Last week I was talking to an couple with a nice portfolio of investment properties and direct shares. They had just financed their latest acquisition after a mountain of hassles.

For smart people they were stuck in an eighties view of finance. They called their bank and got rejected. They then called a friend’s finance broker and were slowly getting rejected (their impression). At this point they had two hits on their credit rating and were running out of time to settle. They pulled back and started again with full disclosure with a new bank.

Here is what I do.
1. Get a copy of my credit rating. Get your own file from Baycorp Credit Advantage in Australia.
2. Document everything – income, expenses, tax returns, accountant’s letters.
3. Ask the financier for an indicative approval based on these disclosures. Explicitely I do not sign the privacy release until they’ve indicated they like the loan. It should then be a mere formality.

Go in informed and prepared. Less stress, more profits.