Boothy Bites

Welcome back to the latest episode of Boothy Bites with Chris Booth and Jackie Bowker! This month, the duo unpacks the latest RBA rate rise, why inflation pressures are proving difficult to contain, and what's happening across lender competition, cashback offers, and fixed versus variable rates. Boothy also shares insights into the Federal Budget and the proposed changes to capital gains tax and negative gearing that property investors are keeping a close eye on. Plus, there's a look behind the scenes at Lydian HQ, including the growth of Lydian Private, the launch of Corporate Advisory, and welcoming Sarah Matthews to the team as the business enters its next phase. Learn about all these and more by tuning in to the episode right now! 👀 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘉𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘜𝘱𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘺 12, 2026. 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐓𝐮𝐛𝐞 https://youtu.be/es7g6CnN7D4 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐮𝐬 Website: https://www.lydian.com.au Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/www.lydian.com.au Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lydianfinancialservices/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lydian-financial-services 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐀 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 https://calendly.com/lydian-1/chris-booth

Welcome back to Boothy Bites, with Chris Booth and Jackie Bowker! In this month's episode filmed before the RBA rate cut, Lydian's CEO Chris Booth discusses the anticipated 25 basis point rate cut by the RBA with Jackie Bowker, offering some relief to home borrowers. With rates trending lower, banks like are providing competitive home loan rates, making it a great time to consider refinancing. On that note, Chris highlights the importance of staying on top of rate changes as some banks may not pass on the full benefits to borrowers, which is why a broker review could be helpful! Aside from that, Lydian has updates of its own: we're excited to launch Lydian Private, a new service designed to support high-net-worth individuals with tailored lending solutions. With experienced advisors Salvador and Josh leading the way, Lydian Private will help navigate the complexities of private bank lending and offers personalized support for clients with unique financial needs. Learn about all this and more by tuning in to the episode right now! 👀 👉 If you're curious about all things Lydian, get in touch with us with our links below! 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐓𝐮𝐛𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥 https://www.youtube.com/@LydianFinancialServices 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐮𝐬 Website: https://www.lydian.com.au Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/www.lydian.com.au Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lydianfinancialservices/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lydian-financial-services 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐀 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 https://calendly.com/lydian-1/chris-booth?month=2025-01

Welcome back to Boothy Bites, with Chris Booth and Jackie Bowker! In this episode, we're teaching the lion some new tricks! 🦁🤖 Dive into Lydian's latest innovations, including the rollout of Lydian 2.0, new divisions like asset finance and private banking, and the debut of our very own AI bot — designed to streamline operations and empower the team! We'll also touch on the RBA rate cut and its impact on the market, and get to hear more about how Lydian is leading the charge with cutting-edge technology and smarter solutions! 👉 If you're curious about all things Lydian, get in touch with us with our links below! 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐓𝐮𝐛𝐞 https://youtu.be/exaR5xaHFiU 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐮𝐬 Website: https://www.lydian.com.au Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/www.lydian.com.au Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lydianfinancialservices/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lydian-financial-services 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐀 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 https://calendly.com/lydian-1/chris-booth?month=2025-01

In this episode, we're kicking off the new year with insights into interest rate updates, lender specials, and what's happening at Lydian HQ. From predictions of RBA rate cuts to fresh opportunities for borrowers, Chris Booth and Jackie Bowker discuss the latest in the finance world. 💡 Whether you're a homeowner, investor, or just curious about market trends, this episode has something for you, and we at Lydian will help make your 2025 an amazing year! 🦁 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐮𝐬 Website: https://www.lydian.com.au Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/www.lydian.com.au Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lydianfinancialservices/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lydian-financial-services 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐀 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 https://calendly.com/lydian-1/chris-booth?month=2025-01

In this episode, Chris Booth shares insights into Australia's current financial landscape with Jackie Bowker. Join us as we explore inflation trends, the Reserve Bank's recent movements, and unique lending options for first-time homebuyers. Chris also discusses standout interest rates from top banks, opportunities for first-time buyers, and what's on the horizon for the property market. Plus, a special shout-out to our incredible team in Cebu, Philippines for their recent community contributions. Tune in for all the latest updates and advice to stay ahead in today's market! 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐮𝐬 Website: https://www.lydian.com.au Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/www.lydian.com.au Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lydianfinancialservices/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lydian-financial-services 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐀 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 https://calendly.com/lydian-1/chris-booth?month=2022-07&date=2022-07-29

𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐮𝐬 Website: https://www.lydian.com.au Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/www.lydian.com.au Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lydianfinancialservices/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lydian-financial-services 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐓𝐮𝐛𝐞: https://youtu.be/x2bfRTQ9HRY

Follow us: Website: https://www.lydian.com.au Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/www.lydian.com.au LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lydian-financial-services/?viewAsMember=true Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lydianfinancialservices/ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/HVjMkIQJIpk 00:00:00:00 - 00:00:08:51 [Jackie] Hi everyone, and welcome to Boothy's Bites for April. Of course, we can't do this without the man himself, so. Hi Boothy, how are you? How was your Easter break? 00:00:08:56 - 00:00:29:00 [Chris] Oh, I just told you that. I said it wasn't very good. Jackie and I have been talking about the emotional connection to technology. And sadly, on the Thursday before the Easter break, Jackie, my computer wouldn't want to start. obviously we've been I've been pushing her too hard and that was it. So she packed up for me. So no shops open on Friday. 00:00:29:04 - 00:00:47:51 [Chris] Having said that, I did manage to go sailing on Saturday and Sunday, which was wonderful. I probably stressed out a little bit about going shopping on the Monday, but I managed to buy myself a new little baby on the Monday. So I'm back in operations right now. But yeah, ready to roll. And tell us about your technology mishap as well, because there's a story there too. 00:00:48:00 - 00:01:05:18 [Jackie] So before we started filming this, I was telling me about, my phone. I smashed the screen last night, and then I went to use it for something to work this morning. And I completely forgot. But then when I actually went to use it, I could read through the cracks too. So we were saying, that's the meaning of life, right? 00:01:05:29 - 00:01:07:25 [Jackie] You got to read through the cracks. 00:01:07:30 - 00:01:21:32 [Chris] You just got to keep going forwards. Forge ahead, read through the cracks. Nothing's perfect. Right? So anyway, But yeah, having said that, welcome to...is this a March or April? I think we're kind of wrapping up March, but we're definitely in April now. So autumn's here. 00:01:21:41 - 00:01:32:16 [Jackie] Yeah. Sure is. Anyway, on with the show. So I would love to hear your thoughts on why you think it's better to go to a lending advisor rather than a bank for advice. 00:01:32:16 - 00:02:08:09 [Chris] Yeah. So, I mean, the statistics came out last week from the MFAA, which is our mortgage broking association, and 71.8% of home loans and investment home loan. I've been written by mortgage brokers. I think it's in the last quarter, which is a huge, huge number. Right. And I do feel, you know, that the I suppose, the justification of of people reaching out to a lending adviser or a mortgage broker instead of going direct to bank is, you know, this advice that people get from speaking to a professional who's been in industry for a long, long time, been doing this, this, you know, providing this service to clients and also with these relationships in part... 00:02:08:09 - 00:02:26:00 [Chris] ...has, you know, is part of that wealth creation journey with that client as well. So, you know, for me, when we're talking about why use a lending adviser or a mortgage broker, it's a not go direct to the bank. Well, really what you're doing is you're separating the, you know, the product, which is the bank and the advice piece. 00:02:26:00 - 00:02:49:21 [Chris] Now, obviously we need the banks to fulfill, you know, the lending and provide the debt to purchase a property or do what we're doing. But the advice component there is is far more important. You know, the, you know, the way to structure your debt, the extra sort of products and services which are attached to a loan, and how to utilize those features and benefits of a loan are very important as well. 00:02:49:21 - 00:03:07:48 [Chris] Also, you know, mapping out what a long term plan around debt and properties as well. Obviously, you know, buying a property, you've got this immediate need for some cash, but, you know, one of the long term plans outside of that and speaking to a professional is who can give you that counsel, guidance and advice in accordance with your sort of, you know, your whole deal team as well. 00:03:07:48 - 00:03:28:24 [Chris] You know, working with an accountant, working with a financial planner, working with the solicitor as well, having that sort of that advice team, I think really is invaluable. So 71.8% is a statistic which I'm pretty proud of, you know. So well done mortgage brokers lending advisers out there for that number. But you know, I think we we genuinely do a lot a lot more than just provide a product and loan. 00:03:28:24 - 00:03:30:30 [Chris] So, you know, kudos to the industry for where we're at. 00:03:30:30 - 00:03:36:15 [Jackie] Yeah! Go, us, go! Woo! 00:03:36:19 - 00:03:40:15 [Jackie] And so what's the latest from the reserve Bank of Australia? 00:03:40:15 - 00:04:00:36 [Chris] So I think, you know, it's been a bit sort of boring as it were, just over the last few months. We've really had that focus on inflation for quite a while. And it's interesting I spoke I sent a message this morning, you know, from December 2022 we've come down from 8.4% inflation, which was crazy to that sort of exit out of Covid, down to this soaring firm 3.4% today. 00:04:00:41 - 00:04:19:58 [Chris] And really it's taken us this long to to reopen many of the sort of the chains of service across the nation, across the globe to get this inflation down. There's still some bottlenecks around, you know, and things with these products and services. Hence, you know, a bit frustrating that hasn't got back down below the 3% band right now. 00:04:20:02 - 00:04:38:26 [Chris] But certainly momentum is in our favor. So this inflation side of things is really kind of a wait and see. Hence sort of the boring rhetoric from the reserve Bank right now, but 3.4% with the momentum with us, I do believe that we will be in within this two and 3 to 3% band that the RBA needs to be in in the next sort of quarter. 00:04:38:31 - 00:05:02:27 [Chris] And what that means then, is really that the RBA then has a luxury to start thinking about other things which are affecting the economy. And the biggest impact to our economy now is certainly this slowdown in growth. So, you know, when we slowing growth, the way to sort of improve that slightly is to potentially reduce interest rates. Hence, some of the forecast for interest rates is that, you know, we'll see a cash rate cut over the next sort of six months as well. 00:05:02:27 - 00:05:22:24 [Chris] So again, it's a wait and see. I mean, interestingly, the interbank markets have changed their interest rates. So they're trading at lower interest rates. So the one year government treasury bond is down at sort of 4%, 4.05%, which is actually already captured in that sort of rate cut potentially over the next six months as well. So you know, so the RBA is a little bit boring. 00:05:22:24 - 00:05:37:19 [Chris] But I think now we we need to focus on what the other impacting factors on economy are and growth in particular. And I think that will give us a new sort of new indications around, you know, what the RBA does next with interest rates. Yeah. So so the long winded explanation. 00:05:37:26 - 00:05:43:12 [Jackie] No, I love it. Hopefully we are at that turning point. But sitting at a lot to that indicator. that's what it's like right now. 00:05:43:44 - 00:05:49:49 [Jackie] About to turn. And so what are some of the your favorite interest rates at the moment. 00:05:50:02 - 00:06:07:31 [Chris] Yeah. So well so good news on that. So we're actually providing a mortgage monitor service for clients. So we've got a lot of clients in our world who potentially aren't looking to refinance, don't really want to change banks happy with their lender. Okay. What I would say is when's the last time your bank called you to offer you a better interest rate? 00:06:07:35 - 00:06:35:06 [Chris] Our mortgage monitor service offers this. So what we're saying to many of our clients is, let's go back and check in with your existing lender and find out where the benchmark of a better rate should be for you with that lender, and then assess whether it's a good or a bad rate there. Before we looked at to sort of refinance, but some of our competitive rates right now move Bank in particular, have got an incredibly low variable principal and interest rate at 5.94% for owner occupiers, which is super, super cheap. 00:06:35:13 - 00:06:54:36 [Chris] We're doing a bit of work with Adelaide and Bendigo Bank, and they've got some really good interest rates and offers right now as well. And interestingly fixed rates. So Move Bank have got a 5.79% with offset that and three year fixed their two. So again we've got some products which are priced a lot lower than potentially where your rate is today. 00:06:54:36 - 00:07:10:30 [Chris] So again it's appropriate now to to sort of check in and get a health check on your interest rates. Five for a better rate at your existing lender. For investors I think cash flow budget is important. So resetting interest only repayments on your investment debt helping us, that's a good thing to do right now. An interest rate was there. 00:07:10:31 - 00:07:33:00 [Chris] Bank of Queensland have got a really cool three year fixed rate at 6.09. Now I know forecast interest rates often go lower, but if you want cashflow certainty on interest only 6.09 might be a good way to give you that sort of peace of mind for the next couple of years. Outside of that, though, that we've got a AMP variable interest only at 6.49%, which is a really, really competitive interest only rate there as well. 00:07:33:00 - 00:07:42:10 [Chris] So a few good options for clients. But I think first and foremost, check in, register for your mortgage monitor. Your lending advisor will review your rates and and give you the advice next. 00:07:42:24 - 00:07:48:07 [Jackie] Sounds good. And so I saw that you had, you know, bank in for a chat recently. What do they have on offer? 00:07:48:16 - 00:08:10:25 [Chris] You know, part of the mortgage broking role is that we do have access to other types of lending businesses. Okay. And also often, you know, we get the opportunity to support small business, larger business, self-employed clients as well. So I know we mainly talk about home loans and investment home loans on here. But the specialization or the skill set of our brokers certainly extends to these services too. 00:08:10:30 - 00:08:36:23 [Chris] Now, when a business is borrowing money for small businesses, typically most lenders like to have like property being a home or commercial property security for that debt. Uniquely Judo, which is, you know, it's sort of a new-ish bank. They've been around 3 or 4 years and and growing exponentially. They're a great bank. Their service proposition is to basically provide a credit solution around the going concern or the cash flow of that business. 00:08:36:23 - 00:08:52:42 [Chris] So what that means is that if you don't have equity in property or the primary asset is this business, the business can actually borrow money, utilize in the, you know, the value of the business, and not secure it against bricks and mortar, which is great. You still got to demonstrate servicing. You know, you still got to go through that credit conversation with it. 00:08:52:51 - 00:09:11:00 [Chris] And because you the bank is taking on a higher risk as well. There is a premium interest rate for these types of loans. But nonetheless, for people who are running businesses out there who are looking to, you know, acquire other businesses, they maybe want to do some shareholder lending, you know, get other key staff members involved in equity in the business. 00:09:11:00 - 00:09:36:33 [Chris] Alternatively, need cash to keep the business afloat through, you know, growing pains and things like that. Well, then judo got a really, really compelling offer to support businesses as a standalone lending against the business. And, you know, the interest rates, even though they're a little bit higher, are still very reasonable. You know, you talking sort of sub round about sort of that nine, 10%, which is still cheapest money for a business loan anyway. 00:09:36:37 - 00:09:50:35 [Chris] ...and also a couple of my good friends are over at Judo as well. So they're helping lots of clients right now. We've got an accountancy business in there, a law firm in their real estate business in that we've got a guy who runs a pub and clubs up in the, in the Northern Territory in there as well. 00:09:50:40 - 00:10:08:51 [Chris] Right now, what else have we got? oh. And he's got a, motel as well. And I've got one more, but I forgot. Oh, financial planning. We're doing financial planning acquisitions as well. Lots of our clients or partners are actually buying books or or the businesses to merge into big, bigger businesses. And, you know, I've got a great policy around financial planning space as well. 00:10:08:51 - 00:10:13:23 [Chris] So anyway, that's my little wrap for Judo. Go, Judo. 00:10:13:28 - 00:10:18:29 [Jackie] Go, Judo! And so what about your wrap on property? I love your property updates. 00:10:18:34 - 00:10:40:23 [Chris] Well it's it's a bit difficult. So I mean the auction rates on the weekend where, you know, the clearance rates were huge. I think it was like 80% clearance rates in Sydney. And the property market is really hot, hot, hot. So we have one of the, you know, the biggest amount of pre-approval and largest number of clients I've had since we started reading in our book, you know, looking, looking and actively looking to buy property. 00:10:40:28 - 00:11:03:05 [Chris] And I'm sure it's quite frustrating, going to open homes, going to auctions and, and sort of not getting your paddle up. So, you know, I feel that right now there is certainly a bit of an undersupply property in the marketplace right now. We've talked about those pockets of property as well, so that, you know, we've got a lot of first home buyers trying to get into that sort of sub $1 million property value as well, making it extremely, extremely hot. 00:11:03:05 - 00:11:17:43 [Chris] So yeah, it's a bit of a challenge for many. But pleasingly, on the weekend I think we had 4 or 5 good clients exchanged on new homes, which is wonderful. So, you know, we'll be looking forward to winter for those guys moving in, getting some pictures on Lydian HQ about them, you know, with clay keys and new homes. 00:11:17:56 - 00:11:24:54 [Chris] So I suppose the message really is, you know, keep trying. Although it might be frustrating, opportunities do pop up. And it's a numbers game isn't it? 00:11:24:54 - 00:11:30:16 [Jackie] Yes, definitely. And speaking about Lydian HQ, what's the update there? 00:11:30:27 - 00:11:50:33 [Chris] Well, we have a new person joined us and he's a basically a friend of a friend. So there's a partnership that we've got called Salefunder. And those guys were fed through one of their staff members, brothers, who is aspirationally looking to become a mortgage broker. So Remon Gallo joined us last month and he's a lovely young chap. He started out in his mortgage broking journey. 00:11:50:47 - 00:12:13:49 [Chris] He's putting up with Christian in the office here and, you know, learning everything about lending, which is great. So we've kind of got this little A-Team going on, which is cool. And you know, Remon's a lovely guy. He comes with a psychology background. So different sort of lens on things. And hopefully he's not judging me right now. But he's a pretty studious guy too, a good team player and a really nice fit for our Sydney office as well. 00:12:13:49 - 00:12:16:26 [Chris] So, you know, welcome to Remon. Yeah. Good bloke. All around. 00:12:16:33 - 00:12:24:07 [Jackie] Yeah. Awesome. And so are we hiring in any cities at the moment or are we close to the brokers. What's the update there? 00:12:24:12 - 00:12:44:43 [Chris] That's a really good question. You've been watching some of the posts okay. Well, so geographically Lydian... so we've got a partnership with H&R Block which is quite huge, right? And those guys amazingly you've got 400 offices seven 2000 texture. It's a crazy, crazy number. And we are supporting this mortgage monitor service with H&R block in this coming tax season. 00:12:44:43 - 00:13:05:54 [Chris] With this sort of impending event, we are looking to bolster up the team some of the slots. We've got to manage a district which would be 20 offices. Yeah, maybe 150 staff in that sort of little district. That would be Perth. We're looking for people over in WA. So anyone over there is looking to yeah I suppose have a boost to their, you know their numbers. 00:13:05:54 - 00:13:23:47 [Chris] We'll then reach out to Lydian and and we can certainly have a chat and connect and, and talk about those districts that we've got. There are openings Newcastle just north of Sydney. So we've got a great team up in Newcastle. Jim's the district manager up there and we're looking to have a person to pop around those Newcastle offices as well and support that. 00:13:23:58 - 00:13:48:21 [Chris] Tasmania. I don't know if anyone was looking for a move down to to Tassie as well, and certainly, there's a little spot down there. So if you can drive between Launceston and Hobart and support Carol and her team, they're looking for people there as well. And then lastly, Canberra. So our capital city viewers, if you're there and you're a mortgage broker in Canberra, will then certainly there's an opportunity to speak to to to speak to us there and have a little patch as well. 00:13:48:32 - 00:13:56:54 [Chris] So selective spots right now in line with the districts that we're currently supporting more remotely than, than others. But anyway yeah reach out. 00:13:57:07 - 00:14:12:37 [Jackie] Yeah. Awesome. And if you do reach out after watching this video, let us know if we get well that's everything. Thank you so much, Boothy. Always so much fun jumping on these updates with you. So we'll see you next month. May! The May update. 00:14:12:48 - 00:14:20:13 [Chris] Yeah okay. We'll keep reading between the cracks okay. And yeah. Enjoy your...enjoy your April. Thanks again Jackie, I love it. Ciao, ciao! 00:14:20:22 - 00:14:27:18 [Jackie] Thanks, Boothy Bye!

Follow us: Website: https://www.lydian.com.au Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/www.lydian.com.au LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lydian-financial-services/?viewAsMember=true Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lydianfinancialservices/ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/zTTKSo13kdM 00;00;00;00 - 00;00;05;09 [Jackie] Hi everyone, and welcome to Boothy's Bites for February. Hey, Boothy. How's things? 00;00;05;15 - 00;00;12;29 [Chris] Hey, Jackie. Yeah, happy February to everybody. And yeah, look, another episode. It seems to be flying by already. 2024, huh? 00;00;13;02 - 00;00;17;08 [Jackie] Well, we're not. We have Santa hats on again for December. (laughs) 00;00;17;10 - 00;00;29;11 [Chris] It's funny. I was looking at the Lydian beanies there, so, you know, if you if you are watching this, which probably no one will get your orders in to book a Lydian beanie, you know, because they'll be going really fast I'm sure. 00;00;29;13 - 00;00;40;12 [Jackie] They were flying out the door. So get them for your ski tips in winter. Anyways, on with Boothy's Bites: can you tell us what's the latest with interest rates? 00;00;40;18 - 00;00;59;18 [Chris] Yes. Well, we had the meeting yesterday, which was really good to say, really. I mean, look, every month we've been the last few months, we've been talking about the same thing. So it's kind of like "eugh, boring, boring". But the cool thing about it is all the things we've been talking about happening are happening, which is cool. So the inflation rate is coming down... 00;00;59;20 - 00;01;20;06 ...the RBA, they're still watching that number, but they seem to be comfortable with it right now. I do think that the commentary yesterday was a little bit sterner with a warning to say, look, the doors still open potentially if the inflation doesn't continue to go down to potentially increase interest rates again. But it was a really sort of passive comment, not a firm comment. 00;01;20;08 - 00;01;48;16 So yeah, it's kind of getting boring, boring, same sort of thing. But the really positive thing out of it is that no change in interest rates, again, I think really it's a wait and see to watch these numbers come down and you know, the interest rates in the marketplace have fallen quite considerably as well. So even though the RBA cash rate is at 4.35%, the government bond market, which is sort of a measure of future interest rates, has really fallen away. 00;01;48;16 - 00;02;12;03 So they're actually less than the cash rate right now. So we're seeing two year bonds at 3.8%, three year bonds at 3.7%, so that forecast for interest rates is fairly firmly to be lower, which is really cool for us all. And that has a flow on effect. Obviously for interest rates. As to the really cool thing, I think which has been sort of announced and sort of ratified over the last few weeks has been the tax breaks that we're all going to get. 00;02;12;03 - 00;02;31;27 So as low and middle income earners, which I'm certainly not being self-employed, you know, I'm not high income earner, we all get a bit of a tax break in July, which will be really nice as well. So on one hand, we've got the RBA. Yeah, exactly. Get some money back in the pocket. Let's order our flat screen TVs from JB Hi-Fi or a pair of new Bose headphones or whatever it needs to be. 00;02;32;03 - 00;02;35;11 And get cracking. Yeah, get that money spent. 00;02;35;13 - 00;02;49;03 [Jackie] Sounds good. All these remarks about, you know, boring and repetitive messaging, it's almost like, you know what you're talking about Boothy, because you're calling it exactly as they're calling it. So who knew you were actually quite good at your job? 00;02;49;05 - 00;02;59;11 [Chris] You don't get the gray beard and the bald head. I can see the shiny bits on the top here. That's you know, that's my knowledge. You know, for 25 years I've been in the game. There you go. 00;02;59;14 - 00;03;01;03 [Jackie] Yeah, I'm not as knowledgeable as you. 00;03;01;03 - 00;03;04;07 [Chris] I get it wrong quite a lot but anyway still. 00;03;04;10 - 00;03;09;08 [Chris] So what can you tell us about some of the lenders and some of the moves they've been making at the moment? 00;03;09;12 - 00;03;29;06 [Chris] Yes. So again, so that's been really nice. We now seem to be able to get a quite level playing field of interest rates, which is really cool. The major banks being sort of your NAB, ANZ, CBA, St George Bank, Westpac, etc., they're all pricing it discretionary for discounts. The more you borrow, the lower the risk being loan to value ratio, the better they're pricing. 00;03;29;06 - 00;03;49;17 So we're talking sort of any deals over $1,000,000, they're offering some really good rates. So that's a bit more bespoke. But some of the I suppose the non-large banks; Heritage Bank have got a really cool rate at 5.99% variable for... that's an own home rates. Adelaide Bank again you know that's Adelaide Bendigo they're really supporting home borrowers. 00;03;49;17 - 00;04;10;10 They've got a 6.09% variable P and I as well. And you know, I'm not suggesting that it's a time to fix, but if people are sort of worried about cash flow and things like that and want to have a conversation about you know, maybe hedging their bets a bit, the fixed rates are now slightly less. So we do have a five year and a three year fixed at 5.99%, which some people might want to consider. 00;04;10;16 - 00;04;32;03 But also, I think, you know, if you're speaking to your mortgage broker now, maybe start to think about what would a would a fixed rate look like for you to be happy with? And over the next of 3 to six months, I do believe we'll start to see those drop a little bit lower as well. So, again, you know, that's the first time we've had rates in the under 6% fixed for many, many months, which might suit some people if they want some advice. 00;04;32;03 - 00;04;54;09 And then for our investors, you generally pay a bit more for the investor loans. But we've got Beyond Bank who've got a 6.14% variable which is a good one. Bank of Queensland, they've got a couple of fixed rates at 6.14% as well. So again, you know, if you want a cash flow and sort of hedge your bets and then interest only for that invested debt, we've got Bankwest, which is offering a great 6.44% as well. 00;04;54;09 - 00;05;09;00 So a few rates there and anyone investing in self-managed super funds, you know, reach out to this specialist product. But we've got a 7.09% P.A. variable there too. So some real sexy rates, if you can call them sexy. I don't know. Are they sexy? 00;05;09;02 - 00;05;12;13 [Jackie] Well, it is the month of Valentine's Day. I'll take it. 00;05;12;17 - 00;05;14;01 [Chris] The lovely rates. Lovely. 00;05;14;01 - 00;05;24;24 [Jackie] Right, lovely rates! Let's go with that. And so what are some positive scenarios that have played out recently for some of our Lydian clients? 00;05;24;24 - 00;05;43;12 [Chris] Yeah, good question. So again, you know, most of the time we're working with normal lenders, normal scenarios and working through, you know, trying to find the best rate. But sometimes even though we're trying to find the best rate, the credit policy of the lenders may not allow us to do what we want to do. So a couple of quick niches that we've, you know, kind of stumbled across, really. 00;05;43;19 - 00;06;06;11 Firstly, we had a husband and wife who their incomes were pretty strong, but we still couldn't demonstrate affordability at that sort of nine, nine and a half percent interest rate, which the banks needed us to. The client still wanted a really cheap rate and they've committed to buying an investment property which, you know, when, when they committed interest rates were a bit cheaper and probably be able to demonstrate affordability. In this new environment... 00;06;06;11 - 00;06;26;21 ...now, we were struggling to sort of get the investment debt in place to buy this property. Now, interestingly, the female applicant, she works at a large tech firm, so I'm talking like Google, Salesforce, you know, all of these sort of U.S. companies. And as part of her salary package, she got given share op- shares in a in a plan on a regular basis. 00;06;26;21 - 00;06;55;17 I think it was like quarterly or half yearly. Now, these shares had slowly started to what's called vest, and that means you're given the shares today, but you're not allowed to actually have those shares and access to those shares to sell, sorry, on the market until sort of 12 months, 18 months post when you got given them. But anyway, we found a lender who would actually utilize the shares which were vesting and the schedule of the shares which invested over the last couple of years to actually complement the other income stream that the female applicant was using as well to service the loan. 00;06;55;17 - 00;07;13;09 So the cool thing about that was we're able to actually 1.) state a main bank, 2.) use a really unique policy to get them placed and 3.) get them a really great interest rate to borrow the extra money they wanted. So that was a really, really good outcome for the client as well. And well done to the broker who sort of worked through that deal with the lender too. 00;07;13;16 - 00;07;19;15 [Jackie] Yeah, amazing. A win for everyone. And so what's the latest with Lydian HQ? 00;07;19;19 - 00;07;24;25 [Chris] I just I'll give you one more. Sorry, I forgot. They've got a new one if and the other one. 00;07;24;25 - 00;07;26;09 [Jackie] I was coming out of that. Out of that. 00;07;26;09 - 00;07;45;02 [Chris] Yeah. So the other one as well is self-employed lending. Okay. So if you're self-employed a lot of time the lenders will actually ask for your company financials as well. You know, your profit and loss and balance sheet as well. And there are now a couple of lenders who will just allow if the company's paying a wage to the directors. 00;07;45;07 - 00;08;05;17 Okay. So the company itself is just paying a wage on a monthly basis and we can see that payment going into an account. And also at the end of the year, we've got a notice of assessment to show what the taxable income of the individuals are, even though they're directors of the company. What the banks will do, they will actually not... they don't want to see the profit loss of a company. 00;08;05;17 - 00;08;22;10 They just are happy to see the notice of assessments and then assess the debt on that if it's affordable. So this particular company, it had a couple of a loss in one year but was still paying out income to the client and we were able to use notes of assessment to get the deal over the line again in a real niche little space... 00;08;22;10 - 00;08;31;25 ...and one lot that everyone knows. But yeah, a good result nonetheless. So that's that's why that was my second scenario. But anyway, cool! You were saying about Lydian HQ, yeah? What's happening? 00;08;32;00 - 00;08;33;12 [Jackie] Yeah, what's the latest? 00;08;33;18 - 00;08;53;19 [Chris] So this, I mean this year we could have... so we've got this national partnership with H&R Block, which is really cool and the slowly building, you know, the trust and the I suppose that, you know, getting referrals of their clients through the system right now. So that means now we're looking to recruit more brokers across the country to plug into these geographical districts, which H&R Block's got. 00;08;53;19 - 00;09;15;01 So, you know, looking for a Newcastle broker. If we if anyone's out there, we need a Perth broker as well to support the business, also a Melbourne broker as well. And look, if you're in Northern Territory and you want to join Lydian, certainly there's a spot for a Lydian broker as well. So anyway, we're looking to increase the broker team to complement the national partnerships that we've got, which is really good. 00;09;15;01 - 00;09;33;26 And then the other thing we're looking to do is also bolster up our operations team as well. So, you know, we're going out to partners and clients and we want to commit to good service levels. We want to have trained and educated back office staff as well to complement the excellent work our brokers are doing. So that's a little mini plan for the next sort of few months as well. 00;09;33;26 - 00;09;53;14 So, yeah, watch, watch this space. But you know, plenty, plenty of goals being kicked. Andrew Rocksy's knocking on lots of doors as well. So if you're a partner current and he's, you know, asking to have a conversation with you, take it out, you know, to have a chat with him, he may even take you for a beer. But also he's he's definitely recruiting more partners as well for our broker team as well in that planning space. 00;09;53;14 - 00;09;57;05 So now well-done Andrew, for kicking those goals as well. 00;09;57;08 - 00;10;07;15 [Jackie] Amazing, we're expanding and maybe next time we do a Boothy's Bites we'll be going worldwide; we'll be recruiting from North America and Europe. (laughs) 00;10;07;17 - 00;10;21;12 [Chris] I find it hard to manage myself just in Sydney, so I don't know. But if you speak to Andrew, we're going global. If you speak to me some days, you know, I think I can't believe what we've done in such a short space of time. But anyway, you just got to pinch yourself. Yeah. 00;10;21;14 - 00;10;26;22 [Jackie] Yeah, definitely. You guys have... yeah, absolutely. Steered the ship for all of us. I thank you. 00;10;26;22 - 00;10;28;21 [Chris] No worries! Just one quick question. 00;10;30;14 - 00;10;35;09 When is your three year anniversary? You must be up for nearly an anniversary in Lydian, aren't you? 00;10;35;13 - 00;10;40;13 [Jackie] Yeah, I think it's around April, so it's coming up in a few months. 00;10;40;13 - 00;10;42;02 [Chris] Yeah. So talking about founders of Lydian... 00;10;42;03 - 00;10;45;18 [Jackie] Maybe it is February...oh sorry, what was that? 00;10;45;19 - 00;11;01;18 [Chris] Talking about, you know, founding members of Lydian? I think you are definitely entrenched. Well, I don't think we had much of a business when you start, Jackie, so it only got better. So there you go. So again, you know, I'll have to check maybe next month. We're celebrating a three year anniversary for Just Jackie, which would be pretty cool too. 00;11;03;10 - 00;11;08;09 [Jackie] Woo hoo! I can't wait. I expect something in the mail. 00;11;08;11 - 00;11;11;02 [Chris] (laughs) Very good. 00;11;11;04 - 00;11;15;11 [Jackie] All right, Boothy! Thank you so much for your time and can't wait to do this again next. Yeah. 00;11;15;13 - 00;11;17;09 [Chris] See you March. Ciao!