Forum Replies Created
Unbelievable Terry. Must admit though, that while I have had good experiences with some agents, some should be quite simply jailed. The three worst experiences I have ever had, which include ambiguous contracts, deposit issues, and blatant dishonesty (requiring commissions as 'deferrred advertisign levies' once the sale period has expired and they have not sold the house and their sales agent has put in writing that they don't apply) all have 'First National' in their title, whether in VIC, NSW, or Tassie………although I'm sure it's a coincidence!
Cheers
Hi Kate,
Definitely make sure you go the eyelids first
WIth LMI premiums its like anything else – all about volumes, and the banks chuck a heap more business the way of the LMI providers than the credit unions. I worked for the NAB a while back, and the difference in LMI between the banks price and what a couple of the credit unions offered (like ADCU & Defcredit – did a lot of work with the armed forces guys) was almost half!
Must admit it is less now. I would imagine if your CU was quoting $5000, the bank premium might be $4500, but it all helps.
By way of comparison put all your details in here and see how it stacks up
http://www.nab.com.au/wps/wcm/connect/nab/nab/home/personal_finance/1/4/1/1Many credit unions ream their customers (quaintly called members) with account & atm transaction fees major, whereas a all of the major banks have low value monthly fee accounts (or $0 in the case of the NAB, or CBA too if you have a min balance) which adds up to much more than the few dollars you may save on home loan interest each month. Still, if you are happy and somewhere that does not charge you like that I agree – why go elsewhere.
Make sure you check any info to in replies on a public forum Kate. Re the LMI being deductable you will see it says that on the ATO website, where there is a very handy document for property investors. You can get it here
http://www.ato.gov.au/content/00237831.htmI have pasted the bit on LMI below from page 14 here for you.
EXPENSES DEDUCTIBLE OVER A NUMBER OF INCOME YEARS
There are three types of expenses you may incur for your
rental property that may be claimed over a number of
income years:
n borrowing expenses
n amounts for decline in value of depreciating assets
n capital works deductions.
Each of these categories is discussed in detail in the
following pages.
Borrowing expenses
These are expenses directly incurred in taking out a loan
for the property. They include loan establishment fees, title
search fees and costs for preparing and filing mortgage
documents, including mortgage broker fees and stamp
duty charged on the mortgage.
Borrowing expenses also include other costs that the
lender requires you to incur as a condition of them lending
you the money for the property – such as the costs of
obtaining a valuation or lender’s mortgage insurance if you
borrow more than a certain percentage of the purchase
price of the property.
The following are not borrowing expenses:
n insurance policy premiums on a policy that provides for
your loan on the property to be paid out in the event that
you die or become disabled or unemployed
n interest expenses.
If your total borrowing expenses are more than $100,
the deduction is spread over five years or the term of the
loan, whichever is less. If the total deductible borrowing
expenses are $100 or less, they are fully deductible in the
income year they are incurred.
If you repay the loan early and in less than five years, you
can claim a deduction for the balance of the borrowing
expenses in the year of repayment.
If you obtained the loan part way through the income year,
the deduction for the first year will be apportioned according
to the number of days in the year that you had the loan.Cheers
