One of the issues is that a lot of credit card debt is not at 16%. I’ve just been offered by one of my credit cards 6.99% fixed on up to $12000 unsecured. Maybe the RBA needs to tackle credit card debt another way.

There are 2 very interesting books I’ve read in the last 2 years:

debtand delusion by peter warburton

and an Amercican book…[Read more]

It would seem that what Anastasia is proposing is not for the primary purpose of tax minimisation, but probably for some other valid reason eg to protect assets as the 1% owner might be at risk of being sued, or to make it easier and cheaper for the 99% owner to borrow as both parties are in the finance application rather than having personal…[Read more]

Basically as an Australian resident you are taxed under Australian tax laws on all income including capital gains irrespective of whether it is gained in Australia or elsewhere.

Suggest you seek very competent professional advice before you start.

Why don’t you just speak to the banks or credit unions with branches in Canowindra or Gooloogong

Good points Rugbyfan. I’d also suggest follow the town for a while if it’s a mining town. Go and read the back copies of the papers in the library if you can for a couple of years. Mining towns seem to go in boom/bust cycles. Even if the ore is there and can be extracted cheaply they’re at the mercy of overseas prices and foreign exchange…[Read more]

What are your objectives? Does purchasing one or both of these properties help you achieve these?

What is the likely future of the town? Is it stable or is a major employer such as a council, abattoir, likely to close or relocate? I find many country towns give good income returns but poor capital growth. However, I know many people who have…[Read more]

One method of pricing in a tender is something like “$50.00 above the highest tender to a maximum of $X”. This means that your price need not be thousands above the next highest, but that if someone has gone over your limit you are still protected.

crj

As a general rule Australia asserts jurisdiction to tax its residents on their foreign source income including CGT. Interposition of non-resident companies or trusts will raise a number of other complex issues which would need specific professional advice.

James

What you’re thinking was tried several years ago by a lot of farmers and businesses. The problem is that if you’re borrowing $US the lender wants $US back. This is OK if the $A keeps rising or only falls a couple of % during the term of the loan. But if the $A falls say to 64c (I think there was something in one of the financial pages…[Read more]

Warialda is the headquarters of Yallaroi Shire. Not sure what the latest thinking is up there re local govt amalgamation, but they are talking about amalgamation with Bingara. It’s a service centre for the rural district around it.

http://www.warialda.communitytechnology.net.au/about_ctc/

will give you some information

There’s also a bit in an…[Read more]

Is there a bank or credit union where you are looking at buying? If so, that financial institution would probably lend for that location

Elysium-M

We had a clause in the contract on how it would be calculated and what would happen if there was disagreement, but just relied on a real estate opinion. No major change in prices had occurred

crj

Start by talking with the planning department in the council the land is situated on what their requirements and what they permit and what their costs are.

Where are the services to the property eg wateer, sewerage, electricity. If the property is subdivided will this be a problem eg does the sewer connection run across the middle of the land to…[Read more]

Toby,

The secret in partnerships is not the words on the paper but the people involved. I’ve been in partnerships and advised people on partnerships over the years.

Partnerships have a better chance of working if partners respect each other, have common value systems. Complementary skills are often valuable. Look at some scenarios:
eg what if…[Read more]

I’ve done this twice. first with a PPOR in a country town where rental accommodation was scarce. Two other single people and i purchased a house. We had an agreement about getting out. We did not use the house as security and each did our own borrowings. After one year one person, a teacher, was transferred and the other person and I bought…[Read more]

My worst tenant came with the property. I changed managing agents when I settled because the agent when I purchased had let the tenant instal Pay TV despite being behind in rent. The original managing agent had told me what a good tenant this person was. Tenant almost straightened out arrears as we put them on Centrelink then his de facto left.…[Read more]

Rancid,

It seems to me that what you’re asking about is risk management which is understandable when you’ve had an expensive unexpected repair and vacancies. There are some risk management strategies referred to but probably not specifically what you’re seeking. On the other hand if your property is positive cashflow what you make each week…[Read more]