New drought support loans

Published November 26, 2019

New drought support loans – to refinance, to borrow or not to borrow?

The farming community is asking plenty of questions in relation to the latest round of Federal Government Farm Investment Loans. Forsyths Principal Andrew Freebairn works with farmers in the Coonabarabran region and says his clients are looking for more information about their financial options.

“I’m taking numerous calls a day from farming families and farming related industries looking for advice on whether to refinance their loans with the 3.11% rate the Federal Government is offering under the Regional Investment Corporation.

“Unfortunately there is no single answer as to borrowing or refinancing. Every business needs to be assessed individually.

“What we work to do is assess the current financial position of a business, assess the offerings of their current bank, and look at the cost and time in paperwork associated with refinancing. 

“Some of the banks are coming to the party and reducing interest rates and offering interest only repayments for a period.

“It’s important that whatever the decisions and changes around loans, that there’s a plan in place to move the business forward. The decision to borrow or refinance needs to set the business up for success – not to immerse families deeper in unrepayable debt,” Andrew said.

Andrew says some clients are nervous about the cost of advice.

“The cost of accounting and business planning can sometimes be claimed through Centrelink and the initial discussion with Forsyths is free.

There’s no one-fit solution to get through this drought but there are certainly ways to reduce the pressure on faming and farming related businesses,’ Andrew said.

For more information contact Forsyths or the following links may be useful:

https://www.ric.gov.au/farmers

https://farmhub.org.au/