If you’ve frequently been asking yourself if it’s the right time to buy a home, there are several things to first consider. Three things to think about are the current market conditions, the interest rates, and the amount of available housing. Current Market The current market conditions may help you determine if it is the right time to buy a home. If prices are starting to increase, you may want… Read more
When you’re reviewing your investments, it’s important to remember that income and returns come from two main sources, Capital Gains and Interim Income. Capital gain (or loss) This is the difference in the overall value of your investment between when you purchased it and now (or the date that you sold it.) You can work it out as: ((Current or sale price per unit – purchase price) * number of… Read more
Help grow your business through collaboration, expansion, improved marketing and some of the following quick tips. 1. Improve your customer service Businesses with good customer service retain consumers and attract new business through word-of-mouth. Even if you think you’re already providing good service, make it a priority to provide refresher training to frontline staff at least once a year. Alternatively, hold regular meetings to discuss any issues as they arise.… Read more
When things are hectic, most small business owners wish they could find a way to get more than 24 hours into a day. Often, your ‘to-do’ list can get so long that you feel you never get to put as much attention into every task as you would like. It can also mean more time in the office or dealing with work issues after-hours – cutting into your free time… Read more
Even the best entrepreneurs make mistakes. In fact most would advocate that you need to make a few mistakes to learn and grow. So it’s important not to let those missteps stop you from following your dream of running your own business. There are some common mistakes business owners make in running their company. Don’t feel bad if you fall into these traps—almost every small business owner does. Here are… Read more
In the lean, early years of running a business – that crucial time when most startups need capital – qualifying for a loan can be difficult. Step one is to build a solid credit rating, so a lender feels confident your company isn’t a high risk for repayment and can say “yes” to your application. Once you’ve established a positive credit score, the perfect time to take out a business… Read more
As a home owner with a mortgage, chances are you’ve heard of the term ‘refinancing’. Refinancing involves reviewing your current mortgage, and potentially swapping your loan to another lender who can better meet your current needs, wants and circumstances. Refinancing can also allow you to consolidate your debts or pay down your mortgage more quickly. Another common reason borrowers look to refinance is so that they can access equity –… Read more
If you’re like most people you’ve probably gone for periods of time without really thinking about how you spent your money. Maybe you even avoided looking at your bank statement so you wouldn’t see how much money you spent and how little you saved. It’s something a lot of people do, especially nowadays when we can spend our money so easily without handing over cash. If you’ve ever looked at… Read more
Securing a business loan in Australia isn’t necessarily difficult but knowing how to navigate your way can be the difference between success and failure. Banks and other financial institutions offer a wide range of business finance options, from commercial property loans, commercial vehicle leases, and commercial and equipment leases, to simpler options such as letters of credit, overdrafts and lines of credit. Here are some tips on how to improve your… Read more
Being a small business owner can be fantastic. You get to be involved in every aspect of your business, from marketing to event planning, from sales to employee development. Being involved in so many areas of your business saves you from boredom and allows you to use skills you might not have known you had. There is one area that many small business owners hate to be part of but… Read more
These days, you can use technology to take care of almost any issue facing your business. If you have a task you don’t like to do, there’s an app or software program to take care of it for you. It might take a few moments of your time to learn and understand how the software or app works, but doing so will save you valuable time and precious energy. It… Read more
When you own a small business, it’s vital you understand how money flows into and out of it. At a basic level, you need to know where your income comes from and what your expenses are. At a deeper level, knowing how money moves through your business can help you make strategic decisions about growth, invoicing, and debt management. The consequences of not understanding money can be drastic—poor financial management… Read more
If you are thinking of building your own home, you will need to be familiar with the ins and outs of construction loans. Construction loans are just not as straightforward as simple home loans. There are additional decisions to be made about the structure of the loan, additional documentation is required and the funding is released in an entirely different way. Documentation In addition to… Read more
Preparing a detailed business plan will inform the lender about your business proposal so that it can assess your application as favourably as possible. Know your numbers. In order to inspire confidence in you as a borrower, it’s important you are familiar with your key financial figures, even if you don’t prepare your own financial statements. This includes current income, net profit and expenditure. Include… Read more
Does your business need refinancing or restructuring? As this tale of a business with urgent liquidity problems shows, having a credit adviser managing the project can be the key to success. When a cotton grower in central Australia lost his financier during a period of aggressive expansion, he was facing a liquidity crisis and approached an accredited equipment and commercial credit adviser for help… Read more
Any renovation project, large or small, can be all-consuming in terms of your energy and money. Here are six loan types that can help you with the latter. Considering transforming your home from ‘blah’ to ‘brilliant’, but lacking the funds to support your major makeover? Never fear, we’ve rounded up a few different home renovation loans to help you turn your dream into a reality. Whether you want to make… Read more
Different lenders use different formulas to work out how much you can borrow, but the biggest loan isn’t always the best idea. Being able to secure your ideal loan amount can seem like a battle of balances. Once you’ve worked your budget and finances through a spreadsheet, there’s still the one issue left to deal with: assessment rates. This is also known as an ‘interest… Read more
When was the last time you looked closely at your loan, the progress you are making on paying it off and how it compares to others in the market? Analysing your mortgage could mean savings for you, as well as the opportunity to pay it off more quickly, invest in other assets or reach financial freedom sooner. Make smaller payments, more often To cut the… Read more
When purchasing an investment property, there are a number of factors that could increase or reduce your potential return on investment. In this case it’s not just location, location, location. When considering a property for investment purposes, the most important question to ask is ‘will be attractive to tenants?’. But how do you know what will appeal to someone you’ve never met? Settling on a handful of locations is a… Read more
If you apply for a home loan, particularly if the loan is for more than 80 per cent of a property’s value, you’ll more than likely have to prove to lenders that you have a satisfactory amount of savings. This is to demonstrate your ability to funnel a portion of your income into repayments. Although it can differ, in most cases lenders generally look for consistent… Read more