Nurses and midwives now eligible for LMI waiver
Are you a nurse or a midwife? Or do you know someone who is?
Nurses, midwives and other important healthcare professionals can now qualify for a lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) waiver policy. Here’s how it could save them thousands and fast-track their journey into home ownership.
There was a pretty big announcement recently that allows eligible nurses and midwives (who earn over $90,000 per annum) to buy a home with just a 10% deposit and avoid paying LMI with a Westpac home loan.
Is now a good time to buy?
Recent back-to-back interest rate hikes have led to a cooling of the property market, and with more rate rises predicted, you may feel like pumping the brakes on purchasing. But could the current climate offer opportunities?
With the predictions of coming rate rises and falling house prices, it's not surprising many potential buyers are holding off.
But if you're ready to buy, now could be an ideal time to strike – with other buyers holding back you could have more homes to choose from, less competition and more bargaining power against the vendor.
Want a first home buyer scheme spot? Here’s how to get the inside lane
From July 1 5,000 first home buyer scheme spots became available . If you’re keen to snare a place in the scheme – and buy your first home sooner – here’s how to get ahead of the pack.
Have you heard about the federal government’s Home Guarantee Scheme? (previously called the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme).
It allows you to buy your first home with just a 5% deposit and pay no lenders’ mortgage insurance (LMI)
First home buyers who use the scheme fast-track their property purchase by 4 to 4.5 years on average, because they don’t have to save the standard 20% deposit.
What happens when you roll off your fixed-rate mortgage?
They say all good things come to an end, and that includes your ultra-low fixed-rate home loan period. So what can you do to ensure a smooth transition?
With the past couple of years offering historically low interest rates, many Australians have been able to lock in an ultra-low fixed-rate home loan.
In fact, in July 2021, a over 45% of home loans taken out that month were fixed, which the ABS says was the peak period for fixing.
That means the peak time for borrowers rolling off their fixed-rate period will be between July and December 2023, according to RBA research.
And that time is fast approaching.