Fox Financial Services Group

02/05/2022

Pushing your borrowing to the max is fine when interest rates are low. However it could get ugly if rates rise too much. Especially for those who have taken on additional debt after getting their home loan. Mortgage stress is one thing but financial stress due to the additional debt taken on is another issue again.

As interest rates rise, almost 300,000 people who took large and risky home loans during the pandemic could fall into severe financial hardship or even default.

13/11/2021

For 20 years I have been helping finance people to relocate just around the corner, or interstate. One of the pieces of advice that I've often given his to rent out your current property for one year, and rent a property in the new location. What this enables is you to gain an understanding of the location you have moved to and exactly where you would like to buy, if you choose to stay. This article speaks to the relocation remorse that people sometimes feel. It is a very expensive mistake to realise after a year or two that you wish to return to your old neighbourhood and Friends.

Is the countryside all it’s cracked up to be or is it now awash with townies suffering relocation remorse?

13/09/2021

20 years this month since I started working for myself as a mortgage broker.
I did two years with Aussie Home Loans before i outgrew their working model.
18 years now under the same aggregator being PLAN Australia.
There has been a heap of changes in that time, paper to computer generated applications, office relocations, staff changes as well as compliance and legal changes.
By far the toughest has been the legal and compliance changes along with the caning from the Banking Royal Commissioner who didn't even investigate the claims made by one of the very banks he was reviewing under the RC. He made unfounded recommendations and statements without doing his homework that impacted new and existing clients and in turn income.
But I still stand with loyal clients who come back as needed and refer business my way.
Not sure I have another 20 years in me doing this but heck, it is so rewarding helping people accomplish one of their dreams.
thanks for your support.

07/06/2021

It can be frustrating at times when I am trying to explain to clients that some lenders take a little longer than other lenders to pick up an application, let alone get it approved.
At times, I am sure clients think I am just being slack!
It is good to see a story pop up every now and then that actually supports brokers and the great job they do for their clients.

Queenslanders are missing out on the Great Australian Dream, as lenders struggle to keep up with the property boom. As approvals come too late for some borro...

04/09/2020

When did you last review your home loan? Could be worth giving me a call for a chat to see what your options are. 0412 114 799

08/04/2020

Being a mortgage broker is so much more than just getting a client a home loan.
Sadly I have had to deal with deaths, su***de, divorces, unemployment and other things that not only affect the financial position of a client and others around them, but their mental state also.
It is good to receive training to cope with the times that I find myself in the position of an "Accidental Counsellor".

23/03/2020

Does it feel as though your "house of cards" is falling down around you with all that is going on?

There are plenty of government announcements and others out there giving "expert" opinions. Heck, Facebook is full of advice!!!! Sadly most of that may not be practical or helpful.

So let me assist with some helpful advice in regard to potential difficulties with your home loan.

If struggle is on the horizon in regard to your home loan payments, then a phone call to the lender will hopefully see the pressure eased.
Lenders have facilities already in place to deal with “hardship” issues.
Job loss or even reduction in hours would qualify for assistance from your lender.
You, the client, needs to make direct contact with your lender.

If you need any further help or support in making that phone call, please feel free to give me a call to discuss so I can help you through this tough time.
0412 114 799.

Take care.

17/10/2019

Are interest rates the be-all and end-all in regard to your home loan?
Contrary to what TV and radio commentators may say, the simple answer is no!
More so now than ever before, there are more considerations in regard to applying for a home loan than the interest rate. First and foremost, we have to qualify for the amount of money we want to borrow in regard to that house we wish to purchase or refinance.
Secondly, that property that we do wish to purchase or refinance needs to be acceptable to a lender.
Along with those things, consideration needs to be given to our age, how long we can have a loan for, if and when we can retire that loan, and other aspects relating not just to ourself, but the property, lender policy, and the environment we find ourselves it.
After all of these things have been assessed, we can then look at those lenders who we qualify and meet the criteria in regard to ourselves and the property.
Then we can see what the interest rates and products on offering from those lenders.
It is only then that we can get fussy on the interest rate.
So next time you have a radio or TV finance commentator or newsreader telling you that your interest rate should start with a particular digit, remember that they are not looking at all of your circumstances.
The advice or suggestions that they are making may not be applicable to you.
Talk to us to see where you fit in the current lending/borrowing landscape.

04/06/2019

Time to update mailing lists.
If you would like to remain on the old snail mail list, please feel free to send a PM with your current address.🤓🤓

05/02/2019

Here is how the share market sees the Banking Royal Commissions recommendations. Bank shares up showing them as the winners and Mortgage Aggregation companies down, and down big time.

04/02/2019

The Law of Unintended Consequences

Well with the release of the Banking RC report yesterday and the talk of both Government and Opposition enacting all the recommendations, the Broking Industry is close to being wiped out.
True, we are paid commissions from the banks for placing a loan with them.

We are paid after the loan has settled. The banks do not pay us day to day, week by week, they only pay after the loan has settled.
We are not on the lenders payroll.
The commissions paid by the lenders are pretty well the same so there is no incentive for us to place borrowers with one lender over another based on the income we derive.
Soft commissions have been outlawed some years ago so things like holidays, wine and other incentives have long gone as an inducement from the lenders for us to put loans with them.

Currently, I am happy in general to accept the commissions paid by the lenders as full payment for my services.
For that, I meet with clients, in their home after hours most times.
I present to clients options beyond the big four banks and lenders that have shop fronts for you to walk into.
Thus creating competition from the lenders to try to win your business.

If a client now has to pay the broker for this service, at a set fee, will the client pay?
A recent survey of over 2,000 prospective borrowers showed that 90% of them would not pay and would go directly to a bank.
Imagine a first home owner who has struggled to save a deposit being hit with a bill of $2,000 to pay a broker. That is a big pill to swallow no matter how good the service is that I offer.

Two things come out of that.
1/ The banks with the shop fronts win, leaving other lenders floundering for business.
2/ The possibility of a tainted credit report for the borrowers if they have made the poor choice of applying directly to a bank and then being declined.
At least with a broker, we are able to place you with the most appropriate lender for your circumstance.
Yes, I get declines, but often not from misplacement but from other issues not always disclosed to me.

So the outcome of the implementation of the recommendations from the Banking RC pertaining to brokers has the potential to impact a lot of people on both sides of the deal.

Over 60% of loans are currently lodged with lenders through brokers.
6,000 brokers nationally will be impacted by the actions that are forthcoming.
Support staff to those brokers will also be impacted.
Close to 10,000 peoples incomes stand to be effected by the recommendations
60% of the borrowing public stand to lose the ability to have a choice beyond the major banks.

Lucky I have my Heavy Rigid Licence so can go drive trucks for a living!!!!

23/01/2019

It is interesting times that we live.
A few things have influenced the home loan market of late.
APRA, the governing body of the financial institutes, stepped in to change the interest rate requirements for investment properties as well as reducing the number of interest only loans.
This was done in part to slow the property market and hopefully make it more accessible for first home buyers.
The second action was preempted then endorsed as a result of the banking royal commission.
That is how lenders assess your borrowing capacity.
Now a days, we need to present actual bank statements showing your everyday spending.
This highlights things like credit cards and other items potentially not disclosed by applicants.
It also shows the real living expenses an applicant incurs rather than using a default amount that may be way too low to accurately represent what an applicant truly spends.
A second outcome from the RC is that lenders have tightened up on the time frame for a borrower to have a loan for.
The example is a 55 year old may be given only 10 years to pay off the loan rather than 30 years. This can make purchasing an owner occupied home out of reach for some as they cannot service a loan over the shorter period.
This point applies to refinances too.
The logic here is pretty sound really. When you retire, how could you afford to keep paying your loan repayments and still put food on the table.
That all said, I still get plenty of inquiries from people that cannot look that far ahead and think it not right that I cannot help.
The lenders do not want to get into a bun fight with borrowers and need to evict them because they cannot pay their mortgage payments.
It is better to not give a loan, than to make someone homeless later and get featured on some sort of current affairs program and made out to be heartless.