http://www.strategafinance.com.au/

Stratega Finance, Brisbane (2026)

03/09/2026

His accountant left him with a $2,600,000 tax debt. The plan he brought me would have made it worse.

He is a self-employed civil contractor. Three trading companies, a family trust holding the shares, two commercial properties in a unit trust and a home he owns. Profitable business, growing.

His accountant claimed a payroll tax discount he was never entitled to for the entire time he had been operating. When it unravelled, the bill was $700,000 plus fines, with missed super lodgements on top. Total debt to the ATO: $2,600,000.

Then he did the hard part properly. He sacked the firm, engaged a new accountant, went on a payment plan and knocked $1,000,000 off it in twelve months. He is at $1,600,000 now.

He rang me because ATO interest gives him nothing back at tax time. He is servicing a seven-figure balance for no deductible benefit at all, and he wants it gone in six months so he can start buying property again.

He planned to refinance the two commercial properties, pull the cash out and pay the ATO. It is the plan almost every business owner brings me.

Here is why it does not work in most cases. Commercial lenders read your ATO portals and most of them will not lend until those portals are clear. He was trying to use the debt to solve the debt.

Residential lenders generally do not read the portals. They read two years of financials and two years of tax returns, then they apply policy. Some do not even factor in company debt.

So the order flips. Residential money first, clear the balance with it, then take a clean portal to the commercial market and restructure everything properly. The full order is on slide seven.

Same properties. Same debt. Same borrower. On a complex file, the sequence is worth more than the rate.

If you are self-employed, carrying a tax debt and you have been told no, it is worth checking which half of the market told you. That is usually the start of the conversation, not the end of it.

02/09/2026

🚙💰 The asset you choose can change the lender you use.

Dion sits down with Scott from Motorlend to unpack something many borrowers don’t realise: in asset finance, the age of the vehicle or equipment can have a big impact on your lending options.

A brand-new Hilux, a 10-year-old LandCruiser and a six-year-old Triton might all do the job, but they may need completely different lenders and finance structures. 📊

Some lenders have strict asset-age limits, while others may finance vehicles and equipment significantly older than that.

And choosing a lender simply because they’ll finance everything isn’t always the smartest move. Depending on the asset, the difference in interest rate could potentially be several percentage points. 💸

The key? Work out what you’re buying first, then find the lender that suits that specific asset.

Catch up on the full episode now! 🎧

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finance-this-property-that/id1728366082
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/213wQ02eMdqMSPS32KIlTj?si=a26ab599db33469b
Youtube: https://youtu.be/6X6vBk7vJO8

01/09/2026

A client took a $55,000 distribution from his company last year. So did both of his partners.

The company made $10,220.

Three lots of $55,000 is $165,000. The difference came out of retained earnings from prior years, which is completely legitimate and happens constantly.

Here is what caught him. When a lender assesses you from company financials, it cannot use the distribution that landed in your account. It applies your shareholding to the profit the company actually made that year. He holds one-third of it.

The following year the business had its best revenue year yet. Up around $300,000. He put on three or four new staff, bought two vehicles and replaced equipment. Wages alone went up $283,000.

Net profit that year was $10,220. One third of that is $3,406.

Nothing he did was wrong. The hiring was right, the equipment was needed and the revenue is up again this year. The only thing out of order was the timing.

Check the profit line before you assume the distribution counts. If nobody has read your financials the way a lender will, that is usually the start of the conversation, not the end of it.

Fernandes Legacy Finance Pty Ltd trading as Stratega Finance, Credit Representative 579270, is authorised under Australian Credit Licence 389328 (Connective Credit Services Pty Ltd). General information only. Not financial advice. All lending is subject to individual assessment and lender criteria.

31/08/2026

Being debt-free sounds like the ultimate financial goal, but the real question is what kind of debt are you avoiding?

For lending, approval is based heavily on the income you can prove today, not simply the assets you already own.
There can also be a big difference between bad debt and debt that is structured to help you build assets, grow wealth and create passive income over time.

The key is having the right structure, the right roadmap and the right team around you.
Because sometimes being stuck financially is not about a lack of assets. It is about not knowing what options are available to you.
If you want to understand your options and build a property roadmap, get in touch with Stratega Finance.

Tune in now to Episode 106 🎧

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finance-this-property-that/id1728366082
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/213wQ02eMdqMSPS32KIlTj?si=bb521643461c4ec8
Youtube: https://youtu.be/_wlTZ6WnnRg

31/08/2026

He had his best revenue year and lost the ability to borrow a dollar. Both things are true and both have the same cause.

He is in his late forties, one of three equal partners in a fifteen-person professional services firm. Home with real equity and a six-figure equity release already drawn, sitting ready to buy his first investment property.

Then the business had a growth year. Revenue up around $300,000. Three or four new people, one of them terminated at three months. Two vehicles. New equipment. Wages alone went up $280,000.

Every one of those calls was correct for the business.

Net profit went from $115,000 in the previous year to $10,000 the most recent year.

Here is the part that caught him. The three partners had taken a $55,000 distribution in the most recent year.

But a lender assessing you based on company financials cannot use the distribution that landed in your account. It generally uses your shareholding against the profit the company actually made. He holds one third of the company. One third of $115,000 is $37,950 and $10,000 is $3,300

$55,000 in his account. A lender could read $3,300 of income.

Nothing about the business was wrong. The hiring was right, the equipment was needed and the revenue is up again this year. The only thing out of order was the timing.

The four things to check before your next application are on slide seven.

If you are going to grow the business and borrow against yourself inside the same two years, those two conversations belong in the same room, before the accounts are lodged. That is usually the start of the conversation, not the end of it.

p.s. We found a way, however, to get the maximum income and still get this deal done without using the company profits and more importantly, the liabilities that come with it!

31/08/2026

A review landed this week and it is really about one word. Sequencing.

Thank you for writing it.

"At 33 and 34 years old, we wanted to build a future and retire early to enjoy life with our family of four children. Before Dion, we had one PPOR and one investment property. We worked hard; we knew what we wanted, but we had absolutely no idea how to get there.

We met with Dion and his team and explained where we were financially and what we wanted to achieve. The goal was clear: $200,000 per year in passive income and the ability to make work optional.

In the strategy session, Dion outlined exactly what types of assets would be required, the structure and the sequencing in which the acquisitions were to occur. We now had a clear strategy. Craig sorted out finance applications for a rooming house and Ferry sorted a subdivision project in our personal name. Craig and Ferry were also always available to answer all of our questions along the way and we had a lot!

6 months later, we have two additional properties, with one being a subdivision project with development approval. Essentially, five properties at 33 and 34 years old AND we no longer have an owner-occupier mortgage.

Dion also set up our entire ecosystem, so we now have a team consisting of an accountant, buyer's agent, conveyancers, property manager and financial planner. We feel we are well on our way to work optional, building our family wealth and enjoying life. The support from Dion and his team is unmatched."

The line worth stealing is in the middle. What types of assets, the structure and the sequencing in which the acquisitions were to occur.

Not which property. What order.

Most people arrive with a property and work backwards to a structure. That is the expensive direction. The order the assets are bought in decides what the second one can be, and the third, because every purchase either frees the next or blocks it.

That is one household and their own words. Nothing here says the same sequence suits yours, and none of it happens without the numbers underneath it.

If you have the goal and no order to get there, that is usually the start of the conversation, not the end of it.

30/08/2026

The myth: your interest rate is what the loan costs you.

It is also what the loan lets you borrow, and almost nobody is told the second half.

Servicing is not a fixed number bolted to your income. It is your income minus your commitments, and your commitments are calculated on the rate you actually pay plus a buffer. Drop the rate on debt you already hold and the assessed repayment drops with it. That frees room in the calculation.

On a file this month it moved a maximum lend from $1,390,000 to $1,400,000. Ten thousand dollars, out of a pricing change on debt that already existed. His capacity went up because his rate went down.

Which changes how a rate review is worth thinking about. It is not only a cost exercise. If another purchase is coming, the rate on your current book is one of the inputs into what the next lender will write.

So the question is not only what am I paying. It is what is this rate costing me at the next application.

Been told a rate difference is only worth a few dollars a month? Worth checking what it is doing to your ceiling. That is usually the start of the conversation, not the end of it.

Fernandes Legacy Finance Pty Ltd trading as Stratega Finance, Credit Representative 579270, is authorised under Australian Credit Licence 389328 (Connective Credit Services Pty Ltd). General information only. Not financial advice. All lending is subject to individual assessment and lender criteria.

30/08/2026

For a lot of self-employed people, the biggest lending trap happens when they decide to slow down.
Income drops, financials change, and suddenly the year you want to buy your next property is the year the bank may be least willing to lend.

That is why, in the right situation, it can make sense to establish the facility while your income still supports it.
Set it up against the home, keep it fully offset, leave it undrawn, and you have a potential war chest ready when the right deal appears.

The real advantage is not just access to money.
It is speed, negotiating power and flexibility.

Because when the opportunity comes up, having the funding structure already in place can put you in a very different position.

Hear the rest on Finance This, Property That: Episode 106! 🎧

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finance-this-property-that/id1728366082
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/213wQ02eMdqMSPS32KIlTj?si=bb521643461c4ec8
Youtube: https://youtu.be/_wlTZ6WnnRg

29/08/2026

He was counting rent that had not arrived yet. Almost everybody does it.

The plan looked sound. Buy the new place. The kids move into it. The extra rent from the property they vacate helps carry the loan.

Every part of that is true. The order it happens in is what kills it.

The extra rent arrives after they move out. They move out after the new place settles. So the purchase has to stand up on today's income, not on the income the purchase creates.

Lenders assess what exists. Not what is coming.

A lease that starts next year is not income today. A renovation that will lift the rent is not income today. A business year that is about to look better on paper is not income today. The assessment is a photograph, not a forecast.

This is not only a family purchase problem. It is the same trap every time somebody buys on the strength of something that has not happened yet.

The fix is to run it backwards. Write down the position you want after settlement. Work out what has to be true on the day of assessment, not after it. Anything that needs reviewing, releasing or restructuring happens before that date. Then go looking at property.

The full order of operations is on slide five.

The good news is that almost every one of these is solvable months out. Almost none of them are solvable at the application.

If you are counting on income that has not arrived, it is worth finding out what today's position actually supports first. That is usually the start of the conversation, not the end of it.

Fernandes Legacy Finance Pty Ltd trading as Stratega Finance, Credit Representative 579270, is authorised under Australian Credit Licence 389328 (Connective Credit Services Pty Ltd). General information only. Not financial advice. All lending is subject to individual assessment and lender criteria.

28/08/2026

A review landed this week and it is really about one word. Sequencing.

Thank you for writing it. Here it is in full, name left off.

"At 33 and 34 years old, we wanted to build a future and retire early to enjoy life with our family of four children. Before Dion, we had one PPOR and one investment property. We worked hard, we knew what we wanted but we had absolutely no idea how to get there.

We met with Dion and his team and explained where we were financially and what we wanted to achieve. The goal was clear: $200,000 per year in passive income and the ability to make work optional.

In the strategy session, Dion outlined exactly what types of assets would be required, the structure and the sequencing in which the acquisitions were to occur. We now had a clear strategy. Craig sorted out finance applications for a commercial rooming house and Ferry sorted a subdivision project in our personal name. Craig and Ferry were also always available to answer all of our questions along the way and we had a lot!

6 months later, we have two additional properties with one being a subdivision project with development approval. Essentially, five properties at 33 and 34 years old AND we no longer have an owner-occupier mortgage.

Dion also set up our entire ecosystem so we now have a team consisting of an accountant, buyer's agent, conveyancers, property manager and financial planner. We feel we are well on our way to work optional, building our family wealth and enjoying life. The support from Dion and his team is unmatched."

The line worth stealing is in the middle. What types of assets, the structure, and the sequencing in which the acquisitions were to occur.

Not which property. What order.

Most people arrive with a property and work backwards to a structure. That is the expensive direction. The order the assets are bought in decides what the second one can be, and the third, because every purchase either frees the next or blocks it.

That is one household and their own words. Nothing here says the same sequence suits yours, and none of it happens without the numbers underneath it.

If you have the goal and no order to get there, that is usually the start of the conversation, not the end of it.

Fernandes Legacy Finance Pty Ltd trading as Stratega Finance, Credit Representative 579270, is authorised under Australian Credit Licence 389328 (Connective Credit Services Pty Ltd). General information only. Not financial advice. All lending is subject to individual assessment and lender criteria.

Stratega Finance

03/09/2026

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