blog Archives - Focus Property Wealth

Buying an apartment vs a house as an investment

03 November 2024

Do you want to jump into the property market but don’t have the budget to buy a house? A unit or apartment could be a great way to get your leg up on the property ladder. According to CoreLogic data, unit values are now rising at a faster rate than houses in more than half…

Rentvesting: is this a good option for first-time buyers?

15 August 2024

With today’s cost of living pressures and the median dwelling value in Australia now at $794,000, many young Australians feel like they’ll never be able to enter the property market. However, it’s important to remember there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to buying your first property. For some, it could be a home to live in. For others, rentvesting…

Refinancing your home loan: how does it work?

19 January 2024

When you’re busy with life, refinancing can seem like a hassle. However, with a mortgage broker to guide you through the process, it doesn’t have to be! Refinancing may allow you to switch to a more competitive home loan, thereby potentially saving you money in interest. It can also help you achieve other goals, like…

Smart Investing for the Budget-Savvy

18 August 2023

Perth property investment market is going very well, much of this success is to do with the WA property markets affordability in comparison to other states. Is a small budget holding you back from property investment? Think again! So you might be surprised to learn that you don’t need a hefty bank balance to dive…

How your HECS-HELP debt affects your borrowing capacity

11 May 2023

Do you know how much you owe on your HECS-HELP debt? While student HECS and HELP loans in Australia are interest-free, they are indexed every financial year based on a cost of living index. The recent outbreak of high inflation means millions of Australians with student loan debts are facing a 7.1% increase from 1…

How to manage your own investment property

24 April 2023

How to manage your own investment property? It’s time to find some quality tenants and sign them up to a lease. When it comes to this step, you can go one of two ways. You can pay a property manager to take care of the nitty gritty for you. There are all sorts of perks…

Perth property market update

12 May 2019

When will the Perth Property market return to growth? With so much focus on the NSW and Victorian property in media it is important to understand Australia has many individual property markets and Perth has been doing it tough for many years now. You may recall way back in 2006, Perth's median property prices…

Rent Vs Buy?

15 June 2018

Rent Vs buy? For some, renting makes good financial sense. For others, it’s just money down the drain. For you it may be a question of short-term convenience versus long-term financial growth, which can make it a difficult decision to make. In this article, we break down the pros and cons of renting and buying,…

3 things every new landlord needs to know

04 January 2018

Buying your first investment property is exciting, but it also comes with new responsibilities. When you’re on your L-plates as a new landlord, it’s important to be aware of your rights and obligations and those of your tenants. Here are some of the essential things that you should know. 1) Go it alone, or use…

Is now the right time to buy your first home?

07 December 2017

If you’ve been dreaming about purchasing your own place, but a niggling voice in the back of your mind has been offering up objections, we’re here to tell that voice to pump the breaks, champ! In this article, we tackle some of the common objections first home buyers may have to buying right now, and…

How to beat the urge to splurge

22 November 2017

Christmas is just over the horizon and decorations are already starting to appear at the local shops. It’s a time of year where it’s almost common practice to splurge so it is time for a Christmas budget ! Marketers are all working hard to encourage you to buy, buy, buy and you may have already…

What is the best time of the year to sell your home?

31 October 2017

When selling your home, your main objective is to get the best possible price. So when should you put it on the market? Does the time of year make a difference? The answer is that it depends on the property itself. The time of year can make a difference in some cases, however the location…

6 strategies for first home buyers

24 October 2017

Saving a 20% deposit for your first home is no easy task – particularly if you want to buy your first home in Melbourne or Sydney where home values seem to be rising faster than most people can save. But the good news is that there could be ways to get around the problem. Here’s…

3 ways to start growing your nest-egg using real estate.

19 October 2017

In Australia, the national past-time seems to be to save, save, save for a house deposit! People are making all sorts of sacrifices to get that all-important deposit together – from living with mum and dad into their thirties, to sacrificing life’s little luxuries. But why are so many Australians so very focused on owning…

Is your Interest Only Loan the best for you?

06 October 2017

The last 12 months have seen a lot of changes to interest rates on home loans and investment loans and more recently interest only loans getting the regulators attention. Now is the time to review your loan to see if you can reduce your loan rate and perhaps even pay it down faster. What is…

First home buyer? what to look out for when inspecting properties

15 August 2017

If you’re a first home buyer and new to inspecting properties, it can be difficult to know what to look out for, especially when you’re excited about your first home purchase! Well, first-timers, we’ve got you covered. In this article, we’ve put together a 101 guide of things to be mindful of during your…

5 Ways to pay your home loan off years earlier with no additional repayments!

14 August 2017

PART 1 - The Scenario. Have you ever wondered how some people seem to get ahead to pay their home loan down whilst others struggle from pay to pay and yet both generally have similar incomes? I see this a lot and then I am privileged to be able to drill down deeper into our…

Questions to ask about your home loan

30 July 2017

There’s a lot of benefits to using a mortgage broker and they can certainly help you speed up the process of property buying and your financial goals. A good mortgage broker can assist you in choosing the right home loan for your current and future needs as well as answering all your questions. Here’s some…

Retire early Live off your property portfolio! Let rent supply your income!

27 July 2017

We see these headings all the time in blogs and articles on property investment websites, but how do you actually retire early? How many properties do you need to own for it to be feasible to retire? What are the costs involved? And, does being leveraged up to your eyeballs work in your favour? (more…)

Property Investment – 6 Reasons why it is more popular than ever

09 July 2017

Australians are a nation of investors . Over 60% of us hold additional investments outside of compulsory superannuation and increasingly, property is one of our most popular investment choices. But why? And is it the right form of investment for you? If you’re not sure, the sooner you talk to a qualified Financial Planner the…