Gus Soper

I’ve given a lot of thought to feedback I can give to help improve our experience with Gus and Astute and I, honestly, cannot think of any.  However, I would like to share the positive experience we’ve had.

Gus is always honest and realistic about expectations – two things that are critical when buying a home.  This was our third home purchase through Gus and I’m disappointed that we’ve spent all our money and won’t be in a position to work with Gus again for quite a while.  When I say he’s honest, I don’t just mean with facts and figures, but he’s also honest about what he does not know.  For example, we received an unexpected letter from CommBank regarding our current mortgage right in the middle of our application process for the new mortgage.   Gus was honest that he had not seen one of those before and promised to get back to us as soon as he knew what was happening.  He chased it up and had a response that day.  I’d much rather have those approaches over a fast talker who simply says, “Yep, leave it with me”.

Gus sets realistic expectations with what the bank may or may not do so that there are never any surprises.  I also appreciate how he knows that when he speaks to me, I’m a bit more nervous than my husband, so he always takes the extra time to walk me through it and ensure I’m comfortable.  I never feel pressured into making decisions, but I always feel well informed and that Gus has provided me with all the details required to make the tough decisions.  A specific example of this is when Gus proposed to use as much of our cash and leverage less equity in other properties as a more conservative approach based on our prior discussions.  I asked him to re-run the numbers with leveraging all equity and allowing us to keep the cash in the offset account.  Gus objectively ran me through the risks and benefits of each approach and then immediately provided the figures.  I was able to weigh up both options and then choose either without feeling any pressure.  Another example is when I proposed to finance the costs of the renovations and Gus walked me through that process objectively, but in the context of our personal financial goals.

Gus has a great balance of being easy going and extremely proactive during a stressful time.  When dealing with real estate agents, solicitors, inspectors, etc. they all have a tone of extreme urgency and can add to the stress.  Gus always listens first, and then calmly responds without emotion or pressure.  His clear thinking and calm approach is exactly what’s needed when making such a huge financial decision.

Having Gus’s direct mobile and email also help to make the process such a positive one.  Our negotiations occurred over the Christmas break, so I was not bothering Gus with the details until we had a final agreement.  Gus knew this was happening and he still gave us a call during that week to make sure we were doing ok and didn’t need anything from him.  He was on holiday with his family when he called and I really feel that was unnecessarily going above and beyond, but at the same time, it was so appreciated.  Most of our business can easily be addressed during normal business hours, but it is such a relief to know that if something pops up on the weekend when we are out looking for houses, Gus is only a phone call away.

While this was our third home purchase, we’ve had a few other home loan approval applications for offers that weren’t accepted.  Gus applies the same level of commitment and professionalism each time, even though he knows that the contract may not go through and the approval may expire without us actually going under contract.  He’s never made me feel like we were wasting his time.  In fact, when I raised concerns about continuing to apply for approval without having an offer to make, he reassured me that we were well within reason and he’d let me know if the banks had concerns with the continued approval requests.

We’ve purchased both at auction and through the conditional contract process.  Gus walked us through both processes and gave us the confidence to know when to bid at auction, and when to buy conditional upon receiving approval for financing.

When the company switched from Cairns Home Loans to Astute, my husband and I moaned that our personalised service was about to become ‘corporate’.  I was worried that it wouldn’t feel like we were dealing with a local business anymore.  Luckily, none of those concerns were valid and the experience hasn’t changed at all – except that we now get to visit the amazing new office 🙂

We’ve recommended Gus many times and will continue to do so.  When I speak to friends and colleagues about their experiences with getting a mortgage, they always seem surprised by the exceptional service we receive from Gus and his team.

Michelle Masiello, Cairns

Billie is friendly and genuine. She is knowledgeable about the products she talks about and comes across as someone who will work hard to get you the best possible deal.

Claire, Manunda

Friendly and very knowledgeable. Made the whole process of getting our first mortgage easy and relatively stress free. Very prompt communication and excellent rates provided on our mortgage.

Excellent team, all staff were professional and friendly, will definitely use their expertise again and recommend to friends and family.

Laura, Atherton

John and the team looked after us on many fronts from mortgage, superannuation and even life insurance. We even compared rates on our new vehicle lease and Astute came through better than any bank.

These guys definitely have the XFactor

Colin Gilbert, Cairns

Being self employed is always a bit of a struggle when it comes to home loans. The amazing team at Astute made this happen for us. Their down to earth yet professional approach is very reassuring. Excellent customer service and follow up throughout the process that made it less nerve racking. Call them or pop in, make the first step and I can gguaranteethey will do their best to make it possible. A big thank you to John, Damian and the amazing Shae- Shae who could teach a few things to hospitality people. Cannot thank you enough so I recommend you to everyone in need of a loan

Nicolas Devic, Cairns

We have been using John since we bought our first house in 2008 and taken sound advice from him in all our finance dealing ever since; which has included, opening a business, building our second house and now purchasing an investment property. We trust the advice given to us and not understanding the finance world hugely rely on the knowledge given to us in making decisions. We thank Verena very much with her patience throughout each deal and her simple way of explaining the overwhelming fluff that the banks put on paper. Johns stickmen and drawings helped us immensely 🙂 We really feel like we have actually made some good friends when dealing with Astute.

Scott, Cairns

Being newbies to town & the housing market, it was reassuring to have the guidance of Liam from Astute. We felt like one of his family by the extent of his efforts. His honesty, calming persona, knowledge & ability to explain the scary & unknown house buying process in our ‘speak’ was invaluable. Not to mention the fantastic custom home loan we have secured. I would highly recommend, and already have recommended, his services. Thank you again Liam and the Astute Team.

Raine and Scott, Cairns