I have been advised that the best option would be to invest in my personal name as it is easier to borrow and trusts do not necessarily have any tax benefits.
An accounting structure summarises the way you own and control your wealth. The two options, from a high level, are: in your own name, in another entity (that you control).
The right structure is one that allows you to minimise your tax, maximise your asset protection, within the budget you have available to set it up and run it, and appropriate for your wealth creation plans.
As you can imagine, that last paragraph permits a variety of scenarios to all be both right and wrong, depending on the individual.
Owning real estate in your own name is definitely the cheapest option as far as set up and ongoing costs, but it comes with the lowest tax minimisation and asset protection options, and it also makes it very hard to scale. That said, if you want to negatively gear, then it is the best option available so you can offset the property net rental loss against your salary income (and with the Libs now returned there is no risk of this changing in the next few years).
Heck, this IS quite a story. It’s definitely one to get some legal advice on, but being a cowboy, will you be able to recover and collect anything even if you get a judgement? Is there any kind of insurance you can claim on? Government building scheme?
Thanks for the post. Wow. There was a bit in there!
Ive wanted to get involved in property ventures over the years but I cant borrow money because of my employment status and what most people at property seminars dont understand is that in order to play capitalism you need CAPITAL.
Very true! You need money to deploy – either yours (equity, savings) or someone else’s (JV, money partner, lender). Otherwise, the best way I know to create capital is to use the internet to monetise knowledge.
I have only one asset my apartment on the gold coast where I live with my family.
Hmmmm. This has me worried. Smart investors don’t use their homes as collateral unless absolutely necessary. It sounds like with a wife and young family, you need this home and you shouldn’t invest with assets and capital you can ill afford to lose.
You listed various options, but I am worried that options 1, 2 & 3 will be too capital intensive for you given you available cash and borrowing capacity. That said, perhaps scope some projects and see for yourself. As for tax liens, that boat has sailed – with the AUD lower and yielding assets in demand, the opportunity that was there re: tax liens in 2009 is not the same as the opportunity there in 2019.
Side note: you may find your ITIN has expired, or is about to, expire. They are only good for a finite period of time and have to be renewed.
It sounds to me that if you want to deploy your capital in real estate, then I would consider being someone else’s money or JV partner (noting what you said about not relating well, and hence the legal agreement will be important), or else buying in to some kind of listed / unlisted REIT structure.
Thanks for the post and welcome back. Wow – that’s a simple question with a complex answer.
First up, well done on your efforts thus far. It sounds like your hard work years ago is paying dividends now.
The question I’m wondering is whether you have a lifestyle issue (i.e. PPOR), or an investing issue (i.e. Return).
If it’s a lifestyle issue then only you can decide where you want to live, the style of the accommodation, etc. If it is an investment decision, then it is a question of working through the basics and forming a plan for scoping and finding your ideal IP.
Are you able to make it to my upcoming live 1-day seminar? If you are seeking an investing solution then that would be the best training you could possibly do in 2019.
It does sound like it is not a building defect, but rather improper waste being put down the sewer.
I suggest your friend get some legal advice, but as a starting point, if the blockage was caused on pipes in common property, then it would be a body corporate problem. If the blockage was in a unit’s premises, then it would be their problem. Ascertaining where the blockage occurred, and if possible who caused it, will help to work out who should compensate your friend for their damage.
Furthermore, does your friend have insurance? If so, I would be looking to see if I could make an insurance claim and leave it up to the insurer to seek recompense.
Finally, now it has happened once, what needs to happen in respect to maintenance and prevention to stop it happening again?
Bye,
– Steve
(And a point on due diligence for all – when buying a unit that is part of a complex, make sure you get a plumbing opinion on the impact of your unit if there is a blockage caused by a unit above or nearby).
As usual, a great tip Steve. It’s surprising how many buyer simply don’t do things like this. Even when I bought a new remote control for my TV priced at $69.95, I asked the question “How close to $50 can you come to for me on this?”. And ‘yes’ I did get it for $50.
Indeed and well said. I just negotiated a $500 discount of a medical procedure using the same approach.
Thanks for the tip Steve! I like your tip too Coatesman!
On Friday just gone I was trying to employ the the strategy of signing the contract with either a DD or finance/build/pest “get out” clause. The vendors had instructed the agent not accept any offers with “subject to” clauses. I thought this a little out of the norm. Thoughts anyone?
My expectation is that the vendor may have been burned by a bad experience in the past. In this case you could offer a much lower price for cash (i.e. no conditions) IF you were prepared for and were willing to underwrite the risk, with a higher price but a subject to condition. That way the vendor could decide if they wanted price or terms.
A clause you add as a special condition to a purchase contract that makes the contract conditional upon (or subject to) that clause being satisfied. Common examples are subject to finance, subject to building inspection, subject to planning approval, subject to due diligence, etc.
The more get out clauses you have, the less attractive your offer. Hence my preference for a general due diligence clause that really encompasses all the others.
Great one Steve. I recall a recent study that said if you use the word “because” it helps people agree with you even if the reason (of the because) is not entirely valid. Eg Can I step in front please because I need to use the photocopier (of a line of people using a photocopier) Apparently like over 70% compliance. Keep up the great work!
Indeed! That is from the excellent book ‘Influence’.
It’s going to depend on the scope of the works, and how urgently you need it done. The bigger the scope, and the higher the urgency, the bigger the cost. In respect to the legals, I would have thought circa $1000, less if you package it up with the conveyancing.
Yes, this will be a problem unless you are the owner. A builder would be my trade of choice.
I think the best way forward is to get the owner’s permission to do what you want to do once the property is unconditional. This is usually agreed as a special condition, but I would visit a lawyer to see if (and how) it can still be done now.
The course being recorded is being held on Saturday. It will take a couple of weeks to edit it up, hence why I said on the webpage that it would be ready in April 2018.
Sure. Trading is when you buy with an intention to sell. Investing is when you buy with the intention of holding. That’s not to say you won’t sell, but rather you are not buying with the intention of fixing then selling in a short or medium time frame.
1/ If you purchase real estate with the intention of trading it then your profits are captured as ‘ordinary income’, rather than ‘capital gains income’. So if you buy a property with the aim of sub-dividing it and selling it, and you make a $100,000 in 15 months, then even though it is > 12 months, given your intention when purchasing it, the profit will needed to be added to your assessable income in its entirety as trading income. No CGT. The amount of tax you will pay will depend on the marginal tax rate applicable to the entity that purchased the property. Remember this: Be careful not to let the tax tail wag the investing dog.
2/ Having a job goes hand-in-hand with qualifying for a loan for investment purposes. This is the catch-22 of investing: you want to invest so you don’t need a job, but you need a job to qualify for a loan to buy an investment property. Managing the two is a reality for everyone. If you don’t have a job then you need to use private money lenders and/or JV partners.
Bye,
– Steve
This reply was modified 7 years, 2 months ago by Steve McKnight.
Clyde – I’m coming late into the discussion here, but am I right in believing you own two properties with negative equity and negative cashflow?
If so, are you in a position to absorb the loss of selling either (or both) of them? Or are you no longer able to afford the cost of owning the properties and can’t afford to fund the negative equity on sale?
Sincerely,
– Steve
This reply was modified 7 years, 3 months ago by Steve McKnight.
Unfortunately, I have received mixed feedback from those who have made loan enquiries with them. I am currently reviewing and reconsidering whether I continue to refer people to them.