Contact the CPA/NIA or Institute of Chartered Accountants. They should have a list of equivalents which are acceptable.

Yan, a real estate agent's role is to sell the property for the maximum price acheivable for the vendor, they work for the seller and look after the seller's interests. They are not your buddy, friend etc, they are there to seal the deal. They may try to convince you that the property is worth $500k but you will need to get the agent to provide…[Read more]

jedka wrote:
Hi, new to forum,am so confused as to what to do.Real Estate friend of mine wants us to invest in an apartment in Northcote Vic,main road trams running into CBD trendy shopping center all that.My issue is  the price,  $500,000. I've never invested in property before,my super has gone down quite a bit and he suggests this is the w…[Read more]

Property law differs in every state. In some states Trusts have the benefit of the threshold for land tax, in others there is no such benefit.

Narelle, it is a capital loss hence it cannot be offset against income (only against capital gains). The loss can be carried forward indefinitely.

AS, once the contract is exchanged it is the purchaser who has the 5 days cooling off only, the vendor cannot recind the contract after exchange. The worst that can happen is that the vendor fails to settle on the appointed date then your solictor needs to serve a notice to complete (and then follow due process in order to get specific…[Read more]

Yan, your borrowings will be capped to what the valuers have provided to your financier ie 80% (without LMI) will be less than $400k. There are 2 courses of action – 1 retract your offer, wait and see if they are prepared to drop their price to what the banks will approve (nerve racking if you are keen on the property). 2 seek a second valuation…[Read more]

1) Spray with PVA, seal the area to be worked in with plastic over doors/windows, wear dust suit and a 2 cartridge breathing filter2) No test that you can do yourself

dacium wrote:
Property is still going up nearly 20% per year on average and with the shortage worsening, not getting better, and interest rates dropping, we are set for property to boom even more. If interest rates stay low we are going to have booming prices as all the people paying high rent will be looking to buy. I don't know about you but…[Read more]

Most architectural fees are for capital works (ie renovations, new building, repairs etc), they form an integral part of the building (lasts as long as the building) hence they must be capitalised. Whereas, if the architect is engaged to advise on asset planning and utilisation, it is more likely to be an expense.

It depends on what you are trying to achieve. Money sitting in an offset account can be used for any purpose without an eyelid being raised. Whereas, if you use your redraw facility (against an IP), you will need to keep track of the expenditure if it has been used for anything other than investment/investment related expenses eg…[Read more]

GST registration is only required where your turn over exceeds $75k, below that it is voluntary.

Morgan, generally you will find that old lino tiles used asbestos (white or brown) as a cheap filler in the tile base. They are fibres. So you probably will not find it in the glue or underlay below the tiles it is inside the tiles themselves – so wear appropriate PPE when removing the tiles and do not break them up as they will release their…[Read more]

Warning using pure acid – start with a dilute solution first (acid into water, not the other way around). You may consider a weaker acid first eg cleaning vinegar but you willneed to washit off

Sounds like the typical pest controller scam. Puts a card under every door & gets a 60% response. If you are concerned get an inspection done, if you know what to look for, do it yourself (mud trails, leaks, obvious signs of activity etc).

Try bloombergs (by subscription)

LJ, the money in an offset account is your money, it can be accessed at any time and is not regarded as redrawing funds or a new loan so you can use it any way that you like. A line of credit is essentially a new loan and you will need to watch what costs that you put on this account eg rates, land tax etc or new clothes, holidays etc – the latter…[Read more]

Have a look at Stayz (owned by Fairfax). This may be worth a consideration as it is a high traffic website and fees are reasonable (well, they used to be minimal going back a couple of years).The full service booking websites do take a fair chunk ie 10% plus however you are getting a seemless web booking facility which includes taking…[Read more]

Basically you are creating 2 lots hence 2 titles and 2 lots of rates etc. There may be some compliance issues as well such as providing separate water and sewer connections if these haven't already been installed.

It sounds like it may be more efficient for you to engage a builder after having gone to tender, that way the builder becomes responsible for all site issues. I have yet to see a PM who gets out of bed before 7.00am. If the PM is charging 30% that is an absolute joke!!! Builders may charge 10-15% and it may pay to do a schedule of rates contract…[Read more]