Home Loan Rate – Australia

Home Loans for Doctors on a 422 Visa

Did you know? Despite doctors on 422 Visas being some of the lowest risk customers, most banks will not accept them for a home loan. However, there are some lenders that can consider lending up to 90% of the property value.

Contact a specialist mortgage broker such as The Home Loan Experts to discuss obtaining a home loan as a non-resident doctor on a 422 Visa.

What do Australian Banks Think?

Australian banks favor Doctors of Medicine and Medical Practitioners above all other professions, as doctors have secure employment, high income and are known to be low risk borrowers.

Lenders monitor the performance of their existing customers, and as such know which professions make their payments on time and do not default on their loans. This is why Australian banks are able to provide significant privileges to Medical Professionals for Residential Mortgages – even if you are not a resident of Australia!

However, not all Medical Practitioners are eligible for this special offer, as these discounts are aimed at graduating professionals and those in selected medical professions.

Am I eligible for a 422 Visa Home Loan?

Below is a list of some medical professionals who are accepted:

• Doctors of Medicine (eg, Anaesthetist, Dermatologist, Gynaecologist, General Practitioners)
• Dentists
• Psychiatrists
• Oncologists
• Optometrists
• Cardiologist
• Surgeons
• Radiologists
• Osteopaths
• Psychiatrists
• Veterinarians
• Physiotherapists
• Radiographers (case by case)
• Pharmacists (case by case)

Change in Visa Subclass

Following the creation of flexible working arrangements for International Medical Graduates (IMGs) under the 457 visa, the subclass Medical Practitioner (Temporary) Visa (Subclass422) was no longer available for new visa applications from 1 July 2010.

However, this new arrangement does not mean that the 422 visa has expired – you will still be able to use your 422 visa until the end of the visa validity period, you are granted a new visa subclass, or you change your employer sponsor.

Merging the Subclass 422 Visa with the 457 Visa streamlines the process for non-residents and temporary-residents, and reduces confusion as to the appropriate choice of visa.

Note that if you are a Doctor of Medicine or Medical Practitioner on a 457 Visa, specialist mortgage brokers can still assist you with special discounts.

What happens next?

We understand that obtaining your medical degree took a lot of time, effort and money and as such your cash may be a little tight right now. Often it takes time to get a deposit together to buy a home, let alone cover the high cost of Lenders Mortgage Insurance.

Thankfully mortgage brokers have already done the research for you, and automatically know which lender will be best suited to your unique situation. This means, that you will not have to go through all the red tape to find the best deal for you!

Contact a specialist mortgage broker such as The Home Loan Experts to discuss obtaining a home loan as a non-resident doctor on a 422 Visa.

“Capped”, it usually means that there is a limit or there is a certain boundary that cannot be crossed.   A capped loan similarly would mean that the interest rates have a limit set to them, and cannot go above a certain point.  This is of course limited to a certain period, which may be a number of years.

Due to the fact that a loan is capped, this simply means that no matter how high the interest rate goes up, the boundary is what would have been agreed upon in the capped loan contract.  However, when interest rates go down, the interest you pay can also go down.  This is because the cap is only applicable upwards and not downwards.

Currently, most capped home loans on offer have a 7.5% cap until 2012.  Any interest above 7.5% would not be allowable.    The lowest capped loan on offer is set at 7.49%, so one has to decide based on the product features which capped rate loan would be most suitable. The expert consensus, however, seems to be that interest rates will stay low for the next few years. These rates will then slowly go up once again as the effect of the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States slowly settles, and the real estate market begins to recover.

People who are on the fence can therefore, take a chance with this loan product.  It has the flexibility of a variable rate loan, and the cap is akin to a fixed rate loan where the rates are inflexible.

With the help of the experts on home loans, it would be much easier to gain access to a capped home loan.  They can also advise you if getting such a loan would be wise, and even offer different products which may compare in price to such a loan.  So do not hesitate to try and benefit from various home loan products, as they could save you a lot of time and effort.

Homes are usually the most expensive asset a person has, and prices of homes in Australia are going up constantly.  This makes it virtually impossible and very difficult to make the 5% to 10% deposit usually required by banks and lenders before loans can be granted.

Thankfully a number of banks and lenders offer no deposit home loans which can have you get loan approval even without a deposit.  Keep in mind that you would still need to have savings of at least six months of salary, these are called genuine savings loans.  Generally, without genuine savings such loans are not possible, unless you get a guarantor to support you in order to get a 100% loan without needing a deposit.

This means that home loans of this type can help a lot of prospective borrowers realize their dreams of buying their own home much faster as they would no longer require deposits.  The deposit requirements are often the reason that people are unable to make a loan, or are delayed in making their loan since it takes forever to save up for the deposit in the first place.

Several banks and lenders offer no deposit home loans at different rates.  This means it would be reasonable to first scout around for a good rate of interest.  Do not get the no deposit home loan from just anyone out there. The home loan experts who have access to several banks and lenders with different loan products can help a lot here.  They can show you loan products that have low interest rates and can help you with more choices and great access to no deposit loans.

In essence banks and lenders do require a deposit of around 20% before they approve loans of any kind.  This is to ensure that they are not exposed to too much risk, understanding that no deposit loans is very risky business.

However, it is a fact that there are ways to get a 100% deposit home loan.  This does not mean that they come at the same price.  Because of the additional exposure taken on by banks there are usually additional costs to these no deposit loans, but several people are willing to pay these additional costs in order to get into the real estate market earlier.

So what are the ways to get a no deposit mortgage?  There are a number of strategies that work.

One way is by paying LMI or what is commonly known as Lender’s Mortgage Insurance.  The payment of premiums for this type of insurance can eliminate the need for a 20% deposit.  It is a win-win situation as banks are protected from risk, while at the same time borrowers don’t need to save 20% deposit and can get into the real estate market as quickly as possible.

Another means of getting a no deposit home loan is by mortgaging another property.  The other property will serve as replacement for the deposit, and works in the same way as LMI in reducing the risk that the bank is exposed to.

Finally there is the guarantor.  The guarantor will pay where the borrower will be unable to pay.  With the help of a guarantor no deposit home loans are possible.

We at the home loan experts have access to all these types of no deposit mortgages.  We can help you select what we feel will work the best for you.  If you want to learn more about these types of loans, do not hesitate to contact us.  We will answer and provide you with quality information based on your enquiries.

Australians are known for their innovation and the desire to live the Great Australian Dream of owning a home on a 1/4 acre block of land.  While most people choose to pursue this dream by buying an existing house, some choose to build their homes to their specifications and with their own designs.  They likewise would want to handle the ordering of materials, the scheduling of construction, and other details on their own.

These people are the owner builders of Australia, who build their own homes from scratch without the help of construction companies or licensed builders.  Such a practice has become a growing trend, and a lot more people are choosing to go at it on their own and enjoy the additional control and extra savings.

The only limitations you have is your creativity, the budget you have and in some cases the lack of creativity of the local council!  Aside from that you are totally in control.  However, this control can sometimes work against you, as there is always a tendency to overspend when it comes to the finishings of your home. Who wouldn’t want their home to be perfect?

Owner builder home loans

There are a lot of joys and advantages to being an owner builder.  However, one of the main disadvantages is the difficulty of procuring a home loan.  This is because banks and non-bank lenders are somewhat wary of financing an owner builder project.  There are more risks involved, and there is no guarantee that the project will be finished, hence the apprehensions of the major banks.

With the help and aid of specialist mortgage brokers such as the Home Loan Experts, you will be provided with sufficient choices of lenders who trust owner builders and allow them to borrow enough to complete the project.  You can view their webpage on owner building or call them on 1300 889 743.

How does the process work?

If you don’t understand how the process of building a home actually works, then we would strongly recommend that you read the Owner Builder Guide. This will explain the steps involved in building your home, and how to get the most from your sub-contractors and suppliers.

Happy building!

Hard financial times often require smart solutions to problems that can be easily solved.  You may have taken a loan, and have defaulted on them because of your financial situation.  Possibly you could have lost your job, or have been disabled and unable to work, or may have lost a great deal of money in your business.  If you find it impossible to keep up with your repayments, because of your current situation, or see refinancing as a possible strategy to save some money then you should seriously think about refinancing your existing low doc loan.

Interest rates continually fluctuate and change.  Sometimes they are high, and at other times they are low.  This is exactly what may happen for low doc loans.  At the right time, and with the right circumstances one could possibly benefit from refinancing a low doc loan to achieve some savings due to lower interest rates.

The main factor in refinancing is choosing the bank or lender who should handle your balance transfer and refinancing.  This may be a difficult choice as there is an endless array of loan products and packages that can be developed.  However, with some advice from home loan experts, it would be possible to custom fit your refinancing to get the best savings on interest possible, or a mix of flexibility and lower interest rates.  This means it is very likely for you to get a good deal on low doc loan refinancing.

Did you think that a home loan at 100% is no longer possible?  Well we would like to show you that it is still possible with a little help.

The usual percentage that home loans are granted often reach up to only 80% of the total property value.  Why do you think it is set up to a certain point?  This is because banks and lenders are trying to reduce their risks by not lending out too much to one particular person.  However, there is still a way to get a 100% home loan.  This is with the help of a guarantor.  The guarantor will assure the bank or lender that a borrower will be able to pay.  The guarantor then offers something as security.  The security may be in the form of cash, stocks, property or any other security deemed to be acceptable by the bank.

Often guarantors are family members, most common of whom are parents who would like to help out their children purchase their first home, or they can also be close relatives who wouldn’t mind helping their blood relations get a place of their own.

With the help of these guarantors a 100% home loan is now possible.  In addition it is also a nice way of avoiding payment of Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) which is required for loans of 80% or more of the value of the entire property.  These guarantees can also help avoid the unreasonable at interest rates for all loans above 80%.

These multiple benefits plus the fact that you are able to get a larger loan should encourage family members to help one another get a 100% family guarantee.  The entire family unit can save a lot by avoiding high interest rates and unnecessary premium payments.

The home loan experts will help and show you the best way to capitalise on the use of a family guarantee.  They have access to the banks and lenders who will most likely be willing to grant these types and forms of loans.

Taxes can become costly and they continue to pile up every day.  This is why people try to come up with ways to avoid paying taxes legally everyday.  One way is by letting your employer directly pay your mortgage for you.  Where your employer allows you to salary sacrifice by doing this, you are going to pay less taxes as your gross income is going to be lower.  This is because the money that you ask your employer to directly pay to your mortgage repayments will no longer be considered as part of your income.

However there can be a problem with this, as although you will be paying less taxes, your employer will still be required to pay fringe benefits tax, unless your employer is considered to be an exempt body.  For this reason it may be difficult for you to convince your employer to allow you to salary sacrifice when they will end up spending more.

This should not be the case if your employer is an exempt entity as they do not need to pay the taxes on your fringe benefits.

There are also other ways to use this as a tax shield.  One way is through superannuation.  This means that your salary is reduced by the amount you would like, and it is instead paid to the superfund in anticipation of your retirement.  This effectively reduces your gross income by the amount that you put into the superfund, and assures you of a little more to spend when you retire.

Another way to use this salary sacrifice is to ask for a certain benefit instead of asking for cash.  Due to this fact it is possible to ask for a car to drive, or a computer to use, or various other items you would like to purchase on a regular basis in exchange for a lower gross salary.  However, employers are careful about these types of salary sacrifice as they may be made liable for additional taxes that could cost them more in the long run.

Those with expertise in home loans can show you the correct steps to be taken in order to use this as a salary sacrifice mortgage in order to help you better afford your home.  They can show you the best way to convince your employer to make the home loan repayments and come up with a win-win situation for both parties.