I don’t think Margaret Lomas sees herself as a ‘Jan Somers’. They’re very different people. Margaret is a financial planner, so she is cautious. She is however a planner who loves direct investing in property, so that sets her apart from many planners.

Freedom mentioned that seminar a few weeks ago that Margaret and I fronted. Yep, there would…[Read more]

I’m not an accountant, but I’ll answer anyway.

You’ve got part of the story, Pete.

1. Depreciation claimed on the building has an impact upon CGT calculations, but not depreciation claimed on the Plant i.e. Fixtures and Fittings/Depreciable Assets. And in most cases the depreciation claimed on those items in the first 5 years is greater than…[Read more]

I’ll offer an objective, polite answer to your quite innocent question, Alvin.

I’ve got city and country properties.

Yes, I’ve bought properties without seeing them and done well. Of course, I bought a couple before people like me from shitty big cities started buying indiscriminantly and pushing the prices up, so I rode that wave.

In…[Read more]

It’s very easy to ‘go wrong’ in Mt Isa. We’ve got some clients who have done just that. It’s a town that is fairly spread out. As you’d expect, there are good places to invest and lousy ones. I’ve got QS who travels there for us (to do Tax Depreciation Schedule work). According to him: ‘When the mine is doing well, the town does well.’ Rents are…[Read more]

Sounds good to me. I’ve got a couple of places in Sydney.

In answer to your question, what you should try for is a good property manager who is going to do their job. And they’re not easy to find.

I honestly don’t see the point in choosing a PM solely on their management %. Do you choose the cheapest accountant? A PM is managing an investment…[Read more]

Hi Andrew,
In the sale of commercial property, there are often written-down values of assets noted in the contract of sale. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a residential contract with written-down values of assets.
Essentially, what we do is put a value on the assets – stove, carpet etc – as of the first available to let date. The best way to explain…[Read more]

Small blocks of units have always been good for me. I’ve got a couple of blocks at the moment – one in Tasmania performs particulary well. It’s 6 x 1 bedroom units. There is a fairly high turnover of tenants and they tend to be single men, but when I’ve got one vacant I’ve still got income from 5. You need a good property manager.

I’d use a buyers agent. Won’t cost you anything. Get in touch with Minimogul or Westan on this site.

Calder,

Just email your name and job number if possible. (Better also send the property address as a cross check.) One of the boys will call you and get your credit card number and they’ll refund the discount.

scott@depreciator.com.au

And beware of anybody quoting 4% (vs 2.5%)building depreciation allowance on these properties (and on holiday units) based on the interpretation of ‘Short Term Traveller’. I went to an AIQS (Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors) and ATO seminar last week. The ATO said this is something they’re on the lookout for.
I’ve got an Interpretative…[Read more]

I understood what Paulusi was getting at.

And I’m all for shuffling things around.

I still think that if the Abbotsford property is well situated, I would hang onto it.

At least it hasn’t dropped in value like some inner city apartments. To me that implies she didn’t pay an inflated price.

Paulusi said she would would be losing money if she…[Read more]

Not sure that I’d be too hasty getting rid of a property in Abbotsford. There may be a pause in prices now, but it’s a great suburb. Granted, there are some less than great parts in every suburb. Where is the property?
Scott

Don’t forget to also consider the CGT issues down the track in declaring income from your PPOR and claiming expenses. Discuss this with your accountant.
Scott

Sorry yuyu,
I missed your message on the 20th. We’ve got Quantity Surveyors in all capital cities and many regional areas. Head office is in Sydney and we co-ordinate everything from here.
Scott – 1300 660033.

If it’s your key board at the office, just wait till everyone goes home and swap it. That’s what I do. Problem solved.

We’ve got a dud phone, too – it ‘crackles’. There are a dozen or so phones in the office and I reckon every two weeks I end up with the dud one. Nobody ever talks about it, but everyone knows it does the rounds and that when they…[Read more]

Hi Greenjoy,

If you don’t need the schedules for your 04 tax, you might as well wait.

(And bear in mind I’ve got a vested interest in encouraging people to do them ASAP.)

What you might consider is getting them done when the properties are between tenants – it makes it much easier for everyone.

If you’ve got any questions about prices, timing’…[Read more]

I spoke to an agent in Armidale last year – sort of a friend of the family. I wasn’t looking for property, it was a social chat.

He happened to mention that there was a story doing the rounds of the local real estate agents that a Sydney investor had bought 24 houses over the phone through one agent.

Not sure if it was true or not. I do know…[Read more]

Hi Mini,

Walk-up = no elevator. So they’re usually 3 floors max. Perhaps a dozen flats. You’d know the ones I mean.

The buildings are often very sound and not having an elevator removes a potential maintenance headache. I also like the high ceilings.

Around Double Bay and Rose Bay there are some nice old blocks. And some lousy ones.

There are…[Read more]

Mini is right. I reckon Double Bay is great value – especially some of those old walk-ups.

Renovating in Surry Hills or Darlinghurst is a challenge. Some tradesmen I know aren’t keen on the area. Of course, you might be doing the work yourself. You may have the same issues as they do. Some tradies don’t like it because it’s often hard to park…[Read more]

You might also do a search of the forum. There was a really long string a month or so ago about Peter Spann and he was an active contributor to it.