Have they just changed their name or are they forming new and separate companies?

If you go to asic.gov.au and do a name search you can find them. If they have a new name then that will be listed too. You can also go to http://www.abr.gov.au and do a name search there. Look at history.

If it is a new company then that is a separate legal person and no relation to other companies.

Best to seek specialised legal advice on this.

Finance may be more restrictive for this sort of thing too. eg. Suncorp would lmit this to 80% LVR

Well, you have to be careful. There are good and bad ones. Many will just recommend managed funds over property. Many are also under-educated having just a diploma which can be completed in 4 days.

No need to even meet them in person these days.

Firstly, documents would vary from state to state.

And secondly each option would need a contract of sale attached.

10000,

What the SIS act requires is that a SMSF buying property needs to set up a bare trust to buy it in. The trustee of the bare trust can mortgage that property and only that property. The trustee of the bare trust is acting for the SMSF trustee and is just the legal owner of the property temporarily while there is a mortgage on it.

So if you could work out a situation in a foreign country where a bare trust can be established and find a lender willing to lend to this trustee on the basis that they are the legal owner for someone else and then that may meet the guidelines in the SIS Act. Many hurdles to overcome though. Deposit has to be paid for by the SMSF etc.

No Australian lender is going to lend for overseas properties with the loan secured on those properties. This is even more the case if there will be a SMSF involved.

Once the land is sub-divided you can just sell it. It would then have a separate title.

Nope.

TD 2008/27

http://law.ato.gov.au/atolaw/view.htm?docid=TXD/TD200827/NAT/ATO/00001