Professional Services

from The Village Observer May 2019

Lloyd Rees Bandstand supporters provide their perspective

Enjoy a carefree lifestyle at Lane Cove Gardens

Units

• Overlooking Chatswood Golf Course and Lane Cove from just $400,000*

National Park. • Modern reception which includes hair salon and sunny lounge areas. • Dining room and indoor swimming pool. • A peaceful oasis just 10km from the city. • 24/7 On Call Assistance should you need it.

VISIT US MONDAY TO FRIDAY, 9AM-5PM, Visit us Monday to Friday 9am-5pm, Saturday 10am-12 noon or for an appointment call Melinda on 1800 911 989. SATURDAY 9AM-12 NOON OR FOR AN APPOINTMENT CALL 1800 911 989

Mortgage Choices

First home buyers shouldn’t be deterred!

According to Mortgage Choice and Core Data’s Evolving Great Australian Dream whitepaper, 33.7% of prospective buyers said they would be “increasingly unlikely to buy a home” if rates started to climb. Stephanie Cook of Mortgage Choice Lane Cove said “the fact that a rate increase would encourage more than one in three first home buyers to put their property plans on the backburner concerns me. "The fact is, rate rises are inevitable. In fact, over the past few weeks, the majority of lenders have increased the interest rates across their suite of home loan products. “It is important for first home buyers to do their research when applying for a home loan, check that they are not only able to service a mortgage at current interest rates, but at increased rates, which are inevitable over the life of the loan. They should also consider their current and future personal circumstances, as this will impact on their ability to repay the mortgage. “At Mortgage Choice, we always factor in a financial buffer, as do our lender partners. This buffer is usually several percentage points higher than a customers’ interest rate. By doing this, we make sure all customers can not only comfortably afford their mortgage repayments now, but they can also afford their repayments if and when interest rates rise. It’s for this reason that at Mortgage Choice, we ensure every customer is put in the right financial product for their circumstances.”

Please feel free to contact us on 9420 3052, visit 15/43-45 Burns Bay Rd, Lane Cove or email stephanie.cook@mortgagechoice.com.au

Mortgage Choice Limited ACN 009 161 979. Australian Credit Licence 382869. Mortgage Choice Limited ACN 009 161 979. Australian Credit Licence 382869.

Life's rich pattern...

These days, when making an online purchase, you’re pretty much held to ransom unless you tick your life away. By Liz Foster.

This Easter, I smugly reached for my pre-purchased, health fund member reduced movie tickets. To my surprise and dismay, they had expired – what a waste. So back online I went.

The new transaction entailed jumping through the usual hoops and tick boxes – did I read the terms and conditions, did I know that they weren’t valid after 2pm on weekends, and so on.

Once finally purchased and printed, I saw the problem. The child vouchers had seven months’ validity; bizarrely the simultaneous transaction adult ones were only good for six months. To add insult to injury, I’d just bought an estimated years’ worth of movie tickets for the family.

Through grinding teeth and flared nostrils, I put aside this first world problem and my daughter and I set off with our new tickets. It’s a Friday, so we’re good with the weekend rules. But once we’re in the queue, we’re told our tickets aren’t valid for public holidays. Ah yes, today is Good Friday. No free tickets allowed. (But they weren’t free, I paid good money for them – twice!) Please stump up the full amount again, Madam, which by the way is even more because of the screen we’re showing it on.

Choice magazine recently hired an actor to read out Kindle’s full terms and conditions; the 73,198 words took him nine hours. Even if reading them was practical, complex legalese leaves bewildered consumers unaware of any rights they may be giving up. As well as signing your life away, you might score the bonus of actually paying more online; booking a movie at Hoyts not only inflates the cost, you also get to use your printer and ink, all without involving a single human being except your good self.

On rechecking the Hoyts website, I can’t find anything about validity in the terms and conditions (it’s obliquely referred to as being ‘until the expiry date’). There’s no mention of public holiday exclusions in the Ts & Cs either. Surely it’s not unreasonable to assume

Illustration by Wendy Bishop

they won’t expire for a year? Once printed, the validity and exclusions are quite clear. But of course, you’ve bought them by then.

In this case, I refused to pay yet another fee to book our movie online. But when we reached the front of the human queue, the tickets were sold out. I’ve learned my lesson the hard way - but I’ve managed to save money at last.