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The federal government has announced it is reissuing the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS) guarantees from the 2019/20 financial year originally allocated to buyers who have since been unable to complete the purchase of their home.

First home buyers will be able to apply for the newly-freed spots from the Scheme’s panel of lenders in the coming days; around 1,800 are expected to be made available.

The scheme was established to help first home buyers get into a home sooner, allowing for a deposit of as little as 5%. Since the scheme was launched a year ago, there has been an “extraordinary take up” of the guarantees, with more than 15,000 first home buyers having settled and moved into their home since 1 January 2020.

Following the onset of COVID-19 and the accompanying economic squeeze, the federal government announced the FHLDS would be extended through the release of an additional 10,000 spots, running until 30 June 2021, as part of the large-scale recovery plan to create jobs and rebuild the economy.

In just three months, over 4,200 first home buyers have already accessed the extended scheme to build or buy a new home.

Recent Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data has shown the many state and federal housing initiatives over recent months are accomplishing their goal, with first home buyers continuing to enter the market at the highest level since 2009 and the number of owner occupier first home buyer loan commitments rising 9.3% — an increase of 56.6% from the same time last year.

Recent analysis from NAB has corroborated the trend, with the major’s lending to first home buyers up by 21% against the group’s national 12-month average, and up 44% across regional areas.

Disclaimer: The content of this article is general in nature and is presented for informative purposes. It is not intended to constitute tax or financial advice, whether general or personal nor is it intended to imply any recommendation or opinion about a financial product. It does not take into consideration your personal situation and may not be relevant to circumstances. Before taking any action, consider your own particular circumstances and seek professional advice. This content is protected by copyright laws and various other intellectual property laws. It is not to be modified, reproduced or republished without prior written consent.

Significant changes have been made to Australia’s credit reporting rules after a new Comprehensive Credit Reporting regime (CCR) came into effect. This means now is as good a time as ever to perform a credit check.

The new legislation forces full compliance from Australia’s Big 4 banks, who have previously refused to take part.

In years gone by most lenders have only shared negative information. However, the new laws require that positive information such as a history of regular, on-time payments and the early repayment of loans is also included.

It is expected that this will result in increased scores for many borrowers.

Why should you do your own credit check?

Lenders will have access to your credit score, and you should too.

You don’t want to have a loan application declined because of inaccuracies, errors, or identity theft – all of which can find their way onto your report.

It’s therefore prudent to review your credit score once a year to make sure there are no surprises.

How can you conduct a credit check in Australia?

You can get a free credit report once a year from one of three national credit reporting bodies (CRB’s) which are listed on this government website.

You can also get a free report if you have had a loan application refused within the past 90 days, or if the request relates to a correction request.

If not, there are a number of fee-for-service options, depending on where you live.

Tasmanians are advised to check with the Tasmanian Collection Service and Equifax, and those living in other states, to check with Equifax, Dun & Bradstreet and Experian.

Keep in mind that it’s possible you could have a credit report with more than one agency.

Next steps

If you find errors in your report, you can get them corrected before they can adversely affect your credit score.

For those who find they have a ‘poor’ credit rating, you can take steps to improve it by clocking up a period of future consistency and reliability.

For those with a good credit rating, you will be better positioned to demonstrate your credit worthiness and seek more competitive interest rates.

If you’d like any help conducting a credit check or addressing what you find out, please don’t hesitate to sing out.

We can walk you through the process to help you secure the credit you need to purchase your next property.

Disclaimer: The content of this article is general in nature and is presented for informative purposes. It is not intended to constitute tax or financial advice, whether general or personal nor is it intended to imply any recommendation or opinion about a financial product. It does not take into consideration your personal situation and may not be relevant to circumstances. Before taking any action, consider your own particular circumstances and seek professional advice. This content is protected by copyright laws and various other intellectual property laws. It is not to be modified, reproduced or republished without prior written consent.

Whenever we think of New Year’s resolutions, the first thing that comes to mind is a health kick. But here are three (easy) New Year’s resolutions that’ll help improve your financial wellbeing in 2021.

Below we’ll run you through three straightforward, and most importantly, achievable New Year’s resolutions to set yourself this year.

1. Get a home loan health check

Quick question (no judgement): do you know the interest rate on your home loan?

Don’t stress if you don’t, studies show that about half of mortgage holders can’t recall their home loan interest rate.

But it does beg the question: if you don’t know your rate, how do you know whether or not you’re getting a good deal on your loan? You could very well be paying too much.

This is why making a home loan health check your New Year’s resolution is so important, particularly with interest rates at

record low levels after a series of RBA cash rate cuts.

Indeed, a recent RBA study found that for loans written four years ago, borrowers are charged an average of 40 basis points higher interest than new loans.

So if it’s been a while since you’ve refinanced – so long that you can’t recall your rate – then it’s probably time to get in touch for a home loan health check to see if you can get a better deal.

Rest assured we’ll make it quick and painless. Simply get the ball rolling by giving us a call today.

2. Set yourself a financial or lifestyle goal

If you’re not back at work yet, use this precious time to carefully consider what financial goals you want to achieve in 2021.

With renewed post-COVID optimism on the horizon, now might

be time to launch that business idea you’ve been thinking about.

Perhaps it’s time to upgrade from an apartment to your first house. Or with international travel on hold for a while, maybe now’s a good opportunity to explore Australia with a new set of wheels.

Whatever your flavour, consider taking stock of what you want to achieve in 2021 so that you can work out a plan to achieve it.

And if you’re unsure about how you’ll finance that goal, we’re here to discuss your funding options. We can help you work out whether you might be able to make them a reality in 2021, or if it’s more realistic to work towards 2022 instead.

3. Cut back on your microtransactions

Once you’ve identified a big financial goal to hit in 2021, you’ll want to start saving towards it.

But micro-transactions – purchases that are low in cost and trivial

in nature – can be a real obstacle.

For example, did you know that buying a $4 takeaway coffee each day costs you a whopping $1460 per year, whereas making it yourself using a french press or aeropress costs just $260.

That’s a saving of $1200.

Other micro-transactions that most families can cut back on include alcohol, take-away food such as Uber Eats, gym memberships, and multiple entertainment subscriptions such as Spotify, Netflix and Foxtel.

With a little bit of budget tinkering, you can save yourself hundreds – even thousands – of dollars each month.

So what’s your first step?

That’s easy – get in touch today for resolution #1: a home loan health check.

There’s a reason tens of thousands of families are currently refinancing their home loans: competition among lenders is

fierce.

And by getting the ball rolling on resolution #1, you’ll also be contributing towards resolutions #2 and #3 by saving money that you can put towards your 2021 financial goal.

Disclaimer: The content of this article is general in nature and is presented for informative purposes. It is not intended to constitute tax or financial advice, whether general or personal nor is it intended to imply any recommendation or opinion about a financial product. It does not take into consideration your personal situation and may not be relevant to circumstances. Before taking any action, consider your own particular circumstances and seek professional advice. This content is protected by copyright laws and various other intellectual property laws. It is not to be modified, reproduced or republished without prior written consent.