Laine Gordon

Is equity the key to wealth?

Keen to buy a rental property but short of a deposit? Your home equity could open the door.

Don't be a victim of credit card fraud

Despite concerted efforts by banks to fight fraud, figures released in December by the Australian Payments Clearing Association (APCA) showed credit card fraud reached $210 million last financial year, up by $39 million from the previous year.

House prices rise as rate cuts take effect

After a year of lacklustre performance, Australian house prices rose for the first time in 11 months, hot on the heels of the November interest rate by the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Baby on board, are you financially prepared?

Thinking of starting a family? Now's the time to make plans for managing your finances once your baby comes on board.

Grants: are they best for first home buyers?

Australian property prices show no sign of easing. If you’re a first home buyer, eager to jump into the market, you’ve probably been keeping an eye on federal and state government grants and stamp duty exemptions in the hope that they can help you buy your first home faster.

Use your mortgage to achieve 2012 goals

As the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Day around two-thirds of Australians made financial resolutions – and our home loans could hold the key to making them happen.

The great housing drought

Australia's housing shortfall is getting worse, with demand for an extra 214,700 homes nationally not being met.

Credit cards - don't get stung

There's no denying that credit cards make life a hell of a lot easier, but the banks seem intent on making us pay for the convenience by charging unreasonably high credit card interest rates.

New initiative impacts borrowers

As many Australians rose bleary-eyed from their new year's celebrations, borrowers also woke to a timely pick-me-up from the federal government, with Canberra's banking reform legislation now making it compulsory for lending institutions to supply a home loan fact sheet to prospective borrowers, upon request.

Why Do Exchange Rates Change?

There’s a lot of debate amongst economists about what causes exchange rates to change. The team at RateCity have narrowed down six factors which influence rates. Can you guess which six?