NEWS
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By Anita Marshall
December 1, 2008
December 2
Update from Anita
Well we have certainly seen a lot of changes since the last newsletter. We had an absolutely HUGE month in November at AFS with a record month of new loans. Most of this was investors returning to the market, snapping up investment properties while the market is still relatively flat. I cannot believe the turnaround in business we experienced for the months of October and November. The downside to this is that the lenders have also become busier which has meant that we have had longer turnaround times in applications to approvals. Most of the lenders are experiencing delays but ANZ in particular are experiencing long delays in their processing times (21 days in some instances).
We also saw most of the lenders withdraw from low documentation 80% loans. There are only a few lenders still doing this type of loan now so if you need to borrow on 80% low documentation loans I suggest you do this sooner rather than later.
I attended 2 investor's club functions in November - one was a lunch meeting in Banks town and the other was a dinner meeting at Kahibah. Both of these were so informative and very enjoyable to attend. I encourage any of you who are thinking of getting into investing or just want to do some networking with likeminded investors to try to get along to one of their meetings in December or the New Year.
Oxfam Cambodia Challenge 2008
A client of mine, Jennifer Tamblyn, and her partner David, will be participating in The Oxfam Cambodia Challenge 2008. Starting on the 1st December, they will be cycling across country from Vietnam to Cambodia and covering a gruelling 480 km over 8 days.
Oxfam works in partnership with many notable Australian and International partners and allies to bring about lasting change. Through its focused efforts on education, community development and emerge
As participants in the Oxfam Challenge 2008, Dave and Jen would like to express their gratitude to Advanced Finance Solutions for its fantastic support. With the generosity of AFS, they are well underway to reaching their fundraising target of $11,000 and bringing Oxfam Australia's vision one step closer to realization.
As the Dave and Jen push to close the gap with their fundraising, they are also preparing for two exciting weeks riding from Vietnam to the beautiful Angkor Wat temples in Cambodia. During this adventure, they will experience first-hand the incredible work of Oxfam Australia in assisting local communities in achieving equitable and sustainable futures, whilst pushing themselves over grueling hill, down dusty tracks and through bustling cities and remote towns alike.
Dave and Jen still require additional assistance to reach their goal in supporting the important work of Oxfam Australia and every little bit helps! If you would like more information or would like to make a donation, please check out their exciting travel diary at http://www.dave
Update from Staff
Jacqui
This month has been extremely busy again with lots of investors buying up big, and it's also thanks to the first home buyers grant - lots of young people buying their first home. As most of our clients would know I love helping people to realise their dream. But I must say there is nothing more exciting and satisfying than helping someone buy their 1st home - I have attended 3 investors club meetings, with great response. John and I had a very productive couple of days in Sydney, apart from the car nearly letting us down . I have been doing a lot of extensive insurance training and I must say I thought I was pretty up to date on this one , but it still amazes me everyday how much I still have to learn ,
On the home front I have been spending my free time on making beautiful gardens inspired by our holiday in Hamilton Island. Not long till Christmas now, so just a few suggestions for gifts:
TO YOUR ENEMY - FORGIVENESS. TO AN OPPONENT - TOLERANCE. TO A FRIEND - YOU'RE HEART. TO A CUSTOMER - SERVICE. TO ALL - CHARITY. TO EVERY CHILD - A GOOD EXAMPLE AND TO YOURSELF - RESPECT.
Have a great December & Merry Christmas
Leanne
My other business, when I am not hounding banks to approve applications, is building tennis courts. We have just completed a contract to build clay courts at the new State Tennis Centre at Brisbane - it has been a huge project constructed by Mirvac - a $77million venture (of which we got a very small portion!). For anyone interested in tennis this new centre will probably eclipse Melbourne as a preferred centre for players - as it has courts representing all grand slam playing surfaces, hard-court, clay and natural grass in the one location, and will host the new ‘Brisbane International' event in early January 2009. Merry Christmas to all From Anita & the Staff at AFS "Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realise they were the big things" Australia's interest rates tipped to hit 3.75% Interest rates could soon be halves with analysts tipping a 3.75% rate by March so the Government can steer the country away from recession. If the RBA were to cut rates by another 1.5% to 3.75% by March, households with an average-sized mortgage could see close to $300 sliced of their monthly repayments. As one of Australia's big four banks predicted, more drastic action from the Reserve Bank, the Prime Minister put Australia on a "war" footing on unemployment. Kevin Rudd told Parliament his Government was prepared to spend the surplus to stimulate the economy. "I regard war on unemployment as the Government's highest priority", Mr Rudd said. "The Government remains determined to take whatever additional action is necessary for the future in order to support the economy, to support growth and support jobs". Mr Rudd's rally cry came as NAB chief economist Alan Oster slashed the bank's interest rate forecast just a day after the RBA drastically lowered its growth projections. Despite official interest rates dropping 2 percentage points in the past three months, NAB expects the RBA to lower rates by another 0.75 of a percentage point next month to 4.5%. "This will be followed by another cut of 50 basis points in February and a further 25 basis point reduction in March to take the cash rate to 3.75%," Mr Oster said. Such a steep cut in interest rates from their current level of 5.25% will provide huge relief to households and knock back another $287 off the monthly repayments on a standard variable mortgage of $300,000. It would lower repayments on a $350,000 25 year standard variable mortgage by $334 a month. While the major banks have resisted passing on the full benefits of recent falls in official rates, a dramatic reduction in the RBA's official rate would see a substantial drop in variable rates. The big four banks - Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, NAB & Westpac - currently charge about 7.73% but the forecast hefty falls could bring the standard variable rate back down to 6.5% or even lower. But Mr Oster warns the reduction of official interest rates is also a sign that the RBA is very worried about how bad things are going to get especially on the global front. This comes as almost $40billion was wiped of the stock market after investors lost faith in the China rebound. Australians superannuation funds have taken a direct hit from the global financial crisis, but should at least double in value in another 10 years. Minister for Superannuation, Nick Sherry, says there's no hiding from the fact super funds had gone into retreat. "Super must now be vying against real estate for the title of the great barbecue stopper of the moment", he says. But he quoted the world's most successful investor, Warren Buffett, "Productivity will increase and stocks with it". Senator Sherry said he could say "unequivocally" that Australia's superannuation system remained robust and well regulated. Australian's typically spent 30-40 years in the workforce and during that period would experience several investment cycles. The past 35 years had produced excellent returns of close to 5% over and above inflation, and Senator Sherry believed they would continue.
Super to Double within 10 years