Australian workers have watched world share markets ride a hair raising roller coaster of ups and downs for some time now.
Articles by Rolf Schaefer
Rolf is Director of Metropole Finance and has twice been voted Australia's leading finance broker. He shares his wealth of knowledge about how to best use property finance to fund investments.
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As the world watches the European debt crisis continue to unfold with nervous anticipation, investors would do well to remember that old boy scout motto – be prepared. And I would add – for anything!
For the second consecutive year the big four banks, with the exception of ANZ, have come dangerously close to being seen as the Christmas Grinch. Sitting on their hands as the RBA dropped the cash rate by a further 25 basis points at their December meeting, all but the ANZ teetered dangerously on the brink…
With Australia’s economy now very much an integral part of the global stage, it’s expected that the tragic earthquake and Tsunami that has crippled much of Japan is likely to have some type of impact on local monetary policy when the Reserve Bank meets over the next few months. Then of course there’s the unrest…
Speculation as to when we can expect the Reserve Bank to make another move on interest rates has been rampant since the beginning of this new decade. Adding to the debate among economic analysts has been the potential impact of the string of natural disasters that occurred recently and Australia’s overall fiscal health. So what…
What exactly do the banks look for when processing your loan application? In this two part feature, Rolf Schaefer of Metropole Finance walks you through the 4 C’s that the banks use to assess finance applications and explain how you can get them to approve your loan every time. In Part two of Rolf’s article…
With memories of the recent Global Financial Crisis (GFC) still fresh in the minds of Australian lenders, it has become increasingly difficult over the past year or so to gain “easy finance”. Lending policies have been scrutinised and changes made to protect banks from a similar fate suffered by many major lenders in the US….
As a property investor seeking to make the most from your portfolio, every little aspect counts, right? When it comes to finance in particular, maximising your borrowing capacity, having the right loan structure and product(s) and saving money wherever possible are top priorities. So wouldn’t you like to know some of the banks’ secrets that…
It was no surprise that the RBA kept interest rates on hold at their September meeting, but home owners and property investors are not out of the woods for the remainder of the year yet and should factor rising rates into their budgets well into 2011. Recently there has been a great deal of speculation…
While the Reserve Bank was kinder to home owners and investors than it has been for some time at its August 3rd meeting, deciding to hold interest rates at the cash rate of 4.5%, there is still a lot of conjecture among economists as to just how high interest rates might climb over the next…
