INTERVIEW WITH TONY CORDATO

Glenn: Tony Cordato, welcome. Tell us a little about your background.

AJC: I am a Sydney (Australia) CBD based lawyer, with a passion for business, property and tourism law.

Glenn: You are the principal of Cordato Partners, Lawyers, tell us about the services you offer.

AJC: We act for property investors, business owners and tourism operators. We assist in transactional work, advisory work and dispute resolution / litigation.

Glenn: How does Cordato Partners differ from other firms?

AJC: We love to take on difficult assignments and solving problems with creative but legally sound strategies. Being a boutique firm we are nimble and swift and cost effective!

Glenn: In previous discussions you have been an advocate of “seller financing”, could you fill us in on what seller financing is?

AJC: Seller Finance is also known as vendor finance. Seller finance 'greases the wheels' of property and business sales, by providing a solution to allow the sale to go ahead where a Bank or other financier is unable to provide the funds to the buyer to pay the seller the price the seller requires.

Glenn: Cordato Partners also specialises in Vendor Financing (also known as Wrap Transactions or Sale by Instalment Contract). Could you provide a brief description of what Vendor Financing is?

AJC: There are three main seller finance techniques that can be used.

The first is to wrap around an existing loan a new loan to the purchaser, which is documented as an Instalment Contract (also known as a Terms Contract or Wrap Contract).
The second is to give the purchaser the opportunity to 'look and see' by allowing them into the property at an above market rent and then crediting the above market part of the rent towards the price, which is documented as a lease with an option (this is a rent to own or rent to buy technique).
The third is to sell with some carry back finance, which is documented by a loan agreement or second mortgage (this is a deposit finance technique).

Glenn: How Can Cordato Partners assist investors with either Vendor Financing Transactions or Seller Financing?

AJC: We prepare the documents for the seller financing techniques. We are the premier legal firm in that field in Australia, assisting in hundreds of vendor finance transactions each year. We tie in with the Vendor Finance Association.

Glenn: Tony, thank you for your time. We’ll keep an eye out for your future posts on VC or Bust.

Source – Interview by Glenn Matthews for VC or Bust

Practice Overview

Cordato Partners Lawyers are a boutique law firm situated in the Sydney CBD.

Which provides legal advice, acts on transactions and conducts litigation in these fields of law:

Real Estate – conveyancing services for property investments and residences, commercial leases, financing and refinancing, property joint ventures, options to purchase (including rent to own), vendor finance (including loan documentation and terms sales), property development, tax and stamp duties, construction contracts
Commercial – purchase and sale of businesses, shareholders agreements, structures for business and property investment (companies, unit trusts, family trusts, bare trusts), asset protection, trademarks, business joint ventures, employment contracts
Leisure, Travel and Tourism – website marketing compliance, terms and conditions, supplier agreements, advice on traveller complaints / compensation claims, employment issues, travel insurance, Aviation (ticketing & passenger claims), brand protection,
Litigation – debt recovery, banking and loan claims, enforcement of contracts, breach of contract, environmental disputes, tree disputes, disputes with Councils / Development Applications, consumer claims, property evictions and tenancy, will disputes, Insolvency,
Personal – Wills, Powers of Attorney, Guardianships, Probate and Administration of Estates, Estate disputes,

No matter how hard the problem, we will find a way to solve it efficiently and cost effectively!

We adopt a practice of briefing external counsel (also known as barristers) to assist in specialist advice and in litigation. We also engage and like to work with experts such as architects, accountants, engineers, town planners and builders as and when required.

We regularly cross refer clients within this network of other professionals.

We have a wide mutual referral network of lawyers in all States of Australia, and worldwide.

Principal: Anthony James Cordato LLB

Practice Experience: Private Practice since 1975 acting for businesses such as:

Property Investors and Developers
Tour operators, travel agents and travel insurance
Airlines, Hotels, Resorts & Restaurants
Manufacturers, importers and distributors
Retailers

Publications:

Australian Travel and Tourism Law
How to collect Business Debts
Tax Driven Real Estate Investment Strategies
Obtaining Good Legal Title to Objects
Lexology Articles
Linkedin Posts

Presentations:

International Bar Association Conferences
Law Society of NSW
Australian Federation of Travel Agents
Institute of Chartered Accountants
University of Technology, Tourism Management
Travel Law Centre (University of Newcastle-on-Tyne)
Nova University (Florida)

Contacts

Cordato Partners
Business, Property & Tourism Lawyers

Level 5, 49 York Street Sydney NSW 2000
Ph: (02) 8297 5600
Fax: (02) 9290 2784
Email: ajc@businesslawyer.com.au
Website: www.businesslawyer.com.au