Our client, a 56-year-old single woman, came to us with a clear vision.
She wasn’t retired yet, but she was planning ahead. With a stable income from her job and a solid plan for her financial future, she had goals.
This woman owned her own home in a regional area. Valued at $900,000, it had more than enough equity to support her modest loan needs.
But the home was near a former coal mine that had shut down over 7 years ago.
If you’re over 55 and wondering how you can beat the high cost of living, you might be thinking about using some of the equity in your home.
This article explores the two most popular options – a reverse mortgage vs the Home Equity Access Scheme.
Over 7,000 Australians currently receive payments under the Home Equity Access Scheme (HEAS), according to the Department of Social Services.
At the same time, reverse mortgages through private lenders are on the rise, with the market in Australia sitting at around $3.9 billion and growing steadily.
Considering a reverse mortgage? Discover who you should speak to — and why working with a specialist broker matters. Your Home Equity explains your options.
Reverse mortgages aren’t your standard home loans. They impact your:
• Retirement funding
• Centrelink entitlements (if you don’t structure them correctly)
• Long-term financial well-being
• Estate planning
That’s why it pays to work with someone who understands later-life lending — not just someone who can “get you a loan.”
Are reverse mortgages safe? This is one of the most common — and important — questions we hear.
There is an ongoing misperception that despite being a fully regulated financial product, somehow reverse mortgages aren’t “safe”.
The short answer is: yes, reverse mortgages are safe when used correctly and with the right guidance.
But like any long-term financial product, they come with important rules, protections, and considerations you need to understand.
Our client splits his time between Australia and Bali, spending several months each year overseas. Over time, he decided he wanted something more permanent — a villa in Bali that he could enjoy as a holiday home.
He considered selling his South Australian home to fund the purchase. But with the property increasing steadily in value, selling didn’t feel like the right move. He wanted to keep his Australian base, maintain exposure to the local property market, and still access the funds needed for the overseas purchase.
What he needed was liquidity — without giving up ownership.
Our client came to us in the middle of a long and difficult health journey. Her cancer diagnosis was terminal, and while she still had some good time ahead of her, she didn’t want to waste it worrying about money.
She had modest annual income from a family trust and no dependents to leave assets to. Her financial goals were simple: she wanted to enjoy the time she had left, travel a little, and have enough cash flow to cover ongoing medical costs and live comfortably.
Many retirees are told that selling the family home is the only way to free up cash in retirement. But what if downsizing actually costs more than it saves — financially and emotionally?
This eye-opening article from The Senior reveals the hidden impacts of downsizing that many older Australians don’t expect.
The good news? Downsizing isn’t your only option.
Welcome back to our series, 101 Uses for a Reverse Mortgage, where we highlight the unexpected, practical ways Australians are using reverse mortgages to create security, freedom, and financial independence in retirement.
Each week, we bust the myths surrounding these loans by sharing real case studies* — no hype, no jargon, just real people solving real challenges with the right guidance and advice.
Case Study 5: Finalising an Estate Without Selling the Family Property. After her husband passed away, our client was left with the responsibility of finalising the estate. Probate was underway, but completing the process required access to funds – and fast.
Welcome back to our series, 101 Uses for a Reverse Mortgage, where we highlight the unexpected, practical ways Australians are using reverse mortgages to create security, freedom, and financial independence in retirement.
Each week, we bust the myths surrounding these loans by sharing real case studies* — no hype, no jargon, just real people solving real challenges with the right guidance and advice.
Case Study 4: Cleaning Up a Financial Mess—So She Could Stay in Her Home. Our client’s situation was complex — the kind of financial tangle that most people would find impossible to resolve on their own.
Slip on your stubbies, crank up the cassette player, and pour yourself a glass of warm Tang, because we’re about to time-travel back to an era when Christmas was simpler, sweatier, and arguably more fun.
If last year’s Merry Boomer Christmas got you all misty-eyed about tinsel and transistor radios, then get ready — this year we’re diving straight into the backyard pools and burnt turkeys of the 1960s and 1970s.
It was the age of lava lamps, Kingswoods, and the great Aussie backyard — and when Christmas Day came around, we did it our own way. No snow. No ugly jumpers. Just heat, ham, and the occasional cicada chorus.
So settle in — here’s what a very groovy Christmas looked like, back when bell bottoms were cool, and prawns were peeled by hand.
