House & Home
Untangling the jargon and reviewing your home loan
Canstar’s Stephen Mickenbecker busts some home loan jargon by explaining the meaning of some of the common terms used when talking home lending. Stephen also gives some tips on how to review your home loan.
What are the hidden costs of housing
Whether you have taken out a home loan and bought property or moved into your first rental, there are likely to be some ongoing costs. Managing these costs can be part and parcel of being independent with your money, and this could mean making sure you have everything covered.
Choosing or designing the right home for you
Choosing or designing the perfect home can be far more than simply writing up a list of wants. Even if you had an unlimited supply of home financing, you could still end up with a home that isn't the right one for you.
To renovate or to knock down and rebuild?
To renovate or knock down can be a difficult decision to make. You might love the area; you’re close to family and friends, and the market is heating up; so moving is out of the question. You might be left with two concrete options – to either renovate or to knock down and rebuild. Before making a split decision, there are a few factors you might want to contemplate before making a decision.
Can your first home be an investment property?
Housing affordability is a big topic floating around in some circles - particularly if you're a millennial trying to break into the market1.
The beginners guide to property investment
Starting off in investment can be a confusing business, but there are few basic questions that every budding property buyer needs to ask themselves before starting to look at their options in home loans. Here are two to get you started:
5 quick ways to update your kitchen over a weekend
Let's face it, we live in a busy world. Australians spend, on average, 10 hours a day working1 - much higher than the average. Being so time-poor but ambition-rich, sometimes you might feel like you don't have any time to do anything at all, much less update your kitchen.
What should you check when inspecting a property?
Taking out a home loan is no small matter. You may be dealing with hundreds of thousands of dollars and a decades-long financial commitment. This can be true in the current environment: across the five main capital cities, the median home value was more than $700,000 at the end of January1. But on the flipside, you could be using it to buy into not only a fantastic home, but an investment in your future.
Renovating in stages and on a budget
When we purchased our first home, it was a huge old art deco apartment with amazing features, but literally falling apart. The bathroom was in a state, the kitchen was even worse. Not even mentioning the yellow stained walls and dirty old blue carpet. We really had to use our imagination for the final outcome. It wasn’t really liveable, pretty much everything needed redoing, yet like most first home buyers, our budget was stretched and there wasn’t much left over to renovate.
Decorate in style and for less with vintage
One of my favourite looks for the home is a mix of vintage and new. It can also be a very affordable way to decorate.
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