I know a fantastic one – Alan Webb-Mole from BTS Financial Services (60561929). He was quoted in The Australian and the The Age (along with us) recently in relation to the upcoming big changes to depreciation rules.
Scott

My guys down there tell me the boom is well and truly over for the time being at least. According to them Melbourne and Sydney buyers drove the prices up, but there has been little movement of late. I would expect prices to pull back in the winter. I bought in Somerset this time last year.
Scott

Morning MarkyMark,
In answer to your questions:

Question 1
You said:
the place would need to be tenanted for a while before you can legitimately claim for any repairs.
Because there is a tenant does that satisfy this requirement?

Nope. You need to own the property and have it rented (or available for rent) for a while before you can claim…[Read more]

Something else that occurred to me. If you were to strictly toe the ATO line, there is an argument that anything you do before renting a property out constitutes a ‘cost of aquisition’ and as such is only claimable in that it can increase your cost base upon sale for the calculation of CGT. It’s a bit of a grey area and could be argued, but any…[Read more]

I can give a comment, but no tricks – the ATO are going to be carrying out lots of audits this year and I would advise against trying to be tricky.
It sort of depends on what you’re planning to do and the age of the property . If you’re throwing out carpets, blinds, stove etc, you may be able to claim the residual depreciation on those items when…[Read more]

I’m seeing my accountant this week as I do every May to work out what I need to do between now and June 30 to improve my tax position. I’ve paid a fair bit of tax this year, so pre-paying some of next year’s interest will be one outcome. And of course I’ll be whipping up some Tax Depreciation Schedules on properties I’ve bought in the last 12 months.
Scott

You’d need to get them seperately metered – water and power, too. And there would be fire issues. I’m also curious to know what;s involved in this sort of exercise as I have a couple of blocks that might be suitable.
I imagine the best way to work out the value of the units when converted to strata title would be to look at comparable properties…[Read more]

Dom, just call the council. My guys get asked this question a dozen times a day – our clients need to furnish us with a construction date so we can do Tax Depreciation Schedules for them. Many councils can answer the question over the phone. Sometimes you have to fax a request. I’d be surprised of they charge you. They will have a building…[Read more]

I heard from a broker yesterday that some banks are dropping their LVRs for new units in some specific Sydney and Melbourne suburbs to 60%. If it’s true, that’s a sign.

Not sure whether there’s any surf, Robo. I’ve never been there. It’s on the north coast.

I’m facing the same dilemma. I’ve got a property in Tasmania and my neighbour is keen to sell – we’re having a boundary dispute and I’ve worn them down. The price they’re asking is more than it’s worth, but if I buy it I’ll have a 2,000+ sqm site across the road from the beach. I’m thinking of a future development (in time for the next boom). For…[Read more]

I’ll be selling a +cf property later this year because I want to buy a fishing boat that will lose value the moment it hits the water.
How’s that for a lousy investment decision.

Gee, another QS question.
My price (Depreciator) is $715 GST inc. That’s for any type of residential property in all capital cities (except Hobart). I also have guys on the ground in lots of regional centres and the price is the same – Cairns, Townsville, Bundaberg, Rockhampton, Gladstone, the Sunshine, Gold and Tweed Coasts, Coffs Harbour etc…[Read more]

I’d give Depreciator a call. But then I’m biased. I’ve got 70+ Quantity Surveyors in my network and cover all capital cities + lots of regional areas. Nobody else offers this coverage. And we’ve got a guarantee! All we do is depreciation, too, so we’re up to speed on all the latest rule changes. There are 4 guys waiting right now to answer any…[Read more]

Re: the Reno Kings. From what I recall one key to their method of adding value is being able to reconfigure a house and find an extra bedroom, or bung a deck on and add some french doors. It’s easier to do this with ‘queenslanders’ i.e. timber houses. So if you live in, say, Sydney where housing stock tends to be of brick construction, you may…[Read more]

Hi Taz,

I reckon Derek covered most of what I would have said. A note on Structural Improvements (renovations) – they can be depreciated if they were carried out after February 26, 1992. This can include exterior work, too – driveways etc. Getting a date on improvements made by a previous owner can be tricky.
The cost of getting a Tax…[Read more]

Flash,
You may not find a list of percentages, but you will find a list of effective lives. The ATO has decreed the effective life of many items (though you can self assess). This life drives the depreciation percentage. Carpet, for example, has an ATO effective life of 10 years. Using the Prime Cost method, it can be depreciated at 10% per year…[Read more]

Disreputable providers of Tax Depreciation Schedules may try to tell people that past schedules need to be revised. The ATO has clarified the fact that the new rules will apply to properties purchased after July 1 this year, which should make alot of people breath easier. There will still be some confusion this tax season – I called the ATO on…[Read more]

Nope, not very disciplined either. But very successful – must be luck.

Like tax agents and accountants, most Quantity Surveyors welcome the clarity of the new gudelines. Whenever the ATO make some grey areas a bit more black and white it makes everybody’s job a bit easier. We’ve done some backtesting on recent schedules and found that many investors who buy houses may be better off. As Julia said, always be very wary…[Read more]