To the uninitiated Investor or Home Owner looking to build a new home, the marketing material provided by some builders might look pretty enticing but when House & land prices and Building prices seem too good to be true then the internal alarm bells should start ringing!

Beware of the dangerous small print! What appears to be great value or even a bargain can be fraught with hidden costs.

Have you ever seen a completed house where the occupants have moved in yet it doesn’t quite appear complete?

Australia’s appetite for property is showing no signs of abating.

And traditionally, Aussies have purchased investment properties personally or through a company/trust.

Did you know you can also buy an investment through your self-managed super fund (SMSF) and obtain a SMSF loan from the banks to help with the purchase?

Let’s see why more and more people are using their SMSFs to purchase an investment property.

While investing outside your SMSF is simpler and there are fewer restrictions on what assets you can purchase, a well-managed SMSF can increase your wealth and be favourable for tax.

Pay less tax

Come tax time, SMSFs pay less tax on rental income. That means your fund can focus on paying back your loan sooner.

Rental income is taxed at 15% and providing the property is held for more than a year, capital gains at 10%, which is lower than most personal investment properties. Once you retire and draw a pension from your fund, both of these are reduced to 0%.

Buy your retirement home

While you can’t live in an investment property that your SMSF owns, or rent it out to family or friends, you can buy a property that you intend to use as your retirement home later.

Once you retire and draw a pension from the fund, you may be able transfer ownership of this property to yourself. It is worth noting that there are restrictions however it’s the perfect investment for anyone planning a sea-change or tree-change in their golden years. Remember though, you will have to pay stamp duty on this transfer, so factor that into your calculations.

With property prices continuing to rise, taking advantage of lower prices now rather than in the future could be a prudent investment strategy.

Your SMSF is your landlord

If you run a business, you purchase your work premises with the SMSF and lease it back from your SMSF if it is a commercial property.

Forget paying off someone else’s mortgage – your fund is the landlord! As an extra perk, your business can still claim rent paid as a tax deduction. Note that any rent must be paid at the market rate, every month – ‘mates rates’ are strictly forbidden and the Australian Tax Office requires detailed evidence of this in the fund’s annual tax return.

Pool resources

You can create an SMSF with friends or family to pool your resources. This allows the fund to buy more expensive properties – such as large commercial assets like a warehouse or office building. This lets you get more bang for your buck as the larger the investment, the more tax you will save, especially if you wait until the fund’s members are retired and receiving a pension from the fund.

A good property purchase made by your SMSF has the potential to grow your wealth through capital gain, providing an income rental and minimising your tax liabilities.

For more information about SMSFs, ask about it to your accountant or contact us.

If you’re interested in investing in property through an SMSF, Go Mortgage helps make the loan process easy.

Despite mortgages being the largest financial obligation most Australians will ever have, many are still paying far too much over the life of the loan.

But Why?

Well it seems it’s not knowledge that most of us struggle with. The real issue is retention & execution.

So here are 10 mortgage tips in one place to make sure you pay off your mortgage quickly and cleverly.

1. Keep your savings on your mortgage.

It’s astounding how many families I meet, who have one or more savings accounts while also paying a mortgage. Why pay tax on the measly interest earned from these accounts when you could be ‘offsetting’ the higher interest cost of your mortgage.

Furthermore, place your income in your offset account as well. While your income is resting in the offset account or directly on the (flexible) loan, you are saving interest every day. This is because interest is charged monthly but calculated daily. Even if you spend the majority of your income by month’s end, you can still pay your mortgage off in half the time or sooner. I see too many couples and families sticking to old habits and depositing their money into their savings account and thinking it won’t benefit them if they are not saving much or any money each month or simply because they never got around to instructing payroll to deposit their wages into their specified loan or offset account.

If you need to separate your savings from your partner’s, or your actual savings, why not get a mortgage that offers multiple offset accounts?

2. Consolidate your personal finance into your home loan.

Provided you have accrued sufficient equity within your home, you can greatly improve your cash flow position by consolidating your car loan, personal loan and credit card/store card debt into one easy low repayment on your home loan. The key here is to reduce the interest rate to home loan rates being much lower than unsecured loans and credit card rates.

To make it work effectively though, you really need to maintain the old repayments of your personal finance commitments pre-consolidation into the home loan or offset account. This will maintain the short term of the previous loans and create forced savings, paying down your loan very fast.

And if you encounter an emergency, the funds will be there when you need it – like an emergency finanical ‘Buffer’.

3. Use a budget.

There are many apps available to track your income and expenses and keep you informed of your spending and savings habits. alternatively you can use out Budget Planner. Out of sight, out of mind is insufficient when managing your money.

If you want to save money, you must spend less than you earn, right?

Only when you can see your money position can you be responsible for the desired outcome. I continually see couples earning a combined income of $80,000 or less outsaving couples earning two to three times that. You can’t live beyond your means and expect things to be different.

For example, when shopping for groceries, take your shopping list with pre-planned meals and ingredients and you’ll find that you can eat very well for $60-$100 per week for a couple. And never shop hungry… or even better shop online so you dont get tempted by all these well positonned items you don’t need

4. Every winner needs a coach.

I’ve never seen a sporting star that doesn’t have a coach to create their goals, habits and mindset and to hold them accountable. The same could be said of your finances. Many brokers or finance consultants don’t charge for their services. You need to seek a quality coach out and have them on your team. You should not have to pay additional for this service. This is possibly the best investment you can make.

5. Review your financial position regularly.

Those who are successful financially all have one thing in common. They know exactly where they are at all times. Equally, those who are unsuccessful don’t have a clue where they are at at any given time. If you don’t like numbers, your partner often does or you can turn to your finance broker.

Once you know your position, it can make life much easier to automate your bill payments. Preferably set this up within your internet banking so you have the flexibility stop a payment or make a prior arrangement with any billers if necessary.

Ensure you communicate with any late or overdue accounts and negotiate an extension without any penalties as late payment fees or default interest undoes all the hard work you’ve previously put in.

6. Review your costs periodically.

Once you know where you are at and how much you are spending, it’s easy to compare and lower your expenses.

When reviewing your costs, eliminate any unnecessary costs. Ask yourself, for instance if you really need Foxtel. It’s not always about going without. Often, it’s about finding more efficient ways to achieve the same outcome. Is owning your own home sooner or going out to dinner more important? You decide.

7. Pay yourself first.

If you, like many Australian families are struggling to meet your financial commitments every month or your expenses fluctuate from month to month, pay yourself 10 per cent of your income before you pay anything else.

Simply increase your minimum repayment by at least 10 per cent. This creates forced savings as well as some interest cost savings, with this extra money accruing if you allow it.

Make sure you are using a budget and you will find you still manage the bills each month just the same.

8. Pay your mortgage more frequently.

Many mortgages are set up as monthly repayments which while convenient initially should be changed as soon as you can to at least fortnightly.

If possible pay extra by rounding out your repayment to the next higher round figure. For example, if your fortnightly repayment is $1,383, round it up to $1,400 or $1,500 fortnightly.

If you get paid weekly, you could even pay your mortgage weekly. Preferably do this once you have accrued a redraw buffer in your home loan, with tax return time often a good opportunity to do this. By paying weekly, you keep a closer hand on your cash flow and you should be less likely to spend unneccessarily.

If it helps, create periodical and proportionate rewards for achieving monthly and quarterly goals. Make sure the reward is something you and/or your family really value and appreciate such as a trip to your favourite dessert bar.

9. Maintain the best mortgage for you.

At least every two to three years you should be reviewing your mortgage to ensure you have a mortgage that is suited to your specific needs.

I continually see many clients who have had the same mortgage for the last five to eight years and while it was extremely competitive when they got it, it’s certainly not today! The difference in many instances is as much as 1 per cent higher than the current competitive lenders.

To find savings, review:

– Structure/s of your loans;
– Fees and charges;
– Features and flexibility;
– Interest rate;
– Your situation and circumstances as they may have changed, entitling you to receive additional discounts or benefits; and
– Repayments taking into consideration all of these points.

Again your finance broker should be doign this with you automatically anyway

10. Increase your Income.

Other than spending less than you earn, the only other way to improve your financial position is to earn more than you spend.

Conjure up the courage to ask your boss for a pay rise. Have an annual garage sale, take a second (part-time) job or turn a passion into some extra income.

Many of our more successful clients utilised or created some equity in their home to create a deposit to purchase an investment property. With the additional income received through rent, they were able to reduce their personal bad debt (home loan) sooner and also maximise their tax benefits through good debt (investment property loan).

By applying some or all of these tips you should start seeing a significant difference to your financial position.

Let’s start now! Lets’ Build your Future, Let’s Go!

When a property investor determines their long-term investment strategy and objectives, the loan structure is an important factor to consider as it can significantly impact the overall success of the investor’s portfolio. Seeking the advice of a credit adviser will help identify which loan is right for the outlined objectives.

Many investors might shy away from an interest only loan due to a fear that they will fail to chip away at the mortgage, however if used correctly, this option is highly beneficial for an investor’s cash flow.

An interest only (IO) loan requires the owner to only pay the interest charged on the loan each period, rather than making repayments towards both the principal and the interest. Using a home loan interest rate of 5% as an example, the monthly repayment on a $300,000 mortgage over 25 years would be approximately $1,754 per month for both principal and interest. However if you were making interest-only payments, the monthly cost would drop to approximately $1,250 per month. That means more money in your pocket each month.

Improve cash flow

Not only do interest only loans allow you to lower your overall periodic commitment, but payments you do make will help your cash flow and improve your ability to reinvest. By having a smaller financial commitment month to month, an investor has more flexibility to help pay for living expenses, boost savings and not feel bogged down by the mortgage. Or alternatively, property owners could look at putting this additional cash towards a loan that isn’t tax deductible – such as their home loan to help pay it off more quickly. Of course investors may also choose to use these funds to further build their investment portfolio.

Many investors look to sell assets throughout the journey of the loan in a bid to increase their overall equity and wealth, which is why two in three investor loans are interest only.

Tax deductible

Any repayment that is made on the interest of a loan is tax deductible. However, payments on the principal are not tax deductible. This means that savvy investors can maximise the tax advantage through an interest only loan.

Many investors choose high appreciating properties so they can pay off the principal at the end of the term when selling the property, therefore increasing cash flow throughout ownership of the property.

Build an asset base

Interest only loans allow you to build a bigger asset base.

Take the following case study as an example. John and Sally bought in the inner city suburb of “Heavensville” in 1986. The average home loan in the 80’s was $75k and instead of trying to pay off the investment property loan, John and Sally chose an interest only loan.

With the extra $500 a month they had in their cash flow, they bought another investment property with a mortgage of $100k. Over the next decade Sally and John continued to buy investment properties every two to three years and again chose interest only loans with debts of $150k, $200k, $250k and $300k.

20 years after buying their first investment property in Heavensville they sold it for $1.5 million. John and Sally were able to not only pay off the debt, but were also able to pay off their owner occupied home loan and just about all of their investment property portfolio debt.

This example shows its not about how much money you earn, but how hard you can make your money work for you.

To find out more about whether an interest only loan is right for you

DAVID Dyball had dreamed of being a homeowner for as long as he could remember but there was one word stopping him: Deposit.

The Maryborough man, 28, has purchased a home without a deposit in Aldershot The Fraser Coast Chronicle reports.

And he is sharing how he did it…

His trick was turning his $20,000 First Home Owners Grant into the deposit for the land.

“It all started when I picked up a paper and saw prices for house plans listed,” he said.

Once Mr Dyball realised the weekly payment on the plans was less than he was paying as rent, he started thinking outside the box as to how he could get himself onto a plan.

“So I contacted a few builders, explained my situation, and had two come back saying they work closely with Mortgage brokers that do no-deposit deals.”

He said negotiating a deal came down to communication and finding people that would listen to his idea.

Over the next few months, Mr Dyball looked at blocks of lands and found the piece he wanted in Aldershot.

“My plan was simple,” he said.

“The process was to find a house plan that suited my budget and then to find land to build it on.

“I spent a lot of time watching land prices to find one at a cheap price.

“The only luck in the process was the fact that the Government was offering grants & that both the broker & builder worked together.”

His new home is planned for completion in May.

If you’re in the market for a First Home with No Deposit send us a Message

Buying your first home is one of the biggest financial decisions you’ll make, and with so much information out there, it’s easy to slip into patterns that seem sensible at the time but cost you later. The good news: most of these mistakes are completely avoidable once you know what to look for. Here’s what we still see first-home buyers getting caught out by in 2026, and what to do instead.

1. Borrowing The Maximum And Calling It A Plan

Getting pre-approval for a large loan can feel like progress. And it is, but the maximum you can borrow and the amount you should borrow are two different numbers.

Lenders assess borrowing capacity based on your income, expenses, and current rate buffers. But they’re not accounting for every part of your life – childcare costs that might be coming, a car that needs replacing, an income pause if one partner takes leave. A loan that’s manageable at today’s rates can feel very different when rates move or circumstances change.

A practical starting point: use a mortgage offset calculator to model what your repayments look like across different loan sizes, then work backwards from a monthly repayment that gives you room to breathe, not just a number the bank will approve.

2. Underestimating What Buying Will Cost You

The deposit is what most first-home buyers focus on. It’s also only part of what you need.

On top of your deposit, you’ll typically need to budget for stamp duty (unless you qualify for an exemption or concession), lender’s mortgage insurance if your deposit is under 20%, building and pest inspections, conveyancing fees, council rates adjustments at settlement, and moving costs. In Queensland, first-home buyers purchasing under $800,000 may be exempt from stamp duty entirely, but it’s worth confirming your eligibility early, not on the day you sign.

A good rule of thumb: set aside at least 5% of the purchase price beyond your deposit to cover buying costs. For a $600,000 property, that’s roughly $30,000 in additional cash to have available.

3. Skipping Pre-Approval Or Treating It As A Guarantee

Pre-approval tells you what a lender is willing to offer based on your finances at a point in time. It’s a useful tool, and most buyers do get it. But two mistakes still come up regularly.

The first is skipping it entirely and making offers based on rough calculations. The second, and arguably the most common, is treating pre-approval as a guarantee and then changing your financial position before settlement. That means taking out a car loan, switching jobs, or running up a credit card balance in the months between pre-approval and settlement. Lenders re-verify your financial position before unconditional approval. Any material change can affect the outcome.

Once your pre-approval is in place, keep your finances as stable as possible until the loan is settled.

4. Choosing A Loan Based On The Interest Rate Alone

The advertised rate gets attention. But the loan that looks cheapest on rate comparison sites isn’t always the right loan for your situation.

A low fixed rate might look attractive right now, but it could lock you into a structure that limits extra repayments, charges significant break costs, or doesn’t include an offset account. A variable rate with a strong offset can save considerable interest over the life of the loan even with a higher headline rate, depending on how you manage your money.

The right loan depends on your income pattern, your savings habits, and your plans. If you’re likely to pay down the loan aggressively, check out how to pay off your mortgage in 10 years – it changes which loan features matter most. Not sure whether fixed or variable suits you? Our fixed vs variable home loan rates guide walks through the trade-offs clearly.

5. Not Using An Offset Account Effectively

An offset account is one of the most powerful features available on an Australian home loan, and one of the most underused.

The way it works: money sitting in your offset account reduces the balance the lender charges interest on each day. If you have a $550,000 loan and $30,000 sitting in your offset, you’re paying interest on $520,000. Over a 30-year loan, that daily reduction compounds significantly.

Where buyers go wrong is keeping their offset as a spare account they rarely use, rather than routing all income through it and keeping living expenses there until the bills are due. The longer money sits in the offset, the more interest it offsets. It’s a simple habit change with a meaningful financial impact.

6. Staying Loyal To The Wrong Lender

This is still the most financially costly mistake on the list, and it tends to happen gradually rather than all at once.

You get a home loan, the first year or two go fine, and then life gets busy. A rate review that never happens turns into two years, then five. Meanwhile, your lender has been offering new customers better rates than the one you’re sitting on, and you’re quietly paying the loyalty tax.

Research from comparison platforms has consistently shown that long-term mortgage holders pay significantly more than new customers at the same banks. Once you’ve built equity and a payment history, you’re in a strong position to negotiate, or to refinance with a Gold Coast mortgage broker who can quickly establish whether a better product is available.

A good check-in schedule: review your rate at least once a year, and properly assess your loan every two to three years.

7. Not Thinking Beyond The First Home

This one catches people by surprise. Many first-home buyers assume their first purchase and their property journey are separate conversations, but how you structure your first loan has a real impact on what you can do next.

An owner-occupier loan structured purely for your own comfort might not leave you well-positioned to access equity later, convert the property to an investment, or add a second property to your portfolio. The structure of your first loan matters for where you want to be in five to ten years, which is worth a conversation before you sign, not after.

If property investment is something you might consider down the track, our property investment loans page is a useful starting point for understanding how investor finance works alongside an owner-occupier loan.

Your Next Step

Most of these mistakes aren’t obvious in the moment, but they’re the kind of thing a broker spots quickly because they’ve seen the pattern before. If you’re preparing to buy your first home or want a second opinion on a loan you’ve already been offered, our team at GoMC can walk through your situation and tell you what looks right and what might be worth reconsidering.

Call us on 1300 855 244 or book a free discovery meeting, no obligation, just a clear conversation about where you stand.

Disclaimer: This article is general in nature and does not constitute financial advice. Please speak with a qualified professional about your individual circumstances.

It wasn’t too long ago that all you had to do was clap your hands if you wanted to buy real estate, invest or refinance, and lenders would battle each other for your business.

Today many are demanding a mixture of the Macarena, Limbo, Hokey Pokey and Gangnam Style, with a couple of backflips for your finale, if you want to borrow money.

This month The Commonwealth Bank threw a bunch of marbles onto the dance floor when it banned all new investor refinancing, while NAB previously introduced restrictions on people living in specific postcodes.

Mortgage specialists say more tricky moves are likely as lenders try to avoid trouble with regulators. It’s their own version of the Chicken Dance, but it can easily get potential borrowers in a flap.

If you’re frustrated by their tougher stance, try to not take it too personally. Lenders operate with rigid rules in an effort to avoid bad debts. Some are protecting us from ourselves, others are protecting their own profits.

Most lenders will slug you with expensive lenders mortgage insurance if you borrow more than 80 per cent of a property’s value, but that insurance doesn’t help you if you default — it only helps pay back the loan to the lender. If you can’t pay, you’re on your own.

Lenders today are also more careful about measuring your ability to repay a mortgage, often adding about three percentage points to your current interest rate before approving a loan.

This means that while you may get a good deal at around 4 per cent for a mortgage, they will test your repayment ability as if the interest rate was 7 per cent — which is highly unlikely in the foreseeable future.

With stricter rules likely to continue, what can borrowers do? Here are a few dance moves that might help.

1 RUNNING MAN

Slip on those ‘90s giant shoes and run to the next potential lender, and the next one. Just because CBA has gone anti-investor, it doesn’t mean every bank has. Although before doing that you might need to consider getting some help from an independent mortgage broker like us. We know all the tricks, and cost you nothing — the lender pays us, not you. And we can avoid this running from bank to bank which would destroy your credit score.

2 TWERKING

You don’t have to wiggle your butt in anyone’s face, but always try to show off your good side. Make sure your debts are well under control, build a good deposit or equity in existing assets, and trim back credit card borrowing limits if you don’t need them. A stable job is important, or at least tax returns or BAS statements showing solid income.

3 HARLEM SHUFFLE

There’s no law that says all your borrowings must be with one bank, so feel free to shuffle it up. Many mortgage and investment specialists recommend borrowers use a few different lenders to help lower their risk. And if a lender knows they don’t have all of your business, they may be more willing to offer you a better deal. We can show you how best to structure a sfae & sound portfolio

4 SAFETY DANCE

If you try everything and still have no luck, perhaps it’s time to take a look at yourself. Are you being too optimistic or too risky? Staying safe, and taking some time to improve your financial situation may help. In the short term, it could be an idea to simply stop (Hammer time) and plan your next moves… or meet for a strategy seesion with us, your mortgage broker.

Remember that lending rules and trends change regularly, just like dance crazes. We can help you navigate the lending maze right now and into the future.

If you haven’t got the bug yet, here’s why I started building my portfolio.

Well, I can’t speak for others but I can share why I wanted to become a property investor. Don’t worry, I’m not going to rattle off a laundry list of complicated equation-packed stuffy reasons, instead, I’d like to tell you my primary motivator — the reason that trumped all the other reasons — the main reason.

Ok, here it comes, the main reason I became a property investor… To have more control over my calendar!

That’s it.

That’s the reason.

Why is controlling my calendar so important?

Well, here are a few illustrations as follows:

I want to get up in the morning at a time of my choosing and not at a time chosen by my boss. I still get up a 6 am on weekdays but that’s because I want to. On weekends I sleep in because… I want to.

I want to go on holiday when I choose to without having to ask permission. I like it better this way.

I want the flexibility to determine when I work and when I don’t work, when I answer the phone and when I don’t answer the phone.

No guarantee

When I started out as a property investor was there a guarantee I’d someday break free and gain control of my calendar?

No!

There are no guarantees in life.

Wait a minute! Let me backtrack. There is one other guarantee in life and it goes like this…

If you do nothing, nothing will happen!

Or, maybe put another way, if you don’t plant any seed, how can you expect a harvest?

So, I had to plant. Even though there was no guarantee of a harvest, I had to plant property investment seeds. That way I had a fighting chance. I was in the game. I was on the playing field. I was no longer a spectator.

Spectators have zero per cent chance of winning. Spectators can only watch. I wanted to play.

And, here’s an ugly truth, when you play you risk injury; you risk pain; you risk failure.

Here’s a more pleasant truth, by getting on the playing field you give yourself a chance to win!

Did I know my property investment journey would be successful?

No.

But, I knew something else… if I continued doing what all the JOB people around me were doing; I’d have what they have. And I didn’t like what I saw. I saw co-workers 10 or 15 years older and they still had virtually no control over their calendars. I didn’t want that. I wanted something different. So, I had to do something different.

I became a property investor.

Become a property investor… and we’ll help guide you on this journey through the Finance & Portfolio Management aspects