Last chance to fix at 4.99%!!

If you are looking to fix your interest rates on your home loan or investment property, now might be the time with one major bank already announcing they will not be offering 4.99% from Wednesday.

Feel free to contact Liquidity to find out more about your options and if fixing is suitable for you now.

Westpac cuts two year fixed rate home loan to 4.99%

 If you want to review your loan call Danny on 02 9290 2777, or email him on danny.luu@liquidityfinance.com.au

Westpac announced it will reduce its two year fixed rate mortgage to 4.99% (with Premier Advantage Package).  The new offer represents a cut of 0.4% on the current two year fixed interest rate.  The new rate takes effect from Thursday 7 February 2013 and will be available for both new and existing customers.

This places Westpac as a market leader among the major banks and is Westpac's lowest offer on two year fixed rates since April 2009.

Effective Thursday 7 February 2013, the fixed rates will be as follows:

Term	Current Rate (Stand Alone)  % p.a.	New Rate  (Stand Alone) % p.a.	New Rate  (Premier Advantage Package)  % p.a.	Change %
1 year	5.69	5.69	5.49	-
2 year	5.59	5.19	4.99	- 0.40%
3 year	5.59	5.59	5.39	-
4 year	5.89	5.89	5.69	-
5 year	5.89	5.89	5.69	-
6 year (IPL only)	7.00	7.00	6.80	-
7 year	7.50	7.50	7.30	-
9 year (IPL only)	7.50	7.50	7.30	-
10 year	7.50	7.50	7.30	-
12 year (IPL only)	7.60	7.60	7.40	-

Note:  Fixed Rate SMSF Investment Property Loans have changed by the same amount, and remain at
a premium of 0.35% above the standard carded fixed rates.

The comparison table below shows Westpac as the market leader with the lowest fixed rates amongst the majors for 2 and 5 year fixed loan terms:

Lender	1 year fixed rate (packaged)	2 year fixed rate (packaged)	3 year fixed rate (packaged)	4 year fixed rate (packaged)	5 year fixed rate (packaged)
Westpac	5.49	4.99	5.39	5.69	5.69
CBA	5.19	5.29	5.29	5.64	5.69
ANZ	5.34	5.34	5.39	5.84	5.84
NAB	5.24	5.34	5.29	5.64	5.84

Liquidity Finance - Mortgage brokers that deliver

Liquidity Finance - Mortgage brokers that deliver

Interesting article on mortgages and investing... keep loans variable or fix? Competition has heated up and banks are trying to grow their market share from a relatively small pool of business.

As a result, they’re prepared to ‘sharpen their pencil’ and offer an extremely competitive rate to secure a new customer.

If you want a better home loan deal, it might be time to consider becoming a new bank customer with another lender, or asking your existing lender for the type of deal they’re offering new customers. Call Danny or Sandra on 02 92902777 for an obligation free consult!!  Interesting times!!

5 Wealth Creation Tips for 2013

January 2013 - A Webinar to kickstart 2013

WIth the start of the year just kicking off, we thought it would be helpful to provide 5 top tips on how to kickstart your wealth for 2013.  We are please to present our first webinars for 2013. The 'Top 5 tips for 2013' which will cover off the above strategies in more detail plus a few bonus strategies. To register just click on the link below  Top 5 Wealth tips for 2013 Wed 23rd Jan @ 6pm Thurs 24th Jan @ 12:30pm Duration: 30mins  Buying Property in your Super Wed 20th Feb @ 6pm Thurs 21st Feb @12:30pm Duration: 1 hour 1 Start your tax planning now - Although we are still 6 months before the end of the financial year, it is important to start your planning now before it is too late. This can include make extra super contributions, purchasing tax deductible items or purchasing tax effective investments. Reducing tax is one of the most effective ways to create additional savings.  2 Review your loans - With interest rates in a downward cycle and every bank passing on different amounts of the cuts, now would be a great time to review your loan structure. It is not all about getting the cheapest rate, there may be a better structure for you that allows you to save more interest and money.  3 Look at where you super is invested - The share market has had a great run over the last 6 months. You want to make sure your super is invested in the right assets for your situation. This could include international shares, direct Australian Equities or even Direct Property.  4 Invest your excess savings - The disadvantage of interest rates declining is your cash returns become lower. If you have money in savings (high interest or Term Deposits), now would be the time to look at alternative investments and your investment portfolio.  5 Get organised - This sounds simple, but if you have your finances in order it will help you build your wealth. This is because you won't pay any unnecessary fees or charges as all bills/interest will be paid on time but it also allows you to understand what you have and make the most of it. With technology, there is an abundance of software available to help you get organised. If this doesn't work, hire someone to help you.  These top 5 tips sound very generic and simple... and they are. They are not designed to be high risk or complex but to help you along your wealth journey.

Ark Informer January 13

Welcome to the first Ark Informer of 2013. The Ark Team are holding a really useful 30 minute webinar on the "top 5 Wealth Tips for 2013" on Wed 23rd Jan @ 6pm and Thurs 24th Jan @ 12:30pm. See below for more details. (Click on dates to register). Join Me on LinkedIn  http://au.linkedin.com/in/ivankayebsi ( I have over 3,500 contacts that I would gladly connect you with!)

January 2013 - A Webinar to kickstart 2013 Welcome to the first of our education webinars for 2013. In this webinar we unveil 5 effective strategies to help you manage and build your wealth in 2013.  In 30 minutes, we will cover the following; 1. Simple tips to help reduce your individual tax 2. A review of Home Loan Structures and a look at what interest rate you should be paying 3. An analysis of where you should invest your super and a look at some of the best funds from 2012 4. Where to put your excess savings? Looking at alternatives to cash.  5. How to organise and manage your finances easily These top 5 tips sound very generic and simple... and they are. They are not designed to be high risk or complex but to help you along your wealth journey.  At the end of the webinar, all participants will receive a copy of our new e-book 'Wealth Planning for Young Accumulators'.  If you can't make the allocated times, just 'click for an advisor' on the right and we can send you the relevant information. Regards, The ARK Total Wealth Team  www.arktotalwealth.com.au | info@arktotalwealth.com.au Webinars Top 5 Wealth tips for 2013 Wed 23rd Jan @ 6pm Thurs 24th Jan @ 12:30pm Duration: 30mins

Record-breaking mortgage month for biggest broker

extract from API

Liquidity Finance's  aggregator, Australian Finance Group (AFG), processed $3.1 billion worth of mortgages in October, the highest month recorded since early 2009, representing a 14.6 per cent month-on-month increase.

By State - New South Wales, investors are leading the charge and accounted for 43.1 per cent of all new loans in October.

Queensland saw the second highest proportion of investor finance (35.1 per cent) followed by Victoria (33.6 per cent) and Western Australia (29.9 per cent, of which most were First-time buyers).

    

Loan-to-value ratios (LVRs) rose to 70.5 per cent in October, the highest level since September 2009. Higher LVRs typically signal increased activity among first-time buyers.

Refinancing accounted for 34.8 per cent of mortgages processed, but that figure is at its lowest level since September 2009, he says. One in five new borrowers also chose to fix their loans.

10 Lessons From Black Monday

Tom Stevenson is an investment director at Fidelity Worldwide Investment. article from morningstar 

1. Keep calm and carry on. The FTSE 100 ended 1987 higher than it started and within two years the index had surpassed its pre-crash peak. By the time you have recovered your equilibrium, the moment to sell has very likely passed and by panicking at this stage you will simply miss out on the subsequent recovery.

2. Look through the market gyrations to what is happening in the real world. The 1987 crash was triggered by over-exuberance (the market had risen by nearly 40 per cent in the first nine months of 1987) and was then compounded by automated computer trading. The underlying economy was sound at the time - hence the quick recovery.

3. Take a long-term view. The 1987 crash looks insignificant on a long-term chart today even though, at the time, it felt like the end of the world.

4. Be prepared for the worst and don't put all your eggs in one basket. I was in Hong Kong at the time of the 1987 crash - the market there shut for a week, emphasising the point that emerging markets can sometimes be markets from which it is difficult to emerge in an emergency.

5. Don't try and time the market. When your emotions are running high you will make the wrong investment decisions because our brains are hard-wired to run from danger. The best investors do the reverse - they walk towards danger, albeit with their eyes wide open.

    

6. Invest regularly, a little at a time. This way, you will take advantage of market falls like the 1987 crash, picking up a few shares or units in a fund when they are cheap and even though your mind is telling you to put your money under the mattress.

7. Reinvest your dividends. The chart below shows the performance of the UK stockmarket since the 1987 crash - the lower line reflects just the capital growth while the second includes the compounded benefit of putting dividend income back to work in the market.

8. Keep some of your powder dry. Crashes happen, and when they do you want to have some ammunition ready to take advantage of them. It may be frustrating to have even a small proportion of your savings earning next to nothing in cash when shares are rising, but so too is being unable to capitalise on bargain basement prices when periodically they appear.

9. Beware of buying high and selling low. Remember that the stockmarket is the only market in the world in which we prefer to buy when prices are high and are put off by low prices. Think about how you would buy fruit and veg at a street market. You would behave in exactly the opposite way.

                                    

10. Watch costs but worry more about value. The difference between the charges on an actively managed fund and a tracker might be 1 per cent a year. If you back the right manager, however, that might be the best 1 per cent you ever invested.

Sandra Crossland talking about

Our own Sandra Crossland from Liquidity Finance talking about the opportunity for Women in the Workplace as mortgage brokers! "http://liquidityfinance.com.au/about/team.html">http://liquidityfinance.com.au/about/team.html


As seen on Brokernews.com.au
 

October - Educational Webinar Series

Ark Total Wealth are proud to present their SMSF Strategy Series to our subscriber list. I encourage anybody who is interested in wealth creation in Australia to attend this series. 

Self managed super funds (SMSF's) are now one of the largest and fastest growing segments of the super industry having an annualised growth rate of 20%. Education amongst members as to what they can do with their SMSF's and how they can most effectively use them is patchy however, and many are simply not unlocking their SMSF's full potential. The Ark SMSF Strategy series has been created to educate and empower SMSF directors/trustees to get the most out of their retirement funds, increase their wealth and manage their tax. Webinars will be held on the following topics: Personal Insurance inside your SMSF Direct Equities & Managed Funds within an SMSF Transition to Retirement Strategies within an SMSF How to buy property within a SMSF If you can't attend a webinar, or you are not sure how to log on, please 'click for an advisor' on the right and we can provide you with the steps on how to register or a brief run down of the webinar content. At the webinars we will cover off the following; Personal Insurance - The different insurances that can be held within an SMSF and the tax consequences. Direct Equities and Managed Funds - What your investment options are within your fund and how to get access to these investments. Transition to Retirement Strategies - A detailed look at the options when approaching retirement and the benefits of utilising this strategy Property in Super - How to purchase an investment property within your super with borrowing At the conclusion of the webinar, we are happy to provide fact sheets and a short video on each topic, however we will not be sending out the specific  slides. Regards, The ARK Total Wealth Team Please click the links below to register for the webinars: SMSF and Personal Insurance Tues 16th Oct @ 5:30pm Investing within an SMSF Wed 17th Oct @ 5:30pm Retirement Strategies Tues 23rd Oct @ 5:30pm Buying Property in an SMSF Wed 24th Oct @ 5:30pm Each webinar will be 30mins in duration

www.arktotalwealth.com.au | info@arktotalwealth.com.au

How to save between $30,000 and $300,000 without major changes to your lifestyle!

I have been playing around with Liquidity’s mortgage and financial calculators (free online – see 

As I have said before, as people earn more, they spend more.

This is corroborated by an Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) study that indicates that one in seven Australian families spend more than they earn and  only 54 per cent of Australian householders know exactly what their money is spent on.

ASIC estimates that Australians spend $69,000 per household annually - $1290 a week - on living costs. (based on an article by Mark Bouris in the SMH today)

Paying extra amounts towards our mortgage can save hundreds of thousands of dollars!!

An extra monthly repayment of just $50 a month on  a $400,000, 30-year mortgage paying the average variable rate of 6 per cent could take 1 year and 7 months and $30,000 off your mortgage!

Where can I find savings?

Costs during the working Week

• ·         I generally spend $12 a day on a takeaway lunch and drink. By bringing  a packed lunch from home twice a week (from the previous nights dinner) , I save $24, or $96 a month -
• ·         Cutting just one cup of takeaway coffee at $3.20 a day equates to $69 in savings a month.

Saving = $165 per month

• ·         Taking the train ($130 per month) vs taking my car (garage $500, tolls $80, petrol and maintenance $200)

Saving  =  $650 per month (I would save more if I sold my car – but let’s not get carried away!!)

An extra $650 per month towards your mortgage will save you $210,950.73 abd 12 years and 1 month off your mortgage

Home Cost Savings

• ·         phone costs and internet plan -  We have just signed up to the Telstra Bundle – Saving $150 per month
• ·         Foxtel – we have 2 foxtel lines in 2 rooms, we only really need 1 – Saving $50 per month
• ·         reduce the number of times we eat out from, say, twice to once a week and we could save $300 a month;
• ·         time our petrol refills to the cheapest days,
• ·         shop for groceries at lower-cost supermarket and look for specials

Saving – say  $500 per month

•  Reviewing our insurance costs and funding our life insurance from our Superannuation saved $1,000 per month from our operating cash flow

Saving $1,000 per month

If I achieve this each month, we will go for an amazing meal for 2 at a cost of $165!

Cumulative Monthly Savings – say  $2130 per month.

Investing this in a $400,000  mortgage  will save  $334,210.66 in interest payments and 20 years off our mortgage!

A key to wealth creation is understanding what you are spending and preparing a budget and a financial plan. 

Its about cutting small costs that will probably not make a difference to our lifestyle  so we can save thousands of dollars off our mortgage.

Have a look at liquidity’s mortgage and financial calculators to show you how much you can save by paying extra off your mortgage!!

If you are interested in getting a quote on your mortgage - click here

I want to Invest - but how do I start?

A common misconception is that you need a lot of money to make money. If you have wads of cash it certainly helps but everyone needs to start somewhere. Unless your lucky (or unlucky in same cases but I won’t name names) to receive a capital injection from your parents, you will most likely need to start from scratch.

The key to building wealth, and the major factor that determines how quickly you grow it is .... click here to find out more!!

Perth and Brisbane leading Population Boom is expected to fuel the next Property Boom

They say "buy in gloom and sell in boom."  With a reduction in interest rates, and an increased demand for property, it seems as if it is a good time to start investing in strategic growth areas in Australia.

Property Boom in Perth Expected

I have just read an article in Australian Property Investor which points to an opportunity of investing in Perth and Brisbane.


The ABS’s population projection  estimates Perth and Brisbane’s population over the next 50 years to grow by over 110% .

Over the last 10 years, Perth and Brisbane boosted population figures by 25.2%, Darwin 20.8% growth, Melbourne 18.3%, Canberra 15.2%, Sydney 11.6%, Hobart 9% and Adelaide 8.8%.

In Perth, major planning and transport reforms under way to support the projected population boom as a result of the massive influx of workers servicing the resources sector. It is expected that Perth’s population will grow from 2 million to 4 million and house prices will rebound to reflect this.

An aging population, a new generation of homebuyers who want to be close to the city and an influx of immigrants who are more accustomed to high density living, will drive demand for units that are near public transport and  within easy reach of the CBD or places of employment, and where available property is in limited supply.

This will result in increased property prices.

Just as Sydneys Inner West (Newtown, Petersham and Dulwich Hill have gentrified into trendy and highly sought after suburbs, many Perth suburbs will have the potential to do the same. Growth areas being gentrified  include Victoria Park,  Belmont, Redcliffe and Cloverdale, Bayswater, Bedford, Dianella and Yokine

In Brisbane, the winning suburbs will be the transport hubs where rezoning has either already occurred or is under way. Growth areas include  Indooroopilly, Toowong, Carindale and Mount Gravatt, and more affluent suburbs expecting growth include  Brisbane’s leafy west and northwest, including suburbs like Ashgrove, Bardon and Toowong.

If you would like to invest in residential property, its best to chat with Alex, Miles, Chris or Dylan at Ark Total Wealth