What’s your next move?

Moving home is stressful enough, without having to worry about your finances.

Life is constantly changing. As your children grow from primary school age to teenagers and young adults, the needs of your home will change as well. Families may need more space to expand and to fill out. You can use equity in your existing home to help with the purchase of a new, larger home. Your family could be expanding, with more on the way. Or maybe it’s contracting, with your kids moving out on their own property journey, and the family home is no longer needed and you are looking for a smaller place.

Of course, you may also be interested in a 2nd home to use for a holiday home - perhaps in the country or by the beach and maybe with an eye on retirement.

Whatever you are doing, given you already own a property, you probably have some equity now to play with and a few decisions to make.

Sell before you buy

Selling your current home before you buy another can be great if you plan it right. The biggest benefit is that you’ll know exactly how much you can spend on the next property. The downside is that you may need to find temporary accommodation in the period between selling your current home and finding a new place. But since you also don’t want to put unnecessary pressure on deciding on your next purchase, finding temporary accommodation could be the best thing for you.

Buy before you sell

If you see a house that ticks all the boxes, it can be tempting to buy before your current home is sold. The risk here is that it could take longer to sell your home than you anticipate, which could lead you to taking out a bridging loan to tide you over until your home sells. The worst case scenario, is you selling your home for a lower price than it’s worth for the sake of a quick sale.

Use a bridging loan

Bridging loans are used to cover the cash flow gap between buying a new home and selling your old property. These are short-term loans (usually less than 12 months) and the repayments are interest-only. This type of loan can provide a financial lifeline if you buy before you sell but you are in essence paying two loans at the same time, and the interest cost can quickly stack up if your home takes a long time to sell.

Loan top up

Most home loans offer ‘portability’- the freedom to take your loan with you when you move, so if you’re happy to stay with your current loan and lender, one way to fund your new house is by increasing the balance of your loan.

This process is called ‘topping up’, and as the name suggests, you just add a bit more on to the loan. It’s a great low-cost option with a small administration fee and paperwork that we’ll guide you through.

Refinancing

Refinancing involves taking out a new loan and paying out the old one. Let’s face it. A bank or finance institution is really only interested in you when you’re new business. Once they’ve secured your business, their competitiveness may seem to disappear.

Getting the right advice on all your options is vital. You’ll have some important questions and decisions to make.

You’ll be pleased to know that our home loan service comes at no cost to you.

As part of the service I offer, I’ll meet with you to understand your needs and compare hundreds of loans from over 35 quality lenders. I’ll also complete the application, take care of the legwork and keep you updated as it progresses to approval and settlement.

I’m here to guide you through the entire home loan process, every step of the way.The lenders pay me after your loan settles. I am paid the same rate regardless of which home loan you choose from our panel of lenders. This means that I am completely unbiased and you can be sure that what matters most to me is the home loan that’s right for you.