You review your mortgage every year. When did you last review your salary?

Tom Morison sits down with finance recruiter Brody Johnston of Addition to explore how career strategy and borrowing capacity quietly shape each other, and how AI is disrupting both at the same time. They cover why salaries are holding flat right now, how the job market is shifting shape as AI replaces entry level and admin work, and why "perfect" payslips are increasingly a red flag for fraud rather than a green light for lenders.

The conversation also digs into the practical lending side most people never think about: how fixed term contracts, probation periods, and mid-career changes actually affect loan approval, the return to in-office work and what it means for salary versus lifestyle trade-offs, and the current scramble around the SMSF lending ban deadline.

They close with a rapid fire green flag or red flag round covering job hopping, side hustles, pay cuts, career changes at 40, and using AI at work.

If you've ever wondered whether your salary or your career choices are quietly shaping your borrowing power, this episode connects the dots.

General information only, not financial advice specific to your situation.

Guest: Brody Johnston, Addition | brody@additionpartners.com.au | 0420 442 566

Follow and subscribe to Talk Time with Tom and Tina for more conversations at the intersection of property, finance, and career.

Real estate headlines love a single story. The truth, according to inner west agent Craig McKenzie, is that Sydney's property market right now is really several different markets moving in different directions at once.

In this episode, Tom sit down with Craig, a 30+ year real estate veteran working the Drummoyne, Abbotsford, Five Dock corridor, to unpack what's actually happening at ground level.

What we cover:

• Why the $1.8m-$2.5m price band has become the sweet spot in the inner west, and who's driving it (downsizers meeting upsizers in the middle)
• The upper end of the market (properties $3.5m+) softening considerably post-budget
• First home buyer activity in the $900k-$1.3m range holding firm, and in some cases growing, despite the broader slowdown narrative
• A live case study: a Drummoyne semi that went from 2-3 groups through the open home to 17 groups and three active negotiations after a campaign reset
• Investor lodgements reportedly down sharply since the federal budget, and how negative gearing changes are affecting borrowing capacity for existing dwellings
• SMSF lending changes and why self-managed super investors are pausing to restrategise
• The Bank of Mum and Dad: how gifted deposits are structured properly, and where they go wrong
• Suburb selection: why capital growth history matters more than square footage, and Craig's ChatGPT tip for comparing suburbs
• Quick fire round: green flag or red flag on buying before finance approval, going in emotionally at auction, renovating before selling, and more
• Craig's Crystal Ball: where he sees prices, auction clearance rates and interest rates heading for the rest of the year

Craig McKenzie, WARWICK WILLIAMS. 📞 0414 515 169 📧 craigm@wwre.com.au

Tom Morison, Amara Mortgage Brokers 📞 0407 199 199 📧 tom@amara.broker

Negative gearing is gone, retrospective to 7:30pm on budget night. SMSF property leverage has been banned with just 45 days notice. Capital gains tax is moving to an indexation model that will hit crypto, ETFs, and managed funds too.

In this episode, wealth manager Dan Kelly (Viola Private Wealth) and mortgage broker Tom Morrison (Amara Mortgage Brokers) sit down to unpack the real, on the ground impact of Australia's federal budget changes on property investors, first home buyers, and high net worth clients.

They break down:

● Why borrowing capacity has dropped 20 to 40% overnight for property investors

● The overlooked rent-vestor cohort now priced out of the market

● Why debt recycling has become the hottest strategy in wealth management

● How the SMSF limited recourse borrowing ban is hitting middle Australia harder than the ultra wealthy

● Why auction clearance rates have crashed to COVID lows, and what that means for the next 12 months

● The case for owner occupied property as the last truly tax protected asset in Australia

Whether you're a property investor, first home buyer, mortgage broker, or financial advisor trying to make sense of the new rules, this conversation cuts through the noise with real client data and real strategies.