – but if you can find the right advice on sourcing how mortgages work, then the good news is that it doesn’t have to be.

Since their inception in 2012, the team at Madd Loans have worked tirelessly in providing over 2,000 Queenslanders with finance options to help turn their dreams into reality. With the entire brand being built on referrals, owner George Samios takes great pride in making the loan process both fun, educational and stress free – and he has a swag of awards to prove it.

If thinking about your financial future strikes a chord with you, then it might be time to speak to a professional. Whether you’re chasing mortgage solutions or a financial fairy godmother, the team at Madd work together as a collective to turn your goals into reality.

Are you one of the thousands of Australians trying to save for a house deposit, but feel like you’re getting nowhere? It’s time to think outside of the box. 

While house prices have skyrocketed right around the nation, wages haven’t quite hit the same levels of growth. Even at the lowest quartile, the average sales price in Brisbane is still $850, 000 – which means you’d need to save $85, 000 for a 10% deposit, or a whopping $170, 000 for the ideal 20% deposit to avoid paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance. 

As such, it’s easy to understand why many budding first home buyers often feel like trying to save for a house deposit is an uphill battle, especially while still paying for the basics like rent, food and fuel. Although there’s thousands of articles out there already, what are some not as well known ways to save for a house deposit 

How To Supercharge Your House Deposit 

In order to save meticulously for a home deposit, the reality is that not everybody is in the position to move back in with their parents. While sacrifices do generally need to be made when it comes to learning how to save for a house deposit, the good news is that there are plenty of other tactics to deploy when it comes to tweaking your lifestyle in order to achieve your financial goals. 

Consider A Guarantor – What if we told you that there was a way to purchase your first home with as little as 5% of a house deposit? If your situation allows it, consider opting for a guarantor loan. The major point of difference with this type of mortgage is that you’re co-signing with a selected guarantor – commonly a parent or guardian – and ultimately act as your financial backer in the event that you default. 

Check For Funding – Before you start the gruelling process of trying to save for a house, be sure to check for any government initiatives that could potentially fast track the process. New and rehashed schemes designed to help first home buyers were announced in the recent Federal Budget, with a handful including the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme, Family Home Guarantee, Regional Home Guarantee and the First Home Super Saver Scheme. 

Cut Down Your Debt – Public enemy number one of any attempt at savings is any existing debt already tied to your name. Although not a viable path for everyone, especially for people with HECS debts, banish any credit cards and pay down any existing “Buy Now, Pay Later” purchases. When that’s finalised, eliminate any opportunities for liabilities by cancelling these types of accounts, as they can limit your borrowing capacity when applying for a home loan. 

Automate Your Savings – In order to get approved for a home loan, all banks want to see a solid savings history. As such, be realistic with your saving goals, and start small if you have to – even $50 a week is better than nothing. Open an account that you can’t touch or transfer funds out of, such as a term deposit. Set goals with how much you want to save by, be accountable for the results, and watch your nest egg grow. 

Get A Side Hustle – While cutting down on your living expenses sometimes doesn’t leave much wriggle room for potential savings, increasing your income is an alternative that doesn’t necessarily equate to sucking all the fun out of your lifestyle. If you have a creative pursuit that can be turned into a side hustle – go for it. Even a few shifts a week as an Uber driver can go a long way, so try and think outside of the box and utilise your talents. 

For those exploring their options for their first property purchase and which initiatives could possibly help them do so, it’s important to get the right advice instead of making big decisions based on guesswork. 

As of September 2021, mortgage brokers wrote 67% of all residential home loans in Australia – the highest number ever recorded. What’s more is that 90% of these customers reported that they were happy with the services provided to them – but where do you find a decent mortgage broker?

Partnering With Home Loan Professionals 

Navigating the complex world of home loans has long been regarded as stressful, frustrating and time consuming – but if you can find the right advice on sourcing how mortgages work, then the good news is that it doesn’t have to be.

Since their inception in 2012, the team at Madd Loans have worked tirelessly in providing over 2,000 Queenslanders with finance options to help turn their dreams into reality. With the entire brand being built on referrals, owner George Samios takes great pride in making the loan process both fun, educational and stress free – and he has a swag of awards to prove it.

If thinking about your financial future strikes a chord with you, then it might be time to speak to a professional. Whether you’re chasing mortgage solutions or a financial fairy godmother, the team at Madd work together as a collective to turn your goals into reality.

Are you a budding property baron weighing up whether to build, buy or renovate a home in 2022? While each has their perks, it’s important to do your research.

In Australia, our rich and colourful property market means that investors have plenty of choice when it comes to getting the best bang for their buck. In contrast, the same also applies for owner occupiers, particularly in relation to how they go about bringing their equivalent of the perfect home to life.

However, there’s no doubt that we all live in a very different economic landscape when compared to even just two years ago. While large-scale influences include a developing war in Europe and a once in a generation health crisis, on the home front we’ve also been battling with supply shortages, the rising cost of living and a very competitive property market.

As such, choosing to buy, build or renovate a home has been on the minds of many Australians, particularly given the ever changing conditions linked to each option. While the best choice will often boil down to your own individual circumstances, what factors should homeowners consider before settling on a winner?

The Case For Buy vs Build vs Renovate 

Firstly, the best option to choose from between buying, building or renovating will almost always depend on your personal circumstances. Factors often include how much time, funds and patience you have to navigate each process, and what your long term goals are. 

It’s also worth remembering that a property investor with a large portfolio isn’t going to have the same priorities or vision as a young family on the hunt for their forever home or a first home buyer. Keeping this in mind, let’s assess the key points of difference between each path.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, the property market has been dominating the headlines right around Australia. With a widely anticipated cash rate hike announced in the middle of an election campaign, many industry experts are predicting that the era of the seller’s market is finally over.

However, buying property in Brisbane is unlikely to be as exposed to market fluctuations as we’ve seen in the likes of Sydney and Melbourne. With the river city’s median house price currently sitting close to $850, 000, we haven’t been subjected to the significant drops and lower clearance rates that our southern neighbours are beginning to experience. Depending on your suburb and dwelling of choice, buying will always be a viable path despite market fluctuations. After all, the great thing about buying in Brisbane is that there’s quite literally something for everyone. 

For those considering building, it might be a different story. Combined with several federal and state government incentives plus the early release of superannuation, the onset of the pandemic saw the Australian construction industry arguably experience too much of a good thing. 

As a result, homes are now taking twice as long to build due to increased demand, timeline blowouts thanks to ongoing lockdowns, and the building materials shortage that the entire world is currently grappling with.These delays have only been compounded thanks to the upcoming 2032 Brisbane Olympics, and recent batches of wild weather that have seen the demand for tradies soar. 

For builders, the materials shortage also means higher costs for the limited access to materials. This is then compounded by pandemic related shipping and transit delays, and by the time the builder finally gets his or her hands on the goods, they may already be liable to pay daily fees for not completing jobs by the contracted date. For clients, the frustration is further aggravated by having to unexpectedly fork out for rental costs if their home is unlivable. 

As a happy medium, thousands of Queenslanders have opted to renovate. While this process often allows you to stay in your own home while the work gets underway, renovating also provides an opportunity to modernise a space, craft it to something more in like with your personal taste, and also provides a great opportunity to boost a property’s value. In fact, 2021 saw one in three Australians renovate their homes with an average spend of $26, 000 per project. 

For investors or owner occupiers looking to complete a renovation as a means to boost a potential sale price in the future, the golden rule with most home renovation projects is to avoid overcapitalisation. If you have spent $200, 000 on renos, but only made a $100, 000 profit in the event of a sale, then your home renovation will have effectively cost you money instead of making it. Instead, experts recommend spending 10% of your current property’s value as a safe approach. 

Regardless of whether you opt to buy, build or renovate, each option usually calls for a trip to your local mortgage broker to carefully assess which option is best suited to your current financial position, and what your long term goals are – but where do you find one?

Partnering With Home Loan Professionals 

Navigating the complex world of home loans has long been regarded as stressful, frustrating and time consuming – but if you can find the right advice on sourcing how mortgages work, then the good news is that it doesn’t have to be.

Since their inception in 2012, the team at Madd Loans have worked tirelessly in providing over 2,000 Queenslanders with finance options to help turn their dreams into reality. With the entire brand being built on referrals, owner George Samios takes great pride in making the loan process both fun, educational and stress free – and he has a swag of awards to prove it.

If thinking about your financial future strikes a chord with you, then it might be time to speak to a professional. Whether you’re chasing mortgage solutions or a financial fairy godmother, the team at Madd work together as a collective to turn your goals into reality.

With new updates for the First Home Super Saver Scheme coming into effect from July 1, it’s never been more important for first home buyers to stay in the loop.

Although using superannuation to purchase property has been in the headlines in line with the upcoming election, it’s worth remembering that there’s more than one way to legally use your super to get a foot on the property ladder. 

While house prices have skyrocketed right around the nation, wages haven’t quite hit the same levels of growth. Even at the lowest quartile, the average sales price in Brisbane is still $850, 000 – which means you’d need to save $85, 000 for a 10% deposit, or a whopping $170, 000 for the ideal 20% deposit to avoid paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance. 

As such, one can only imagine how long it would take to save up a six figure deposit while still paying rent, and other day to day expenses. If saving up to pay the mortgage deposit is one of the biggest hurdles that first home buyers face, what if there was an alternative? Enter, the First Home Super Saver Scheme. 

How The First Home Super Saver Scheme Works 

For those unfamiliar with the concept, the First Home Super Saver Scheme (FHSSS) was introduced as a means to help Australians boost their savings for a first home, by allowing them to build a deposit inside their superannuation account. 

First introduced in the 2017-2018 Federal Budget as a means to reduce pressure on housing affordability, the FHSSS applies to voluntary superannuation contributions made from 1 July 2017. Although it’s been around for over five years, it’s not as straightforward as other federal initiatives, which has more or less spooked some first home buyers from using the FHSSS as a means to save, while also benefiting from a tax cut. 

First home buyers can make voluntary concessional (before-tax) and non-concessional (after-tax) contributions into their super fund to save for a first home of up to $15, 000 per financial year. 

However, there’s also been some updates to the First Home Super Saver Scheme as a reflection of the times. Now, the scheme has been expanded to allow eligible first home buyers to release up to $50, 000 of their superannuation to purchase a home, up from the previous cap of $30, 000.

It would seem that the Federal Government has also noted the technical difficulties first home buyers faced when navigating the FHSSS, and have made amendments to allow greater flexibility for those accessing the scheme. As such, a handful of these additional changes include – 

• Increasing the discretion of the Commissioner of Taxation to amend and revoke FHSSS requests. 

• Allowing individuals to withdraw or amend their requests prior to them receiving a FHSSS amount, and allowing those who withdraw their request to re-apply for FHSSS releases in the future. 

• Allowing the Commissioner to return the released FHSSS money to super funds, provided that the money has not yet been released to the individual. 

• Clarifying that the money returned to super funds is treated as funds’ non-assessable non-exempt income and does not count towards the individual’s contribution caps.

These amendments are announced to come into effect from 1 July 2022, while also permitting retrospective application from 1 July 2018. 

For those exploring their options for their first property purchase and which initiatives could possibly help them do so, it’s important to get the right advice instead of making big decisions based on guesswork. 

As of September 2021, mortgage brokers wrote 67% of all residential home loans in Australia – the highest number ever recorded. What’s more is that 90% of these customers reported that they were happy with the services provided to them. If you’re thinking about applying for your first mortgage, then it’s worth getting in touch with the professionals. 

Partnering With Home Loan Professionals 

Navigating the complex world of home loans has long been regarded as stressful, frustrating and time consuming – but if you can find the right advice on sourcing how mortgages work, then the good news is that it doesn’t have to be.

Since their inception in 2012, the team at Madd Loans have worked tirelessly in providing over 2,000 Queenslanders with finance options to help turn their dreams into reality. With the entire brand being built on referrals, owner George Samios takes great pride in making the loan process both fun, educational and stress free – and he has a swag of awards to prove it.

If thinking about your financial future strikes a chord with you, then it might be time to speak to a professional. Whether you’re chasing mortgage solutions or a financial fairy godmother, the team at Madd work together as a collective to turn your goals into reality.

If you’re thinking about giving your property a facelift but are unsure on how to fund it, then exploring your options for home renovation finance is a must. 

By its very definition, to renovate is to refresh, reinvigorate or restore. As such, the spectrum is huge when it comes to applying this term to property, and can include anything and everything from a fresh coat of paint to installing a brand new kitchen. 

Once upon a time, home renovations were predominantly embraced by owner occupiers looking to give their abode’s quality a modern boost. These days, the process of undertaking a renovation can also be a very effective means to increase the value of their property, and to ultimately present the home in question in the best possible light to potential buyers. 

No matter which end of the renovation spectrum you identify with, the simple fact of the matter is that the attached price tag is something that needs to be considered before you pick up a power tool. Thankfully, there’s many avenues to explore when it comes to home renovation finance. 

Seven Home Renovation Finance Methods To Choose From 

Like it or not, the average renovation budget blows out by 80%, and the average slippage on timeline is a whopping twenty months. To minimise your exposure to these unexpected surprises, make an in depth budget from day one, track it as you go, and above all – stick to it.

Once you’ve carefully calculated your expected spending, it’s time to navigate your options for home renovation finance. While there’s no perfect “one size fits all” solution, the ideal path to take will usually boil down to your individual set of circumstances. 

Use Your Equity – Equity is the difference between your home’s value and your loan amount, or the funds that you have already paid back to the bank including your deposit. All lenders have different terms in regards to how and when you can access your equity, with some offering access to it after as little as six months. 

Construction Loans – Construction loans are specifically designed for people looking to build their own home from scratch, or those who intend on undertaking significant renovations. For those looking to access home renovation finance to pay tradies and other outsourced labour, construction loans are a great way to minimise your exposure to risk. 

Personal Loans – If you’re hesitant about touching any existing savings or any equity already safely tucked away in your property, then personal loans can be an alternative if your renovation project sits right in the middle between minor and major. Although interest rates are usually higher, there’s often unsecured and secured loan products to choose from. 

Refinance Your Mortgage – When done well, refinancing your existing home loan offers a wide range of potential benefits to borrowers, such as securing a more favourable interest rate, changing loan terms to fixed or variable interest rates, gaining access to home equity, consolidating existing debt, and even access to extra funds for home renovation finance. 

Line Of Credit – Ideal for ongoing or long-term renovations, establishing a line of credit revolving loan involves access to funds whenever you want up to your approved limit. Homeowners only pay interest on the funds used and as you pay off your balance, you can re-borrow the unused funds without reapplying. 

Offset Account – In simple terms, the basic function of an offset account is to use up to 100% of the balance of a linked transaction account to “offset” – or effectively reduce – the portion of your home loan that is accruing interest. Think of the funds in an offset account as savings that doesn’t accrue interest, but instead saves you interest due on your existing home loan. 

Redraw Facility – In a nutshell, a home loan redraw facility gives homeowners the opportunity to access any extra repayments that they may have made on particular types of loans. However, using this as a form of home renovation finance only applies if you have already been making extra repayments on your mortgage. 

One of the most important aspects involved with the practice of renovating for a profit is to avoid overcapitalisation. If you have spent $200,000 on the renovation itself, but only made a $100,000 profit on the bottom line of a sale contract, then your home renovation will have effectively cost you money instead of making it. 

Instead, experts indicate that you should allow 10% of your property value for your renovation budgets. However, if navigating your options for home renovation finance and how to best balance your other financial commitments is giving you a headache, then it may be worth considering a chat with the professionals. 

Partnering With The Home Renovation Finance Professionals 

Navigating the complex world of home loans has long been regarded as stressful, frustrating and time consuming – but if you can find the right advice on sourcing how mortgages work, then the good news is that it doesn’t have to be.

Since their inception in 2012, the team at Madd Loans have worked tirelessly in providing over 2,000 Queenslanders with finance options to help turn their dreams into reality. With the entire brand being built on referrals, owner George Samios takes great pride in making the loan process both fun, educational and stress free – and he has a swag of awards to prove it.

If thinking about your financial future strikes a chord with you, then it might be time to speak to a professional. Whether you’re chasing mortgage solutions or a financial fairy godmother, the team at Madd work together as a collective to turn your goals into reality.