Thanks so much for your responses!  It seems there are just no hard and fast rules with the ATO, so it pays to see a few educated opinions. 

Thanks so much for your comments! 

For my first one, I am planning on personally inspecting the property before buying, so the costing up hopefully won't be too much of an issue. 

This will also have the advantage of personally meeting the tradies before they start, which I'm hoping will that take away a bit if the anonamousness (!) and make them realise I'm a real person.

Regular 'meetings' are a very good idea and I think that outstanding communication will be the key to a successful long-distance reno.

Duckster – Re – Hire a Hubby and the Grey Army, what exactly did you use them for?  To manage the project / quaility control, or just odd jobs?

Property manager is a good idea, I know our current one will do that kind of thing for a fee, but we won't be tenanting the properties so they may not be quite so keen!

Thanks,
Jess

That's interesting about NSW – in my plan the option fee would be literally $1.00, so that opens up another new area to look into. 

Where is the best place to look / contact to keep on top of these regulations? 
 

Thanks so much for your responses!

The way I intend it to work is that I would add value to the property before onselling, so there 'should' be considerable gain on the option.  I'm very familiar with share/equity options, and can see so much potential with the equivalent property options but I need to know every detail about the ways to close.  

I'm focusing on residential property, so my plan (as it stands in baby-idea form) is basically to get an option, improve the property and sell the option / property for a profit (when it suits – I will also be using this strategy to purchase).  Ideally, this should allow me to renovate someone elses property without the cost of actually buying it first, then on-sell, also without owning the property.  Effectively becoming the middleman that facilitates the reno and sale of the property.  The difference between the option strike and the sales price less costs would be mine.  In theory.

Can you see any blindingly obvious flaws in this?   Particularly legal flaws?

That is exactly what I'm trying to do    I don't want ot be cross-collaterised.

Has anyone heard of Nooo Commissions before?  I just found them on the internet. 

I am perfectly happy to go for a non-bank lender, I have found them in the past to be way better than the big 4.  'My Rate' has been really good, but don't offer offset account, which i need this time.

Okay.  Thanks for your response!