Time Home Loans

Long weekend, Queensland. King's Birthday on Monday.

Down south they lose an hour on Sunday morning. We do not. For three glorious days we are the ones who know what time it is.

Office reopens Tuesday. If you are heading to open homes over the weekend, take the pre-approval with you.

Enjoy it.

That credit card you never use could be costing you borrowing power.

Lenders generally assess the full limit, not the balance. A card with a $0 balance that you pay off every month can still count as a commitment.

Before you close or cut anything, have your numbers checked. Some changes move the needle. Some don't.

General info only, not advice. Authorised Credit Representative under Australian Credit Licence 387025.

Rates are up again. Every rise trims how much lenders will let you borrow, so protect the rest of your application.

Five things that catch people out:
1. Credit card limits (the limit, not the balance)
2. Buy now, pay later accounts
3. HECS-HELP
4. Dependants
5. Other debts

Most can be fixed in weeks. Before you apply, not after.

timehomeloans.com.au/borrowing-capacity-beyond-income

General info only, not advice. Authorised Credit Representative under Australian Credit Licence 387025.

The RBA handed down its decision yesterday. Here is what gets lost in the coverage.

The cash rate is one input. Four things you actually control:

1. Structure - fixed, variable, split, offset
2. Repayment - anything above the minimum hits principal
3. Lender - the sharpest pricing goes to new customers
4. Credit limits - cards quietly shrink your options

None need a forecast.

General info only, not advice. Authorised Credit Representative under Australian Credit Licence 387025.

**RBA UPDATE | 29 September 2026**

The cash rate is now 4.60%.

After two consecutive holds, the Reserve Bank of Australia has lifted the cash rate by 0.25%. It's the fourth increase this year. The decision was unanimous and takes the cash rate to its highest level in 15 years (the last time it sat this high was November 2011).

Why? Inflation. The RBA says inflation has stayed elevated and some of the risks it flagged in August have now played out. Global energy prices are running higher than

Fixed or variable is a false choice.

Fixed buys certainty. You know the repayment and rate moves cannot touch you. The cost is flexibility - break fees are real and offsets are usually limited.

Variable moves with the market, and carries the features that pay a loan down faster.

Split does both.

The right mix depends on how you use your money, not on a forecast.

General info only, not advice. Authorised Credit Representative under Australian Credit Licence 387025.

The RBA hands down its decision on Tuesday afternoon.

Here is the uncomfortable bit: whichever way it goes, most people have no idea what rate they are currently paying. They find out from a news headline.

If your loan has not been reviewed in two years, it has probably drifted. Lenders reserve their sharpest pricing for new customers, not loyal ones.

A review takes about twenty minutes and costs nothing.

timehomeloans.com.au or (07) 3194 0888

Brisbane Festival wraps up tomorrow night.

Three weeks of the city being a bit more interesting than usual, and then it is over for another year.

If you have been meaning to get to something, this is the weekend.

School holidays are still running too, so the parents among us have options.

A client wanted a cheaper rate. We went to her lender, noted a competitor was 0.5% cheaper, and asked the question.

Two days later they cut her rate 0.35%. About $35,000 in interest over the life of the loan.

Then the real work: she kept her repayments the same. Another 2 years and 1 month off the loan.

A cut you spend is a discount. A cut you keep paying is a strategy.

General info only, not advice. Authorised Credit Representative under Australian Credit Licence 387025.

$500,000 loan, 30 years. Halve the monthly repayment, pay it every fortnight.

26 fortnights means 13 monthly payments a year instead of 12.

On one worked example: 3 years 9 months off the loan, just under $48,000 saved.

The trap - some lenders now calculate the fortnightly figure as monthly x 12 / 26. Same money, no gain.

Ask which method yours uses.

General info only, not advice. Authorised Credit Representative under Australian Credit Licence 387025.