You can usually make extra repayments on most loans these days without penalty except the fixed ones.

It may be a good idea to get an extra loan on one or both investment properties (depending on the LVRs) and to use this for deposit on the new investment property

In the good old days all the banks had the same rates with the same increases in line with the RBA increases, but things have changed in the recent months. I guess there is no guarantee things will stay the same, but you may as well go with the cheapest now, just in case.

I would just get a IO loan with the deposit coming from the LOC (which should not be used for personal expenses). The 2 properties shouldn't be cross collateralised. An offset account shouldn't be needed on this one, but would be a good idea on the PPOR loan.

If you read any mortgage agreement in full you probably wouldn't want to sign it – but you have no choice really as they are all the same. You probably need the bank's permission to renovate the kitchen for example.

The UCCC covers the borrower in cases of hardship etc. so having it apply can help if you fall behind in repayments etc.

The family law court can unravel trusts and companies when looking at property settlements so these will not necessarily help in this regard. There are other good reasons to have a  trust too, so they are still worth looking at.

I think the only way to be totally safe is to live separately and be celibate!

I think it would incur stamp duty unless you are getting a divorce and have court orders relating to the division of property, but  may be possible in some states to transfer between spouses without stamp duty, so best to check with the OSR.

It may still be worth doing as you will save a lot in tax. Do the figures and see how long it will take to make the costs back in tax savings.

There are probably a few out there. RAMS was good for some products such as 80% No Docs and 85% Low Docs and now they have the 90% Low Docs, but for the full doc loans they are probably not the best. Don't worry too much as many other lenders had to put up their rates too – Macquarie etc so you may have been hit wherever you went.

I agree with Linar. They are your agent which means they are 'you', or acting in your place so you should be able to see the details if you wish.

Maybe the accountant is thinking of using the main residence option to avoid CGT completely. You can only be absent for up to 6 years so would need to act soon. If you have a large debt on your new house selling would probably be a good option as you can pay off this non-deductible debt and reborrow to buy more property. Work out if the interest and tax saved would justify the selling and purchase costs.