Very very very limited chance of getting it through – essentially its against their policy, so you’re reliant on the policy being ignored as an exception.

Considering you only had 4-5 months in the previous role, I doubt they will accept this, or any other lender. 3 months in current role is quite reasonable, compared to many other lenders…[Read more]

Dependent on the property – it can be possible. Always best to get a quotation however, as it can be costly if the design doesn’t easily allow for it.

It’s quite common for some investors to buy single title units, put in fire walls and then title for the equity gain.

Definitely do not cross collateralise the properties – there is no benefit to you, but a whole list of negatives which can see you be limited in your future investment plans.

Dependent on the development type, your current lender may not be the most suitable option. Have a chat with an investment focussed broker who can work out the best…[Read more]

I consistently see clients who have formed an investment strategy outperform those who don’t – to the point that we recommend ALL clients sit down and review their plan. Not only does this allow them to make better informed choices when it comes down to making purchases, but also in ensuring their finance structure will suit their plans and…[Read more]

Most BA’s my clients have utilised are 5-12k max, dependent on the State, property price etc.

They certainly have their place, not everyone has the capability or skill to invest hundreds of hours into learning about an area and investment class – it doesn’t take much to make a mistake which will cost you many factors of the cost of a BA by…[Read more]

I very much doubt the bank requires the loans to be crossed – the tax agent is just being lazy. Go see an investment focussed broker who can fix up your situation and look out for your interests, rather than whats easy for them.

I think you’re talking about a 80% LVR – aka paying a 20% deposit. You’ve got it a little wrong way around. I wouldn’t necessarily suggest it’s always better to pay 20% and avoid LMI – unless you have large deposit funds to continually make purchases without LMI, it can be limiting to slow your investment portfolio purchase timeline. I’ve written…[Read more]

We use Residex for clients and I use PriceFinder for personal use – both are great sources IMHO.

Corelogic is OK and RealEstate Investar has some great meta search capability – it depends what information you’re trying to find.

Property Chat also has a meetup section to the forum – a lot of active groups in each State (I know the Melbourne meetups are generally fairly regular too): https://propertychat.com.au/community/forums/networking-meetups.24/

Exactly Richard. Lenders have a policy of accepting the lower of either the purchase price or valuation – so even if you think you’ve got a steal, this won’t lead to any reduced deposit at the point of purchase.

There’s no material difference in paying for the entire purchase with a loan in terms of risk. What it does mean however is that you’re putting cash funds towards an investment purchase, which you could otherwise be putting towards your own home loan. The net result is the same debt levels between the personal and investment debt, but less of it…[Read more]

Being the christmas period it wouldn’t have helped, as I’m sure you would have been given only 14 days to complete once given notice by developer. If your loan wasn’t fully approved by early December the chances of settlement were SLIM.

Focus on building a strong investment lending structure, than rate. Else you can switch to a product which saves you $10 a week, but stops you from buying 3+ more properties. Which is going to get you closer to your goals and financial freedom?

Multiple pre-approvals means multiple credit hits, every hit decreases your credit score and makes you…[Read more]

It can be very profitable to do cosmetic/modernisation of commercials and flipping in the medium term – the margins are usually greatest in the retail/office market than industrial.

Strataing the units may increase the profit margin, but you’ll find smaller strata units will generally sit there quite a while and potentially have to discount…[Read more]

You will find most of us brokers on this forum service clients Australia wide. Likewise many have quite substantial investment portfolios and specialise in structured lending for property finance.

Quite normal to pay penalty interest if you do not meet the settlement date. If the lender caused significant delays outside of their expected timeframes in many cases they will compensate you for the penalties charged – however being Christmas period they very clearly advise that if you do not have your loan approved and documents signed early,…[Read more]

What’s the valuation to be used for? Are you using it for research, or for bank purposes?

Keep in mind that lenders will need the valuer to be on panel – if commercial you may be able to organise your own valuation if they’re on the acceptable list, whereas residential will require it to be ordered through their own portals.

Valuer will just value it against recent property sales in the area – rarely does this come back below purchase price – almost never above.

The real clincher is if its rated as a high risk in any of the factor areas – environmental, market etc. This will generally only happen is the property is in significant disrepair, missing essential…[Read more]

I prefer pricefinder for personal research of sales data, block sizes, easement overlays etc. Not a huge fan of RPData, its OK but prefer Residex for the simplicity of data provided and hitting the most important points.

Absolutely terrible capital growth, if any. Many lenders won’t want to touch them as they’re poor security, or require larger deposits etc.

You have to ask yourself, does it get you closer to your goals, or just treading water for the sake of it? Personally I’d rather have a property with strong cash flow AND capital growth any day.

As always,…[Read more]