***This is a sponsored post. However, as always, opinions are solely mine and so are all the aforementioned financial details and legal experiences. How’s that for baring my soul?***
Sitting in the tiny city office filled with piles of paperwork, contracts and thick volumes of legislation, I felt completely out of my depth.
In the process of buying our first home, we had called upon a lawyer specialising in convenyancing to review the contracts. Oh, the joy. The fun.
Mary ran her own little firm but it didn’t take much for her to give out the impression that she kicked ass. Everything about her spoke of independent, strong, self-sufficient feminist.
So, it was a surprise when she asked me how I was able to contribute almost half of our almost 50% deposit.
“Did you get all that money from your parents?”
Explaining to her I lived and worked (damn hard, mind you) in corporate Japan for almost a decade where income tax is at an easy 9%, I was financially savvy.
Not a penny came from my parents, I proudly proclaimed. So there.
Keeping her professional, ruthless lawyer composure, she then asked whether Boyfriend Surfer and I were married.
“Um, nope” was my flat reply.
I had known Mary for all of 5 minutes and I was beginning to wonder. When does a legal client get to maintain some privacy and dignity?
She continued to push.
“Sooooo, are ya gonna???
I gulped nervously as I wasn’t capable of giving her a proper answer.
Mary wasn’t the first person who’d asked what our marital plans were. But man, no one had been so um, forthcoming about the legal and financial side to it all.
“Can I give you some free legal advice?
Before I could even respond, she let rip.
“Get a pre-nup. Whether you guys get married or not. Stake claim on what’s yours. Get a pre-nup”
The other week, I was invited by Macquarie Bank to a morning tea to discuss their latest product launch, the Flyer Home Loan.
In collaboration with Qantas Frequent Flyer, home owners will be able to earn Qantas Points on both at the time of settlement and for each month for the duration of the loan.
The Macquarie Bank Flyer Home loan offers 10,000 Qantas Points for every A$100,000 drawn down at settlement.
While a mortgage holder’s outstanding loan balance remains at or above $150,000, they will be awarded with 1,000 points each month for the life of the loan and an extra 25,000 points at both the third and fifth year anniversary of the loan.
For example, a $350,000 mortgage loan will automatically earn 35,000 points by the time of settlement, which is equivalent to a Sydney – Melbourne return trip on business class.
While a family of four like ours would need to accumulate far more points to travel together, the Flyer Home Loan is still an alternative for those who don’t want to have the financial burden of a mortgage completely depriving them from travelling.
And from personal experience, I totally get this.
Our upcoming (almost) month long trip to Indonesia means we’ve barely made a dent on our mortgage payments this year.
On the flip side, we know the initial big deposit and extra payments we made when I was working have helped us get ahead.
We just want to breathe this year, you know, actually live a little. And while we’re at it, spend some quality family time while visiting my birth country.
First time house buying, seeking finance and mortgages can be a COMPLETE headache.
While the interest rates are at a record low, things will only become more competitive for mortgage loan providers. So for us, there are a plethora of options – which is good – but also potentially confusing.
Doing stacks of research, talking to people you trust who have gone through the process is all worth its weight in gold.
You might even get some free legal advise along the way. Thanks, Mary.
Joining IBOT with Essentially Jess
Aroha @ Colours of Sunset says
So did you follow her advice? I’m resigning myself to the fact that we will never own a house! We save any amount of money and end up going somewhere with it instead of keeping it for a deposit! If you’re going to be paying all that money for a house, might as well have the loan that gets you FF points, even though they are a bit of a rip. Pay $350,000 for a free 1st class trip from Syd-Melb? I’d rather save the $350,000 and just buy a plane ticket 😉
Aroha @ Colours of Sunset recently posted..Things I Know : Something Else
mamagrace71 says
I didn’t take her advice. But I did tell Mr Surfer what she said. Then 3 months later, we were engaged 🙂
Ai Sakura says
I’m so excited for your upcoming Indonesia trip!! And such a long one too! 🙂
Interesting how the linked flying points to mortgage payments.. I like that concept! Would certainly help us too hehe
Ai Sakura recently posted..For little girls: Beautiful Patterned Dresses from Pumpkin Patch
Lisa Barton-Collins says
I found buying our first home very confusing – everyone seemed to assume that we already knew all about it, and where not very forthcoming when we asked detailed questions. Maybe it was just the person we where dealing with at Mortgage Choice?
xx
Lisa Barton-Collins recently posted..Halloween Inspiration
Jane says
I was also dealing with Mortgage Choice for my refinance with nothing but push back and delays. I recently went to Macquarie directly and they were very easy to deal with and I moved banks, saved money and now earn the points. So happy!
Rhianna says
Mary sounds like a real gem. So did ya did ya? The idea of a pre nup has always fascinated me. We never bothered mainly because we both already had not a lot to offer other than our love. Have a great holiday lovely. Leaving some fairy wishes and butterfly kisses from #teamIBOT
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Emily @ Have A Laugh On Me says
Wow 50% what a legend you are Grace?? My hubby had a quarter saved for ours, I was quite impressed, I had less than a quarter of his quarter to contribute! I can’t wait til we can rent out this home we’re in a get a bigger one, I’ll have to work much harder though to help make this happen, but when the kids are all at school it’ll be easier x
Emily @ Have A Laugh On Me recently posted..What don’t you want your children to know about you?
Lisa@RandomActsOfZen says
I don’t think I would have warmed to Mary! We were quite lucky with info provided when we bought our first house, I guess it’s the luck of the draw.
I was 5 months pregnant when we bought our first investment house, and I had to try to hide it, as we didn’t want the bank to know that we’d soon be on one wage. Boy, did I breathe a sigh of relief when that meeting was over! x
Lisa@RandomActsOfZen recently posted..The Zen Files // Pip from Bub Sweat and Tears
Kathy says
We got engaged and bought a block of land at the same time – not such a wise move in terms of the size of the rock. We built the house ourselves (Mr Yang being a builder as well as a firefighter – I know!). I remember holding up the big bearers running all the way down the house (we built a timber floor on a gently sloping block). It was such a juggle managing the cash flow towards the end – they forgot to bill us the balance of the timber kitchen we bought (almost divorcing before we got married when we installed it ourselves). I was really hoping they would just forget altogether but no such luck – we ended up needing a small personal loan to get finished. Fun times!
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Bec @ The Plumbette says
When hubby and I bought our house before we were married we also went to a lawyer or solicitor to fill in and sign all the paperwork (it was over 9 years ago). We didn’t get a pre-nup because for us marriage is the plan. There is no plan b.
What we did do after we got our house is get a will written up. So many people forget to do this and it’s so important to get one written up correctly.
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Mark says
Arghhh, Pre-Nup! If only I hadn’t misread this years ago and had that Pre-Nap, my first wife might not have got every thing.
Get the Pre-Nup. Peace of mind and you’ll sleep better
Mark recently posted..Political Trade: More fun than Wife Swapping
mamagrace71 says
I actually never did. It’s never too late though, is it? 🙂
Emma Fahy Davis says
Pfft, pre-nup, if we ever get divorced he’s welcome to my stack of bills 😉
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Tegan says
Paul has owned two houses which his ex wife mananged to get repossessed. He is pretty blase about money but a lot of that extra baggage comes into our relationship because he thinks that I might do the same. He’s still building up his credit rating now, but he has said that he’ll never own a house again.
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EssentiallyJess says
I’m wondering if we will ever own a house. Prices in Darwin are absolutely ridiculous and with four kids, our expenses are pretty high too. Still dreaming about it though 🙂
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Nami says
The income tax in Japan is 9%? Really? But a honeydew melon costs $50 – go figure. And so I’m wondering if you wind up getting a pre-nup…
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Home says
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