Flood Relief

If you have been affected by the Qld Floods you may be able to get help from your Bank/Finance Institution and Insurance Company. Listed below are details from some of Australias larger Banking Corporations on how they can help. If your Financial Institution is not listed please give them a call as they may be able to help you through this time of hardship.

WESTPAC Relief package
To help personal and business customers seriously affected by the Queensland floods, Westpac have put together a special relief package offering immediate financial assistance.
Business customers
Get help with loan restructuring (no establishment fees), equipment finance, overdrafts and credit cards by contacting:
·    Your Relationship Manager or Local Bank Manager
·    Westpac Business Assist on 1800 067 497, 8am - 6pm AEST 
Personal customers
·    With home loans you may apply to defer repayments for up to 3 months
·    Credit card holders can request an emergency credit limit increase or to defer payments to their card for up to 90 days
·    No establishment fee and discounted interest rates on new personal loans taken out for the purchase of replacement goods
·    Waiver of any interest penalties on term deposits withdrawals
·    Home and contents insurance policy holders may be eligible for emergency funds and temporary accommodation. 

The Westpac home and contents insurance policy covers the defined event of ‘flood’. Affected property will be subject to normal policy terms and conditions.
To discuss your flood relief options, just contact:
·    Westpac Assist on 1800 067 497, 8am - 8pm AEST
Customers with Westpac Home and Contents Insurance policies
If you’re impacted by the flooding, you may be eligible for emergency funding and temporary accommodation.
The fastest way to claim on your policy is to call us on 1300 369 989

Commonwealth Bank Special Assistance Package Queensland
Fee free ATMs
All Commonwealth Bank ATMs within Queensland flood affected postcodes will be fee free for four weeks commencing Saturday 15 January. This applies to all customers from all financial institutions.
 
The Bank has activated its emergency assistance package for customers affected by the disaster.
Key features of the Bank’s special assistance package include:
·    providing tailored solutions and assistance to Commonwealth Bank home loan, credit card and personal loan customers who may experience difficulties because of the flooding
·    loan restructuring for business customers with existing loans, without incurring the usual bank establishment fees,
·    considering requests for additional loans (including emergency credit limit increases) where, based on our enquiries, the customer could meet the additional repayments without financial difficulty,
·    expediting claims to CommInsure for customers seeking help through their home, contents and motor vehicle insurance,
·    waiving prepayment charges over the next month for affected customers wishing to access term deposits, Commonwealth Investment Bonds and CBFC debentures ahead of the maturity date,
·    waiving branch service fees where the customer is looking to obtain a service from the Bank as a result of the disaster.
Customer seeking assistance should call 13 2221 
 
ANZ Support for customers impacted by foods
·    ANZ customers should call 1800 149 549. This is a dedicated number for customers affected by the floods and directs to a team trained specifically to help customers experiencing financial difficulty.
·    An alternate number is available for customers with commercial or small business loans impacted by the floods: 1800 351 548 (option 1, then 3).
   ANZ's special package of support, which includes:
o    suspending repayments on loans, including credit cards, for up to three months (with interest capitalised);  
o    waiving bank fees associated with restructuring finances due to flood impacts;  
- providing temporary adjustments to lending limits, including credit cards, to assist with unexpected costs; and  
- accessing term deposits early without incurring any fees.  

Insurance Claims
Customers with ANZ Insurance and /or OnePath Insurance policies, should lodge claims as soon as possible - assessors are already inspecting damaged homesWe do encourage you to use the online claim option provided as an alternative.  Some customers may also have access to emergency financial assistance and accommodation under their Insurance policy. To lodge a claim:
·    ANZ Insurance Personal and Commercial customers can contact 13 16 14 or you can lodge your claim online
·    OnePath Insurance customers can contact 13 20 62 or you can lodge your claim online

BOQ Special hardship package for victims of the major flood events on the east coast of Australia
A special Flood Hotline has been set up for customers needing assistance - please call 1800 079 866.
Key features of the special relief package include:
Personal customers
·    Opportunity to suspend Home Loan and Personal loan repayments for a period
·    Waive Home Loan and Personal Loan monthly fees for a period
·    Access to discounted interest rates on Personal Loans taken out for the purpose of purchasing replacement goods
·    Waive early withdrawal fees for those customers wishing to access money from their Term Deposits to get back on their feet over the next month
·    Credit card repayment relief where appropriate
 Small Business Customers
·    Opportunity to suspend business loan repayments for a period
·    Opportunity to vary business loans and waive the establishment fees on these variations where appropriate
·    Opportunity to defer repayments on Equipment Finance facilities for a period
·    Refund merchant fees for a period
·    Access to a priority replacement service for damaged EFTPOS terminals
 Insurance Enquiries
·    If you have a Mortgage or Personal Loan protected with St Andrew’s Credit Protection Insurance, depending on the level of protection chosen, you may have cover for Life, Accident or Illness, or Involuntary Unemployment. St Andrew’s have set up a dedicated crisis centre to assist BOQ policyholders with any queries they have in relation to their policy. Please contact 1300 653 751 for further assistance.
·    If you have a Vero Home & Contents policy, your policy includes automatic cover for flood damage. Please call the Vero Claims team on 1300 888 073 to lodge a claim. We encourage affected customers to lodge their insurance claims as soon as possible.

Suncorp Bank Personal and Business customers affected may be eligible for financial assistance.
Some of the options include:
·    An opportunity to suspend home loan repayments for a period.
·    Residential, business and agricultural loan variations without the cost of most bank fees.
·    Waived early withdrawal fees for those customers wishing to withdraw from term deposits.
·    Credit card relief where necessary.
Call 13 11 75 for assistance

If you’re an existing Suncorp Home and Contents Insurance policyholder, your policy automatically includes cover for flood and storm damage to buildings and contents you have insured with us. Suncorp’s Comprehensive Car & Boat policies also cover flood and storm damage.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO SPEED UP YOUR CLAIM.
·    Always put your personal and family safety first.
·    Once safe we encourage you to lodge your claim and start the assessment process immediately –
you do not need to return to your home before contacting us.
·    When you do return to your home, do your best to dry it out by keeping it as well ventilated as possible.
This will help avoid the quick build-up of mould.
·    Get your wet contents out of your house – and make a list of damaged items.
You can group lots of smaller/ similar items together like “food in pantry” or “clothes in chests of drawers”.
·    Where possible, take photos of your damaged belongings to show what you have lost.
·    If you are throwing objects out during clean-ups, make a note of the brands and models of electrical items.
Keep the manufacturer manuals if possible.
·    Keep a piece of damaged carpet or photograph the back where the make and brand is stamped so that
we can replace it with a similar carpet type and colour where possible.
Personal Insurance Claims please call 13 25 24

Floods tipped to hit house prices

By Chris Zappone

House prices in Queensland may sink as the financial effects of state's devastating floods strain household budgets and dent banks’ willingness to lend,  a ratings agency has warned.
Credit ratings agency Fitch said today that while the full impact of the Queensland floods is impossible to gauge at this point, they are expected to have a negative impact on house prices, borrowers and banks.
Property damage may “temporarily or permanently affect” borrowers' ability to pay and could cause “lower than normal recovery rates for damaged properties”, the credit agency warned.

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Losses for banks could also mount if people can't fully repay loans. Fitch said lenders' mortgage insurance - insurance held by the banks themselves - does not cover flood damage.
"Borrowers who have been directly or indirectly affected by the flooding will likely experience some financial distress in terms of property damage, increased living expenses, and potential loss of income," said James Zanesi, associate director in Fitch's structured finance team.
Defaults on home loans may force Fitch to reconsider assumptions it made about recoveries on losses when it initially rated the mortgage-backed securities linked to Queensland's real estate, it said.
“Moreover, the market value for properties located in the flooded areas might now be permanently adjusted downwards due to future flooding risk," the agency said.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said yesterday 28,000 homes would need to be completely rebuilt following the floods, while many houses would be uninhabitable for weeks, months or even years. The median price of a Brisbane home fell 1 per cent in November, seasonally adjusted, to $432,900, according to RP Data.
Nationwide, house prices started to plateau last year as the Reserve Bank raised interest rates and commercial banks added additional increases of their own.
Brisbane Times

WAYNE Swan has pledged to bring down interest rates with a package of banking measures he says will increase competition.

Brought to you by The Austrailian

This will bring relief to mortgage holders and businesses.
The Treasurer yesterday announced a raft of reforms that opens new avenues of funding for smaller lenders, cracks down on banks signalling their rate movements and bans mortgage exit fees.
He said the package would "build up competition in our banking system, which will ensure that interest rates are lower over time".
But his claim was challenged by the Australian Bankers' Association, which said banks would need to recover the costs of the new measures, possibly by imposing higher establishment fees or charging customers higher interest rates.
And the head of one of the smaller banks intended to benefit from the plans said the reforms would do the opposite of Mr Swan's intention to create a so-called fifth pillar in banking by boosting smaller banks and lending institutions.
Bank of Queensland chief executive David Liddy said the package was "disappointing", as it did not address the key concern for smaller lenders - the overall cost of funding. "I think this puts the cause for a fifth banking pillar back 15 years," Mr Liddy said.

The banks' warning on costs was echoed by opposition Treasury spokesman Joe Hockey. Responding to Mr Swan's assurance that his package would reduce rates over time, he said: "From all my experience, the banks will find another way to raise the money."
Mr Swan yesterday announced taxpayers would underwrite a $4 billion leg-up for building societies, credit unions and small regional lenders to help them become more competitive against the big four banks in the home-loan market.
He conceded there was "no silver bullet here" and the global financial crisis had brought serious challenges for Australia's financial system. "We can't solve all of these challenges overnight . . . we need to move decisively, but we also need to move carefully."
The reforms will outlaw home loan exit fees from next July and give the competition watchdog the power to pursue banks engaged in price signalling. This involves banks tipping each other off about their intentions on rate movements. The plans, part of a three-tiered reform package released by the Treasurer yesterday, follow heavy criticism of the big four banks last month for raising their mortgage rates by more than Reserve Bank rate increases.
The proposals, which come ahead of a Senate committee hearing into the banking industry in Sydney today, sparked immediate controversy, with the Australian Bankers' Association defending exit fees as fair and hinting banks could cover their losses by increasing establishment fees.
The Treasurer also faces parliamentary obstacles in winning support for his reforms, with the opposition criticising the ban on mortgage exit fees and independent senator Nick Xenophon demanding the prohibition be extended to existing loans, not just future lending.
Public concern about interest rates has dogged the Gillard government, with banks reporting multi-billion-dollar profits while increasing their margins on interest rates. Mr Hockey has campaigned on the issue to tap public concern.
The changes ban exit fees, require banks to publish fact sheets on their loans, and empower the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission to act on price signalling. A second plank would increase support for smaller lenders through a $4bn injection of public funds into the residential mortgage-backed securities market - an addition to $16bn already provided under the government's economic stimulus program - and the creation of bullet bonds.

Mr Swan has also asked former RBA head Bernie Fraser to examine a new set of reforms, including total portability of banking business.
"This package is all about helping the customers, helping households, and helping business so that we can build up competition in our banking system, which will ensure that interest rates are lower over time," Mr Swan said. "There's absolutely no justification for any bank to raise its interest rates above the increases in the cash rate announced by the Reserve Bank."
Mr Swan said the Reserve Bank had made clear that since mid-2009 major banks' overall funding costs had moved broadly in line with the cash rate and that banks had confirmed their net interest margins were at pre-crisis levels.
The moves would strengthen the position of small lenders to be able to "compete vigorously" with the big banks, he said.
Mr Swan said building societies and credit unions - more than 20 of which would be permitted to call themselves banks under the changes - were "just as safe" as big banks and that the government planned a public education program about its changes.
Mr Hockey said two major banks had already abolished their own exit fees and that, on price-signalling, Mr Swan was welcome to embrace legislation already proposed by the opposition.
"This is about political relief for the government, not mortgage relief for bank customers," Mr Hockey said. "It is about the government's political catch-up, rather than the systemic overview and reform so necessary to deliver more competition and to deliver a more secure and stable banking system into the future."
Mr Swan's plan to introduce price signalling restrictions is likely to be strongly resisted by the banks. National Australia Bank chief executive Cameron Clyne described a similar proposal from the Coalition earlier this year as "ludicrous", warning it could reduce the transparency of the nation's largest banks.
Australian Bankers' Association chief executive Steven Munchenberg agreed more could be done to enhance competition but said banning exit fees would hurt smaller lenders. "Smaller banks have less scope to recover those costs from across their businesses," he said.
An ANZ Bank spokesman condemned the lack of industry consultation so far.
"Good consultation processes lead to better policy, and we believe an opportunity has already been missed in consultation on the development of this package," he said. "We have already seen the difficulties a lack of consultation creates in the mining industry."
Additional reporting: Katherine Jimenez and Richard Gluyas

Insurance Sobering Statistics

The three major areas of financial risk
What would happen to your financial situation if:

• You died unexpectedly?
• You suffered a major traumatic condition such as cancer, heart disease or stroke?
• You were unable to work due to sickness or injury?

Loss of home through mortgage foreclosureFor every house lost through fire, FOUR are lost through death and THIRTY EIGHT are lost as a result of disablement. We all insure our homes against fire, but most Australians either don't insure their income or their life, or don't have enough cover.
Premature death - "but it won't happen to me" - or will it? 
Chances of dying before age 65

Age	Male	Female
30	1 in 6	1 in 11
40	1 in 6	1 in 11
50	1 in 8	1 in 13

Personal tragedy needn't spell financial disaster!

• If you can't work due to sickness or injury, income protection can replace up to 75% of your income – and it is tax deductible!!
  
• If you suffer a major traumatic condition such as cancer, stroke or heart disease, mortgage protection insurance pays a lump sum benefit providing choice, flexibility and financial freedom.
• In the event of an unexpected death, mortgage protection insurance provides financial protection for your family at a time when it is needed the most.

What if sickness or injury prevented you from earning your income?

• Could you continue repayments on the mortgage?
• What about other debts such as credit cards, personal loans?
• How would you pay the bills – electricity, gas, food, telephone and so on?
• What about additional expenses you may incur. For example, medical costs, housekeeping and child care?
• If you have your own business, could you keep it operational?
• How long would it be before you had to dip into your savings to pay the bills?

General information only, please refer to your Mortgage Adviser for full details. Other costs and charges may apply.

Open Homes for this Weekend 13/11/2010

Open Homes for this weekend. From top left going clockwise.

3 Warung St Maroochydore Saturday & Sunday 12-12.45pm 
Great Home in one of the best streets in Maroochydore
19 Dotterel Street Parrearra Saturday and Sunday 1-1.45pm
Updated home surrounded by million dollar properties
6/87 Bundilla Blvd Mountain Creek Saturday 11-11.45am
Great investment property
259/6 'The Palms' Melody Court Saturday 12-12.45pm
Move quickly on this property, these townhouses move quickly
37 Saleng Crecsent Warana Saturday 2-2.45pm
2 Rentals for the price of 1!
18 Wandoo St Minyama Sturday and Sunday 11-11.45
$100,000 below replacement price. BARGAIN!

10 quirky facts about Brisbane | ourbrisbane.com

• The city's first traffic lights were installed in Queen Street, in 1937.
• In 1900 the Board of Health offered a bounty on dead rats of 2/- per dozen. Rat catching became a profitable practice for school children.
• Fort Lytton, at the mouth of the Brisbane River, is the only fort in Australia to have a moat. The guns at Fort Lytton were never fired 'in anger' but they were used to warn a Dutch steamer and a fishing vessel that tried to ignore the official procedure before going upriver.
• Brisbane's first brewery, the City Brewery, was established in Mary Street in the 1860's.
• Lang Park's dominant role through the 1950's as a convenient garbage dump, was the disposal of rubbish and nightsoil.
• In 1907 Brisbane's first free kindergarten opened in Fortitude Valley.
• Queensland's oldest building still standing is The Windmill on Wickham Terrace. It was constructed by convicts in 1828. During its lifetime it has contained a treadmill, been used as a signal station, a time ball, housed the fire brigade and was used for radio and television research.
• Brisbane's coat of arms features two gryphons. Gryphons are mythological creatures and were chosen to represent the city because of their spirited nature.
• Brisbane's first poor house was The Dunwich Benevolent Asylum which operated on Stradbroke Island from 1866 to 1946.
• The Female Factory was established around 1829 on the site that is now Brisbane's GPO. Sound like an interesting place? It was… a women's jail.

10 quirky facts about Brisbane | ourbrisbane.com

Why are we drawn to the Sunshine Coast?

Thats easy, take a look around and it is easy to see why. The most obvious would have to be the magnificent coast line that we have on the Sunshine Coast. It spands a massive length of approximatly 60km of pristine beach front. Most of which has a bike and walking path so we can view our beautiful coastline.

On the flip side, the coast is surrounded by lush Hinterland with the Heritage listed Glass House Mountains. If you have ever taken a drive up into the Sunshine coast hinterland you would have experienced some of the best views of the coast line on one side and the country side on the other. The hinterland is full of bushwalks and waterfalls, as well as quaint country towns. Melany and Montville are a must see and you should stop to have a coffee and enjoy the unique charm that this area has to offer.