Tax minimisation is not illegal there are many legal ways of reducing you overall tax liability.

An Australian would use a trust in NZ to buy property to:
1.Provide asset protection,
2.Avoid any possible death duties and/or gift duties that may arise now or in the future,
3. Allow for the accumulation of losses to be carried forward,
4. Enable…[Read more]

Hi Milly,
I suggest you get an assessment of how bad the problem is first, it may only be with the verandah.Complete restumping may or may not be required and you don’t want to spend money unnecessarily. You do however, need to stop further deterioration.

Your income is derived from having a liveable house to rent out, you need to protect that…[Read more]

Latest Property News
Friday 4 June 2004
Our web site

Bubble will not burst in the short term

In a report outlining their expectations for Australian property markets between 2004-2007, market forecasters BIS Shrapnel have predicted the housing market will flatten out during 2004/05 but will not experience a large scale drop in prices as other…[Read more]

Do any of you listen to what happens in the US at all?

Unfortunately our markets are influenced by what happens there. Alan Greenspan has just announced he will take every possible step to curb inflation – I read that as putting interest rates up.

When he puts rates up it paves the way for NZ and Aus to put rates up. Rates go up, demand goes…[Read more]

Scott, how far have you gone with this?

Have you been to a broker with the figures? Have you spoken with a valuer? Have you asked the vendor to leave some money in at ?% interest?

You need to determine how much you will require as a deposit. I once paid the deposit on a house with a credit card at 28% interest. This was a short term measure…[Read more]

Try contacting some real estate agents and commercial valuers.

Many valuations and sales of commercial properties will be based on the income streams so the information should be available.

Cheers
Jeff

You say you are unable to finance the deal yourself but have not said why.

What would the property value up at?, how much can you borrow on the property?, do you have equity in other properties?, have you looked at unsecured finance, or vendor finance or even a partner?

It is difficult to assist without all the information. Firstly I would look…[Read more]

Hi James

Some banks will allow you to open overseas bank accounts from Aus, some won’t.

Westpac allowed us to open an Aus account from NZ but the BNZ, which is owned by NAB wouldn’t.

And yes, you can access it via the internet. You would just download your statements via th net. Ask for a low fee account.

If you have your NZ transactions go…[Read more]

We’ve established that commercial loans can be called in, so that’s not an issue.

The question here is can a home loan be called in due to negative equity even though it is performing.

My question is at what time is a homeloan on an IP deemed a commercial loan? How many IP’s can you have before the banks say this is not a consumer loan it is a…[Read more]

Hi Del,

Firstly it depends on how much you are borrowing.
Secondly, is there any possibility you may wish to reduce the loan or break the term of the loan?

One possibility is to split the loan – part fixed interest and part floating, it gives you a dollar each way

Cheers
Jeff

Yes Misty1,

Repairing the existing driveway is fully deductible in the year the expense is incurred.

If however, you were to up grade the driveway (eg seal it when it was originally gravel)then this would considered an improvement and is capital expenditure.

Cheers
Jeff

Nat R

The “erosion” of equity is something all investors must be aware of – it does happen and can result in negative equity, hence this discussion.

There is nothing to be concerned about – at least if you are aware of the consequences you can take appropriate steps to protect yourself.

Adding value, improving rents, fixing interest rates and…[Read more]

Quote: He told us that many loans written today, have a clause that allows the lender to trigger a mortgage sale if the equity/debt ratio shifts too much.

Nat R, you said this was fiction. I for one completely refinanced my commercial portfolio late last year to provide more flexibility and to lock in some low interest rates. The bank stipulated…[Read more]

Hi Birdy
The percent return on your share of the property is: $15367.50 / (165000 + 6000?), depending on your total set up costs = 8.99%

You say your repayments are $930 pcm, which I assume is on the total $171000 loan and part of which is P&I, and your income is $1280 pcm.

This gives you a positive cash flow of $350 pcm (1280-930). You have…[Read more]

Hi abundance,

This will vary based on the applicable regulations governing each small business.

You main concern will involve building and fire codes, eg how many people safely within a building, appropriate exits, fire systems etc.

The list goes on.

Check with the council as a starting point

Cheers
Jeff

This negative equity issue is going to be a bargain hunters paradise

Always looking
Jeff

The reason the value can be important even though the cashflow remains is that the banks may require further security or recall their loan.

A real domino effect, refer to my earlier post on page 1

Cheers
Jeff

I’ve never been in your situation Bob, and you have paid a commission. Your issue is should you pay it twice – I think not. Seems as though the REI should sort it out or divvy up the commission.

Many times I have been approached directly by a would be purchaser after being introduced to the property by an agent. The success of my property…[Read more]

Jimbo,

Would your friend from the UK be an Arsenal supporter, or dare I say it, a Milwall supporter?

Cheers
Jeff

Do you think there maybe some “bargains” to be had in Sydney at the moment?

Cheers
Jeff