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Originally born and bred in Seoul, South Korea I was always curious and interested in learning about other cultures which is why I decided to study abroad in Beijing China, this is where I completed my Bachelor Degree in Advertising Design. After graduation, I gained employment experience in various industries such as hospitality, early childhood education and retail as a sole trader in Korea. Over this period of time working for these different industries I learnt the importance of communication and social interaction with others.
One day, I had an epiphany! I wanted to pack everything up and travel around Australia! So I did! During my travels, I fell in love with the city of Cairns, its beautiful nature, lifestyle and it’s also where I met my husband.
I am proud to say that we have settled in this beautiful city of Cairns and I would love to help people with similar dreams with a very personalised service here at Astute North Queensland.
For whatever dream it may be, let us help you to achieve it and let us be a part of your story.
Thanks heaps for your assistance and advice with our home loan and all the extra little bits and pieces that went along with it. Will thoroughly recommend you to all we know!
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.
First, Tania: Quite simply, a complete, caring professional. I am not sure where on the spectrum the amount of work she did to get us into our current home falls in her professional career (mind-blowingly easy, somewhat challenging, borderline impossible…), but to us it literally meant the world. The reason we came back to her (and Astute) is because of the level of care and attention she gave us–we don’t feel like a number, an account, a bottom line, or a percentage point. I would recommend her (and go back to her for advice) again and again and again; when we found ourselves in the position to invest and/or buy again, our first thought was we needed to talk to Tania before doing literally anything else.
Building on that, Astute: Again, I would (and do) recommend them to anyone when talk of buying a home or investing comes up. Long story short, I work for a guy named Scotty Garden, and there is very little under the Earth’s sun I would not do for him; ergo I take his advice on anything as gospel. When I causally mentioned a few years back that Michelle and I were thinking of buying a house, he enthusiastically recommended we talk to John Watts at Cairns Home Loans and we did, and John gave us solid, practical advice: Save a bit more and come back to us. And we did, because he looked after us as people (again not an account). He could have talked us into buying something we couldn’t afford, or buying something we didn’t really want, or (as one local branch of an unnamed John Symond-run group told us) we were grumpily told it was “unrealistic” to think of buying a home in our position. Working in tourism/hospitality, I appreciate the personal attention, as well as helping a local business continue doing what it does well.
Sorry to gush, but Michelle and I really do hold you and your whole team in the highest regard. Thank you again, and I will [not] try to stay out of trouble.
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
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
After having issues with another broker and losing a settlement, we were recommended by solicitor. After speaking with Billie she was honest and open about my options. The entire process was dealt with promptly and efficiently with minimal to no stress.
I found the whole experience easy & everyone there were so lovely n friendly & also available any time to answer any questions we had.
My husband and I went to Astute today, firstly met with Shae at the front reception and had a chat with her. It was lovely to chat with such a friendly happy lady who made us feel welcome.
We went upstairs and met with John Watts for some financial advice. We have known John Watts for over 10 years now, and truly admire his honesty and ‘no beating around the bush business eiquette’. We would highly recommend anyone requiring financial advice and/or a financial bank loan to not look any further than that of the ASTUTE team. 🙂 Thanks Astute….
