Placeholder
Originally from Melbourne, I moved to Cairns with my family in 1991 and started my career in Finance with Suncorp. After a transfer to open Suncorp branches in Sydney in 1995 I returned to Cairns and moved into the Insurance Broking Industry.
The allure that has kept me in the industry for 25 years are the relationships that I have made with local business owners, Insurers and the Cairns community. Being a local, I understand the unique needs of Far North Qld and the perils of finding and providing insurance solutions to suit my clients and most of all ensure they are protected.
I have partnered with Astute North QLD to create Astute General Insurance and I look forward to growing the existing relationships I have made and supporting new clients through all aspects of their Insurance needs through exceptional customer service, which Astute are so well known for providing.
At home there’s 2 teenage boys, 3 dogs, 1 cat, and 3 horses. I love being home cooking/creating which is not often or find me at the racetrack dressed to the nines in an original local creation (supporting local designers/artists is a passion) or at the gym thinking about getting back into Bodybuilding after a long off season 2016. I’m dedicated to whatever new adventure or challenge comes into my life and giving back to this wonderful community of Cairns whenever I can.
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 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.
We recently had an appointment with Astute to help us sort out our mortgage needs. From the moment we stepped into the building we were made to feel welcome. From Shae on the front desk to Damian during our appointment. Damian went above and beyond to help us with our needs, explaining things simply and offering further support. It all makes so much more sense when you have someone who knows what they’re talking about! Thank you so much.
5 star service Love the Astute North QLD team, especially Billie. Thanks for your honesty and financial advice… will soon have a home for our family 🙂
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.
I found every time I rang the office with a query the phone was answered promptly. Gus and his team stayed in contact at all times either by email or phone just to make sure I had complete understanding of the forms I was signing and the procedures they were taking to finalise the loan. I was never left wondering what happens next.
First time we have used a mortgage broker and we will both recommend Billie.
All the staff at Astute are very professional and genuinely interested in making it easy – would be great to get this service everywhere I go 🙂
I give them two thumbs up! I always feel comfortable visiting the office because I know I’m in good hands!
