“Winter Winter Everywhere and Not a Drop of Heat!” (we just made that up!). Welcome to Winter in glorious Sydney (and beyond for our customers beyond the fray!). As I write this, I’m thawing out with a lovely mug of hot chocolate to warm the soul (and my icy hands!).
Now is the time to snuggle into your cosy homes and ride out the chill. But there’s no need to hibernate friends! Winter is a great time for catching up with friends over comfort food and a lovely glass of wine or two (maybe even in front of a roaring fire if you’re lucky enough to have a fireplace!). Or it can be a great time to fill your home with the unmistakable aroma of home baked cookies with the kids in your cosy kitchen away from the snap freeze heading our way.

Mind you, as far as Winters go, Sydney really hasn’t got it too bad right? No need to scrape snow from your windshields or don the snow shoes here right? A mere ‘defrost setting’ on your dash and a sensible pair of boots should be more than enough to see you through this season unscathed!

We’ve had a busy few months since our last newsletter, with more expected leading up to the Spring season property frenzy.

We’ve been lucky enough to work with some wonderful customers in recent times, and we really appreciate the chance to assist you into your homes or to put you in a better position with your home loan. Thank you to everyone that has given us that opportunity in recent months.

rates

best rates this month

We’re excited to be able to say we are seeing the best and lowest rates right now since Energise Home Loans started almost four years ago.

Give us a call to take advantage of one of these great variable rates below:

• Choicelend, Bankwest and ING 5.13%

Or, now may be a great time to think about locking in a fixed rate. But don’t delay – we’ve already seen a few lenders start to creep their fixed rates back up, possibly in anticipation of likely interest rate rises heading our way by the end of 2013.

• Choicelend 4.84%
• Bankwest and ING 4.94%

* (rates are current as at 4 June 2013 – lenders conditions apply)

Lenders offer different specials all the time, so even if you got a great rate with a lender in the past, there is bound to be a better offer available now. We’d be happy to have a short chat with you to determine how we could improve your situation for 2013.

news

burn balmoral, burn!

We think we may have found the perfect way to warm up this Winter – ‘Team Energise’ signed up to the Balmoral Burn!

Many of you already know that Energise Home Loans is a proud supporter of the Humpty Dumpty Foundation, an amazing charity who helps buy necessary medical supplies and equipment for sick children.

A Bit of Background on the Burn

Phil Kearns, Wallaby great, came up with the idea of running up Awaba Street as a thank you to Royal North Shore Hospital after his son Finn received emergency care for suspected meningococcal. In 2001, the Balmoral Burn started with 11 corporate teams and a couple of hundred individual runners, raising $70,000. To date the Burn has raised a massive $15 million for children’s hospitals and health services across Australia.

So, on Sunday we huffed and puffed our way up the steepest hill on the North side of Sydney, in beautiful Balmoral to raise funds for this amazing cause.

We’d been training ruthlessly for months (okay, that is a complete bend of the truth, but it sounded good right?), keen to make it to the top in record time (nah, just keen to make it to the top in general actually!).

If you’d like to sponsor ‘Team Energise’, we’d love to hear from you. All funds greatly accepted, from $5 to ……. $5.50 (kidding!). Visit our Humpty Dumpty Hero page here if you’d like to help us make every metre up that hill count.

We would have liked to include a photo of ‘Team Energise’, victorious at the top of the summit, but we were well and truly drenched by the time we got to the top of the hill (anyone in Sydney on Sunday would probably agree the weather was not the best suited to running up a big hill!).

Thank you very much for all of the support from those that have sponsored us so far. With entry fees and sponsorship, we have already raised $362 through Team Energise, but it’s not too late to still make a donation if you’d like to.

Check out a video of this great event here.

services

are you in the 28%

Latest research indicates that 28% of Australians are mortgage free. Perhaps you’re one of these lucky people already, but if you’re not, go here to sign up for our free report “10 Things You Should Know If You Have a Home Loan (Or If You’re Planning on Getting One!).”

Following these easy tips will see you on the path to owning your own home much faster.

hot topic

news from the home front

On a personal note for a moment, we’ve just sold and bought a new family home of our own, and it has been a great first hand reminder of the process and the journey that our customers travel through when they buy and sell their homes. Having been in our current home for eight years, we have appreciated the chance to refresh our memories on the hurdles and highs felt during the home buying process, and we’re confident this has helped put us in good stead to better understand our customer’s needs during this exciting and turbulent time.

Now if only we hadn’t bought a house with a swimming pool, ready for moving in just 3 days before the start of Winter! What were we thinking? (And how on earth are we going to be able to keep the kids out of the pool until hypothermia season ends?)

image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

property tip

looking for some inspiration?

Looking for inspiration for your current or new home? Paying a visit to exhibition homes can give you some fabulous ideas for your home or garden. See how the experts do it. Exhibition homes are decorated by professional interior designers and landscapers, and can show you how to transform your home or garden into a luxurious and special space. And what a lovely way to while away an afternoon.

Winter is a great time to pick up the tools and work away on your homes in preparation for the lovely Spring and Summer months of entertaining heading our way. We’ve also recently become big fans of hipages, which is a great site for browsing inspiring and latest design images of whatever part of your home you’re looking to renovate. Check it out here or if you need tips for renovating on a budget, check this handy article out. And of course, don’t forget that if you need to borrow extra funds for a home renovation, we can certainly assist you to secure the extra renovation money that you require.

image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

winter warmer recipe

chocolate crème brulee tarts

• 3 sheets store-bought shortcrust pastry
• butter, for greasing
• 2 cups (500ml) milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 200g dark chocolate, chopped
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup caster sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornflour
• 2 tablespoons coffee liqueur
• caster sugar, extra, to sprinkle
• dark chocolate shavings and double cream, to serve

Preheat oven to 160ºC (320ºF). Cut the pastry into 12 x 10cm rounds. Cut a slit halfway through each round. Line the bases of 12 x ½ cup-capacity (125ml) greased muffin tins with the pastry. Prick the bases with a fork and line with non-stick baking paper. Fill with pastry weights and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and weights and bake for a further 5–8 minutes or until golden and crisp. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Place the milk, chocolate and vanilla in saucepan over medium heat and stir until melted. Bring to the boil and remove from heat. Place the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and whisk. Add the cornflour and whisk to combine. Gradually pour in the hot milk mixture, whisking continuously. Return to saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking continuously, for 1–2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir through the coffee liqueur. Pour mixture into the tart shells and refrigerate for 4 hours or until set. Sprinkle tarts with caster sugar. Use a blowtorch to caramelise the sugar. Top with chocolate shavings and double cream to serve. Makes 12.

Recipe courtesy of www.donnahay.com

Image from Donna Hay

words we live by

Donald A. Adams

“To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity.”

Donald A. Adams

We look forward to being able to assist many of our wonderful customers in the coming months. Please call us if you’re one of them! Until next time, over and out from the Energise Headquarters.