Yep, trusts are probably the way to go, although you won’t be able to get the 12 month CGT concession if you do so.

If you just buy property using a company, it’s also going to be difficult getting your capital out – there’s a bit of red tape you’ve got to go through.

At the end of the day, you need to work out what actually works best for your…[Read more]

A friend of mine who worked in Japan teaching English for several years told me that sumo wrestlers need to use the “towel support” position when consummating. ’nuff said – getting too risque.

Cheers
Elysium-M

Interesting how they mentioned Warren Borsje. I went to his $30 conference a few years ago. The first flashy property investing seminar I’d ever been to. I was so impressed I signed up for the expensive weekend conference, paying by instalments. I couldn’t go to the conference because of work, and called them up to cancel. They said sure, we’ll…[Read more]

Harvey Norman had a special deal on – subscribe to Telstra bigpond broadband, and get a free XBox!

I love my $69.95/mth unlimited download broadband connection. Everything’s really fast, I can post replies really quickly, never have to worry about getting disconnected, and I’m going to get hooked up to XBox Live! soon.

The other great thing is…[Read more]

Yeah – it happens to me from time to time too, and I’ve got broadband. I think there’s some technical reason for it, although I’m no technophile and can’t for the life of me figure out why.

I’ve found that ANZ doesn’t increase the premiums when you pay monthly.

What do you think about ANZ landlord’s insurance?

Cheers
Elysium-M

Hi gen,

I might be a bit slow, but I’m a bit confused. You say that you have “recently purchased” the property. Then you say you haven’t signed the contract.

Which is it? I think this makes a big difference in what you can actually do.

I agree with kay henry – does the price already reflect the restumping problem? How does the price compare to…[Read more]

I can’t wait for the papers and TV shows to start spouting property doom and gloom. Means that sellers will be less unrealistic about asking prices. Better start saving up deposits!

Cheers
Elysium-M

Hi guys,

The only catch is that the property, since it’s an asset of the super fund, cannot be mortgaged. That would be illegal.

You’ll need to set up a unit trust to buy the property. The super fund buys units to the value of the deposit. You borrow the rest from the bank and use that to buy units as well, so that the trust has sufficient money…[Read more]

Hi richmond,

Sounds pretty good!

Wish I had a $200,000 capital gain on any of my properties!

And hey congrats on getting married! Here’s to a long and happy one! [^]

Cheers
Elysium-M

I thought that the point of Steve’s story was that he did buy the property for fair market price, and it was Steve’s pre-settlement renovations that increased the value. As such, I didn’t get the impression that the agent was incompetent, just shamelessly unreasonable. An extra bedroom and renovations do make a big difference in the price, you…[Read more]

Thanks for the encouraging words, Kay!

Yeah – if you want to take it to the next level, where do your obligations as a professional spotter end? Are theere additional duties imposed on you, for example to make sure that there’s no problems with the house? If you recommend a lemon, are you exposing yourself to being sued for negligence? Do you…[Read more]

Hi richmond,

If I understand what you’re saying, your wife initially declared to the ATO that the property was essentially an investment property (ie by claiming the interest payments as a tax deduction). But now you’re saying it’s actually her PPOR, and you’re offering to pay back the tax refunds relating to those deductions.

I’m no tax expert,…[Read more]

Hi devilCV8,

From memory, the banks only ask for the last 6 months’ statements. If you missed your payment in Sep 03, it’s only 2 more months to March, when your 6 month statement won’t show the missed payment.

Unless the bank specifically asks you if you’ve missed a payment, I don’t see why you need to tell them if you’ve given them all the…[Read more]

Is it near a university? Rent each room out to a student. $100 per week per room (assuming you’ve got 4 bedrooms, as most new houses seem to nowadays), you’re now pulling in $400 per week, which should put you in positive cash flow territory.

More tenants means more hassles, and common areas become an issue you need to keep an eye on, but think…[Read more]

Speaking of audits, receipts and excel spreadsheets. I think that you still need to keep all your receipts. If you get audited and you don’t have the proof of expense, that expense might be rejected by the ATO.

Cheers
Elysium-M

Hi Matt,

When I was much younger, I wish I had my head screwed on right, and someone told me about investing in property. Not just “you should buy property”, but how I should be investing. Unfortunately, there were no books like Steve’s back then, and I watched Wall Street once too often.

I just want to suggest the following:

Don’t be in a rush…[Read more]

I know I’m always the wet blanket, but if you’re going to be running a business which essentially involves collecting a commission from the sale of property (as opposed to merely doing occasional spotting and getting a fee for that), you’re probably going to either need:

a real estate agent’s licence for the relevant State(s) in which you’re…[Read more]

Hey Risky,

I don’t know what State you’re buying in, so can only give you one piece of advice: Check the fine print in your contract.

Of course, if you bought sight unseen, and the property was already in that condition when you made your offer, you might not be in a good position.

Cheers
Elysium-M

Hi Michael,

Thanks for your response.

I agree that having a good legal agreement helps avoid problems – that was the whole thrust of my first post. However, I (respectfully) don’t see how that supports your point regarding partnership liability.

The terms “joint venture” and “partnership” have fundamentally different legal natures. Many people…[Read more]