owning property in what name? help!!!

Having thought about this question well to be honest while having a call of nature and a think. I think Steve is referring to protecting your assets. If your main residence is owned by the wife and the investment properties are in your name then if you stuff up you still have the main residence as it is not in your name.
If you borrowed for your main residence home then you probably both had to borrow to make the loan requirements.
So ownership is not the issue with borrowing capacity but more to do with what loan commitments you already have.
Referring to setting up a family trust and being a director this is great but it is not cheap and it also effects how capital gains and income from the properties are treated.
To be a director requires you to be a director of a company that owns the trust as these are separate entities to you means that you have to do more tax returns on each entity. One return for the Company and one return for the trust. This comes at a cost if using an accountant. It seems like a great idea ti have a structure set up but can you afford the extra costs plus the setup costs required.

If you can get this book & read it
How to legally Reduce your tax by Tony Melvin & Ed Chan

hi guys, know exactly where your coming from lockieoz, i to am trying to get my head around this. steves new book page 172 – 175 under borrowing capacity , quote- ' using multiple trusts and multiple lenders to source loans that i am guarantor for is one of the secrets to how i have borrowed tens of millions of dollars and brought hundreds of properties'. steve says to set up a family trust and then introduce a company trustee as the owner of any investment properties with you being the guarantor and director to the company trustee. he then says when your current lender wont lend the companee trustee any more money for more properties, move on to a new lender- set up another company trustee and start borrowing again. this is how i understand it.
  in steves example he has placed money into the trust for a deposit on the investment purchace, then the bank loans money to the trustee on behalf of the family trust.

qu. how do you use equity in your own home without the need for a cash deposit in this situation? (the home residence being in the wives name)

my accountant has (who i dont have the greatest confidence in) has just set up a family trust to split income from my small business- all invoices are titled xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxfamily trust, i have no companies as yet and i am the trustee. my wife does not work and we have children. i own one investment propety in my name.( locked in fixed interest till jan 2011- stupid idea) the personal place of residence is in her name only but both names apply on the loan-not sure if this means i am just guarantor? can anyone tell me if im heading down the right track? can someone give me the best possible structure in my situation for future multiple investments?

great site steve and the team, best thing i ever done was by this book 2 wks ago ive learnt more in 2 wks than 20 yrs
thanx for your time guys. 
i may have some more questions

Hillbillly

Sorry i dont want to burst your bubble of enthusiasm but this is clear not true

When your current lender wont lend the companee trustee any more money for more properties, move on to a new lender- set up another company trustee and start borrowing again. this is how i understand it.

All loans you Guarantee are required to be disclosed to a lender irrespective of the entity you are using. A Company search will reveal you Directorship and non disclosure will mean the loan is likely to be declined.

I think you will find that Steve has commented on this point a couple of times since the original publication and accepts this is not now the case.

Personally i would not use the same Trust for investing as I would for running my own business.

Sounds to me like your mortgage broker should be setting up your loan structures as it sounds like the existing loans are cross collateralised and this will cause you even more problems in the future.

hi Dean

Thats true about land tax in NSW. But once you have a few properties you will be paying land tax on them anyway. The exemption only applies to the first $370,000 or so.

If you have 2 children they can earn about $3,000 pa each without paying tax. An adult can earn approx $15,000 pa without paying tax.

So say you had a property portfolio returning $21,000 pa profit. If it was in your name you may pay $10,000 in tax, but if it a discretionary trust you could distribute it to wife and kids and may pay nil. As well as getting asset protection.

The downside is that if there is a loss it is trapped in the tax and cannot be used to offset your personal income. Usually with property there is a loss in the early years. If you are self employed this can be offset by diverting other business income into the trust, if you are an employee this is much harder.