We are in the process of setting up a facility for investors in partnership with a company that, at the moment, specialises in handling foreign exchange transactions for sporting people that includes a multi currency bank account ie you can have $US, Pounds etc, whatever you like. The account can be set up from Australia, comes with a visa debi…[Read more]

Olli wrote:
Commercial Property – love it !!If you like property in general then the benefits of commercial over residential are many – I think that some people don't want to make the jump in into commercial because it is a little more expensive (accountants, lawyers, the banks gouge a little more as well), there are more matters to consider a…[Read more]

Hi Pascoe,Thanks for your kind comments about our business. You are correct in that both Chris and Stuart have differing opinions, I really like both of them personally and respect both greatly. Stuart recently moved house and business address so this may have had something to do with the lack of communication, he also has a very successful…[Read more]

Hi Pascoe,I know both Stuart and Chris Lang very well and have clients in common with both. I'm surprised you didn't have a good experience with Stuart, but you have done well going with Chris Lang. Both are very knowledgeable. If you want to PM me your name and details of what your were unhappy about I'd be happy to speak with Stuart ab…[Read more]

Some of you might find this link minteresting. It's a video of Nigel off this forum interviewing some people from his trip, this must have been masde this week some time. There are some other interesting videos on youtube also.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_rG87yA4Io&feature=channel_video_title

Hi Will,If you are looking at the DSE maps you will find on each map a link through to the relevent planning scheme, in the palanning scheme are a list of allowable uses with and without permit and a list of banned uses. These are different for every zone. Industrial land is generally cheaper than Commefcially zoned land. Desirability is more a…[Read more]

Hi Jon,If you are new to investing one of the most valuable allies you can have is a knowledgeable, investment focused brokers. One of the best has already given you some advice, I strongly suggest you give Richard a call and get some more benefit from his knowledge and experience.RegardsAlistair

Sorry, I meant to add that with these financial products, you can simply have the Plan adviser changed without there being any change to the underlying product. The plan adviser, in many cases, has the ability to alter commission levels down. Most of the rebating services remove upfront and contribution fees and make their money from trails, many…[Read more]

If you use them for a loan then you have to refinance and go through the whole process. This is not the case with products such as managed funds and personal insurance. The institution issuing these products has room in their records for a "plan adviser" who receives the commissions that are payable,

The only negative is that you get no advice, but if you don't want any advice then there really isn't a downside. These companies survive because the current way the system operates is that you pay for advice whether you want it or not. I've had managed investments with Rebate Finance for a few years and I get my cheque three times a year as…[Read more]

I saw that article. They were incorrect, commissions on mortgages are not being considered as part of the changes to financial services. It is definately going to effect managed investments and superannuation, they want to include personal insurance but will be coming up against a lot of opposition on this front because Australia already has a…[Read more]

Nigel from this forum is over in San Antonio at the moment with a group of clients. From what he has toild me it seems Texas is the place to be if you want to invest in the US. I don't know much about Dallas, but I suspect it is also a good location.

There are a few of these companies. I've been using http://www.rebatefinance.com.au for a few years with my managed investments. Others that I looked at include http://www.investsmart.com.au and http://www.2020directinvest.com.au all appeared in an article last year by Choice magazine and are legitimate businesses licensed by ASIC.

Touche wrote:
HiI attended a free seminar held by Guests Accounting early this week regarding the latest changes to trusts and find it quite useful.  I'm going to have a free consultation with one of their Accountants next week.You might want to do the same.  I've seen C & N but I want a second opinion and that is why I am seeing this A…[Read more]

Harry Triguboff would be the biggest individual residential property owner.

Hi T,It is far easier to fiannce developments that are held in a special purpose vehicle ie a company or trust with a corporate trustee. If you seperate it from your personal finances as much as possible the lender is able to look at the project in isolation, so if it stacks up you will have no issue getting finance. The main issue you will have…[Read more]

I'd have to disagree there Charles. Three units is not overly large for a first time development, probably too small if anything. It is generally pretty hard to get decent margins on smaller projects, although there nare always exceptions. Finance is pretty simple for projects where the loan required is within $1 mill and $3 mil, depending on the…[Read more]

Hi Tania,If you are doing this remotely i suggest you employ a good project manager, they can also give you most of the advice you are after. In terms of finance most banks will fund the lower of 80% of costs and 65% of end value for a commercial construction loan. If you are willing to pay more you can often get more money from a specialise…[Read more]

Hi Ben,Different lender pay different amounts and have different structures for their payments also eg Westpac pay 0.5% upfront and 0.15% Trail, CBA pay a higher upfront and trail, but no trail the first year, Homeside base the trail % on the number of years the client has been with them. With commercial loans the broker generally has a greater…[Read more]

Hi Ben,Knowledge of Super is more around setting up structures for people who are able, or soon will be able to access super. This changes the way their money should flow, so it is an important aspect of loan structuring. It's not difficult to learn, and you need to know about it to offer a good service to such people. This group also tends to…[Read more]