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In 2000 John and I started Astute North Queensland because we felt there was a real need for customers to get better service than others were offering.
With a background in Insurance, my management expertise combined with John’s real estate background made for the perfect foundation with which to establish a mortgage broking business.
Originally from Cork, Ireland I came to Cairns in 1996 for a holiday. Soon after I met John and decided to make Australia my new home. Working side by side since 2000 John and I have established successful sister offices in Port Douglas, Atherton, Mareeba & Ayr.
I’m passionate about the image of our offices and look after them, ensuring we exceed all of the standards set by the regulatory bodies and our affiliates.
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.
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.
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.
We greatly appreciate your efficiency and persistence in helping us purchase our property.
It was a long awaited dream for us to give our kids and ourselves the space and serenity we’ve found. Thank you so much for playing an integral part of that dream coming to fruition.
Myself and my partner Patrick are currently in the final stages of the settlement of our first home and as you can imagine it can be a very stressful and difficult time for any new potential home owner. Add to the fact that we are only in our early 20’s, both working full time jobs and both studying full time as well as trying to save to be financially ready to own our own home.
When we were financially ready to go ahead with the first loan process (through a bank, independently) we were absolutely disheartened as we were knocked back and told that we could not get a home loan. As you could imagine two young people scrapping every cent together for a year and to be told no made us feel as if all the hard work we had strived for was for nothing. I then approached my dad asking him what we should do next. He took me to a lady that he had dealt with when he brought his house through commonwealth that had now opened an Astute office.
When Billie welcomed us warmly into her store it felt as if all the stress, worry and confusion were lifted off our shoulders as she went through all the different options that she would try for us in successfully getting a loan for our first house. She really did connect with us through her friendly personality and strived to do the very best for us (not many companies are like that these days). Even after that first initial meeting and the ones that followed she was so caring and supporting throughout the whole process. I don’t think we would have been capable of going through with getting a house loan without Billie helping us. With every silly little question (there were a lot of them) Billie would always respond straight away and would always make us feel that we were a priority to her and in the world we live in, that isn’t always the case. Billie was also always happy to help us out if we were unsure of anything else during the long process and would always say to us to just give her a ring if there was anything else we needed. As clients of Billies we just wanted to pass on to you how much gratitude we have for the support and care she has given us. We are more than impressed with Billie and hope she receives this feedback and that she continues to do the amazing job she already does. From the bottom of our hearts Billie we thank you so much for the continued support. As well as your lovely other staff that have been fantastic to deal with – Seto, Phoebe & Becky!
Thank you for having such a hardworking, fun loving team John. We really appreciated all that you have done, Thank you
We were recommended from friends to see Fei Chan to discuss buying investment property. He was very polite, friendly, sincere and honest. But most importantly, he has made it clearer for us on how to build our property portfolio for a better future. For that, I too highly recommend his service to others.
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….