Debt Consolidation - For all Australians

The Fox Symes & Associates has featured on ACA and Today Tonight and have helped more Australians resolve their debt than any other organisation. They will help you consolidate your debt and offer a real alternative to bankruptcy. If you are struggling in debt then it is a very simple case of checking out their website and filling in an easy online form to get you started on the road to financial recovery.

Home Loan Tips # 7

Watch that mortgage broker!

A mortgage broker can certainly save you some time and hassle. They often can get you a great rate and find a loan with features that really suit you. However, you must always remember they are doing this job for the commission they will earn (and mostly deserve). Ensure your broker discloses their commissions and explains to you (in writing) why their loan recommendation is the best for you (not earning the best commissions for them!). Remember that you should never pay for a broker unless they are going to return some of the commission to you. There are literally hundreds of free brokers out there if you don't like what one is telling you or offering then go somewhere else!

Home Loan Tips #6

Do your homework and look beyond the banks

There are literally hundreds of home loans avalibale these days and all have different rates, fees and features. In this current climate of lending the customer is spoilt for choice and this means that it will really pay to shop around. Your best first step would be to do your research and find out what lenders are offering (the real nitty gritty of the loan not the flashy stuff like a free TV) and how that compares to other sites.

A great way to research these days is on the Internet. A simple google search (I have a google search box at the top right hand side of this blog if you need it) for "home loans"or "comparing home loans" will yeild hundreds of results. Some of the pages you will find will literally compare every loan available to you and will tell you all about their features.
Lastly consider smaller lenders such as credit unions, building societies, mortgage originators, community banks and online or telephone banks may offer better interest rates or lower fees than the big banks because they want your business. However always be sure to check out unknown/small mortgage brokers thoroughly and always read the fine print!

Home Loan Tips #5

Check your bank statements for errors

Some experts claim that over 50% of home loan statements contain errors. These are usually simple mistakes, like entering the incorrect balance, applying the wrong interest rate at the wrong time. Even these simple errors can be costly and mostly the are in favour the lender. It is important to remember that computers do all of the paperwork at a bank and we all know that computers can make mistakes. You know the most about your situation and there is no better person than you to check over your statements. For example just because one bank employee told you that you would get a discount does not mean that the computer has been told or will remember!

If you are too busy to check your bank statements or need help there is software available for your home PC that runs a check on your statements. Two such programs are:

1. Mortgage watchdog Pro
2. Mortgage statement checker

These programs are shareware and are free to try, but may cost money to use properly.

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Home Loan Tips #4

Take out a line-of-credit loan and save
Let me first say that this option is not for everyone, but if your are disciplined with your money then this type of loan can save you a mini fortune.

Line of credit, salary account or all-in-one loans are the common names for a type of loan that makes every spare dollar work to reduce the debt. This type of loan allows your income to be paid directly into the loan account to reduce the loan amount, instead of waiting for the repayment due date. Effectively you are making bigger repayments because you only withdraw what you need from the account leaving all your savings in the loan to reduce the balance. By doing this your loan is paid off much quicker and you can save literally thousands in interest. However you must make sure you are taking out less than is going in and you need to make sure that the total left over is more than you would be paying on a normal loan.


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Home Loan Tips #3

Make your extra cash work harder
Lets face it not all of us have extra cash, but if you are someone that does this little tip can help you save quite a bit off your home loan
If you have a home loan in Australia at the moment you are probably paying about 8 per cent interest, every extra dollar you pay off is another dollar you are not paying 8 per cent on each year. Now if you instead put that extra dollar into a savings account (even a high interest one) you are only going to earn 2 or 3, perhaps 6 per cent at the most. So putting your savings into your loan can "earn" you up to twice as much.

Most loans typically have redraw facilities available and these allow you to take back those extra payments if needed anyway. Just make sure you are not being charged extra for the privilege.

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Home Loan Tips - #2

Tip 2 - Ask about discounts/special offers

Banks want to keep lending people money and they will often lower the rate to make sure you don't look elsewhere.

Banks often have special packages where you sign up for a few hundred dollars a year, but you get a lower interest rate. The packages can also have other perks such as no annual fee on your credit card, no account keeping fees and more that will make it worth while in the end. These are commonly referred to as relationship discounts and reward you for keeping all your banking buisiness with the one institution

Another top bit of advice I recently read was to ask lenders about the "professional packages". If you are making more than $50,000 a year, or $80,000 or more with a partner these packages can give you a discount of about 0.5 per cent on your loan.

Pick up the phone or call into your bank today and ask for a better deal. You just might be surprised!

Home Loan Tips #1

After the very recent interest rate rise here in Australia I have decided to do a series of tips on home loans to help people save a few dollars off their home loan.

Tip 1 - Additional repayments
If you can still afford it after the recent rate rise making additional repayments is still a great way to reduce the term of your loan and total interest paid.

For every $1 in extra repayments you make, you will saves around $2 in interest over the term of the loan.

You can do this in two ways

• One off lump sum payment when you have some spare cash like at tax return time.
• Increasing your regular repayment amount (even a slight increase will help!)
  

Before doing this though you must make sure that your loan allows you to make additional repayments without penalty or fees and charges. Some basic (or low-doc) loans often have restrictions on extra repayments. Check with your financial institution.

Tips on avoiding credit card debt

Credit Card debt is at the highest levels it has ever been in this country. Some simple tips can help you avoid becoming another statistic:

1. Pay more than the minimum payment each month - The best solution is to pay the entire balance off your card each month. If your balance is very high still try to pay as much as possible.

2. Transfer the balance of your credit cards to low interest rate cards. Most credit cards will offer up to 6 months interest free on balance transfers when you sign up giving you longer to pay off the debt.

3. If you don't receive or care about rewards programs sign up to a credit card with no annual fee. This can save you over $100 in many cases.

4. If you can't control your spending use the new pre paid credit cards or cards that link directly to your bank account so you are using your own money.

5. If you are in serious debt there are a couple of options that might just help you out:

• Talk to the financial institution about lowering the interest rate while you try to pay it off (lets face it they would rather have their money back than have you declare bankruptcy)
• Talk to a financial adviser about taking out a loan to cover the whole debt at a lower interest rate than the credit cards. This is often called a consolidation loan, where all your debts are put together into one loan.

These simple tips may save you some money.

Good Luck
Tom