Hi Ty

My husband has been made redundant twice, so it is a case of “been there, done that”.

Advice?

Get a good accountant’s advice as to the structure of your payout from your company to make sure you take advantage of the tax benefits in a redundancy payout. Things like the wording and the way the money is paid can make a huge difference to…[Read more]

Hi Louis

Sounds like you are close enough to ask people.

Forget the mayor and real estate agents and anyone else who has a vested interest.

Walk around and chat to the people you meet – people love to give advice and older people are often eager to chat. Find out if the number of kids at school are increasing or decreasing, look for empty…[Read more]

I find this site a bit on the slow side, and I am on broadband.

I have found that when I want to read a topic I right click and open it in a new window. When I have finished I simply close the window and the original list is still there. I have found this saves quite a bit of time rather than going forwards and backwards.
Marg

I recall reading about an ATO ruling for an individual that allowed deductions while holding a block of land. From my hazy memory it was a fairly exceptional set of circumstances that involved the intention to build a house, continual delays and then a complete change of circumstances which meant the house was never actually started despite all…[Read more]

Be aware of the increasing popularity of “fly-in fly-out” employment in mining towns where the worker’s family lives in a coastal city and the worker is flown in to work for a certain number of days then flown home for his/her days off. This reduces the demand for family homes.
Marg

Adam

It is contract date (purchase) to contract date (sale). Some advise waiting another day or two for the sale date just to be absolutely certain.

CGT is only one aspect, if you have a very good price offered you may decide to accept the certainty of the sale and pay the tax. After all, if you procrastinate the purchaser may decide not to…[Read more]

Despite owning IPs for 15 years or so I am an avid reader of RE and investment books, and can usually find something of interest or a new way of looking at things.

My main gripe with RE books is the way they gloss over maintenance issues. Hot water systems, range hoods, exhaust fans, stoves can have a life expectancy of around 10-15 years (less…[Read more]

“If anything I wouldnt mind using some of the equity on my parents home. The house is paid off valued at $420k, so since its been paid off does that mean there isnt any equity available?”

My husband and I worked long and hard to pay off our PPOR (as well as having IPs) and I would be very disappointed if one of my adult kids felt that the…[Read more]

Don’t even think about taking out Landlords Insurance in this case without disclosing that you have a non-paying tenant. That’s like ringing up to insure your house against fire after it has burnt down. You must disclose all material facts about a risk, whether it is specifically asked for or not. Otherwise you risk being accused of fraud – and…[Read more]

Inner city suburbs show greater increases in median prices than outer suburbs, but I can find no evidence that the cost of renovations are taken into account.

In Brisbane prime suburbs like Auchenflower and Bulimba have had spectacular growth over the last 10-20 years. But the houses of today are vastly different to the houses of 10-20 years…[Read more]

Hi Wayne

The only way to be absolutely sure would be to buy the block of land, build on it and live there, selling your present home if necessary.

There have been several well publicized court cases where views have been blocked despite covenants and even despite council “rules”, it all seems to end up in a very expensive and messy court case.…[Read more]

Hi Daniko

You will definitely get better capital gain from a house, but if you cannot afford a house then I think buying a unit is better than doing nothing.

Our first two IPs were units, we still have them. After 15 years they are worth about two and a half times what we paid for them.

It has been pointed out that that equals about 6% a…[Read more]

Surely the best place to start would be at the local council, someone there should be able to give you information on the requirements.
Marg

Hi Tera

I am no expert – you will be best to consult a solicitor and an accountant.

But for what they are worth, here are a few things that I have thought of.

My understanding is that you bought the unit for $170K with your partner, renovated it and it is now worth $200K.

You own 50% and will have to buy your partner’s 50%, which is now worth…[Read more]

Hi Tera

PPR/PPOR = principal (personal?)place of residence, i.e., where you live – not an IP (investment property)

FHOG = first home owner’s grant

Cheers
Marg

If you watched that program to the end you would have learned that the Rental Tribunal ordered that the tenants be released from their lease.

You are legally obliged to remedy any situations concerning safety, e.g., dodgy electricals. Apart from that, I work on the basis of maintaining the property in the condition it was in when the tenants…[Read more]

Be very careful.

Is this person a friend of yours? it sounds to me as if he/she is trying to remove assets that may be subject to a property settlement if his/her relationship has broken down.

There is absolutely no reason for a person to sell a $240K asset for $150K unless fraud of some sort is involved, which is something that it is probably…[Read more]

Our first two IPs are units, purchased 1990 and 1991. Units generally have slightly less capital gains than a house, but as you have found you require less money to get into the market. Each is now worth a bit over two and a half times what we paid for them.

In many ways they are an ideal first IP. The body corporate is responsible for all…[Read more]

If you want to invest in property then I would suggest contacting a lender or mortgage broker. They will run through all your assets, income etc and will be able to tell you how much you can borrow and what the costs are.

Then do your own sums and figure out what you can afford. The amount you can borrow will probably amaze you so don’t get…[Read more]

Check out the finance – some lenders require larger deposits if the floor area is less than a certain figure.
Marg