Home loans

The Perfect Plot: 5 Tips for Finding the Right Location for Your New Home

December 2, 2023 by Reporter Leave a Comment

Photo: Avel Chuklanov / Unsplash

The location of your home can significantly impact your daily life, commute, and overall happiness, making this one of the most critical decisions you’ll make in the purchasing process. To help you make an informed decision, we’ve compiled five essential tips for finding the right location for your new home.

1. Know thyself

Who would’ve thought ancient Greek maxims could be useful when searching for a new home? It turns out the old “know thyself” truism is as valid now as it was when it was inscribed on the Temple of Apollo.

Whether you’re calling home builders in the Ocean Grove area or exploring display homes in Cairns, you’ll be wasting your time if you haven’t defined your priorities and lifestyle. Some key questions to ask include:

Do you prefer a bustling metropolitan environment or quiet suburban vibes?
What amenities are essential for your daily life? Think schools, hospitals, parks, and shopping centres?
How long are you willing to commute?
Are you looking for a community feel or a more private scene?
How does your budget align with the cost of living in different areas?

Answering these questions will help you narrow down your options and focus on areas that best suit your needs.

2. Know the neighbourhood

Once you have a clear understanding of your priorities, start researching potential neighbourhoods. Here’s what to look for:

Safety: Check crime rates, read local news, ask questions on Reddit, and chat with current residents to gain valuable insights into the safety of an area.
Schools: If you have children or plan to in the future, research the quality of local schools.
Commute: Calculate the distance and estimated commute time to your workplace and anywhere else you frequently visit.
Amenities: Check the availability of amenities that matter to you, such as parks, public transport, restaurants, and cultural attractions.
Future development: Investigate any development plans in the area, considering whether they may impact property values and the overall atmosphere.

3. Know your long-term goals

Are you planning to stay in the area for many years, or is this a temporary move? Consider:

Property appreciation: A location with steady or increasing property values may offer a good investment opportunity
Future plans: Are you starting a family, changing jobs, or retiring? A location that aligns with your long-term goals can save you from needing to move again in the near future.
Resale value: A well-located property is more likely to attract buyers when the time comes to sell.

4. Explore the area

Schedule visits to your top choices, and explore the neighbourhoods during different times of the day and week. Pay attention to:

Traffic patterns: Observe traffic conditions and congestion during your visits, especially during rush hours.
Noise levels: Listen for noise levels in the area, including traffic noise, neighbour activity, and proximity to loud venues.
Community vibes: Interact with residents to get a sense of the community and its overall atmosphere.
Property condition: Evaluate the condition of other homes in the area to see if they meet your standards.
Accessibility: Test the accessibility of the location by driving or walking to schools, grocery stores, and public transportation.

5. Seek support

Consider seeking professional guidance from a local real estate agent. A knowledgeable agent can provide valuable insights, help you access exclusive listings, and generally help you navigate the complex process of buying a home.

Choosing the location of your new home is a crucial decision that will significantly impact your daily life and long-term satisfaction. So take your time, explore your options, and use the tips above to find the perfect plot that feels like home.

Ready for a Starter Home? 5 Things you Must Keep in Mind

May 28, 2020 by Reporter Leave a Comment

Homeownership rates in Australia are touted to reach 64% by 2021.

Undeniably, having a place to call your own is an incredible achievement, regardless of whether you are purchasing a starter home or a forever home.

This achievement is, however, a substantial financial undertaking that calls for preparation, foresight and a lot of diligence.

Are you in the market for your first home? If yes, here are five things to keep in mind.

1. Your Credit Score Will Matter Greatly

Your credit score is among the most significant determinants of what your loan’s terms are going to be.

It’s therefore advisable to know what it is, way in advance. If it’s less than pleasant, you will have some time to try and improve it before you actually make a loan application.

Australia scores individuals on a 0 to 1200 scale, with 500 to 700 considered as average. While you might still get a financier with a below-average score, this will likely be on higher interest terms.

A good score, by and large, gets you a better offer.

2. There Will be Additional Expenses

There are several other chargeable fees over and above the actual cost of the home. Some of these include insurance, repair costs, property taxes, association fees and so on.

You should, therefore, have the budget or income to cover not just these costs, but also to cover emergency costs that might arise.

Think ahead to how you intend to furnish your home and how much house leaves you with enough to do that.

If you’re on a shoestring budget, it’s advisable to start with the basics such as living room furniture, beds and bedding and basic kitchen utensils and appliances. But don’t rush to the shop if your old stuff is still usable.

However, don’t drag dilapidated belongings into your new home. If you live in the capital, and want to throw away your mattress, consider mattress recycling in Canberra instead of sending it to a landfill.

3. A Good Realtor is Key

Each neighbourhood has unique qualities and peculiarities you should be well aware of before making a purchase.

A credible agent will have a firm handle on what these are, as well as an array of properties with different features and a wide range of budgets.

As you shop for an agent, look for one with extensive experience and coverage in the area you are looking to settle in.

4. You Need a Reputable Home Inspector

A home inspection is done to identify any problems with a house that might require repairs or overhauls.

Without a reputable home inspector, you run the risk of missing some of these issues. The last thing you need is an inspector that overlooks problem areas just to help a seller or a realtor to make a sale.

If you are referred to a tried and tested agent, you can ask them to refer an inspector to you. If not, then you’re better off finding and vetting an inspector or an inspection company by yourself.

If you buy a house with major damage, you will find yourself in a pinch months or years after the purchase as repair and labour costs can get quite high.

5. You Need to Protect Your Financial Standing

Your pre-approval will be solely set within the information given at the time you make an application.

Any amendments like a job with a different salary, additional loans or job loss can result in your loan being denied when you begin the purchase process.

As much as possible, try to hold your financial position constant so as not to jeopardize your homeownership dream.

Easy Does It

Finding and buying a house is not a process that should be rushed. When you finally decide to take the steps towards homeownership, allow yourself the gift of time.

This should enable you to shop around for a great house in an enviable neighbourhood and at a good price.

It should also allow you the time to vet agents, inspectors and lenders. Ultimately, you deserve not only the home of your dreams, but you also deserve to get a good deal on the home of your dreams.

The Rostering Revolution: How to Effectively Track a Remote Workforce

May 27, 2020 by Reporter Leave a Comment

As the world sees a huge shift towards remote working in the last few months, businesses and offices all around the globe have had to find effective ways to manage and track their workforce. Managing staff in an office setting can be difficult enough, let alone managing a workforce that is situated all around the country. Whilst tracking a remote workforce can take a little time and effort on the part of a business owner, it is not an impossible feat. In today’s article, we have a look at how business owners can effectively track a remote workforce by using various tools and strategies that help streamline the tracking process. Read on to find out more!

Software is Essential

When it comes to tracking schedules and work hours, software is an absolute essential. Relying on word of mouth or manual ways of tracking hours is almost always a recipe for disaster. This is why it is so important that business owners make use of tools such as an app for rostering your staff when engaging with a remote workforce. With the help of a timesheet and scheduling app, you will be able to effectively and closely monitor employee hours, shifts and schedules. Software essentially does the work for you, thus greatly reducing the burden on your shoulders whilst at the same time tracking your workforce with utmost precision and accuracy.

Face-To-Face Interaction

Face-to-face interaction when it comes to managing a remote workforce is actually more important than you may think. It can be all too easy for both employers and employees to feel disconnected when working from home, which can ultimately prove to reduce motivation and efficiency levels. In order to prevent this, it is incredibly important that business owners engage in face-to-face interaction with employees at least once a week. This could be in the form of a team meeting, a one-on-one meeting with staff or even just an online socialising session that allows everyone to come together and let their hair down. Never underestimate the power of face-to-face interaction when it comes to tracking a remote workforce.

A Culture of Accountability

Once a business has implemented its time tracking and scheduling software, it is important for those who are higher in the hierarchy to lead by example. This can come in the form of sharing your own timesheet with your employees and encouraging everyone to do the same. Openly sharing timesheets can greatly improve employee motivation and can easily set a benchmark for performance, efficiency and productivity amongst the workforce. Sharing this information also helps to foster a culture of accountability amongst your workers which will inevitably make your job of tracking them much easier in the long run.

Focus On Deadlines

One of the best ways to encourage productivity and efficiency with remote workers is to set strict deadlines that workers have to meet. Ensuring that your team fully understands the scope of their work and being firm with deadlines is a fantastic way to ensure that every monitoring activity will be focused on one singular outcome instead of getting your team to collaborate together towards a shared goal. Individual deadlines can keep employees on their toes, thus ensuring that everyone is giving their 110% and reducing the need for business owners to constantly be checking up on activity and efficiency levels.

End Of Day Report Summaries

With the number of tasks that your team has to deal with, it can be easy for them to lose track of what they have accomplished during the day. This is why introducing end of day report summaries is such a great idea. These summaries can be used as a tool to help both employer and employee identify opportunities for improvement, iron out any potential issues and keep track of their activity on a daily basis. Summaries should be paired with regular team meetings in order to make sure everyone is on the right track and no one is left lagging behind.

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Tracking and managing a remote workforce can be a challenging job, but it certainly isn’t one that is impossible. By utilising a wide variety of tools and ensuring clear and effective communication channels with your workforce, you’ll find that managing your team is a lot easier than you had ever imagined.

Property Picks 2019 – How Should Homebuyers Be Investing This Year?

April 15, 2019 by Reporter Leave a Comment

Source: Shutterstock

Those who are avid property investors will know what an absolute jungle of competition it is out there in 2019. Whether you are someone who invests in property for capital gain or a great rental return, it is important that anyone investing do some research into trends in the property world and proceed with caution. If you’re looking to invest in Australian property this year, here are some insightful tips into exactly where you should be spending your money in 2019. Read on to find out more!

Magnificent Melbourne

If you are looking to invest in property in Melbourne, we highly recommend focusing your attention on the middle to outer western suburbs in 2019. Properties in these areas are highly affordable, and have some of the biggest potential to grow in the coming years. With a number of project home builders focusing their attention on these areas in Melbourne, it is no surprise investors are racing to purchase properties before anyone else gets the chance to.

Some upcoming suburbs in Melbourne include Reservoir, Thomastown, West Sunshine and St Albans. The best properties for investors to spend their money on would be bungalows and townhouses with some land content. For those looking to invest in a home slightly closer to the city, units and townhouses are a fantastic option. Experts advise that if you’re looking to invest close to the city, you should look for properties that are within a 10km radius from the CBD.

The Best Properties In Sydney

If you’re more inclined to purchase property in Sydney, you are in luck. Expert investors believe that Sydney has already experienced most of its property drop, meaning that the first half of 2019 will present investors with some of the best buying properties with the least amount of competition. When it comes to investing in homes in Sydney, it is advised that you focus on houses instead of units due to land restrictions.

The growth in value if you purchase a house will far exceed that of a unit or a townhouse/apartment. In terms of areas to look at, seek out homes with rezoning potential and in urban growth corridors. Other fantastic options are areas which are only just being developed with upcoming infrastructure such as train lines or road projects. If you’re only looking to purchase a unit, it is advised that you look to purchase one that is closer to the city, amenities and near public transport.

Bustling Brisbane

Experts have predicted that Brisbane is probably one of the best places to invest in property in 2019. With a 13% property price growth estimate by 2021, Brisbane is the place for those who are looking for capital gain. Some of the best areas in Brisbane to invest would be the blue chip inner-ring areas that are close to the river and the CBD such as Paddington, Hamilton and Auchenflower. The biggest gains are expected for houses, with median house price expected to grow by 11% in the next few years.

Regional Areas

Last but not least, those who are looking to invest in property in regional areas are in luck. A number of property markets in regional towns are currently thriving, and make excellent investment prospects. Locations outside of capital cities often present the best opportunities for investors as homes are much more affordable, housing supply is often tight and simply because cash flow tends to be a lot stronger in these areas.

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We hope that this article has been useful in giving you some inside knowledge on exactly where you, a homebuyer, should be investing your money in 2019.

5 Steps to Win a House Competition in Australia

March 24, 2019 by Reporter Leave a Comment

Winning a dream house is a thrilling experience. Just imagine owning your dream house overnight by simply buying a prize home ticket is pretty exciting and daring. Most people end up losing because there has to be only one winner who takes the prize home.

Here are some of the tips that you can apply to increase your chances of winning a house competition in Australia:

1. Identify a Currently Active House Competition

Most house competitions are usually advertised on television and newspapers. You can also do a web search about the house giveaways and lotteries currently active in Australia.

Go through all the dream home lotteries and choose the one that suits you. You can choose the one with the best offers such as bigger homes in safe neighbourhoods or even an extra car.

You can also decide on home lotteries that support charitable causes to avoid feeling hurt when you lose in the contest; You will comfort yourself by being convinced that your money ended up saving lives.

2.Conduct Background Searches About House Competitions

You must first confirm a competition’s legitimacy to win any lottery. Some house competitions are not authentic and end up robbing people who take part. You must, therefore, confirm if it is authenticity before proceeding to buy a prize home ticket.

Visit their website and consider the source of information about the tickets. You should also investigate whether there have been complaints against the sponsoring company. Ask your colleagues about the legitimacy of the home ticket competition. One of a reliable organisation is these prize homes at yourtown, where you can win a prize home and support young people and families in Australia.

Add words like ‘Scam’ to the name of housing competition when doing a web search to see if the competition is not as authentic as it presents itself. By doing all these things, you reduce the chances of losing money by buying a ticket for a competition that is not legitimate.

3. Check the Rules to Avoid Being Eliminated

Breaking rule is the fastest way to get disqualified from any competition. To increase your chances of winning the dream house, you must strictly follow all the instructions about the competition. You need to read all the guidelines at least twice to avoid missing out on essential rules that could kick you out of the contest at an early stage.

Give all the details required to take part in the competition. If they need your full names and date of birth, then present the details.

4. Purchase Your Prize Home Tickets from Different Places

If the house competition allows you to buy multiple tickets, your chances of winning are high. Some people believe that buying tickets from different people and locations can increase your winning probability. Buying multiple tickets in this manner prevents you from having consecutive numbers. Therefore, your winning chance is high when you have different ticket numbers. So if you want to win a house, please try this trick; you never know if you will win.

5. Read the Guidelines to Check for Additional Ways of Winning

Thoroughly review the guidelines and information provided about the competition. You may notice an extra means of winning your dream house from these guidelines. You can also get more tactics by visiting the websites of companies promoting the house competition. Read the section on how to enter the contest in such websites because you may discover additional entries that may increase your chances of winning.

The secret to winning a lottery is the same in all kinds of competitions whether you want to win a car or a house: buy as many tickets as possible from different sites and locations and stick to the rules of the competition. Go ahead and give it a trial; you might win a dream house and become a homeowner sooner than you expected!

Getting Passive Income a Reality

October 20, 2015 by Reporter Leave a Comment

Getting additional income resource through passive income is all getting big these days. With prices going up and salaries doesn’t match the rise in cost of living, it’s no wonder why people are looking for ways to augment the family budget.

One way to passive income is getting a rental property which you can rent out or lease out to tenants. One particular rental property that is evergreen is renting out houses. This is especially true for newly weds that are starting to build their family.

There are a lot of things to consider when buying a home. Investment like this will be one of the biggest decisions you will ever make in your entire life, so you better think about it thoroughly and make sure you are prepared for it.

Generally, there are a lot of ways to acquire your future rental home, one of which is to get a home loan. Numerous companies offer home loans these days and it is up to you which you choose. Simply look for a company that is trustworthy, has a reputable track record, and offers competitive home loans.

There are a lot of types of home loans which you can get, but you only need one that fits all your needs. A great example would be NPBS’ fixed rate home loans, which provide you the assurance of knowing what your repayments would be. To jumpstart your home loan journey, here are a few things to bear in mind before deciding to apply for a home loan:

Learn the basics.

Before jumping into your final decision, you have to understand first what you are going to deal with. Home loan has different kinds, including FHA and VA mortgages, fixed-rate, and adjustable-rate. You need to know the differences of each type as well as your benefits when you have chosen one.

Choose a trusted lender.

When you finally decide on applying for a home loan, you have to ensure that you deal with a reliable and trustworthy company. Make sure to verify and have a background check of the company first before getting a home loan. It is better to be sure than sorry when it comes to this matter.

Figure out what you can afford.

Determine what you can afford, including insurance and taxes, by calculating your home loan. If you can afford to pay for a higher down payment as it will lessen your mortgage dues, then go for it.

Pay your bills on time.

As much as possible, avoid late payments if you want to get your home loan approved. Late payments trim down your credit score, which has a straight impact on your mortgage. Hence, you have to become a good payer to prevent paying higher interest rates or worse, getting denied a home loan.

Never close your existing accounts.

Keep all your accounts active, even those with no balance at all. These accounts maintain a credit history. The longer your credit history is, especially when you have a good payment record, the better.

Buying your first-ever rental investment is one of the momentous times in your life. By simply following the aforementioned tips, you can be more equipped to apply and get pre-approved of your home loan.

Home Loans – A Buyer’s Guide

April 30, 2015 by Reporter Leave a Comment

Home loans and mortgages are offered to a wide variety of different people to help them when buying a house, flat or any other type of property. They are one of the most popular ways of securing the additional finances you need to make such a big investment. It is important to note that when taking out this type of loan you will need to pay back an extra fee on top of what you have borrowed. You get the added benefit of being able to make smaller repayment amounts at a later date, and this is often the greatest deal for most people, as it makes payments more manageable. There are various different types of home loans available, yet it all really comes down to the bank you borrow the money from. Let’s take a look at the various types of home loans banks offer below.

Different types of home loans

1. Fixed rate home loan– With this type of home loan there is the advantage that you don’t have to worry about interests going up, as you will pay a fixed amount for a set period of time. This can provide certainty and make it a lot easier for you to manage your finances. Not only that, you will find that you can acquire up to 95 per cent of the loan. This is a popularoption. You can acquire this service over the Internet as well. For home loans, visit Newcastle Permanent.

2. Real deal home loan – This loan has its own special features. You can acquire the loan up to a maximum of 95 per cent and it offers a reduced interest rate of 0.25 per cent p.a. for the first three years. After this, the loan regains its normal interest percentage.

3. Introductory Discounted Variable Rate Home Loan – This type of loan offers you a reduction in repayment for the first year and afterwards reverts to the normal interest rate. This makes payments easier to manage in the first year, giving you a bit of extra time and cash to start off with.

4. Premium Variable Home Loan–If you desire a variable interest rate but you are still interested in additional features, this is a great option to consider. Furthermore, you can also acquire this loan for up to 90 per cent of the actual home amount.

5. Real Options Home Loan – With this type of loan there are varying interest rates. However, you have the advantage of not needing to worry about any extras, such as accounting fees.

6. Real Equity Credit Facility – This is a variable credit facility, which is secured against your property, so that you can access your equity directly.You can then use this equity in order to help you build your wealth. There are no charges or establishment fees and this loan acquisition is up to 90 per cent of your home.

7. Premium Plus Package – This offers one of the lowest home loan interest rates with an innumerable amount of benefits along with it. You can borrow up to 90 per cent of your home and repayments can be made at any given time within the specified period.An experienced and dedicated bank should have the capability to offer these various home loan services.

To conclude, it is very important for you to know the type of home loan you are interested in, the amount you want to pay by the end of repayment and for what specified period you need it. This will help you to narrow down your choices and get the loan that is suitable for you.

Types of Low Doc Products and Options

June 23, 2013 by Reporter Leave a Comment

Everyone doesn’t have a specified regular income, and when a person doesn’t have a fixed income or cannot provide documents in support, he become ineligible for a home loan. For the benefit of such people low doc home loans have been introduced, which have now transformed into smaller mortgage finance solution for such people.

Getting a home loan isn’t as easy as it looks first up, there are many formalities associated, which makes it really lengthy and cumbersome process. However, when you want to purchase a property, you will need a home loan. And to get a home loan, you will need proof of income, assets and liabilities etc to prove your credit worthiness.

Low doc residential loans are designed specifically for self-employed people or casual workers, who have income and assets, but are unable to provide the financial documents required at the time of application for loan. To apply for a low doc loan or low document loan, a person needs to file in a written application, this application works as a self-declaration of income derived from business for casual workers and self-employed. People with bad credit history are also eligible to apply for low documentation loans.

Benefits of low doc home loans

· These loans are suitable for people who do not have financial documents to prove their regular income

· Low doc loans require no or very minimum paperwork at the time of application.

· People with bad credit history can apply for a low document loan

· Low doc loan is passed on self-verification, applicant himself states his income. No financial verification needed

Types of Low Doc Products

· Low doc 60: Under low doc 60 an applicant can get a Loan to Value Ratio of 60 percent. The applicant needs to provide an application for self-verification along with accountant’s declaration. The loan can be taken for purchase of refinance.

· Low Doc Construction: The loan covers up to 80 percent of the value, and can be used for purchase of refinance.

· Low Doc Platinum: The loan covers up to 80 percent of the value; it requires self-verification and accountant’s declaration.

· Lite Doc Express: The loan covers up to 80 percent of value. Self-verification and accountant’s declaration is required for application.

· Low Doc Easy: The loan covers up to 85 percent of Loan to Value Ratio. Application for Self verification along with accountant’s declaration is required. The loan can be used for purchase of refinance.

Low Doc Loan Options

Various types of low doc loans are available, some of them include:

· To purchase property

· For refinance

· Low doc loans for business expansion

· Loan to pay tax debt

· Loans with no mortgage insurance

· Low doc home loans to purchase or refinance residential land

· Low doc construction loan to build more residential property

· Specialist low doc loans for applicants with bad or not so perfect credit history

Author Bio: I’m Andrew a specialist mortgage finance consultant of Red Rock Mortgage Group an independent mortgage finance company with 7+ years’ experience in writing finance topics.

Housing price growth in Australia is over

May 1, 2013 by Reporter Leave a Comment

Price rises in the Australian housing market have slowed, according to new reports, and they won’t show any signs of picking up again in the near future.

In an important speech to the Citibank Property Conference in Sydney last week, the Australian Reserve Bank’s head of financial stability Luci Ellis said that home prices in Australia are likely to grow more slowly than they have for the past 30 years.

She stated that “trend housing price growth will be slower in future than in the previous 30 years”, and is unlikely to rise rapidly again.

House prices are definitely rising – but not “booming”

These new statements from the Reserve Bank come just a month after the latest RP Data-“Rismark Home Value Index” showed that capital city house prices rose by 2.8 per cent on average in the March quarter of 2013 – the strongest quarterly result in almost three years. According to The Australian, this slow rise can also be seen in both the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ established house price index, which rose by 2.1 per cent, and its consumer price index, which rose by 2.2 per cent throughout 2012.

However, RP Data research director Tim Lawless admitted that we are unlikely to see such growth rates continue throughout the year, with growth likely to normalise over the coming months.

What’s to blame for the slowdown in housing price growth?

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the low-inflation targets imposed by the RBA meant that consumers could borrow around twice as much as they previously had been able to. This in turn contributed to the huge rise in home prices and housing price problems in australia that was observed during this period, both in absolute terms and relative to consumer income.

However, now that this inflation-targeting period is over, housing prices are believed to have leveled off to a “new normal”, according to Dr Ellis.

What does this mean for potential homebuyers or investors?

Those scoping out new home loans for a home or investment property may be wondering what this latest news means for them, and the answer may not be such a positive one. In her speech, Dr Ellis suggested that these slower growth trends in housing prices meant that total returns on rental properties would fall, and that today’s homebuyers would most likely not receive the same capital gain on the family house as the previous generation did.

The Reserve Bank also warned that a slow housing market may see more periods where house prices actually fall, meaning that both purchasers and financial institutions should be cautious of borrowing or loaning a high percentage of the purchase price of a new home. This is so borrowers can try to avoid a situation in which their outstanding loan is larger than the actual value of their home – or what’s known as negative equity. The RBA is also opposed to banks lowering their lending standards to try and incentivise borrowers and boost loan growth and profits.

While a downturn is possible, there’s a low possibility of a property price crash

Those worried about the property market ‘crashing’ shouldn’t be – it’s unlikely that the price of property will crash any time in the near future, even though the RBA says that a downturn is possible. Ellis said that the RBA was “pretty sure that the boom we saw in the early 2000s managed to end with a fizzle, not a bust. So we don’t expect a sharp reversal from a starting point described by the situation we face now.”

Those interested can read Luci Ellis’s full speech here.

Mortgage Tips and building you own Business

April 6, 2013 by Reporter Leave a Comment

More and more Australians are taking the plunge and starting their own home-based businesses. There are currently over 1 million individuals operating a business from home, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. This number looks set to grow even larger with the easy availability of website building software.

The best website templates allow new business owners to create a professional ecommerce site from scratch, with little to no prior knowledge of web design. Recently there has been a surge in Real estate Start ups in Australia

However, starting a home business requires more than simply setting up a website. You’ll need to think of legal issues like registering for company names, business licences, and taxation. Using your residence as a place of business will mean that you must comply with all state, territory, and federal government regulations. To get started with this process, it’s best to contact your local council for more information.

At the same time, home business owners in need of a new mortgage may find that they face some unique issues. Applying for a home loan when you are self-employed can involve a completely different process than the usual one for salaried workers. There may be zoning issues that could affect your mortgage, as well as different standards for assessing your income. It’s best to weigh all these issues to finance a home that will be suitable for your business needs as well.

Choosing the Right Live/Work Property

One of the first unique challenges that a home business owner faces is choosing a property that provides adequate room for business needs. If you have just started up a basic ecommerce site using a Shopify website builder, you will most likely only need one spare room. However, those who plan on meeting with clients could need a full floor of the home. This could also impact your mortgage rates if a significant percentage of the property is used for commercial purposes. The exact percentage will depend on the lender.

How Lenders Assess your Finances

Every lender uses its own methods for assessing your income. In most cases they’ll look at your income using one of three basic methods.

1. Using the most recent year’s income – Although most lenders will use an average over a greater time period, some will only look at earnings from the past year to assess your income.

2. Using the average income from the past two years – Calculating the average income from the past two financial years gives lenders a well-rounded picture of your self-employed earnings.

3. Using the lowest income out of the past two years – If the most recent year’s income is lower than the previous year’s, it may worry a lender who will assume that this downward path could continue into the future. In this circumstance, they may use the lower figure out of the two years as the basis of their assessment.

To assess your earnings from a home-based business, lenders will look at your most recent tax returns as well as other expenses and financial information. Income from other sources, such as rental income, will usually be deducted from the figure that is scrutinized.

Low Document Loans

If you’re unable to find a lender who will help finance a mortgage using traditional methods like tax returns, you may qualify for a low doc home loan. These are available to home business owners who don’t have adequate financial proof available to satisfy income requirements. However, they usually require a higher down payment of at least 20% of the purchase price, and incur higher interest rates than traditional mortgages.