Hi, I'm Steven. (Richard Feynman, once upon a time)

Thanks @Michael_X. I'm looking forward to it. Not heaps of suitable stock to inspect but it'll be good to get on the ground and connect with some agents.

Very keen to catch up. We have a lot to chat about!

 

You sounds very interesting, and share a lot of the same interests as me. Looking forward to your property and science posts

 

Congrats steven 3 places in Marrikville you would of had some awesome equity gains.
Looking forward to hearing updates on your QLD purchases

 

Hi Steve, First time, I've heard of Vipassana meditation. I've tried meditation a couple of times and my mind is just to busy to be restful. How long have you been practicing and has it been helpful? We are also looking in Brisbane to purchase(within the 10 - 15 km range of the city) but the last couple of couple of homes we saw had seen a lot flooding in the area in the past (Jindalee) or needed a lot of work before you could rent them out. Also when priced in our range (450k-500k) , on busy roads, across from crematorium or needs lots of reno. Would it be better to wait until summer when there are more houses on the market? As I mentioned in my intro, I am still new at this, so any advice will be much appreciated.

 

Oh really? Hope we have the chance to chat in person sometime

They've done ok so far. Should have a Brisbane update soon enough.

Everyone has the same experience of a "busy mind"–experienced practitioners of meditation and beginners alike. It takes considerable effort, dedication and discipline before you will see any noticeable results, but they comes with persistence.

Meditation has been one of the most powerfully beneficial tools I've discovered. Like, life changing. In many, many ways. It's been very applicable to investing in terms of making decisions, disregarding fear, taking action etc.

The 9 and 26 minute guided meditations here are really helpful starting points: http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/mindfulness-meditation. Jon Kabat-Zinn has produced some marvellous CDs as well (much more comprehensive).

As for Brisbane, I would personally not be looking at anything that has even a very low flood risk. Check via: http://floodinformation.brisbane.qld.gov.au/fio/

Your budget is more than enough to pick up an entry level home 10-15km from the Brisbane CBD that has no flood risk, needs no work before renting out and it not in a terrible location. You will be competing with first home buyers for its purchase but there are plenty of opportunities around.

Waiting for summer might work. I think it's more likely that waiting for summer will mean median prices wherever you are looking will probably be higher than they are today.

 

One more question. Have you seen the movie Interstaller? Anything to do with your company name?
I rank that movie in the top 5 best movies I have seen of all time.

 

Hi Steven - it might be covered elsewhere, but how did you make the transistion to being a Mortgage Broker ?

Was it all that time spent dealing with banks ?

 

• 
  Hi Steve
  What's the current status of the Grand Unified Theory of Physics, which is supposed to combine General Relativity with Quantum Mechanics ...
  They were working on it when I was in school ...
  Any progress?
  
  Cheers
  Fellow armchair science enthusiast

 

Update:

• 2010 - 1 bed apartment, Marrickville, NSW - $313,000
• 2013 - 2 bed apartment, Marrickville, NSW - $460,100
• 2014 - 2 bed apartment, Marrickville, NSW - $500,000
• 2015 - 3 bed house, Moorooka, QLD - $612,000

I have, but no connection. The concept behind the name is to think and aim BIG.

REALLY BIG.

"The sky's not the limit".

Dealing with the poor way my first loan was structured has a role in increasing my knowledge and interest but my mortgage broker (@Rolf Latham) really inspired me, and taught me a lot!

While working with him I naturally gravitated towards the numbers, modelling my portfolio through serviceability calculators etc.

One night about 2am while I was hunched over my computer crunching numbers instead of catching up on much needed sleep, I remembered reading that "You should be doing something with your life that keeps you up late at night and gets you out of bed early". It dawned on me that I absolutely loved it and could use that passion to help other investors reach their goals while achieving my own.

The rest is history.

Well, we're certainly still working on that one...

New particle discoveries are a step in the right direction.

 

Congrats on the QLD purchase mate

 

Cheers. That's me done for a couple of years.

 

Hi Steve, great news on your new purchase. Congratulations, I know you had been looking for a while.

Just a question that might be able to help others in your situation. How did you find getting finance for the purchase went? Your brokering business is relatively new (congratulations on following your dream!), so how did you show serviceability to get a home loan? I thought the majority of the lenders require atleast one years tax return, even for low doc loans?

I am also thinking of quitting my day job, so I'm obviously keen to know which banks will lend to someone who is starting out new again. I'm always looking for people with innovative ideas to get the next loan across the line to join my investment team!

 

Finance first then quit!

 

I have no magic tricks, I'm afraid!

I stayed at my full time job to get this loan through–would not have been remotely possible without looking at some obscure lenders (who would put bad marks on my credit file and bleed my dry with their rates).

My advice is to exhaust your borrowing capacity while employed then go hard to smash your first year of business financials so you have a look in with some lenders 12 months down the track.

 

@Waldo - may be able to get away with it with 6 months BAS, at premium rates with a low-doc loan from Resi (8%+ for 90, 7.5% for 80).

Best trick is to follow @Steven Ryan, and squeeze those last few purchases in before leaving the f/t job.

Will need 2 years ABN history and 1 year financials to get back to good rates, and 2 year financials to open up lender pool.

 

Isn't there a tick box on the application form where you declare there'll be no significant circumstance changes?

 

Thanks for the prompt response guys.

I thought banks ask on applications if "there is any expected changes in financial circumstances". Surely not disclosing the upcoming loss of employment would be fraud?

 

If you've quit and your not disclosing it you're likely going to be in trouble, pretty sure thats fraud. Also lenders are doing employment checks randomly more often now, so thats a big big no no.

If you intend to move into f/t business at some point, conditional an a, b, c (e.g. business demand rising to necessitate quitting employment, intention to have a baby at some point but the doctor hasn't confirmed yet, etc) - i'm not sure thats fraud (but legal experts may be able to interpret).

Assessors can see it from your credit file and may question it. From a credit perspective, the lender will want to know that the business isn't costing you money in the interim too (not soaking up losses that dries your personal income).

If you did tick that box, you will be asked to demonstrate risk mitigation factors too, this will depend on the nature of the change but could be things like high cash balance, income equal/higher, pay rises, etc.

 

Surely that moving to full time business, or even expecting a child would be considered something that would change your financial circumstances, regardless of how sucessful you're hoping to be. Thats why they have the question, so the lender can ask further questions and decide if your change in circumstances fits their risk profile?

Lets call a spade a spade gentlemen, not declaring a upcoming planned significant change in financial position is the same as creating your own payslip to submit with the loan. You're either filling in the form truthfully (at which point the credit assessors can make an informed decision) or you're not being honest.

As much as I like investing in houses, I don't think thats a (criminal?) risk that I would be willing to take.

 

True, if your 6 months pregnant that should be disclosed and usually easily worked around with risk mitigants that i mentioned.

If you have set up the bare bones to a business and would like to one day do full time but can't at the moment, i'm not so sure about the interpretation of that. The fact that you're in business also gets discussed through the credit assessment process, so it is disclosed, credit know about it and make their own judgements/scrutinisation of it.

In your case, 'thinking about quitting my day job' wouldn't be an issue if your applying for loans. The minute you do quit (or are certain to do so) and apply for a loan, trouble.