How to build equity in your home and use it to invest

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Whether you’re looking to renovate, invest or pay off something big, home equity can be a valuable resource when it’s used correctly.

The equity in your property can be a valuable resource, as it may allow you to secure finance to achieve your goals, whether they be investment or lifestyle oriented.

If it’s something you’ve been thinking about, here are some pointers—the most important being if you borrow against your property and can’t make the repayments, you may lose your home in the process.

What is equity and how is it calculated?

Home equity refers to the current market value of your home—which won’t necessarily be the price you purchased it for—minus the amount still owing on your home loan.

To give you an example, say your home is valued at $800,000 and you still owe $300,000 on it, you’ll have $500,000 of equity.

Keep in mind that as the market value of your property can go up or down, so too can the equity you have in it rise and fall.

Meanwhile, to find out how much equity you have currently, you can organise a property valuation through various banks, lenders and independent agents.

Also note, even if you do have equity in your home, this doesn’t mean you can automatically borrow against it. Your lender will look at additional factors, such as your age, income, debt levels, the property’s location and whether you have any children.

What do people use home equity for?

The equity in your home can be used to secure finance for a variety of things.

As you’re effectively increasing the amount you owe to your lender and using your home as security for your borrowing, it is wise however to think about the long-term impact of taking on added debt.

For instance, you might be looking to access money to invest in another property or shares, undertake renovations, or pay for other big ticket items.

Borrowing money to pay for holidays or things that depreciate in value will come with greater risk.

Ways to grow your home equity

The equity in your home can increase a few different ways.

  • You can add to the value of your property by renovating and improving your home’s street appeal. The key here however is to avoid over-capitalising, which is when the cost of renovations outweigh the value added to your home in the process.
  • If your property is in a high-growth area or you’ve owned it for a number of years, the property may appreciate in value without you doing anything. However, depending on property market variables, the reverse could also happen.
  • Another way to increase the equity in your home is by reducing the size of your home loan, which you can do a number of ways.

What to consider first

Before you use your home equity to take on an additional loan, or a bigger one than what you have currently, there are a number of questions worth asking yourself, including:

  • What are you using your home equity for and is it a wise investment decision?
  • How much will your repayments to your lender increase by?
  • Will you need to extend the term of your loan?
  • Have you accounted for a possible rise in interest rates?
  • Do you have a household budget in place to accommodate for additional costs?
  • Can you access equity in your property via your current lender or will you need to refinance?
  • If you do swap lenders, have you thought about break costs, application costs—establishment, legal and valuation fees, stamp duty, and when lender’s mortgage insurance may apply?

Further information

Accessing the equity in your home could help you to achieve your goals. However, it’s important to stick to a workable budget and be committed to making your repayments on time.

Speaking to your financial adviser could go a long way in simplifying the process. And, if you don’t have an adviser you can find one using our online locator or by giving us a call on 9851 0300.

Watch out for tax scams.

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Watch out for tax scams

by Paul Clitheroe

 

 

The end of the financial year will likely bring the usual wave of scams. Here’s what to look for.

The federal budget is behind us, and amid the celebrations over tax cuts (around $500 annually for low to middle income earners if proposals are legislated), now is the time to be mindful of scammers pretending to be from government bodies – especially the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). In some cases, scam victims have lost close to $1 million dollars.

Beware scams posing as ASIC

If previous years are anything to go by, the end of the financial year will bring the inevitable wave of scams. Money watchdog the Australians Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) for instance, has recently warned about crims posing as ASIC representatives asking victims to pay bogus fees. They often make contact via email, accompanied by an invoice that infects your computer with malware if you click the link.

Protect yourself by looking for warning signs that show an email isn’t from ASIC at all. The clues include requests to make a payment in order to receive a refund, or if the email asks directly for your credit card or bank details.

Dodgy emails seeming to come from the ATO

More worrying, the ATO has recently advised that scammers are leaving voicemail messages on their victims’ phones, threatening the recipient with arrest due to an unpaid tax debt or suspected tax evasion. It can be scary stuff for those on the receiving end.

Scammers are also sending fake emails asking for completion of a ‘tax refund review’ form to allow recipients to receive a refund. Apparently, the form asks for online banking details, credit card numbers (and even credit limits) as well as your personal address. The ATO is warning not to click on or save any attachments as they may download malicious malware. Above all, do not disclose the personal information the form is requesting.

Scam victims can pay dearly

Not surprisingly, many people are taken in by these scams, and in previous years up to 48,000 people have reported coming across these scams between the peak tax-time months of July and October.

Hundreds of Australians have collectively handed over millions of dollars to scammers with one victim losing $900,000 borrowed from friends and family. Others have handed over personal details such as tax file numbers, which can lead to identity theft.

Protect yourself – and your money

In many cases, scam emails are easily spotted. Hover your computer’s mouse over the email address of the sender and it will show the true source. Have a close look through the email, and you’ll typically find that scam messages are poorly written with some pretty obvious spelling mistakes. The email may ask you to click what appears to be a link to the ATO website but when you hold the mouse over the link, it won’t have the official ato.gov.au address.

If you are unsure if a phone call or voicemail is from the tax man, call the ATO on 1800 008 540. Better still, contact your financial adviser before 30 June to connect with a reputable accountant or tax adviser, who could be a valued source of reassurance if you find yourself crossing paths with a scammer.

 

Paul Clitheroe is Chairman of the Australian Government Financial Literacy Board and chief commentator for Money Magazine.