Have you been concerned about your credit file not being as healthy as it should be? Did you spend more than you wanted at Christmas or are you finding balancing your finances harder after a tough 2020? The fact is a poor or lower credit rating can impact your future borrowing or mean you are charged higher interest rates for any new lending. If your credit file needs some repair, here are 5 steps you can take to help that situation and get back on track.

Divorce or separation is an incredibly stressful time. Made even more so by having to split the family home or buy out your partner. Deciding who gets what often leads to acrimony and upset, making things messy and complicated. Whether you decide to buy out your partner or sell the family home and split the profits, it’s vital you’re absolutely clear on how each of these options could impact you financially.

Stamp duty has long been considered one of the biggest financial hurdles for home buyers in Australia’s property market. Now, some State Governments are working hard to remove that financial barrier, and give buyers more freedom to make property purchase decisions based on their current needs and lifestyle choices. Read on to find out what the removal of stamp duty could mean for you.

Buying a first home has been progressively harder over the years, largely due to rising house prices and lower affordability. But 2020 changed all of that. Buoyed by historic low interest rates, a lack of investors in market, and significant government incentives, first home buyers look set to dominate the property market in 2021.

2020 was a curve-ball year like no other! Not only did COVID-19 change the way we socialize, work and learn, interestingly, it also changed the way we spend and save. A surprising outcome of the pandemic year is the growing number of Australians who are saving more and spending less. Did you notice a change in your spending and saving habits too?

After working through a pandemic year and Australia’s first recession in 30 years, many Australians are wondering what lies ahead in 2021. What is the forecast for Australia’s property market? Will real estate prices continue to rise? We asked some of our mortgage brokers for their predictions for Australia’s property market in 2021. Here’s what they think.

In its December 2020 meeting, the Reserve Bank of Australia left its cash rate unchanged at a record low 0.1 per cent. While that’s bad news for your savings account, it’s good news if you’re a homeowner. The big question now is whether to lock in your home loan repayments by switching to a fixed rate mortgage. Before you decide, here are some important things to consider.

Fixed interest rates have continued to drop this year with some now close to the 2% mark or lower, while variable interest rates have tracked further downwards too albeit at a slower pace. Earlier in November 2020, the Reserve Bank of Australia dropped the cash rate to a new record low, and the Reserve Bank governor urged borrowers to renegotiate or switch lenders if they don’t get a rate cut. Read on to find out why interest rates matter.

For many Australian first home buyers, 2020 has been a year of opportunity. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), around 13,040 first-home buyer loans were approved across Australia in September alone, largely as a result of record low interest rates, backed by several government initiatives. If you’re in the market for the first time, here’s a closer look at what benefits you may be eligible for.

Need to crunch your numbers in a hurry? Take a look at the range of online calculators on the Mortgage Express website. Whether you need to calculate how much you could borrow, what your repayments would look like, how much your stamp duty could cost, or how much you could save with an offset account or a split loan, work it all out online using these handy calculators. Here’s an outline of what each calculator does.