There is only one product with one lender that i can think of that is not for trusts (ANZ Low Doc), other than that you should not have problems getting finance with a trust structure.

I personally would not buy anything in my own name. Even when I go to Mcdonalds I buy a big Mac as trustee for the …….

The only trouble with putting it on the loan is that you are paying down deductible debt. This is not a bad thing, but if you wanted to take the money out again for a person expense (eg new home loan), then the extra interest incurred will not be deductible (as the redraw will be new borrowings for personal use). ideally you should put it in an offset account.

But if you think you are never going to need that money for personal expenses, then paying into the loan maybe a good idea. You can always withdraw it later or use the property as security for the next investment property purchase.

Hi Ben

I see. So you want to contract through your trust. Yes, that can be done, but you have to set it up correctly otherwise the ATO will still deem you to be earning the money. Do some research of "Alienation of Personal Services Income". there are some good booklets on http://www.bantacs.com.au about this.

It would probably depend on how new the fittings are. eg Hotwater system may not be 30 years old, same with the carpet etc.

I think some of the depreciation companies will assess whether it is worth doing over the phone, by asking you a few questions.

It you structure it correctly, you may be able to borrow to pay interest on your existing investment properties, freeing up cash to place into your new property. It won't instantly help, but it will build up gradually.

off tracl UME. it doesn't depend on who the trustee is, but to who the CGs are distributed to. I fyou distribute to an individual, then can claim the 50% discount. If to a company, then cannot.

Also if you are going to be using a company, you can have the shares owned by your discretionary trust.

Whether you use a trust or not will depend on the situation of the new owners. There will be stamp duty involved and possibly CGT payable if the property was an investment as well as legal fees – all this whether or not you use a trust. Actually all of these costs probably could have been avoided if the property was originally in a trust. Stamp duty will be charged at the market value of the property. Legal costs probably similar for normally selling and buying (2 transactions here). If you want a trust that may take another $1000 to set up depending on who the trustee is and whether you need advice. The trustee could be a company or an individual or a combination (unusal).

Depends on a lot of factors such as whether you can provide proof of income, your level of income, size of the loan etc etc etc. ANZ is pretty good at the moment for full doc loans.

There are big differences in holding an asset through a company or a trust. Generally, it is recommended to hold growth assets in a discretionary trust as you can still access the 50% CGT discount. So the max CGT you would pay if using a trust would be 24.25% verse 30% if you held in a company.

Other benefits of a trust include the streaming benefits of distributing incomes to the lowest income earners – and to a company at the last resort.

Asset protection is another important issue. Shares in a company are an asset so if you own them individually, they would be at risk if you are sued. Whereas an interest in a trust is not an asset as the trustee has discretion on whether they give you the income or not – if you went bankrupt, for example, the trustee would not distribute to you (otherwise it would go to your creditors).

Secrecy is another aspect. if you are part of a company (shareholder, director etc) your private details are publically searchable. if you are a beneficiary of a trust, generally no one will no. But the Trustee's name will still be registered with the land titles (not their DOB, Place of birth etc).

Forming a company costs $400 for the ASIC fees. If you went in there and filled in some forms this is all it would cost you. There are other online services which cost $99 + ASIC fees (www.lawcentral.com.au).

Trusts are a bit more complex to set up and you should probably use a professional to do it.

ABNs and TFNs etc can be easily done by yourself

Some of the exit fees can be horrendous. There is one 100% loan out there with a 5% exit fee in the first year!