What is it? Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) protects the lender in the case that the borrower defaults on meeting loan repayments and cannot recover the full amount of the loan. Can I avoid paying LMI? LMI is generally only charged when you have a deposit which is less than 20% of the property’s value. If you do not have the required savings, having someone act as a guarantor for your loan may also be a solution. Find out more: How an equity guarantor can help with your deposit Why should I pay it? While LMI is a cost that can be avoided, there …

The RBA announced in November that the cash rate would be left unchanged for the fifteenth consecutive month. This has led to speculation that an interest rate rise could be on the cards soon. Most major economists* are predicting that they will increase around mid-2015, so now is the time to start planning for greater repayments. Borrowers should be putting strategies in place now to deal with the consequences of a future rise. Something important to consider is fixing your loan. The current mortgage wars have seen lenders slash many of their fixed rate products to below 5%, a level never seen before. As a result, demand has surged …

With the year coming to an end in a couple of months this months property report focuses on the information you need to begin planning, if you haven’t done so already, for the new year and after. Dwelling values increased by 1.0% to $545,000 across the combined capital cities in October however, only Sydney (1.3%), Melbourne (1.9%) and Brisbane (0.6%) recorded gains. Perth prices fell by 0.1% for the month to a median dwelling value of $525,000. Over the 12 months to August 2014 there were 349,612 houses and 135,914 units sold across the country. This is a 7.7% increase in …