iAlan’s tips for the Application Process

December 11, 2024

So .. You’d like to apply for a loan!

Here are the steps to get started – and best of all – I am here as your personal guide to get you though.

Once you get through the early stages real Alan will take over.

First – you need to create a log in to get through to the Forms Page.

Click the above link or the log in page is easily found on the right side of the horizontal main menu.

If it’s your first time – you will need to register and create an account: Register a new account

Once logged in the very first question is are you applying..

·      On your own? – use the Single Applicant form

·      With someone else? – use the Joint Applicant form

·      Or as a corporate entity? (If as a corporate entity you will use the Joint Applicant form)

There are THREE forms and Alan needs them all:

·      Single or Joint Application form – Alan reads this carefully to work out what he needs to ask for next.

·      Expenses – an essential legal requirement these days – so we know roughly what it costs to run your life.

·      Loan Preferences – another sensible requirement so that Alan can match the best options to your own stated needs.

A couple of common questions and corresponding handy hints:

·      In the Application forms – when you get to liabilities – include all liabilities even if they are in your business name – because you are still liable for them personally.

·      For Expenses – don’t think too much – your best guess is fine and the frequency that comes to mind – eg council rates – $2000 and pick “per year”. Mobile phone might be $40 and “per month”. You don’t have be 100% accurate – Alan just needs your best estimates.

Before you finish and submit:

·      The SAVE function – makes sure your information is there for next time.

·      The SUBMIT function – is what emails this information to Alan.

You must SAVE and separately SUBMIT.

Now – if you are returning for a subsequent time – log in to get to the Forms page.

You still need to fill in all three forms BUT – when you click on the form you need you can find your most recent previous saved form in the table at the top of the form.

EDIT …. SAVE … SUBMIT

Once Alan has your forms – I fade away and Real Alan takes over – he reads carefully and then sends you a document list he needs to work out borrowing power and the best options to match your needs with lenders and loan products

Finally – privacy and data security is very important and the Ask Alan policy is one of mutual responsibility in which you as Alan’s client have total control.

If you want your data deleted – just ask and it is not saved.

BUT – that means there is nothing when you return and you must start again each time.

Ask Alan systems are encrypted and highly secure – so you can have confidence in opting for convenience in storing it there for next time, but if you feel more comfortable – just ask and it will be deleted.

There are three people who can help you with forms

·      Me – iAlan – just ask me for help in my pop up in the bottom right hand corner of your screen.

·      Real Alan – I can put you in contact, click here to send him an email.

·      Real Helen – Alan’s real IT / admin support person, click here to send her an email.

Too Comfortable too Soon

November 5, 2024

What is the biggest home loan risk facing most Australians today?

We can all accept that we will likely retire later than we once thought. Although maintaining purpose and income for longer is not all bad. Especially if you have taken the time now to invest in your own future retirement.

30-year home loans – by universal policy – are aimed to end at age 70.

Falling across the finish with your home paid off and maybe half a million in super will not give you a comfortable future.

I think it’s possible that the cost of living “crisis” is being a bit overplayed these days. Yes, everything costs more – insurance, electricity, education, food…

Read more

How to Buy a House

October 1, 2024

It’s Spring – The family has grown, you want to be closer to schools… Or … the kids have left, it’s time to downsize … It’s time to shift house.

Spending your weekends going to open homes and after a while – it becomes so confusing…

My brother recently asked for help… so here is the Ask Alan suggestion – it’s a way my wife and I have used successfully many times.

Step 1: Grab a champagne… or a coffee… and sit together and JOINTLY list all the important things that matter to you in a house:

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What is going on with Interest Rates…

August 6, 2024

I have asked you (my clients) many times if you want to know my opinion on why interest rates and house price are as they are.

The clear answer is… NO ! What we do want from you – is what should we do…

Let me go back a bit first.

Every decade has had a defining moment:

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A Budget Thought You Won’t Be Expecting – the THREE mistakes people make.

May 15, 2024

The Council of Social Services (ACOSS) always makes a submission to the budget. This year it notes that the top 10% of Australians have over $5.2 million in net wealth and that the gap between the top 10% and those below is somehow inherently wrong.

It also notes that the top 10% have made their wealth predominantly through property – and with their comments they infer this is somehow inherently wrong too.

My “Budget” in Reply comment is for EVERYONE that aspires to own a home – First Home Buyers and Investors alike.

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What is a “Tracker Mortgage”?

April 11, 2024

A report from a government committee has suggested that Australian Banks be forced to issue “Tracker Mortgages” (Aust Financial Review 27 March 2024).

Australian banks have unsurprisingly pushed back.

A “tracker mortgage” supposedly “tracks” the Reserve Bank cash rate so that your home loan rate remains at a fixed margin relative to the Reserve Bank cash rate.

The benefit is that a borrower will not be left (as currently happens) with a rate stranded high and dry well adrift of where it should be.

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Early Retirement – Be careful what you wish for…

April 5, 2024

I once wrote an article titled “A funny thing happened on the way to the cemetery”.

When the pension was conceived, average life expectancy was 62. Retirement age was 65.

The pension was predicated on the assumption that most would never receive it.

Someone born in 1950 had a life expectancy of 62.

But by the time they reached that age – life expectancy had increased to 82.

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Question of the Week: Inter-generational financial support

March 27, 2024

How best to deal with the worry of inter- generational issues…?

In my email last week, I posed the question of how best to prepare for your own future…

One client asked how they could help their (young) children – not yet born – because of their concerns about what the housing market would look like for them – and their ability to buy a house.

Another client asked how to help parents who had sold everything to live life on the road – but that life had caught up with them and the aged parents were now renting.

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Let’s Start a Conversation…

March 20, 2024

I spent time with long term clients and even longer friends over the weekend.

Here was one part of the conversation – and I’d like you to continue it, along any pathway you choose… more of that later.

“How much do I need to live comfortably in later life?”

Average weekly earnings have just hit $100kpa

How much do I need to have in assets to give that income?

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2024 The Year Ahead

January 30, 2024

There are things that can be taken as almost certain this year – so let’s plan for them.

On the money supply side:

  1. At some stage this year the Reserve Bank will start to reduce rates.
  2. When rates fall by 0.25% it is almost certain that banks will act with their usual pattern and cut by 0.25% for new clients and only 0.15% for existing clients.

No need for you to worry here – I will be able to deal with that for you in my scheduled 6 monthly reviews – it’s what I do for you.

So, let’s turn to getting ahead in life this year.

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