The Mortgage Calculator in Australia - Part 1

Many easy to use mortgage calculators in Australia are available online today and these will answer many of your mortgage related questions, be it how much you can borrow, how much your repayments will be and the effect of additional repayments.

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In Australia a mortgage calculator may even compare different home loan options available for you.

When using a mortgage calculator to ascertain how much you can borrow it should be used as a guide only. The result will give you a general idea of your borrowing potential and therefore what sort of property you can start hunting for!

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In conjunction with this you may also wish to use another loan calculator which can work out your approximate monthly repayments due. The calculated results can assist with your personal budgeting and help you decide how much you believe you can afford to borrow given your personal circumstances.

The repayment loan calculator can also help you compare different scenarios such as possible rate increases, the difference between paying weekly, fortnightly or monthly instalments or the effect on repayments given different loan terms.

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Though the standard loan term in Australia is 25 - 30 years a shorter term can be taken - the mortgage calculator lets you know how much your monthly repayments will increase if you choose to take a shorter loan term.

Another useful tool is the 'Extra Repayments' calculator. This will show the effect of additional repayments being made over the term of the loan. The mortgage calculator will show you that if you make additional or extra repayments you will can substantially lower the interest paid over the life of the loan and also have your home loan paid off a lot quicker.

Given there are so many loan products available, if you are looking for finance in Australia today, a mortgage calculator can be a very effective tool when weighing up your financial/budgeting options.

Vicky Edema has been the Managing Director of Austral Mortgage Corporation since 1992, the company provides an easy to use mortgage calculator and offers competitive mortgage rates. Visit Austral Mortgage at http://www.australmortgage.com.au

Tips on Buying a House!

By Karan Singh

Step 1:
Determine your housing requirements: where do you want the house? What price range? How big a house do you need? What kind of a house is appropriate for you? The distance of your house from municipal and community services, etc…

Step 2:
Understanding you Local Housing Market: Hire an agent to determine the market prices for the kind of house you are looking for? Your agent gets paid, so he/she must work for you and work hard. Ask them any questions that you may have and make them work for you. Determine if it is a buyer's or seller's market? How favourable are the conditions towards you, etc…

Step 3:
Calculating your Costs: The most important thing when buying a house is your financial capability. How much can you afford monthly? How much down payment are you planning to give first up? Maintenance Costs? Renovation Costs? Services Cost? Propery Taxes? Insurance?

Step 4:
Choosing your Team: Make sure you choose an agent who you are comfortable with and who is willing to work hard for you and who has time for you. Do you prefer a good more experienced agent, or a younger one? And ask your agent to help you find a good housing inspector and mortgage lender.

Step 5:
Arranging your Mortgage: For this aspect, your agent should take care of the all the paperwork and all that is involved in this. After all, they are getting paid for their service. Understand all different types of mortgages and the benefits and cons of all these.

Step 6:
Closing the Deal and Moving: Make sure that all the paperwork has been taken care of and the appropriate and required documents are submitted before the notary and all the requirements have been met. Keep in frequent touch with your agent in order to be up to date as to what is going on with your house. Find a reliable moving company and assure that your moving is as smooth as possible.

Jasbir Singh is the founder of http://www.montrealonline.ca/

Choosing The Right Home

Susy Copus

When deciding on moving house the first step is to understand what exactly you are looking for and why you are moving in the first place.

One way to do this is to sit down and write all the criteria that you ideally want. You need to make two lists: essential criteria and desirable criteria and then mark them in order of importance. If you are buying a house as part of a family it may be useful for all members of the family to do this task independently so that the whole family is aware of what is important for everyone else.

What goes on each list will of course vary according to your personal needs. However, factors to be considered include location of workplaces, schools, amenities, transport facilities, house price, house size, number of bedrooms, gardens, car parking, area, condition of house, tool-sheds, dog walking spaces, space for pets, etc.

When you start to view houses always refer back to your checklists. As you view houses the criteria is likely to change and you may need to update your lists. You may see a beautiful house in an unsuitable area, or your dream kitchen but no parking. You may then be able to overcome the problem i.e. if you have found your dream home in a remote location rather than a preferred town location, can you afford two cars or is the public transport sufficient? Would you gain more than you lose? Or you may have found your dream house but has no garden – is there a park nearby that would suffice?

As a buyer you need to be flexible and adaptable. Each house you view will have its pluses and minuses. You need to view each house with an open mind and even when you view a house that immediately excites you must always refer back to your checklist. You can then be fully aware of any negatives and can work out how to deal with them.

The key is to know what you want, and be adaptable when you find it.

Susy Copus is a property commentator writing about all aspects of home moving, properties for sale, estate agent directories and house prices for the UK Property Search Engine, Wheres My Property. Susy also writes for Renovate Alerts who specialise in finding property to renovate and Property Money Maker.