Jason Kuan - Shern Advisory

Thought buying your first home was simple?

So did I… until I made every mistake you could possibly make, including being $20K short on settlement day!

In my latest YouTube video, I share a step-by-step guide on what I’d do if I were buying my first home again in 2026, so that aspiring first home buyers don’t make the same mistakes!

Check out the full video here: https://youtu.be/Ero2X616F64

Think building equity is slow? Here’s what 4 years and smart borrowing can really do.

In my latest YouTube video, I show how equity really works (using real numbers), how to access it, and mistakes to avoid.

Check out the full video here: https://youtu.be/856Lf9oJ6EU

Putting it all together

Before the rate reduction and loan restructure their minimum repayments were $4,280. After the adjustments, their repayments reduced to $4,066. After taking into account the interest savings from offset of $109 they have grown from having no surplus cash every month to making additional repayments of $323 every month towards their home loan. And with that they will be paying off their home loan 4 years early. It may not be much, but at least they have some room to breathe and are able to tolerate another few rate rises.

Now that's what I'd like to call a win! 😁

Step 2 – Restructure investment loan to Interest Only

We restructured their investment property loan to interest only after seeking tax advice from their accountant. The monthly repayments reduced from $1,075 to $937 on the investment loan which they can put into reducing their home loan.

Stay tuned for Step 3 😁

Step 1 – Rate Review

Their original rate with the lender was 6.05% for the investment and 5.93% for the owner occupied loan. They called the lender's retention line to ask for a discharge authority stating that another lender is offering them 5.84% with no annual fees to refinance. Instead of giving them a discharge form, the lender dropped their rate immediately to 5.71% for both loans. The total interest for both loans over remaining term was going to be $621k. With the rate adjustment, the total interest over the remaining term will reduce to $590k. That’s a saving of $31k.

Stay tuned for Step 2 😁