Sasama Finance

If you're self employed, have money in superannuation and lease a business premises then pay attention.  Calliva Funding, a new lender that specialises in Self Managed Super Fund (SMSF) loans has a product that gives your SMSF the ability to borrow to purchase commercial real estate.  You can then lease this real estate and pay rent to your super fund.  This is probably the most tax efficient way of funding real estate in Australia.

On Tuesday 1st April the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) made the decision to leave the official cash rate unchanged.  While this was the outcome many analysts expected it still comes as pleasant news to mortgage holders.  The official cash rate is now sitting at a 12 year high of 7.25% and according to Allen Oster, Chief Economist of National Australia Bank, we are likely to see rates remain on hold for now and a possible reduction in early 2009.

Recent amendments to the Superannuation Industry Supervision Act (SIS ACT) in September 2007 now allow a super fund to borrow and charge their assets as long as a special structure is used.  This means that your Self Managed Super Fund can now borrow to purchase real estate.

As the United States economy falters, Reserve Bank Governor Glen Stevens and central bank counterparts in Asia and Europe face the daunting task of balancing a slowdown in growth with increased inflation.  United Kingdom, South Korea and Europe all left interest rates on hold this month when central bank executives met to discuss monetary policy.  However Glen Stevens said in a meeting last week that he was anxious about the inflation outlook, so a rate hike looked likely.  Mr Stevens described inflation as being "uncomfortably high".