Getting Started In Property - Unity Funding

Hi all,

I'm new to this forum and this is my first post. I'm hoping to receive some of your wisdom.

Has anyone heard of Unity Funding by Dominique Grubisia? If you have, what are your thoughts on what they propose?

So you understand why I'm asking this question I'll tell you a little about our situation and out journey so far:
My husband and I are trying to get into our own home (for starters). We have very little in the way of savings ($20k ish) and cannot save faster than property prices are increasing. We currently don't pay rent (living with parents) and I am a stay home parent (childcare out of pocket costs are more than I earn).

While we have a free roof over our heads we see our solution to be manufacturing growth in investment properties. The strategy that appeals to us the most is to buy below median value, renovate ourselves (except structural building, electrical and plumbing of course) then sell. We are completely confident that this is something we can achieve.

However, we still have a problem with funding. For personal logistical reasons, whatever property we purchase initially needs to be within a 2 hour drive of Sydney. From the research I've done we'd need to have a project budget of $400k-450k minimum. Getting finance for that is something we haven't been able to achieve...yet. So perhaps a joint venture is the way to go.

Which brings me to my original question. My husband went to a Dominique Grubisia seminar last week....run by Zadel Property. She mentioned her finance group called Unity Funding (my husband may have written this down wrong). She said that they will fund the entire project, take 100% of the risk and take 55% of the profit. I don't know what the conditions are to get the funding. To me this sounds like a joint venture so I thought it was worth a look, but I cannot find anything online mentioning Unity Funding. I'm sure there is a catch somewhere (besides the 55% cut), but if there isn't this is an arrangement that we'd be interested in to get started.

Thanks in advance for your advice and opinions. I welcome everything you have to say because it may well help us along our journey :)
 
Thank you turk.

Yes, I have read that thread. Hence my apprehension. I find it strange that I cannot find any mention of her Unity Fund online...good or bad. I suspected the "If it looks too good to be true it generally is" rule may apply to this deal.

We're starting to get desperate for a financial solution to get us started so we're investigating any glimmer of hope. We have done a couple of those free property seminars and have no intention of parting with any cash for packaged 'education'. What we have done though, is use the tid bits of information that are given at free seminars to help alert us to things we don't know...then do the research ourselves.
 
We're starting to get desperate for a financial solution to get us started so we're investigating any glimmer of hope. We have done a couple of those free property seminars and have no intention of parting with any cash for packaged 'education'. What we have done though, is use the tid bits of information that are given at free seminars to help alert us to things we don't know...then do the research ourselves.

...Why not simply spend some time reading on this forum?
 
...Why not simply spend some time reading on this forum?

That's why I'm here...doing the research. Plus there's the added advantage of honest advice from people who have nothing to gain from giving it. Except perhaps a warm fuzzy feeling from helping someone ;)

I put a lot more worth in this forum than I do in those expensive packaged education programs.
 
We currently don't pay rent (living with parents) and I am a stay home parent (childcare out of pocket costs are more than I earn).

...we have a free roof over our heads...

1) Why are you paying for childcare if you're a stay at home? If it's costing you more than you earn, either change jobs, work different hours or seek a family day care place through council.

2) Without the need to pay rent, why are your expenses so high that it's preventing you from saving? It may be better to concentrate on paying out your high interest debts, transfer all credit card debt to a zero interest card & pay it off, cut up credit cards then concentrate on saving.
 
Living with parents - cant they babysit?

Living rent free - should be putting away a few hundred a week into a savings account (and / or clearing personal debts)

Not sure why people choose to make it harder than it is.
 
Trying to find a quick fix with questionable 'unity funds' won't work so you did well to ask questions first before letting go of your hard earned savings.

Like you, I stayed home with children due to child are costs but that was 18 yrs ago when there was no available gov. Schemes and as I was new to the country I wasn't entitled to anything for 2 yrs.

I went out to work in the evenings when hubby came home doing waitressing and bar work (I am a book keeper) I worked on weekends and took in kids through South Sydney day care scheme during the day. It was tiring but offset by the fact that all of it went into savings. We did not splurge, we did not have hols, we used public transport or walked, bought only what we needed.

While you may not be able to take in kids, you could take in ironing at approx $30 per basket, or work in the evening/weekends etc.

There is no easy street when it comes to property investing, you have to have capital and you have to be willing to do whatever extra it takes to save it. The first step is the hardest but it is worthwhile.
 
From the research I've done we'd need to have a project budget of $400k-450k minimum. Getting finance for that is something we haven't been able to achieve...yet.

Lay out the numbers and what you've done. What is your income, what have you got saved, and who have you talked to (an independent mortgage broker, your bank, etc)?
 
My husband went to a Dominique Grubisia seminar last week....run by Zadel Property. She said that they will fund the entire project, take 100% of the risk and take 55% of the profit. I don't know what the conditions are to get the funding. To me this sounds like a joint venture so I thought it was worth a look, but I cannot find anything online mentioning Unity Funding.


Your 'scam alert' radar should be turning on. I don't know anything about those companies but I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. This is not a 'joint venture'; this is taking advantage of people who don't know any better. They take 55 per cent of the profit? And all the risk? What risks are there when you have paid your deposit? Is the risk the fact that you may not make the loan repayments? Read the fine print. I bet that if you don't make the loan repayments, the property gets converted into their name. I do not believe that they would take ANY risk, let alone 100 per cent.

You should google 'Dominique Grubisa'. I think that she is very good at making money ... for herself. Read the comments on this: http://www.realestate-investment-au...weekend-seminar-with-wealth-guru-stuart-zadel

Would your parents be able to lend you some money? You could have a proper contract drawn up for their peace of mind.
 
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1) Why are you paying for childcare if you're a stay at home? If it's costing you more than you earn, either change jobs, work different hours or seek a family day care place through council.

We don?t pay for childcare. I stay at home because our out of pocket costs for 2 year old twins in childcare is more than I earn. We also have the added challenge of needing two places in the same age group which is virtually impossible to find. Where we live childcare is $125 per day per child. We?d need 11 hours of daycare per day so family daycare in our area works out to be almost as much?and we have to provide everything (nappies, food, etc). We would get the childcare rebate which covers half the cost of childcare up to $7500 per child per annum. So working 5 days per week we?d be out of pocket $961 per week. Currently we get family tax benefits of $300 per fortnight. So add that to the out of pocket cost so our financial position doesn?t change?I need to clear $1111 per week. I don?t earn that much before tax.
To get around this I?m looking for work in suburbs where childcare is cheaper and trying to negotiate working 5 days in 4 or something similar to reduce the number of days of childcare days we need. However this limits the job pool?.I?ll get something eventually though.


2) Without the need to pay rent, why are your expenses so high that it's preventing you from saving? It may be better to concentrate on paying out your high interest debts, transfer all credit card debt to a zero interest card & pay it off, cut up credit cards then concentrate on saving.

Our expenses aren?t high?same as our household income. We are saving, just very slowly. Especially without a second income. Our only debt is a car loan with $24k left to pay at 1.99% and $640 per month. We?ve looked at refinancing to increase our cashflow. We?d get an extra $190 per month by doing that but we?d be paying it off for an extra 3 years. So, we?d end up paying an extra $6800 in interest on the new loan to get roughly the same amount in cashflow now. So we may as well stick with what we?ve got, pay it off faster and be done with it. We have a credit card with zero balance. It has $0 annual fees and is only there for emergencies. Our other major expense is storage. While we live with my mum, our belongings don?t. We?ve just made the decision to sell everything to eliminate that cost.
 
Living with parents - cant they babysit?

Living rent free - should be putting away a few hundred a week into a savings account (and / or clearing personal debts)

Not sure why people choose to make it harder than it is.
Yes we live with my mother but she is elderly and cannot care for our children. To give you an idea of the capacity she has... We do her grocery shopping, drive her to appointments, cook and clean for her and do all the odd jobs around the house. When we leave we?ll have to arrange meals on wheels for her otherwise she?ll live off raisin toast and cheese sandwiches?if she doesn?t burn the house down first.

We?re putting away every cent we can. We shop at Aldi and buy our clothes from Vinnies, among other things, just to save a few extra dollars. Even with that the property prices are going up faster than we can save. We are not the only people in this situation. We?re not making it hard for ourselves, nor are we complaining?it is what it is. What we are doing though is trying to be proactive to get out of this situation and move forward financially.
 
Thank you for your reply Mitch1 :)

As mentioned above, we, like every family, we are entitled to the Childcare Rebate. It just doesn?t go far enough. I don?t mean that to imply that we should get more from the government or that childcare should be cheaper. We have the same childcare dilemma many families have and I don?t know what the solution is?or even if there is one. We just have to ride it out. In the meantime I?ve applied to the likes of Kmart and Woollies, etc for night and weekend work. No joy so far. I?ve also started studying for a Cert IV in Accounting. There?s a fair bit of flexible accounting work out there. If you can?t beat ?em, join ?em, right? Prior to having children I never had trouble finding work. In most cases it came to me. Now, that?s not the case. It?s pretty demoralising :( I am the same person I was before.
 
au pair?

Hi there

One option you could consider for childcare is getting an au pair. If I end up needing to go back to Sydney for work, which is possible, that's probably what I'll do. 1) cos getting in is so hard & 2) to give greater flexibility 3) because it's actually cheaper, as long as you have space which might be challenging as you're living with family.

Not sure how old your twins are but it might be an option for you at some point :)
 
Would your parents be able to lend you some money? You could have a proper contract drawn up for their peace of mind.

Thank you for your reply property girl :)

Unfortunately no, my mum can?t lend us any money. She is retired and on a part pension. So she?d have to take money from her super. Doing that would affect the returns she?d get on the balance so it?s not an option.

She has on occasion offered to be a guarantor for us. Depending on the time of day, the weather, the tilt of the moon she might say we can have a limited guarantee over her house for whatever we need, then she?ll agree to figures like $10-$20k or she won?t agree at all. So for the purposes of this exercise we?re going to ignore her intermittent offer. If we get close to a good deal and she?s in the right mood, then we?ll take the guarantee?assuming the lender will allow it considering that she?s retired and elderly. We could always wait until she falls off the perch?kidding ;)
 
Our only debt is a car loan with $24k left to pay at 1.99% and $640 per month.

do you track all your costs, handy to do with a phone app and very important to find your financial leaks? not that I know your financial situation but observation has taught me if you have a car loan of $24k, chances are you have a few other places where you could seriously cut down on costs too.

perhaps clothing brands, or food brands, alcohol or other expenses related to vices. just a thought.
 
An au pair is an option we considered when we lived in our own home. I agree with all of your points. It's an option we'll definitely revisit once we're under our own roof.

Unfortunately because we live with my mother it's not an option. She won't allow it. She's not a people person and is full of opinions. One day with my mother and the poor au pair would be running for the hills. Even if mum did allow it there simply is no room. The house is a 2 bedroom villa in an over 55s complex...the kids currently sleep in the study :eek:
 
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