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Steven Korner - The Finance Korner Dealing With The Banks So You Don't Have To.

02/11/2026

Fixed-rate break costs in a rising rate environment can often come back as zero dollars.

Most borrowers assume breaking a fixed loan early means a massive penalty, but the calculation doesn't work that way. Lenders determine break costs by comparing the wholesale swap rate at the time you locked in against the current rate for your remaining term. If rates have risen since you fixed, the lender faces no financial loss by releasing you early, because those funds can be re-lent to someone else at a higher rate.

When that comparison shows rates are now higher than when you fixed, the break cost formula can potentially return a figure of zero. The only cost you may be required to pay in that scenario is the lender's standard discharge administration fee, which typically sits somewhere between $300 and $500 depending on the lender.

This surprises a lot of people who have been quietly dreading a $10,000 or $15,000 exit penalty. In many cases, the actual figure is a fraction of what borrowers were mentally preparing for, and in some cases, it genuinely is nothing beyond the admin fee.

The important thing to know is that requesting a formal break cost quote costs nothing. A broker or the lender directly can obtain that figure, and for borrowers fixed until 2028 or beyond, that number could be far more manageable than expected.



Content is general information only and not personalised credit advice. Loan eligibility, rates, repayments, fees and lender policies vary and can change. Speak with a licensed broker for advice tailored to your situation.

31/10/2026

Decades of prosperity built on iron ore, coal, and international students may be far more fragile than most Australians realise.

China's economy is undergoing a structural transformation, and the ripple effects are already showing up in Australian export data. Iron ore revenues from China have dropped from around $127 billion in 2021 to approximately $104 billion in 2025, as Chinese steel mills shift toward low-carbon production methods that Australian raw ore may not currently satisfy.

Coal is facing a similar trajectory. Australian coal exports to China have fallen by as much as 50 per cent from their 2024 peaks, largely driven by China adding over 1,600 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity across the last decade. These aren't temporary dips, they reflect a deliberate and accelerating shift in how China produces energy.

Higher education is the third pressure point that often gets overlooked. New student arrivals from mainland China dropped around 18 per cent in 2025-26, and Chinese universities are climbing global rankings fast, with nine of the top ten spots on the Nature research index now held by Chinese institutions. Australian universities, which can rely on international students for roughly one in every three dollars of revenue, are feeling that shift acutely.

With approximately 30 per cent of all Australian exports currently directed toward China, the structural risks to property markets, government budgets, and lending conditions are worth watching closely.



Content is general information only and not personalised credit advice. Loan eligibility, rates, repayments, fees and lender policies vary and can change. Speak with a licensed broker for advice tailored to your situation.

29/10/2026

Negatively geared properties in Western Sydney are quietly attracting serious investor attention precisely because the numbers can look worse than they actually are.

A $1,000,000 property in this corridor at around $750 per week in rent sits at roughly 3.9% gross yield, which on the surface reads as underwhelming. Getting in typically requires around $201,000 as a 20% deposit, plus approximately $39,412 in stamp duty and around $3,050 in legal fees, bringing your total upfront cash to roughly $243,000. For those carrying usable equity in an existing property, that cash outlay could potentially be reduced significantly.

On a $804,000 loan at 7% interest only, repayments land near $1,082 per week. Stack in property management, insurance, council rates and a maintenance buffer, and your total outgoings sit closer to $1,282 per week against $750 in rent, leaving a shortfall of around $532 per week. That gap narrows further once you factor in depreciation claims and tax deductions, which can meaningfully offset the out-of-pocket cost for many investors.

Here is where the deal changes shape. A 777 square metre block in this location may carry granny flat potential, and subject to council approval, an additional dwelling could generate around $550 per week in extra rent. That would lift total rental income to roughly $1,300 per week, potentially pushing the property close to neutral cashflow.

Metro and M4 access in this pocket tends to support strong long-term demand, which is worth considering alongside the income numbers.



Content is general information only and not personalised credit advice. Loan eligibility, rates, repayments, fees and lender policies vary and can change. Speak with a licensed broker for advice tailored to your situation.

27/10/2026

Vacancy rates are one of the most overlooked numbers in property investing, yet they can signal the difference between a tenanted property and months of dead cashflow.

Before committing to an investment purchase, two freely available data points can give you a surprisingly clear picture of rental demand in any suburb. The first is the vacancy rate, which measures what percentage of rental properties in that area are currently sitting empty. Generally speaking, a vacancy rate below 2% suggests strong demand, meaning a new listing could potentially attract tenants within days.

The second figure worth checking is median days on market for rentals in that specific suburb. This tells you how long the average rental listing actually takes to get leased, and it adds important context that the vacancy rate alone can't give you. A suburb showing a 1.5% vacancy rate and a median of 14 days on market is a very different proposition to one sitting at 5% vacancy and 45 days on market.

That second scenario could mean weeks of mortgage repayments coming entirely out of your own pocket with no rental income to offset them. For many investors, particularly those with tighter cashflow, an extended vacancy period can put real pressure on a portfolio.

Both figures are typically available through SQM Research or directly from a local property manager, and pulling them together before you buy takes around five minutes and could save you from a very costly surprise.



Content is general information only and not personalised credit advice. Loan eligibility, rates, repayments, fees and lender policies vary and can change. Speak with a licensed broker for advice tailored to your situation.

25/10/2026

Signing a contract to buy property is one of the most legally binding things most people will ever do, yet the majority of buyers spend more time reading a restaurant menu than they do understanding what they've actually agreed to.

The cooling-off period is one of the first things to understand. In most Australian states, buyers typically have a short window, often five business days, to withdraw from a purchase after signing. The catch is that exercising this right usually comes at a cost, commonly around 0.25% of the purchase price, so it's not a free pass out of a deal you've changed your mind on.

The subject to finance clause is arguably the most critical protection in the contract for buyers using a home loan. Without it, you could potentially be locked into a purchase even if your lender declines the application, which could mean losing your deposit entirely. Fixtures and inclusions are another area worth careful attention, as what the seller considers removable and what you assume stays can be surprisingly different things.

Easements on the title can affect how you use the land, and in some cases may limit building or renovation plans in ways that aren't immediately obvious from a visual inspection. Special conditions are where contracts can get particularly complex, as they're often drafted specifically for that transaction and may carry significant financial or legal implications.

Your solicitor or conveyancer actually reading every clause, not just the standard ones, could potentially save tens of thousands of dollars in headaches down the track.



Content is general information only and not personalised credit advice. Loan eligibility, rates, repayments, fees and lender policies vary and can change. Speak with a licensed broker for advice tailored to your situation.

23/10/2026

Rogue AI agents have already accessed sensitive Medicare data, and that is forcing Australia's biggest banks into a cybersecurity arms race most people have no idea is happening.

CBA and Westpac are among the institutions now using advanced AI platforms to scan their own systems for vulnerabilities and patch them in real time, before rogue bots can exploit them. This approach, often called offensive AI defence, essentially means fighting AI threats with AI tools. It's a significant shift in how major financial institutions think about protecting customer data and funds.

The part that rarely makes headlines is how unevenly this technology is being adopted. A recent report from S&P Global found that close to 40% of financial institutions currently lack cybersecurity infrastructure strong enough to withstand increasingly sophisticated AI-driven attacks. That gap is likely to widen as the technology evolves.

For most people banking with Australia's major lenders, the risk in the short term appears relatively low. The big four have invested heavily in cyber defence and generally sit behind some of the stronger protections in the world. Smaller banks and credit unions, however, may face considerably more exposure over the next five to ten years as attack methods become more advanced.

If your savings or offset accounts are spread across multiple institutions, it may be worth understanding what protections each lender has in place, as not all financial institutions are equally prepared for what's coming.



Content is general information only and not personalised credit advice. Loan eligibility, rates, repayments, fees and lender policies vary and can change. Speak with a licensed broker for advice tailored to your situation.

21/10/2026

What are your thoughts?

19/10/2026

Be careful!

17/10/2026

Most first home buyers in this situation assume the bank only sees the low salary and ignores the rest.

When one partner is a company director on a modest salary, lenders don't just look at what's being paid out. Many lenders perform a full self-employed income assessment, combining the director's salary with the company's net profit, adjusted to their ownership percentage. This assessment is typically based on the business's tax returns and profit and loss statements from the last one to two financial years.

It's also worth understanding the difference between ongoing profitability and retained cash reserves. Lenders generally assess borrowing capacity based on how much profit the business generates each year, not the total pool of cash sitting in the company account. So a business with $400,000 in retained earnings but modest annual profit may not deliver the borrowing power some people expect.

There's also a concept called add-backs, which can genuinely help here. Some lenders may add back non-cash expenses like depreciation, director superannuation contributions, and one-off asset write-offs to arrive at a higher assessable income figure, which could potentially increase borrowing capacity beyond what the tax return suggests at first glance.

On the deposit side, using accumulated business cash is possible in some cases, but pulling retained earnings out as dividends can trigger a personal income tax liability. Speaking with an accountant before doing this is strongly recommended.



Content is general information only and not personalised credit advice. Loan eligibility, rates, repayments, fees and lender policies vary and can change. Speak with a licensed broker for advice tailored to your situation.

15/10/2026

Buying a home today requires more income than it did when property prices were at their all-time peak last year.

New research from Cotality found that rising interest rates have offset any relief from recent price falls, making affordability worse than it was at the height of the market. For buyers in Sydney, the income needed to service a median home loan has increased by close to $3,000 in just seven months. Melbourne has seen a smaller shift of around $2,000 over the same period.

Brisbane tells the most confronting story. Buyers there may now need an additional $14,228 in annual income compared to January this year just to service a median mortgage at current rates. That is not a rounding error, that is a full-time wage increase most employers simply are not handing out.

What this data highlights is that borrowing capacity is becoming one of the most important variables in any property purchase. Small differences in how a lender assesses your income, liabilities or existing debts could potentially move the dial significantly on what you can actually borrow.

For many buyers, the gap between what they earn and what they need is not necessarily permanent. Working with a broker who understands lender policy differences can, in some cases, meaningfully improve your borrowing position without needing a single pay rise.



Content is general information only and not personalised credit advice. Loan eligibility, rates, repayments, fees and lender policies vary and can change. Speak with a licensed broker for advice tailored to your situation.

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