NEVER USE A ONE-STOP-SHOP
The absolute first rule is to avoid the trap of the ‘one stop shop’. While it might seem like you’re going to save a little time, you won’t get the best long term result. You want the best advice from each specialist, and to achieve this your specialists need to be independent of each other.
We have listed below the best practitioners we have found in the three ‘finance’ fields of mortgage broking, financial advisers and accountants. Occasionally you may find some service duality – for example your finance advisor may coordinate your mortgage finance.
For optimum results, aim to have at least one independent component and always get independent advice if one of your finance service providers ‘selects’ a property for you. Guaranteed you will be paying a premium price and the person ‘selecting’ the property will be receiving the kick-backs for the sale.
The people listed below have been selected based on the quality of their advice, the depth of their experience and their high level of ethics. While this is a vetted list of the highest standard, it should be used just as an exceptionally good starting point.
When selecting advisors, the critical next step is to ensure you gel well with the advisor. You will be sharing some very personal aspects of your life with these people, so you need to ensure they match your personality, communication style and focus. ‘Focus’ is included because many advisors aren’t property focused, so if that’s your focus you need to work with advisors who understand the nuances of building a positive property portfolio and, ideally, have portfolios of their own.
ASSEMBLE YOUR FINANCE TEAM
MORTGAGE BROKERS
• Vijay Krishna – Citywide Lending https://www.citywidelpi.com.au/
• Nicole Cannon – Pink Finance https://pinkfinance.com.au/
• John Micalizzi – Blue Lantern Finance https://bluelanternfs.com.au/
• Umit Talarico – Premier Lending https://premierlending.com.au/
• Samantha Harvey – Aussie Home Loans www.aussie.com.au
PROJECT FINANCE
Phil Dionysopoulos – Dion Capital https://dioncapital.com.au/
FINANCIAL ADVISORS
• Greg Woods – Fiducian https://www.fiducian.com.au/
• Steve Cooper – Cooper Barber http://www.cooperbarber.com.au/
• Tristan Scofo – Purpose Advisory https://purposeadvisory.com.au/
• Philippa Hunt – Wise Girls Money Academy https://wisegirlsmoneyacademy.com.au/
• Lara Gomez – Beresford Financial Planning https://beresfords.com.au/
ACCOUNTANTS
• Fahad Gul – Tax App – https://www.taxapp.com.au/
• Hima Gupta – 3E accounting https://nationaldirectory.com.au/3eaccountingsolutionsptyltd
• Simon Alford – Moore Stephens, Burwood NSW https://www.moorestephens.com.au/
• Peter Samios – Samios Partners http://www.samiospartners.com.au/
PROPERTY PORTFOLIO ASKS FINANCE BROKER KEN HEW TO SHARE HIS TOP TIPS FOR PEOPLE THINKING ABOUT BUYING PROPERTY IN THE NEXT SIX MONTHS.
Choosing lenders based on interest rate is a one dimensional approach for selecting a lender and I’d encourage borrowers to take a comprehensive view on home loan selection. For example, you may have casual income which you want the lender to include. Depending on the lender you choose, you could have none or most of your casual income included in calculations. Another common one could be a lender who will offer a high borrowing capacity. Just because one lender says no, it doesn’t mean all lenders will take the same stance. Here are some things to consider apart from interest rates.
• Home loan assessment speed
• Borrowing capacity
• Unique policies which compliment your scenario (ownership structure, accept guarantors, Lender’s Mortgage Insurance waiver for certain professions, high Loan-to-Value Ratio accepted)
• Risk appetite (are they willing to lend on high density units? Will they accept your property if it’s a small studio or specific post codes? Are they happy to consider Interest Only loans?)
• Features (Do they offer advanced repayments on fixed rates, do they offer rate locks, is their offset account a full transaction account, do you need access to a branch for transactions)
• How stringent are their credit policies? (Does the lender ask for a lot of information and want everything to be 100% perfect?)
Planning is one of the key items you can do to help reduce the stress during the purchasing process. Getting your home loan sorted before committing to a purchase is ideal and allows you to structure and select a lender to meet your immediate and longer term goals. The other benefit of planning is having contingent plans in the unfortunate event your primary lender decides to reject your application. You can even slightly alter your plans to improve the odds of a home loan approval. For example, reduce your purchase price or delay your purchase to increase savings to avoid critical LVR thresholds.
About the author
Debra Beck-Mewing is the Editor of the Property Portfolio Magazine and CEO of The Property Frontline. She has more than 20 years’ experience in buying property Australia-wide and has extensive experience in helping buyers use a range of strategies including renovating, granny flats, sub-division and development. Debra is a skilled property strategist, and a master in identifying tailored opportunities, homes and sourcing properties that have multiple uses. She is a Qualified Property Investment Advisor, licensed real estate agent and also holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Master of Business. As a passionate advocate for increasing transparency in the property and wealth industries, Debra is a popular speaker on these topics. She is also an author, podcast host, and participates on numerous committees including the Property Owners’ Association.
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Disclaimer – This information is of a general nature only and does not constitute professional advice. We strongly recommend you seek your own professional advice in relation to your particular circumstances.
