Trust Advise.

It's not rubbish, there used to be a few lenders that would except trust profit or loss  in their servicing calculator rather than placing the rent and interest expense or debt. This was helpful because most lenders only include a portion of rent and benchmark up interest. There are far fewer lenders post GFC that do this, but most commercial lenders will allow loan proposals to be structured this way still. 

Hangon, I have to disagree with myself here.

Having a trust can improve borrowing ability. Imagine if you buy a IP1in your own name.

You later suffer a credit blemish, you have heaps of equity, but cannot access it to pay out a judgment (for example). You must resort to selling or using a non confirming lender.

But if you had a trust with a company as trustee. You just resign as director and replace the position with your spouse and refinance.

Well it depends. You should really have only one property per unit trust for a variety of reasons.

If you buy the property in your own name then it is stuck and you cannot get all the other benefits of a unit trust.

Great advise for free. I love this forum

MK, I think we are in same boat looking for first IP and wondering right structure for beginners.

I would suggest that if you can afford, go for Unit Trust for its long term benefits, otherwise keep it simple and purchase on individual names and review it after 6-12 months.

Good Luck.

Flexiblity is the key

Many put the negatively geared property in the high income earners name.  Which is great, unless you get capital growth and when you go to sell it, CGT is at top taxable rate.

Discretionary trusts are bad for Land Tax in some states (Hello NSW)

I love it when other people's clients have stuff in personal names.  When I am putting together a commercial litigation case  ,there are often multiple parties that have done wrong or partners etc.  We will sue all parties.  It is not really our job to apportion blame, we are out to get damages for our clients and don't really care who pays.  But it is very reassuring when one of the parties that have all these properties in their personal names that comes up on our searches.  It is possible some of the other parties have $2 companies and no assets, so a judgement against them is worthless, but the smart cookies who have used their own names for all this residential stuff, they look like having to cough up.  There can be findings that the parties were "jointly and severally liable", like is the case for partners.  Each of you are up for the whole debt/judgement if the other party was a $2 company and you were in your own name, you pay the whole amount.

You do not know what you are going to be doing in 10 years time, if you are holding property in your own name or do business in your own name, it is risky.  In 10 years time it will likely still be very expensive to get your property out of your name and into a trust.  

You need specific advice, from someone in your own state or who practices accross borders in that area.

good luck

D