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Financing Business Assets: Cash vs. Finance

Posted on by venrockfinance

When it comes to acquiring business assets, one of the crucial decisions you’ll face is whether to purchase them outright with cash or to finance them. Each option has its benefits and drawbacks, and understanding these can help you make an informed choice that aligns with your business’s financial strategy. Let’s delve into the different methods of financing and how they compare: buying outright, leasing, and using a chattel mortgage.

1. Buying Business Assets Outright

Advantages:

  • Full Ownership: Paying cash for an asset means you own it outright from day one. This can be particularly advantageous if the asset is expected to have a long useful life.
  • No Interest Costs: When you purchase an asset outright, you avoid interest payments that come with financing options.
  • Simplified Accounting: An outright purchase simplifies your accounting, as you don’t need to track interest, principal payments, or lease expenses.

Disadvantages:

  • Impact on Cash Flow: Paying in full can significantly deplete your cash reserves, which might be better used for other business needs or opportunities.
  • Missed Investment Opportunities: Using cash to buy assets might mean missing out on investment opportunities or potential returns that could have been gained from using those funds elsewhere.

2. Leasing Business Assets

Advantages:

  • Preserves Cash Flow: Leasing allows you to spread the cost of the asset over its useful life, which can help with maintaining cash flow and managing your budget.
  • Access to Latest Technology: Leasing can provide access to newer equipment and technology that might be prohibitively expensive to purchase outright.
  • Tax Benefits: Lease payments can often be deducted as a business expense, which can offer tax advantages.

Disadvantages:

  • No Ownership: At the end of the lease term, you don’t own the asset. Depending on the lease agreement, you might have the option to purchase it, but this usually involves additional costs.
  • Total Cost: Over the long term, leasing can sometimes end up being more expensive than buying outright, especially if you lease several times.

3. Chattel Mortgage

What is a Chattel Mortgage? A chattel mortgage is a type of financing arrangement where the business takes out a loan to purchase a tangible asset. The asset itself is used as security for the loan.

Advantages:

  • Ownership: Unlike leasing, with a chattel mortgage, you own the asset once the loan is repaid. This can be beneficial if you plan to use the asset for a long time.
  • Tax Benefits: You can often claim depreciation and interest payments as tax deductions, which can be financially advantageous.
  • Flexible Terms: Chattel mortgages often come with flexible repayment terms, allowing you to tailor the loan to fit your business’s cash flow.

Disadvantages:

  • Interest Costs: As with any loan, you’ll need to pay interest, which increases the total cost of the asset compared to buying outright.

Choosing the Right Option for Your Business

Deciding whether to buy an asset outright, lease it, or use a chattel mortgage depends on your business’s financial situation, growth plans, and the nature of the asset. Here are some key considerations:

  • Cash Flow: If maintaining cash flow is crucial for your business, leasing or a chattel mortgage might be preferable.
  • Asset Lifespan: For assets with a long lifespan, buying outright or a chattel mortgage might make more sense.
  • Tax Implications: Consider how each option impacts your tax situation and consult with a professional.

Speak with Professionals

Ultimately, the best choice depends on your specific circumstances. It’s wise to consult with your accountant and finance broker to analyze your financial situation, understand the implications of each option, and make a decision that supports your business goals.

Choosing the right method for financing business assets can have a significant impact on your company’s financial health and operational efficiency. By carefully evaluating your options and seeking expert advice, you can make a decision that aligns with your business’s needs and objectives.

Understanding Lenders Mortgage Insurance

Posted on by venrockfinance

Buying a home is a significant milestone for many, but navigating the financial aspects can sometimes be daunting, especially when it comes to understanding additional costs like Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI). Whether you’re a first-time homebuyer or looking to invest in property, knowing about LMI can help you make informed decisions. Here’s a comprehensive guide to help you grasp the essentials of Lenders Mortgage Insurance.

What is Lenders Mortgage Insurance?

Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) is a type of insurance that protects lenders in the event a borrower defaults on their home loan and the proceeds from selling the property are insufficient to cover the outstanding loan balance. It’s important to note that LMI does not protect the borrower; instead, it protects the lender against financial loss.

When is LMI Required?

LMI is typically required by lenders when the borrower’s deposit is less than 20% of the property’s purchase price. This is often referred to as a high Loan-to-Value Ratio (LVR), where the loan amount represents a high percentage of the property value. LMI provides lenders with the confidence to approve loans with smaller deposits, reducing their risk exposure.

How is LMI Calculated?

The cost of Lenders Mortgage Insurance depends on several factors:

  1. Loan Amount: The larger the loan amount, the higher the potential risk to the lender, influencing the cost of LMI.
  2. Deposit Size: A smaller deposit means a higher LVR, which generally leads to higher LMI premiums.
  3. Property Value: Higher property values can also impact LMI costs since larger loans are typically associated with higher-value properties.

Paying for LMI

LMI can generally be paid upfront as a lump sum or can be added to the home loan amount (capitalized). If it’s added to the loan, it will accrue interest over the life of the loan, increasing the overall cost.

Benefits of LMI

While LMI primarily protects lenders, it also offers some benefits to borrowers:

  • Access to Home Ownership: LMI allows borrowers to purchase a property with a smaller deposit, making home ownership achievable sooner.
  • Flexible Terms: Some lenders offer flexible terms and conditions on loans with LMI, potentially offering lower interest rates or other favorable terms.

Is LMI Necessary?

While LMI is an additional cost, it can be a viable option for borrowers who do not have a 20% deposit saved. It’s essential to weigh the upfront cost of LMI against the benefits of purchasing a property sooner and potentially benefiting from property appreciation over time.

Government’s First Home Guarantee Scheme

In addition to understanding Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI), prospective homebuyers in should also consider the Government’s First Home Guarantee schemes, which aim to support first-time buyers by reducing some of the financial barriers to homeownership. These schemes, such as the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS) and the New Home Guarantee (NHG), provide eligible applicants with the opportunity to purchase a home with a deposit as low as 5% without needing to pay LMI. This initiative can significantly reduce upfront costs for eligible buyers and complement the benefits of LMI, potentially making homeownership more accessible and affordable for those entering the property market for the first time. It’s advisable for interested buyers to check eligibility criteria and explore how these government schemes could align with their home-buying plans.

Conclusion

Lenders Mortgage Insurance plays a crucial role in the home buying process for many Australians, enabling borrowers to enter the property market with a smaller deposit. By understanding how LMI works and its implications, you can make informed decisions when navigating the complexities of securing a home loan.

Whether you’re a first-time buyer or looking to invest, consulting with a financial advisor or mortgage broker can provide valuable insights tailored to your financial situation. Remember, knowledge is key to making sound financial decisions that align with your long-term goals.

Financial Hardship during COVID-19

Posted on by venrockfinance

In light of the current unprecedented global events as a result of COVID-19, we wanted to ensure you that we are here to support you for the long haul. It is becoming increasingly evident this is going to be a marathon, not a sprint and that we need to prepare for increasing unemployment, and reduced incomes. With this in mind, many of you may struggle to make your home loan repayments so we wanted to explore the options available to you.

Payment Deferrals
If you have recently lost your job or found your income substantially reduced you may be able to defer your home loan repayments for 3-6 months. All lenders have a hardship department that can assist with this process. A link of their contact details can be found here. We are aware that bank call centres are struggling to keep up with call volumes, and in many cases banks have now started to forward us forms for you to complete and lodge. Please call us first to see if we can assist.

If your income hasn’t been affected yet, and you are unable to access deferrals through hardship but you still want to minimise your cashflow expenditure by reducing your repayments there are other options available to you.

Redraw
If you have been paying over and above your minimum monthly home loan repayments you may have funds available in either redraw, or sitting in your offset account. If you reduce your loan repayments to the minimum amount you can then use these funds to make your future loan repayments.

Fixed Rates
With the recent RBA rate reductions many of the banks have dropped their interest rates, with some 1, 2 and 3 year rates in the low 2’s. For most people this is around 1% lower than they are currently paying. Locking in to one of these low rates, could reduce your monthly repayments by hundreds of dollars. Note: there are other factors to consider before fixing, such as break costs, so please ensure you call us first before proceeding with this option.

Superannuation
Legislation passed this week enables individuals to access up to $10,000 before 1 July 2020, and then $10,000 after July 2020 if their income has ceased or fallen by 20%. This is done via the ATO myGov website and will be available from mid-April 2020. More information regarding eligibility and the process can be found here.

PAYG withholding variation
If you have had your work hours reduced but you are not technically unemployed (so unable to access jobseeker payments) you can apply to the ATO to have the tax withheld from you pay for the rest of the year so you don’t have to wait to get a refund when you lodge your tax. More information regarding this can be found here.

Finally, know that you are not alone and you do have options. We are only a phone call or email away and happy to answer your queries. You need a broker now more than ever!

Is Australia having its own financial crisis in 2017?

Posted on by venrockfinance

We all lived through the infamous GFC of 200. Which just to refresh some memories, was a worldwide crisis where the banking industry lost confidence in itself, as a consequence of convoluted funding schemes (called subprime loan securitisations), which their own internal banking brain trusts had created.

Basically, these funding schemes resulted in there being trillions of money’s lent into unworthy credit risks, which lead to just about every bank in the world having to write hundreds of millions, and in some cases billions, in bad debts, off their balance sheets simultaneously.

Thankfully here in Australia, the Federal Government gave the bank’s own depositors, a Government Guarantee for their deposits, which enabled the four pillars of the Australian banking industry to quickly go back to the Capital markets, and raise additional capital with share issues, and then simply start lending again with their revamped balance sheets.

Some international banks did not survive the inevitable run on the Banks, which follows the traditional wide spread fear of a credit collapse, which was being mooted, with Lehman Bros being the most famous casualty.

There were a host of others including HBOS and Bank of Scotland which would have collapsed if they were not bailed out.

Right now, in Australia, there are some worrying signs, re the health of our financial sector, which is leading to speculation that maybe the Australian Banking sector has again allowed itself to get carried away with recent lending policies which have led to concern about future property market sustainability.

Indeed on, March 20th, The Treasurer Scott Morrison, announced that he is in discussions with Council of Financial Regulators about the high proportion of investor loans on which only interest is being repaid. This combined with recent annual property value rises of between 13 and 18% in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra particularly, has flagged the likelihood of Bank’s tightening the rules to try and restrict investment loans.

It has already started, and we are seeing

  • Interest rates being increased on investor loans
  • Tough property valuations being completed
  • higher deposits being required
  • Insistence of borrowers being able to demonstrate an ability to meet loan repayments on a principal and interest basis.
  • a limit being placed on the ratio of ‘investment’ lending being conducted, in comparison to owner / occupied lending.

On the same day, the Chairman of ASIC spoke at their Annual forum, about what he considers to be the international ‘norm’, in terms of what the average housing price as a ratio against average income, should be. These figures are generally in the range of 5 – 6 times.

His observation that this ratio in the USA is currently about 5 times. In Melbourne it is currently 9.5, and in Sydney, 12.2. As a point of comparison, in Perth it is between 6.0 and 6.5 times. This is leading to use of the terminology “Housing Bubble”.

It is obvious that the situation is worse and more risky in some parts of the country than others, but it again seems that Banks are bringing in new lending rules, which are standardised around the country, regardless of the local situation.

So yet again, somebody sneezes in Sydney, and we in the West, get diagnosed with pneumonia.

We are seeing ridiculous approval conditions being imposed on modest investment transactions in the Perth Metro area, and even more ridiculous and negative property valuations being produced.

And guess what. It’s already having an effect, but is a slowing of an already stagnant economy what we really want and need at the moment, particularly here in WA?

And the thing which really irks me is that whatever lending has been conducted to allow for this ‘over heating’ of the investment property market, has been conducted by the Banks themselves. It’s been their own policies, their own products, their own marketing and distribution systems, which has lent the money to fund this surge.

And now the whole market suffers because of Bank’s previous policies.

That’s my view point.

Muzza from Perth

Three Tips to increase your serviceability as a property investor

Posted on by admin

With interest rates at an all-time low but with banks tightening their lending requirements there are some simple strategies to ensure your serviceability doesn’t stop you from gaining finance

  1. Cancel any credit cards that you don’t need
    Even if your credit card isn’t being used, the banks will take 3% of the limit as funds at your disposal to service a loan.
  2. Consolidate unsecured debts
    Alternatively, if you have outstanding balances on different credit cards or personal loans, it is wise to consolidate these into your mortgage.
  3. Ensure your tax returns are lodge on time
    In some circumstances two recent payslips will not be sufficient to a lender therefore being able to provide recent years’ tax returns will provide an accurate serviceability picture.