John starts off by telling us that he went to 11 different schools and 2 universities. His education was not about learning what was taught in the class room but about learning to change….something we all seem to fear doing. He spent his childhood either at school or working for his parents in their fruit shops. He never went on holidays. John and his 6 siblings had a very simple upbringing.

After school, John studied law and went on to set up his own consultancy firm specialising in property and finance. He had about 10 staff and was living the good life. A joint venture with the State bank of South Australia was what John thought was going to propel him to the next stage of his business career. At this time John was happily married with 2 kids and he couldn’t ask for anything more.

By the early 90’s, the joint venture had collapsed and John was left with nothing. He was left with massive debt and the stress of business crept over into his family life which ultimately ended in a divorce with his wife.

With millions of dollars in debt and a strong will to not call himself bankrupt, John made it his mission to create Australia’s largest non-bank lender… and so Aussie Home Loans was born.

John spoke about doing business when times were tough. Back in 1992 Interest rates were up at 18%. Banks were making huge profits and he saw an opportunity. And this he says is what we should all take away from tonight… the fact than when the economy is doing it tough, opportunities are created… it’s just a matter of seeing them and more importantly acting on them.

Johns interest rate tips for the night were that there was too big a gap between fixed and variable rates so he was more inclined to stick with variable. He also stated he has never been a huge fan of fixed interest rates and mentioned not so long ago people were locking themselves into 8% + fixed rates for 5 years… and thus were now paying 2% about market rates. He thinks that the economy may get worse before it gets better and that interest rates should remain fairly stable or even possible drop. Another point he made was that everyone always talks about the high unemployment of say 8-10%… but more importantly we will still have 90% employed. He states though that the problem is not the issue of unemployment but it is the lack of confidence within the market and the fact that people are worried about their job security. This lack of job security leads to many saving rather than spending just encase they lose their job.

So there you have it – straight from Aussie John himself… a fascinating person who has definitely had many ups and downs in both his personal and business life and many lessons can be learnt from this.

For those that are interested in learning more about John Symond, I suggest you go buy his book “Aussie John: John Symond” . The book is all about how John Symond lost everything, built Aussie Home Loans, took on the banks – and won! It is the story of John Symond’s life, from his happy childhood in Brisbane and Sydney’s west and his financial failure after the 1987 crash, to his emergence as one of Australia’s inspiring businessmen. Bit more than this, this book is a manual for how to succeed in business.

Brisbane Property Expo on 13th and 14th June 2009 at the Brisbane Exhibition Centre. Perfect for property investors and home buyers.

Find Investment Property is excited to announce that we will be participating at the upcoming Home Buyer Show at the Brisbane Exhibition Centre on Saturday 13 and Sunday 13 June. It is the only major event in Australia dedicated to helping people actually buy or sell a new or established home or apartment whether as a primary residence or investment property.

The dream of home ownership is alive and well in Australia, and with interest rates at record lows, property prices cooling, substantial Government grants still available and a strong rental market, home buyers and property investors are returning to the market in large numbers.

Now more than ever, home buyers and investors need to do their research, understand market conditions, and have access to all the right independent advice from reliable sources to make informed buying decisions to enable them to get on the right path to the right property.

The Home Buyer Show will provide first, second and third time property buyers with all the information they need to help discover the smart way to finance, find and buy a home or investment property – direct from the experts.

Some of the major show highlights include:

• Free seminars from Australia’s leading property and finance experts in government and industry associations
• Master Builders Zone – Master Builders members, Queensland’s leading building services companies, will be showcasing a wide range of new homes, display villages and house & land packages.
• Property Investor Zone (sponsored by Find Investment Property)- educating property investors of all levels including all the latest investment properties for sale on the market today with loads of experts on hand to provide independent, impartial advice.
• Apartment Living Zone – showcasing some of the latest apartment, unit and townhouse developments in SE Queensland

As part of a special promotion, we are pleased to offer all of our clients, partners and friends unlimited $5 tickets to the Home Buyer Show which are normally $15. Simply visit the website www.homebuyershow.com.au and when purchasing tickets quote the special promotional code FIP.

House values have fallen according to RP Data stats, however the recent month of March showed strong signs of a recovery with low interest rates and the governments boosted first home buyers grants.

With the sharemarket climbing to its highest point in 2009, a false sense of recovery looms.

The aim by the government is to help people to keep their home even if they have lost their job. The four main banks have signed up to the scheme. This is a great step forward by the government and the banks so long as it is not to dificult for those that are in hardship to secure the payment break tht they may require.

CBA’s four-year fixed rate home loans rose 20 basis points, while their five-year home loan increased by 45 basis points.

Westpac has raised its one-year fixed mortgage 20 basis points and its two-year fixed rate mortgage has risen 30 basis points.

There is much speculation that interest rates offered by the banks could be as low as they will go, even if the RBA decides to futher reduce official cash rates to all time lows.

Only time will tell, but many ‘experts’ are torn between fixing rates now or waiting to see what the banks may offer over the coming months.

The banks new lending policies and the poorly organised applications by new borrowers is hampering the banks efforts to approve and allocate loans ontime.

Banks are now hiring more staff to cope with the demand… a reversal from 6 months ago when banks were letting go staff in their home loan lending divisions.

Some people are confused and think this is referring to those that wish to break their fixed home loan rates, however this is incorrect. Those with fixed interest rate home loans will still be required to pay the break costs should they decide to move banks or change from a fixed to lower variable loan.

No matter who you decide to obtain a home loan through, make sure you look for comparison rates, what fees need to be paid upfront and ongoing and ask for a further interest rate discount… something that may seem very small such as an additional .01% off the home loan can save you thousands of dollars over the love of the home loan.

CBA claims that although the drop is small, they are offering very good cash deposit interest rates at the moment which has seen an influx of cash depsoits to their bank, thus menaing their funding of interest payements has become more expensive.

So much for Banks working inline with the government to help the average Australian…. this days after banks stated they would work with those that lost their jobs to help defer payement on home loans to assist those while they seek for new employment. 800,000 people in Australia are predicted to loose their jobs.

While interest rates are low, and some expect it to go lower during 2009, now is the time to be house hunting with a pre approved mortgage so when you find a home that suites, you can bid confidently at auction or negotiate a private sale.

Good luck with house hunting!