Ben Robinson - Finance Broker - Flint

Ben Robinson - Finance Broker - Flint Mortgage and Finance Broker based in Newcastle, servicing professional clients Australia-wide as well as expatriates. Property Investment specialists.

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There have been a number of development sites come across the desk recently.There is a lot of value in existing property...
01/09/2026

There have been a number of development sites come across the desk recently.

There is a lot of value in existing property right now.

Buying land with an existing dwelling on it, renting out the property, allowing time for plans and build contracts to be drawn up and be Council Approved.

These development sites are mainl focused around high-end duplex and house town construction.

There is a lot of value in doing this as well. Newly built, high-quality stock will always have its place and return.

There are not enough dwellings getting built to meet housing targets set by the Labor government.

As the value of existing properties increases, new builds become more attractive.

Buying the site In a weak market or under market value is a great leg up for developers.

Most of these smaller developers on our books are professionals or business owners looking to capitalise on a weaker housing market.

Most of these clients aren't doing this as their sole source of income.

Just seizing the opportunity as it's available.

I did a video last week It got a lot of traction It had a lot of people questioning how this impacts their position as i...
31/08/2026

I did a video last week

It got a lot of traction

It had a lot of people questioning how this impacts their position as investors.

The video was about company and trust loans showing up on a person's individual credit report.

We've seen a few instances of this recently.

Not all lenders are doing this, which is important to know.

There are only a handful of lenders applying this, but it's impacting some of our clients.

Example

A client came to us a couple of weeks ago to purchase another investment property.

This client has one property in his personal name.

He also has two properties owned in the one trust.

Both of these trusts own properties should not show their debt on a person's individual credit report.
This trust had a corporate trustee too.

This meant that, instead of the client having one loan on his credit report, he had three, which was soon to be four.

The way we got around this was by refinancing the two trust-owned properties to a different lender to bring these off the client's individual credit report.

These properties are self-sustaining and could be easily be left aside, IF, they weren't showing up on his credit report.

It's super important to consider this and ensure that your broker has this understanding.

From everyone I've spoken to, it's not widely known yet.

All of the people that reached out to me were either property investors or brokers questioning which lenders are doing this.

As brokers, we need to stay across this, especially for our sophisticated investor clients.

Is it just me, or has sentiment started to shift?Over the last two weeks, I feel sentiment has started to improve.People...
30/08/2026

Is it just me, or has sentiment started to shift?

Over the last two weeks, I feel sentiment has started to improve.

People are simply getting on with it.

Accountants providing advice to their clients are also adopting this.

This year, through the months of May, June, and July, and even April, things were fairly stagnant.

Advice was slow to turn around, clients had a lot of questions, accountants were not yet set on the best way to push forward in some instances.

People were cautious and wanted to know more and dig deeper on the best way forward.

Over the last couple of weeks, accountants have been quicker to turn things around.

Clients are more clearly focused on moving forward and progressing their position, and less worried about the changes delivered in the federal budget earlier this year.

We're simply adjusting and playing with the new normal.

Everyone is in the same boat, and these changes are blanketed across the economy.

Most people are focused on moving forward rather than missing the great buying opportunity that is presenting itself right now.

Missed payments are a massive issue Over the last six to 12 months, I've noticed a lot of missed payments on clients' cr...
27/08/2026

Missed payments are a massive issue

Over the last six to 12 months, I've noticed a lot of missed payments on clients' credit reports.

Don't get me wrong, these clients are not in bad financial positions.

The majority of these clients earn a lot of money and can afford repayments.

It's simply due to laziness or disorganisation.

This presents as an issue for us, as banks and lenders are super strict on missed payments.

Most credit reporting software shows your repayment history any open OR CLOSED loan facilities for two years.

If you missed payments on a facility 18 months ago, you can still see this on your credit report.

Even if the facility is closed, this will still be visible.

2x missed payments on your credit report pretty much shut down your ability to go to a main tier bank or lender.

To avoid this:
- Close credit cards that you don't use
- If your credit card provider doesn't send you email and text payment reminders, set a calendar notification as soon as you receive the bill each month.
- Have your direct debits for your home and business loans come out of accounts where there's always surplus money.
- Don't have too many direct debits out of different accounts. It's far easier to have these come out of centralised accounts.

For many clients, all it is is organisation.

Get organised and save yourself grief when applying for your next loan

Flashy rates Banks are bullish on the retention of clients and the attraction of new business.Don't be fooled: a flashy,...
26/08/2026

Flashy rates

Banks are bullish on the retention of clients and the attraction of new business.

Don't be fooled: a flashy, cheap interest rate isn't making you money.

It's simply lowering the cost for the household.

A lot of people are getting blinded by cheap interest rates at the moment.

These are delivered as a headline offer with no strategy behind them.

If we're releasing equity to purchase another investment asset and your interest rate is 0.15% higher...

Good

This usually means we've structured a loan as a higher % against your assets, reducing opportunity cost and getting this money to work harder for you.

The cost of not doing this is FAR in excess of using this equity to move your financial position forward.

People need to stop focusing on their interest rates and start focusing on wealth creation.

Thank you for listening

Favourite strategy from this weekI don't commonly work with first-time buyers, but I took this strategy call as one of m...
25/08/2026

Favourite strategy from this week

I don't commonly work with first-time buyers, but I took this strategy call as one of my team was sick.

I'm glad I did!

Client is a first-time buyer, 25YO and working in tech sales.

The first property we're purchasing is in Victoria under the First Home Guarantee scheme (FHG).

5% plus cost entry

As soon as we secure a property and gain formal approval, we will launch the second application.

Client will then purchase their first investment property under a guarantor arrangement, putting $0 cash down.

Fast forward 12-18-months

Client will move out at first time and rent this out after he has done 12 months in this property.

As soon as either property is below 80%, we will then restructure this debt outside of personal ownership.

We will move this debt into the name of a company.

We will then buy another property with $0 cash down on another guarantor loan.

This strategy works as we're using income to support lending, future planning, borrowing limits, and getting as much exposure to upside whilst retaining cash buffers for liquidity.

This client was previously speaking with another broker and was set to purchase a townhouse in the outer suburbs of Melbourne for around $900,000.

This would have been done in personal name and limited him potentially for the next 3-5 years.

First-time buyers and first-time investors are at the highest risk of getting this stuff wrong.

Not enough bankers or brokers are sense-checking and aligning with future strategy.

They're simply getting a transaction done with the $$ in mind.

25/08/2026

THIS IS A MUST WATCH FOR PROPERTY INVESTORS

Changes to credit reporting Is going to change the game of property investment over the coming years.

We are already seeing this now.

There are now lenders that we don't wish to use as they are showing company and trust loans on the client's comprehensive credit reports

Having the majority of your investment property loans with the same lender can be extremely risky and limiting in many cases.

Some brokers wouldn't be across this. The lenders that are doing this are not disclosing this to their clients.

Be careful, as you could shut the door on your next move without even knowing.

Granny flats don't give you borrowing capacityPlease think that taking out debt to add a second rental income for a prop...
24/08/2026

Granny flats don't give you borrowing capacity

Please think that taking out debt to add a second rental income for a property is giving them borrowing capacity.

Myth busted, it doesn't.

In many cases, it simply ties up equity with the extra income now offsetting the debt that's taken out.

Don't get me wrong.

I'm in no way against second dwellings, subdivision or granny flats.

It's about when to do them and whether it does make sense for the property.

Adding a second dwelling on a property that is a great family home, might limit your future buyer pool.

However, this could be done in a way that allows this second dwelling to be a great addition to the home doubling as a breakout space, future teenage retreat, to cater for elderly parents, etc.

With budget changes earlier this year, many people are looking at ways to improve the rental yield of a property as negative gearing is no longer applicable on established properties purchased after 12/5/26.

It's important to be conscious around the reasons for adding this second dwelling and work out if it actually makes sense.

It can be a great idea, but maybe the timing could be improved.

Objectively, we would much rather use equity to purchase an additional asset to bring this under our control before using equity to add a second dwelling (in most cass).

This is wild Are you thinking of setting up an SMSF to purchase a commercial property? Some important changes could be c...
23/08/2026

This is wild

Are you thinking of setting up an SMSF to purchase a commercial property?

Some important changes could be coming...

The Federal Government has announced proposed changes aimed at increasing oversight of Self-Managed Super Funds (SMSFs).

The biggest potential change...

Giving the ATO the power to temporarily block a rollover into a newly established SMSF.

Why?

"Concerns such as fraud, misconduct or potential consumer harm are investigated".

A more realistic why?

Because people are withdrawing their money from industry super funds to take control of their retirement, with many using their self-managed super funds to invest in property.

Most likely because many ex-Labor government MPs are on the boards of these industry super funds..

Other proposed changes include:

-Mandatory trustee education before establishing an SMSF
- Written investment strategy from the outset
- Greater oversight of SMSF bank accounts
- Increased scrutiny of lower-balance SMSFs
-An increase in the SMSF supervisory levy

Importantly, SMSFs are NOT being banned, and Australians will still be able to use them to invest.

However, for anyone considering using an SMSF to purchase an investment property, these changes could add another layer to the setup, rollover and finance process.

Something to be mindful of, and let's see how this plays out over the coming months.

Friday frustration Stay in your lane This week we had a buyers agent acting for a client that was telling a client to bu...
20/08/2026

Friday frustration

Stay in your lane

This week we had a buyers agent acting for a client that was telling a client to buy this next property in their personal name.

For context

This client already has an investment property and if we purchased another asset in their personal name, this would likely shut down any additional investment property acquisitions for the next 4-5 years.

This is after we:
1. Onboarded the client
2. Collected all necessary information to run our assessment
3. Presented the loan strategy, advise and education to the client
4. Client spoke with their accountant

Clients need to assess feasibility before putting together an asset selection of what to buy, how much to spend, and where to buy.

Clients also need to understand where each party fits in the transaction and how this is going to impact their overall portfolio strategy.

The process needs to be:
1. Broker - Conversations covering existing holdings and long-term goals. Feasibility mapped to cover off each stage of the journey
2. Accountant - a guided conversation covering ownership structure and the tax consequences involved
3. Buyer Agent - to work with the budget assigned after understanding the structure and the long-term goals, backed by feasibility and robustness from the broker and accountant

Simply put, I'm sick of seeing people end up with advice that is short-sighted that limits the clients trajectory.

Thank you for listening to my Friday frustration 🙏

Address

653 Hunter Street
Newcastle, NSW
2302

Telephone

+61458588580

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