Don't forget that if you want to earn cc points, then don't let the agents pay your bills, but pay them yourself using your credit card. After you have a few properties it can all add up – rates, water, insurance etc.

Make sure you don't do this if your mortgage is deductible.

Would help if you gave an area where you want to look

Err, Richard is a broker.

Safer to just invest in shares maybe????

Yes, your trust will need a separate bank account. You are not your trust and you should not be treating the trust's money as your own or you may be breaching your fiduciary duties. Failure to distinguish the trust's assets from your own may also mean it is a sham trust or not a real trust. Not a good asset protection strategy.

Another way of looking at it is that they will be likely to be much more careful in the future, whereas other agents  may not be as aware of the dangers.

Sounds like the daughter may have appointed herself as appointor of the trust as she was involved with its set up. Do you have a copy of the trust deed? And who owns the shares to the company – I assume this is the trusee?

The daughter has probably borrowed against the property or used it as security maybe too.

If the mum is a beneficiary of the trust she could also probably put a caveat on these properties to prevent their sale or mortgage.

Best to get all the info you can together and go see a lawyer.

Was it a gift or a loan? Gifts are generally non refundable, but it is possible to get the money back in some instances. If she controls the trust then she can sack the company as trustee and appoint herself as trustee. Subject the to wording of the deed, she could then distribute all the assets of the trust to herself.

If the directors of the company are acting illegally they may have breached the corporations act and the trust act and maybe other laws. She may be able to sue them to recover lost money.

I suggest she see a lawyer about this and about winding up the trust and distributing its assets and also see a tax advisor too if the lawyer doesn't do tax as there may be tax issues – depending on how the assets are held there may be CGT, stamp duty and income tax issues too,

Hi Morgo

I don't think you fully realise the implications. This is your home and is on one title, so renting out a part of it would mean you will probably pay CGT when its sold – where normally it would be exempt.

Since it is one title you can't really do anything with the loans.

And there is not much you can do with a trust as to transfer the home would cost stamp duty and you would then have totally lose the CGT emeption on the property.