Hi Steve,Property only has to be less than 20 years old to claim depreciation on the building. But for any property you can claim depreciation on items inside the property such as the water heater, curtains, blinds, carpet, oven, light fittings. The ATO has a list of over 1400 items that you can claim depreciation on.I don't propose to be an…[Read more]

Hi Richard,On that note, can you refer a good property accountant?CheersMike

Hi Steve,Several tips for you.1. The housing cycle in Sydney is at the bottom (I believe), so now is probably the worst time to sell, when in a years time, you may have a decent capital gain, if you wanted to sell then.2. Make sure your loan is Interest Only – that will reduce your monthly repayments3. If you don't have a mortgage offset a…[Read more]

Hi,I had Lasik surgery done by Dr Rogers (Eye Institute) at Chatswood in Sydney 4 years ago. I'm 40 now. It cost me $4000 all up then. Was the best thing I have ever done. I had surgery at 1.30pm on a Friday, on Saturday morning I had 20/20 vision, and I haven't looked back since.I was told that I "might" need to wear reading glasses when I get…[Read more]

Hi Steve,Thanks for lettings us know your situation. I certainly wish your wife all the best and hopes she's ok. Also wish you well, looking after everything.cheersmike

Thanks for taking the time to reply Steve. Sorry for being sceptical, but I guess unless we know exactly how you did it, there's an "air" of incredulity about going from 0-130 (or 260+) with very little capital up front. From your **sigh**, I assume that many people are sceptical. I am only trying to understand the process you used,…[Read more]

I tend to agree with you cattleya, I think the method that trakka describes above using various trusts to fund the investments is unethical. I also suspect that finding positively geared properties is almost impossible in today's world, unless you have the cash up front for a sizable deposit.