Forum Replies Created
After 18 months of pain, it seems several State Govts are getting serious about the economy, small business and family welfare once more – i.e. they are saying “It’s time to open up again”. Sounds good, except for what seems like being a kind of apartheid that may be coming – i.e. that all those who haven’t decided to get vaccinated will belong to a different “class” with fewer privileges than the rest.
Even Qld (with no Covid to speak of over these last 18 months) are talking of “opening up” on Dec 17th 2021 – come hell or high water. That’s quite a change from their previous locking down of the border – not even letting Qlders home in many circumstances. The stories have been vast, sobering, and (in many cases) quite disappointing, as we hear of families kept apart for months, people going interstate to visit a family member who may be sick or dying, then can’t come home to Qld again. But yesterday the Qld Govt message changed markedly – it is Dec 17th at the latest (maybe earlier if an 80% double-vax figure is achieved) and our border will open to ALL !!
Scarey? Well, it will be quite a new thing for Qld. NSW and Vic have fought high Covid numbers and have battled to overcome them. Qld has yet to face that outcome. And, perhaps the scariest thought of all, I wonder just what poor decisions might come once we are “open to the world”. Will things get so bad so quickly that the best thought from the State Govt will be to run to the safety of “what worked before” – i.e. close borders and lockdown? With tourism one of Qld’s largest income producers, such a knee-jerk move would likely be the death knell of many small businesses who have been hanging on by their fingernails.
Sharp lockdowns following on from “opening up” are the worst decision. Think about it – businesses hear of the “opening up”, they rush around spending time and money to prepare for their business to re-open, get staff back on deck, stock up, open up for business, then have everything fall in a heap as they are locked down again two days later. What a massive effect this has had on accommodations, restaurants, flights, the wedding industry, small shops, you-name-it.
Ever-changing rules drive the hoi polloi nuts !! I only hope that, come Dec 17th, that the Qld Govt has taken a teaspoon of cement and hardened up so that their decisions don’t blow around in the Covid wind.
How is YOUR State Govt travelling? And your constituents?
Good luck to us all,
Benny
Sure thing – google the Office of State Revenue in Qld and all should be revealed. Your accountant should still be a good path too though, in case you don’t read far enough !! ;)
Further to NM95’s comment, do consider that different states may well have different laws.
e.g. for Qld, a trust has a $350k allowance before Land Tax is charged, while (according to nm95 above) NSW seems to have no allowance.
Why not ask that same accountant to spell out for you exactly what applies in your state for your Trust (if you went ahead with it). As you can see, Land Tax can be a significant part of your total costs.
Using nm95’s example of $8000pa, how much is that per week? Scarey huh? Would the tenants stump up the extra do you think? ;)
Benny
PS Steve has made the comment before of “new investors setting up expensive Trusts to protect very little”…. and that is worth some thought. If you are starting out and are not sure whether or not property investing is to be your calling, there are other ways to protect yourself that aren’t as costly.
Of course if you ARE planning on making this a significant business venture, then using Trusts is a very sensible approach imho.
Hi propertyboy,
I have an option of buying another 2-4% yielding investment IP in melb/syd then being capped on borrowing capacity (income cap hit – got lots of equity)
Back in my earlier days (maybe 20 years ago) a Mortgage Broker of the day told me “If you have enough Equity, income (or DSR) is not a problem.” At that time I didn’t have Equity, so I didn’t get to follow up on WHY they said that, or if they did tell me I have since forgotten, but here’s my thought:-
Was that statement ever correct? Even better, if one has a heap of Equity today, is there some way that Equity can circumvent any DSR problems? Or did I dream this?
Perhaps others on here can advise – MB’s especially. Any comments?
Benny
I’m kinda surprised that nobody has needed to reply, to add more info, to disagree, or to have a rant of their own. No worries though – we are all where we are, with decisions to make, and the goalposts seem to keep on changing. Good luck with YOUR operation amongst all of the various Govts’ irrationality going on.
Just a week or so back, I heard one party from politics (I don’t recall just who…) who espoused the idea that ANY person standing for election as a candidate should be tested, and shown to have AT LEAST an IQ of 100 (i.e. to be at least an average member of our community). what do you think of THAT? I know that an IQ test is far from being the bees knees in determining suitability for any role, but hey, it is a start, and perhaps WAY better than what we have right now, yeah? And wouldn’t it be nice to know that whomever we vote for is at least “average or better” in the smarts department?
Or is that too easy? What do YOU think? Is there a better yardstick that is readily available?
Benny
Hi Dutch,
I can assure you it is the same Ben Poulson.
It is a rather uncommon name, so you might be right… but how can you be so sure of that?
It is a little concerning that you are openly questioning our experiences because they may not be the same as yours.
On many sites a first post like yours might simply be deleted – you arrived unannounced, responded to a VERY old post, and flamed some tradesperson. Similar to many spammers when you think of it….. Fair enough that I might have some concerns re you, isn’t it? And yes, since I knew of a person with the same name (some years ago) I took the time to get a bit more truth re your post.
Re your concern, in my own way, I was endeavouring to help (both you and the forum in general). I did pose some searching questions in an attempt to draw out more information on just how bad things really were in your case. Did you spend any time thinking of any responses to my questions Dutch, or did you simply write them all off?
In closing Dutch, I DO agree that poor communication is not on ! But over a whole year? What do you plan to do? Communication can’t be one-way if there are to be meaningful results !! Surely there are “other avenues” you could take here (??) Do reread my questions in a new light, then let’s see what happens eh?
Benny
Hi Dutch,
Your post piqued my interest. First off, I wonder if you refer to the same Ben Poulson as I was. It might be – I only knew him as a Building and Pest Inspector, but a quick search tells me that someone of that name is also a builder (who also does B&P Inspections). The man I knew did some B&P inspections for me some years ago.
But then you said you are living on a building site for almost a year. It has been 18 months of Covid so far – has that impacted his operation as much as it has other small businesses? Does he still have staff, etc. and can they work onsite?
See, it also seemed strange that you happened upon an 8 year-old post to post your grievances. That also had me wonder re your own “bona fides”. Why did you do that? And what have you done to “kick your builder into gear”? If this is such a small project why have you let it go on for this long? How small is it really? A bathroom reno? Adding a bedroom? What?
And don’t you have a more satisfactory recourse to provide some action other than to post on a forum about your displeasure? What else have you done re this? Have you contacted any authorities to have them chase your case? Interested to hear more,
Benny
Hi Wan,
A quick note from me (since I note you are posting here for the first time) is to reread all of this topic – in particular, do take note of my comments in this link (an earlier reply in here) – https://www.propertyinvesting.com/topic/5068817-home-loan-borrowing-using-trust/#post-5069869
For me, the Chapter 9 from Steve’s book gives a VERY well-rounded description of how he works things. I’m sure a thorough read of it will vastly improve your background knowledge of this very detailed subject.
Once you have done that, do come back and read all of this topic once again, based on your new learnings from the book, and you might find many of your questions are answered. If not, then put your further questions here again and let’s see what we can do.
Benny
That’s a rather nice summation Jeremy !! A very sage collection of important points. Kudos !!
Benny
Wow – check THIS out !!
https://www.afr.com/policy/health-and-education/swallow-hard-reality-pill-on-virus-deaths-20210804-p58fxc – (later) it is now a Subscriber only article of the Fin Review. But you’ll still see the headline and a paragraph or two…..
Someone in Govt (a Senator) is finally taking a hard-nosed look at the “numbers” re how much we are spending/losing while endeavouring to save Covid lives. I’d previously thought Govts should be considering all sides to an economy, not just the “Covid cost”. i.e. lockdowns produce very serious health risks to so many people – especially to those businesses who are trying to keep their head above water. Lockdown after lockdown is beating many of them senseless.
And now (in the link above) a dollar value has been ascribed to the saving of a life – and it is $330 million per person !!!!!!!!
Can we really afford this? The Senator makes the statement that we as a nation “can’t afford the same healthcare facilities in the bush as in a big city – it is a fact of life”. As per the start of this paragraph, can we really afford to pay $330m to save each Covid life? And meanwhile, what other lives suffer, and how dreadfully? How about the single mum who is having to sleep with her family in their car because her work stopped and they can’t afford now to rent a house? How about the business owner who might be “going down for the third time” with yet ANOTHER lockdown that siphons income away from his business. Anxiety and depression must be having a field day in the midst of all this. What cost to those held in the grasp of THOSE “pandemics”? Is anyone counting? We focus on Covid to the exclusion of all else at our peril.
I know we don’t like to put a $ figure on “the value of a human life”, but do read the article to see how it sits with you.
Then, let me leave you with this small truthful extract from the link above:-
The hard reality is that we have become obsessed with the daily COVID-19 case numbers. But there are no press conferences announcing how many small businesses went under the night before, how many marriages broke up, or how many people lost their job.
Benny
Hi Tommy,
Some of our Mortgage Brokers onboard could likely come up with a more complete scenario for you. I would think you will be able to find a way that works best for you. Meantime, do have a look at this post :-
https://www.propertyinvesting.com/topic/5037642-investment-property-finance-tax/#post-5037653
It was written for those who are contemplating moving out of their PPOR and making it into a rental. Terryw mentions 11 separate strategies that may (or may not) apply to you. Check out some of his later ideas (in particular, Strategies 7 thru 11) as there are some VERY useful thoughts right there.
Benny
Now and then a post is so full of good information that I simply have to add it here. My own “takeaway” from the topic linked below is that even a complex issue can be broken down into bite-sized chunks, and Steve provides a poster with his thoughts on just HOW to do that:-
https://www.propertyinvesting.com/topic/5075786-inheriting-a-block-of-12-strata-units-in-nsw/
Note that Steve’s first comment to the poster is along the lines of “What do YOU want to get from this?” and goes on to say that investing decisions should not lead to putting yourself in a bind. In this case the poster was quite new to investing but had received a substantial inheritance, thus needing some strong guidance – he got that, thanks to him asking the questions rather than trying to “wing it”.
Well, moving to Chrome has been a mixed blessing.
First, it FIXED the problem mentioned (where I was being logged out of my Internet Banking within 2 minutes of logging in). Then I noticed that things seemed to run faster, so that was a plus. And logging in to IB was a breeze, and a fast one at that. Firefox had been quite slow in that area for some time.
The downside was that other little “wrinkles” came along with the change from Firefox to Chrome. One major one was needing to learn how Chrome did things – and that was not always intuitive. Also, other things need adjustments or settings changed to work at all – many thanks to our Admin (Dave) who stepped in to help me out there. I don’t know just what he tweaked, but it worked.
Right now, I continue to find occasional other wrinkles that will also need to be ironed out (or will need the services of Dave again….). Changing browsers certainly is not just a “set and forget operation”. I guess, just like any change, it will take time for me to be completely comfortable with the change. But it HAD to be made.
Even if Firefox does change back whatever parameter was screwing with the Internet Banking, I won’t be going back to it. I’ll keep the faster laptop that I have now, and attack the wrinkles under Chrome. Just watch me !!! Bye Firefox.
Hi Raj,
I checked this out with our Admin – he tells me he has adjusted the link in the Bonus area to include this – full text below:-
That product is no longer for sale but we made the checklist available from the bonus resources page.
I’ve set up a redirect of that link to the book registration page if he wants to try it again.
So give that a go, Raj, and come back if you still have problems,
Benny
Hi Dawiid and others,
When I Googled “Rentrepreneur” it defaulted to Entrepreneur. However it did give the option to “search for Rentrepreneur instead” – and that provided just a few topics in reply. Seems that title may have been recently coined, so it might mean different things to different people.
However, Google did lead me to one post that gave a meaning that makes sense to me. It led to Ian Ugarte’s site where he talks of renting a property from a landlord long-term, with permission to “sublet” (my word, not Ian’s) and to renovate the place to suit the market and provide multiple incomes.
Is that the meaning that IKingy was referring to? I have no idea – as a newly coined word, there could be several different meanings.
One option I recall was where an investor bought properties as investments but rented the home they live in. They are doing things “out of the ordinary” by renting, and being an investor too. Are they rentrepreneurs?
Hmmm…. I don’t know for sure – all thoughts welcome,
Benny
Nice one Steven !! Your last words are so true:-
This kind of mistakes cost beginner investors tens of thousands of dollars down the track and takes years to recover.
One of my favourite maxims comes to mind – “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance”. Your post helps all new investors to avoid the earliest part of that trap. More to know of course, but that post of yours is a great start. :)
Benny
Are you just starting out with property investing? Here is a worthwhile message re HOW to start out. It could save you heaps – of money, time, aggravation and just plain drama.
https://www.propertyinvesting.com/topic/5072358-for-ppl-just-starting-property-investing/
Steven (a forum member) puts forward a worthwhile “primer”, outlining the steps to take before even thinking of buying a place. His words ring true to me – especially his final ones….. ;)
Hi Colin,
So WA does show this detail, eh – thanks for that.
I wonder who can answer for other states – maybe it is only the banana-benders who get it wrong? :(
Hi Wan,
Keep in mind Richard’s earlier comment:-
I think you are confused as there is very little difference between lenders when it comes to servicing post Royal Commission.
I noted that English may not be your first language, and that the wording above uses an old word “post” which means “since” or “after”, so reread Richard’s words like this:-
I think you are confused as there is very little difference between lenders when it comes to servicing since the Royal Commission (had some banks change their lending rules).
I added a bit more at the end that should help with understanding the meaning of the original comment. That Royal Commission had some lenders chastised for their earlier lending practises, and many lenders then needed to change the way they did business. This lead to “very little difference between lenders” today.
Hope that helps somewhat,
Benny
Thanks Steven and Steve,
I’d long been confused how Sydney could be reported as having a $1.3m as highest median by one company (a few years back now) while others report other lower values as being the highest. ABS shows $1.05m as being the highest THEY have ever recorded in Sydney (Jun 2017). Steve, perhaps your comment here serves me best re that point:-
The challenge is understanding what median house price represents as a statistical measure (i.e. median vs. mean), and how the data is collected and analysed. As they saying goes: garbage in, garbage out, so the data being reported is only as good as the data being captured and analysed.
The difference in approach accounts for how different data series can provide different values off the same raw data.
And also, I liked your comment re the “Trend” in median values as having some use. I recall you teaching to “find a favourable trend” or words like that, and to jump on it. So yeah, even a dubious median that is updated regularly might provide a reasonable trend to follow, even though the individual posted amounts might be overstated. True? Or am I dreaming with that thought?
Thanks too, Steven – sounds like you’ve found your way without using a median value at all. And if that works for you, then well done.
Benny
