The strata corporation should just lodge a statement of claim to recover the money. Not much of a defence if money is legitimatelt owed. The property could eventually be aeized to recover the money owed.

Hi. I am a lawyer specializing in asset protection. Firstly what are you trying to protect against?

If it was a transfer under a family law settlment then it will probably be as if younwere the owner from the beginning. If it was not a family law transfer then you would have 2 different interests in the property. The fist 50% and the second 50%. They would each have different costs bases.

A tax agent or a lawyer could assist. Tax agent would generally be cheaper. Perhaps the one the does your tax return.

Vardy – no. The ATO considers this a loan for a family law settlement and that the interest is not deductible. You should seek advice on getting the relevant portions right and then split the loan. You original 50% of the loan may be still deductible though.

It is only the interest on the loan associated with the purchase of the property that is deductible against this property. So if you have ever increased the loan or used redraw the interest on this portion won’t be deductible against this property’s rent.

If you can save tax and increase borrowing capacity then it may be worth considering.

For asset protection reasons you wouldn’t want to be liable for someone else’s loan, even a spouses, unless it is absolutely necessary.

You need to seek specific legal advice on this as too many variables. Which ownership structure will also depend on the state of the property too (NSW etc).

Yes this is fairly common and it is a way to get an extra land tax threshold in some states (once).

The ultimate holding company is just a shareholder so it will be difficult for this to be dragged into any litigation if it does not own the asset where the slip occurred and where it has not contract with a tenant. However loan agreements and…[Read more]

Get a power of attorney appointed before leaving. You can make it restrictive such as to only allow the attorney to sign contracts for purchase and associated documents. Check with your lender whether they will accept loan and mortgage documents signed by an attorney. Also look into the witnessing requirements for the state you are purchasing in.

My advice to clients is to use a LOC to access equity and once it is used convert this to a term IO loan. This way you are safer from a tax deductibility point of view.

Also make sure you keep investment and person borrowings separate, in different loans.

To borrow you need income and equity. Having equity is not enough as you must be able to…[Read more]

Yes. But how strong it will be will depend on how it is set up and documented. It will also be subject to the claw back provisions and uncommercial contract provisions of the bankruptcy act and conveyancing acts.

Cheezel, yes and yes

Great post Marcos.

The ideal structure will depend on your personal circumstances and the circumstances of the properties you will be buying next. A discretionary trust in QLD may work well whereas in NSW it would cost you a small fortune in land tax each year.

Hope you made a large capital gain in that case ijc

Work out what the taxable loss was from the property each year and multiply this by your marginal tax rate for that year. This should give you what you saved in tax approx.

1. apply for a loan with the same bank against your property. separate split, LOC best from a tax perspective. But to borrow money you will need to show income enough to service the loan

2. nope.

3. yes

4. only if you actually lodge an application. some allow valuations prior to this

5. If you can borrow enough againnst your PPOR then you…[Read more]

I’ve had a 3 bedroom unit counted as a 2 bedroom because the 3rd bedroom was a converted living room. Then taking it to a different valuer it was valued as a 3 bedroom.