Hi there
if you are refinancing it will depend on the limit the existing mortgage is set at – as you may not need to pay more stamp duty if it is the same amount – if it will increase your borrowings – you may just have to stamp for the increase and notify the OSR of the existing mortgage duty paid to get the credit for that amount,
thanks

HI there
I think this would be one of the times you really would want to put a caveat on the property noting your interest and putting the mortgagee on notice that there is a bona fide purchaser for value that has an interest in the property.

I would think it would just tend to bring any settlement forward as the mortgagee would need to deal with the new purchaser who would have a prior interest to any potential purchaser of the property.  You would be in a stronger position if there was an existing contract not just an option to purchase.

As Terry has highlighted the knowledge of the parties at the time – and whether the contract is intended to defeat creditors is a factor – whether any clawback occurs. 

If there are any concerns – why not have a clause that you can accelerate settlement and bring it forward if there were any problems with the vendor not paying his mortgage commitments.
thanks

HI there
you may like to do a search of the site as you will see this has come up before. Residential property normally cannot be transferred into a self managed super fund because it will infringe the in house asset rules.  Commercial property can be held in a fund.
Just remember that a self managed fund can't borrow – so you will be tying up equity in your fund you can't use at a later stage
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HI there
depending upon where you are – will determine who you approach.  If you are in a major city – perhaps contact some of the body corporate managers in your area – who can help you with the strata process.  Your first inquiries will be with council to find out their requirements, you will also need to speak with a surveyor who will prepare the relevant plan, you then will need to speak with either a solicitor or the body corporate manager you propose to utilised to prepare the necessary documents for your titles office.
Hope that gives you an idea of where to start
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Yes. The general reassessment power in the Taxation Administration Act 2001 can apply. A reassessment of duty will be made to allow the concession only where the occupancy requirements have been or will be met. That is, provided the transferee will start to occupy the property as their principal place of residence within 1 year of their transfer date. Available information: Revenue Ruling DA 2.1 clarifies " occupancy requirements".

Hi there

I think you will find that the expression is just highlighting to a purchaser that there is no individual owner involved – as you say there is a trustee involved which may result from a deceased estate or mortgagee sale or sometimes when there are disputes in family law/defacto situations – there is a court appointed trustee to sell the property – it just puts you on notice that you may have to check how that person became trustee to see if they are authorised properly to sell the property.thanks

Hi there
I think you need to find out what rates apply and the body corporate for the property – if it is a 30 year old property – it may be due for some renovations – and you would need to consider the sinking fund.  If these other costs are considered – you may find the return is about 5%
I note that a studio can be part of your portfolio but as you have highlighted – capital growth is not going to be a big factor
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Hi there
often with a settlement statement there will be a cheque for the bank/vendor or vendor's solicitor trust account, cheques for council for rates etc or if there is a body corporate – a cheque for them – and there usually will be a cheque for the vendor's solicitor – so the vendor's solicitor doesn't need to chase his client for funds from the settlement.
It does seem a lot though – so there may be an additional amount being paid from this settlement to the vendor's solicitor – because of something the vendor has asked his solicitor to do – so long as the amount all adds up – it doesn't matter how the vendor has his cheques – so long as he pays for any extra bank cheques required.

And yes – I beg to differ with the other comments – it is a usual thing

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Hi there
most accountants will have clients with self managed funds – why not contact one of the larger firms near you
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HI there
you  may also want to contact the BSA and get advice in this situation

If this guy wasn't properly licensed – the BSA may want to prosecute him.  Also see if there was some connection between the PM and the contractor.

I once acted for a real estate agent who was actually suing one of their former property managers who was directing work to a contractor who wasn't licensed with the BSA (who happened to be her fiance).  They didn't end up pursuing the matter as there wasn't likely to be money at the end of the day but the BSA still issued prosecution notices for the contractor – who went interstate to avoid them.

Also most real estate agents will have some policies only to employ properly licenced tradesman.  The PM in this instance may be acting contra to the workplace policies and could actually be considered negligent.

As has been highlighted above – getting the hotwater fixed pronto is probably an urgent repair that should be undertaken – using an unlicensed tradesman is not.  I would be contacting the principal of the real estate firm/community housing department and complaining.
thanks