WJ Hooker wrote:
Lachlan,               Doesn't sound like a good idea to me. Why would your friend want your name on his half of the house? Are you going to marry your friend? And if you decide not to pay the bills then your friend will have to pay the lot !

Agreed. That's an awful lot of trust this friend has in you Lachlan

I'd imagine it would be ok. The FHOG should only apply to whoever has their name on the title not who services or guarantors the loan.It would be best to confirm with someone else though.

kum yin lau wrote:
The cost of setting up a trust may be not much, mine was $1600 but thereafter, administering the trust means accounting / audit fees etc. You need to ensure that any tax advantages are more than what it costs else you may end up losing money.

Hi Kum Yin Lau,Yeah I was considering the costs involved a while back. But if I was…[Read more]

Excellent, it seems like I've got all my questions covered. Thanks for taking the time to walk me through it! You're an account right? I'll send you a PM if you can help me set up a trust in the near future. (I'm a Sydney resident by the way)

Oh wait, I think I see where you're going.You distribute enough income to your wife, kids and yourself to cover living/comfort expenses and then require all other beneficiaries to return their share as a gift to the trust. You then use the money placed back in the trust to invest further and much more efficiently since you haven't paid a large CG…[Read more]

Hi Dan,You say I can enter an arrangement (not an agreement) to have the beneficiary gift back their distribution. In other words, this arrangement is not governed by law. Correct?When the beneficiaries gift back to the trust, it will remain with the trust and not myself? If this is so, then I'd be going in circles wouldn't I? Or can I distribute…[Read more]

reno209 wrote:
Last year, I deducted over $4K back as depreciation on my 2 bedroom unit, which is 9 years old. If you have positive cashflow, I think you can still claim the depreciation as a loss, which may turn your positive cashflow into negative gearing for the tax man. (Check these facts, I'm still new at all of this).

Hi Reno & B…[Read more]

Hi Dan,Thanks for clarifying. One more question though:If I set a large number of beneficiaries and distribute income to unemployed or low income earners to reduce the amount of tax payable, how is this taxed income then distributed back to myself and my partner? Is it simply a matter of trusting my beneficiaries to transfer the money to me, or…[Read more]

Hi Dan, Yes, that's what I was trying to say.When you said:

Dan42 wrote:
The trust, in its deed sets who can receive distributions from the trust income, and 'benefit' from the trust. The deeds are usually set so that you can choose to distribute to yourself, your kids, your parents, nieces, nephews, and any other entities associated with you,…[Read more]

Richard,In my case, I intend on building a portfolio large enough to support financial freedom for myself and my partner. So I like the idea of a Discretionary Trust protecting our IP's. Eventually I would like to obtain large income producing assets. i.e. Commercial Property.So if I set up my Trust now I will be prepared for future activities. I…[Read more]

Hi Richard,Just to clarify… I understand the requirement of living in the PPOR for 6 months within the first 12 months of settlement. And that stamp duty is waived in NSW for first home buyers (sorry if I'm using the wrong vocabulary here).What do you mean by rushing in with the setup of the Trust structure? In order to buy my first IP using the…[Read more]

Kiyosaki's always good… his good friend, Dolf de Roos, wrote his own book "Real Estate Riches" – It was part of the Rich Dad advisor series, not sure if it still is today though: http://www.dolfderoos.com/books/rer.php

Hi Richard,I didn't know you could fulfil the requirements of the FHOG without "living" in the property, as long as you're renovating it during that time. That could make things very beneficial for myself as I am yet to buy my first property.At first I thought chasing this boost in the FHOG would be a waste if property prices continue to drop. i.e…[Read more]

Hi Barnseee,First of all, if your first investment property has become positive cash flow, you should be happy – making money is a good thing (that's why you're investing, right?).I think the best thing to do would to be buy cheap and add value through a renovation and sell quickly. As buying big and holding may turn out ugly in the current…[Read more]

BUMP!Time for some more good news I say 

Linar wrote:
Hi freelance2020I read one comment this morning about how a bank should be sued for lending a young investor $400,000 to buy a property!!  This is not a helpful comment or strategy.  It is just offensive and I am sick of seeing every post turn into a self congratulatory rant.K

Haha I just read that post too I think the current m…[Read more]

I thought the real sophisticated investors made more money in a depressed market as panic sets in for others.I was expecting many on this forum to be excited about new strategies to tackle the current market and would happily share these views and opinions.  

You make a good point Linar Thanks!

Alliance,Steve's book 0 to 260+ properties was published late 2006

Thanks for the tip Michael. I'm in Sydney, but I will ask nonetheless.I'll let you know what happens next week.Cheers,Lance