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Here are a few examples of FAQ’s in conjunction with Tick Box Conveyancing.

A reverse mortgage can be a good financial tool for some retirees, but it also comes with notable risks. Here’s a clear breakdown of why it might be beneficial and the potential downsides to consider:

✅ Why a Reverse Mortgage Can Be a Good Thing

1. Access to Tax-Free Cash
   • Homeowners (usually 60+) can unlock some of their home equity without selling or making monthly repayments.
   • Useful for supplementing retirement income or covering unexpected expenses.
2. Stay in Your Home
   • You retain ownership and can live in your home for as long as you like (as long as you meet loan obligations like paying property taxes, insurance, and maintenance).
3. No Monthly Repayments
   • You don’t have to make regular loan payments; the loan is repaid when you sell the home, move out permanently, or pass away.
4. Flexible Access to Funds
   • Choose to receive funds as a lump sum, line of credit, or regular monthly payments.
5. Non-Recourse Loan
   • You (or your estate) will never owe more than the home is worth, even if the loan balance exceeds the property value when sold (protected by government insurance in Australia).

⚠️ Risks and Downsides

1. Reduced Home Equity
   • As interest accrues over time, your equity shrinks—meaning less inheritance or fewer options if you want to move later.
2. Costs and Fees
   • Reverse mortgages can come with high upfront fees (origination, closing, mortgage insurance) and ongoing interest, which eat into the loan value.
3. Loan Must Be Repaid in Certain Events
   • If you move out permanently (e.g. into aged care), sell the home, or pass away, the loan becomes due, possibly forcing the sale of the home.
4. Risk of Losing the Home
   • You must keep up with property taxes, insurance, and maintenance. Failure to do so can lead to foreclosure.
5. Impact on Government Benefits
   • In some countries (including Australia), receiving reverse mortgage funds can affect eligibility for the Age Pension or other means-tested benefits.
6. Complexity and Misunderstanding
   • Reverse mortgages are often misunderstood. Some borrowers don’t fully grasp the compounding interest and how quickly the loan grows.

🧠 Summary: Who Might Benefit?

Best suited for:

• Retirees who are “asset-rich but cash-poor.”
• People planning to stay in their home long-term.
• Those without heirs or who don’t mind reducing their estate value.

Probably not ideal for:

• Those planning to move soon.
• People wanting to leave their home to heirs mortgage-free.
• Anyone not confident managing financial products without independent advice.

If you’re considering a reverse mortgage, speaking with a financial advisor and getting independent legal advice is strongly recommended—especially to understand how it affects estate planning, benefits, and long-term options.

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The rates have gone down, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Lenders will announce that they have dropped their home loan interest rates, but in the fine print they advise what dates the rates are dropping from. Some will drop their rates for new borrowers faster or sooner than for existing borrowers.  Some will be days plenty will be weeks.

For existing borrowers, the repayment amount generally won’t change until the end of the month following the rate reduction. This is because we pay our home loans “in arrears”. So don’t think the lower repayment will start with the next repayment as a general rule.

Just to confuse things, some lenders will automatically reduce your loan repayment to the new lower amount, or some will just leave the repayment amount the same and let you pay extra.   No right or wrong answer.

If you need the extra cash flow, then take the lower repayment if it is offered or ask your lender to reduce the repayment to the minimum.

If cash flow isn’t an issue, then I suggest leaving the repayment the same and paying off the home loan faster.   You can generally always access the extra if you need it via redraw.

The other consideration if your cashflow is ok, is to take the lower repayment option on the home loan and pay extra into any high interest rate debts like credit cards, car loans, zippay etc.  Pay them off faster and then put those repayments into your home loan.

Subject to obtaining independent financial advice, you may also wish to reduce the home loan repayment to the minimum and pay the extra into your superannuation for retirement. Seek financial advice to make sure this is the best option for you, as once the money is in superannuation, you can’t get it out until retirement.

Is your Mortgage Broker a FIFO Mortgage Broker?

Doing what it takes, when it is needed.

click on the picture to watch the video. 

Think your broker or bank is doing all they can. Think again – who else would do this for you? The FIFO Broker would.

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Many clients are asking a very similar question – should I leave the interest rate on my home loan as a variable rate or should I be looking to fix the rate?

This is the same questions being asked in thousands of households across Australia and with rates as low as they are it is a very good question to ask.

With no recent rate cuts by the Resservce Bank there is some speculation mounting that we could be in for a rate rise in early to mid 2019.

We must keep in mind that the banks and lenders are under no obligation to pass any official rate cuts or rises to their customers and oh, how much we’d love to have a crystal ball.

The fact is we already have rates as low as they have been since the 1950’s so is now a good time to fix, well both options are very tempting.

Whether you fix some or your entire loan really depends on your individual circumstances and your plans for the future.

Here are a couple of points worth considering.

A fixed rate does commit to a course of action for at least the duration of the fixed term. A fixed rate generally means a fixed repayment and whilst some lenders will allow you to pay extra there are some restrictions as to how much.

Most lenders don’t allow you to access the redraw on your loan for the fixed portion and you can be slugged with significant fees should you wish to break a fixed rate loan before the expiration of the fixed rate period.

With most variable owner occupied rate at or around 6%, many borrowers are taking advantage of trying to pay as much as possible into their home loan. The benefit will be twofold, they are paying off their home loan more quickly and gaining equity into a very important asset.

A fixed investment loan term, sub 5.5% is becoming harder to find so again it depends on your individual circumstances about whether to stay variable of fix some of the loans you have or are currently seeking.