Through our finance company – GNS Plus Pty Ltd, you have access to a variety of home loan solutions.

If you have never used a Mortgage Broker before, here is a quick run-down:

Your Broker is working for you, not the Bank. Brokers have the skills, experience and tools available to get you a good deal, explain all the different options and make recommendations to you on how to maximise your repayments and to cut your interest bill.

Our GNS Plus Lending Manager has access to over 30 bank and can evaluate what is best for you from:

• Variable/Fixed Rates
• Owner Occupied/Investment
• Residential Commercial
• Offset/Redraw
• Line of Credit
• Constitution Loans
• Interest Only/Principle and Interest
• SMSF Gearing
• Reverse Mortgages

The benefit for you is we do all the leg work and shopping around, so you can relax knowing you’re getting your finances sorted.

Contact Paul on 9499 7444 for a complimentary consultation to assess your borrowing power.

Paul Tsikopoulos is a credit representative 522646 of BLSSA Pty Ltd ACN 117 651 760 (Australian Credit Licence 391237)

Home Loan Tips

Refinancing your home loan

A GNS Plus Lending Manager can review your current home loan to ensure you still have the right product for your needs. Don’t assume that just because your loan was once competitive, it still is. Interest rates change and different types of loans are always entering the market. They will:

• assess your current interest rate
• assess your repayment level
• assess your financial situation to determine whether a better deal can be sourced saving your money, and helping you pay off your loan faster

Tips to pay off your home loan faster

Select a home loan that meets your needs. While the rate is important, it is more important to have an appropriate level of flexibility and function.

1) Pay off as much as you can, as often as you can.

2) Avoid loans that penalise you for making extra repayment

3) Avoid ‘honeymoon’ loans that revert to a higher rate after the ‘honeymoon’ period is over.

4) Avoid loans with high exit costs.

5) Deal with reputable organisations

Fixed or variable interest?

This really depends on your current financial situation. A GNS Plus Lending Manager can help you select the right type of loan, building in the cost of every-day living to determine how much you can afford to repay each month.

There are advantages and disadvantages of choosing fixed and variable interest loans, and they are assessed on a per client basis.

Options to consider are:

• fixed interest loan
• variable interest loan
• loan comprising of part-fixed / part-variable interest

Remember however, that if you elect to split your loan into part fixed / part variable, make sure you don’t incur two monthly loan maintenance fees instead of one.

Hidden home loan costs

There are many costs associated with taking out a home loan, which don’t relate to the price of the property.

These hidden costs include:

• Lenders’ fees, including loan application and establishment fees
• Government charges including stamp duty on property purchase and mortgage, and title fees
• Legal expenses
• Inspection costs

Buying your first home

Buying your first home is one of (if not) the biggest financial commitments you will ever make. Stay well informed of what is involved so you don’t make any rash decisions.

Good financial planning advice from your Count adviser combined with the advice from a GNS Plus Lending Manager, can save you thousands of dollars off your loan and help you own your home sooner!

Can you afford to buy a house?

A credit provider must ensure you can afford to repay a loan without suffering undue financial hardship before lending you any money.

The total amount that you can borrow is determined by three factors:

1) The value of the property you intend to purchase; and

2) The funds you use towards the purchase; and

3) Your borrowing capacity or “serviceability”. Serviceability is your ability to meet loan repayments, and will depend on your income and existing financial commitments. You will need to provide evidence of a continuous stable income.

You must have a budget!

Budgeting your income carefully and understanding your spending habits will help you make regular loan repayments and own your home that much sooner!

Paul Tsikopoulos is a credit representative 522646 of BLSSA Pty Ltd ACN 117 651 760 (Australian Credit Licence 391237)

But 7 out of 10 Australians do not have Income Protection Insurance – relying on the Australian attitude of “she’ll be right”. And for many Australians who do have some protection, its often not enough or structured in the best way to either maximise Tax deductions or minimise cash flow costs.

There are also so many different providers and options when it comes to Income Protection Insurance. And this is where GNS Group can help you.

We can understand what is important to you, how to best structure your protection and then compare different providers and policy definitions to make sure you will get a pay out when you really need it.

Some Insurance Companies get a bad reputation when it comes to paying out. And it’s probably the biggest concern people have. The 3 most common reasons for receiving what you expected are: Inaccurate/incomplete medical disclosure at the time of application A poor quality policy with weak definitions on how and when you will get paid Incorrect structuring of the policy to properly protect you.

When it comes to Income Protection Insurance – you get what you pay for!

The things that GNS Group will assist you with includes:

Appropriate Structuring (inside Super or personal policy) Waiting period (7 days, 30 days, 6 months) Benefit Period (You will be paid for 1 year, 2 years, 5 years, until age 65) Stepped/Level Premiums (Stepped premiums cost more every year you have a birthday, Level premiums do not increase with age) Agreed/Indemnity Value ( A bit like Car Insurance, Agreed Value gives you certainty, Indemnity or market Value is how much you are earning immediately before making an insurance claim) Super Booster/Mortgage Benefit (Something extra to help with the Mortgage or to pop into Super while you are not working to allow it to keep growing)

When someone purchases their first car, they make sure that they get the proper insurance. But when someone gets their first job, not many people even consider Income Protection Insurance.

Insuring a $40,000 car that reduces in value every year for $1,500 seems to be a good deal, but spending $1,500 to insure your $40,000 wage that grows in value every year is lower down the priority list.

So how much is enough?

This is where working with GNS Group can make the process so much easier. GNS can cut through the fine print of different policies to make sure you get what you pay for, understand what is important to you, compare different policies and features and in most cases, there is no requirement to do a medical.

It is also important to understand the best way of owning your policy and funding the premium costs.

Should it be inside super or non super, what about your business paying the cost of the insurance? It is not just an issue around cashflow and who is paying the cost, but also tax needs to be taken into account as you might see a big chunk of your Life insurance payout heading to the ATO rather than your desired beneficiaries. This is where the GNS team can help to explain all of the different options and recommend the most suitable course of action for you and your family.

General advice warning: The advice provided is general advice only. In preparing it we did not take into account your investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs. Before making an investment decision on the basis of this advice, you should consider how appropriate the advice is to your particular investment needs, and objectives. You should also consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement before making any decision relating to a financial product.

Often the best approach becomes self-evident fairly quickly when you look at the purpose and time frame.

Goals such as a holiday or a car might be shorter term goals and as such, a regular savings plan into a bank account or term deposit might be a good starting point.

Thankfully there are many high interest internet savings accounts which give you flexibility with no minimum investment amount; you can set up a regular direct debit to transfer some of your money (usually wages) into a high interest savings account. Whether its $50 per week or $50 a month, its just great to start somewhere.

When it comes to longer term goals such as savings for a house deposit or setting aside money to fund the kids’ education, there are plenty of options available.

We always recommend talking to one of the GNS Group Financial Advisers to work out the best plan of attack for your situation, but some of the things you might consider include:

• There’s nothing wrong with high interest savings account like we mentioned earlier, or term deposits for that matter, but you can also consider, Managed funds, which allow you to invest into professionally invested portfolios, give you the benefit of diversification, customised investment allocation and consolidated reporting.
• Investment bonds are a great option for those on the top marginal tax rate or saving for the kids education with a 10 year time frame to achieve a tax free return, they often have a role to play,
  Investing into managed funds whilst a good strategy, can be further enhanced in some situations by the addition of a regular gearing facility. Borrowing to invest is not often front of mind for clients, but with the right timeframe and risk profile, can be a great way to enhance returns and can be tax effective as well.
• When it comes to the kid’s school fees – using an education scholarship fund is an option to consider. Our general concern with this type of savings plan is the lack of flexibility and application of funding at the time of withdrawal for education purposes. If you already have a home loan, it can be very effective to direct your savings plan into the home loan. Instead of earning interest, you will save interest! You also will not see your savings account increasing, but your home loan diminishing. If you have a re-draw account then you will see this type of account increasing in value. This strategy also benefits you by not having to worry about the Tax Man. Because no interest is earned, you don’t have to pay tax.

By way of example – If your home loan interest rate is 5% and you have $10,000 in savings, this means you $500 less mortgage interest.

If you were to invest $10,000 and you earn a 5% return you have made $500. However, the tax office will want a slice of this. Depending on your personal tax rate, you might see $100-$250 disappear in tax, so your real return may not be as great as simply paying off mortgage.

For more information on how you can benefit from a savings plan and which strategy is best for you and your goals, please speak to one of our Financial Advisers today.

Either way, it’s important to make sure a few basics are followed to maximise your return:

• Keep everything (original or soft copy) throughout the year that could potentially be claimed (we have checklists to help)
• Try to summarise all of the documents and records, it will make our life easier & your accounting fees cheaper!
• Book an appointment at our Ivanhoe office and talk to your GNS accountant about what might have changed in your world over the past 12 months (there might be extra things you can claim)
• Ask questions about what might have changed with tax legislation affecting your claims
• Provide GNS with your current contact details; perhaps you have moved from Melbourne to rural Victoria, or interstate, or visa versa. (in case there are some queries)
• Let us know your bank account details for an Electronic Deposit of your refund
• Book a face to face appointment (if you are based in Melbourne) or a phone based consultation (to cover all of the above)

There are three key areas on a tax return – Income, Deductions, Rebates & Offsets.

Income

This could include things such as your salary, bank interest, capital gains, rent received, dividends or managed funds etc.

Deductions

This could include things such as your car or travel costs, union or subscription fees, rental property expenses,  Interest on investment loans, Income Protection Insurance, home office costs etc.

Rebates & Offsets

These are generally things which entitle you to a tax credit, and can include Private Health Insurance, Out of pocket medical expenses, credit for foreign income tax paid etc.

If you would like more information on what you might be able to claim, talk to one of our accountants today – we’d love to be able to help you.

Not only clearing your debts (home loan, credit cards, and business loans) but also seeking the best available medical treatment become big priorities. And this is where Total and Permanent Disability Insurance can take the financial headaches away and allow you to focus on adjusting to your latest medical impediments.

You have to remember that getting a lump sum payment from Total and Permanent Disability Insurance means a life changing diagnosis has been made; it’s not just a broken arm!

Things such as Quadriplegia, paraplegia, Multiple Sclerosis and Motor Neuron Disease. Medical conditions which there is no recovery from – Its Total and also Permanent.

As you can imagine, the cost of modifications to your home, perhaps even changing homes, might be required depending on the degree of impact and the way your home is set up. The cost of personal in home care might start to bite, and is often not covered by the cost of health insurance and wont be picked up by Medicare either.

So you need to look after yourself and your family, and when you do the sums, its not a big cost relative to the benefit that you would receive in the event of being diagnosed as Totally and Permanently disabled.

GNS Group can’t prevent these tragic illnesses or injuries from occurring, but we can give you and your family the peace of mind that you will not be a financial burden on them.