Has anyone heard about or dealt with the Cameron Bird Property finders? I have been reading their advertisement in the API magazine and have found it quite interesting. They say that they find +CF property. I am a little sceptical at the moment and would do my own DG on any property they have to offer.
would just like to know if anyone has anything to say about them?Cheers
Jack [cowboy2]Jacktar,
I had a check of an API- an example of CB’s property is a 289k 4-bed house around cairns for $350 rent. From my reading of this, that’s a 6% return. So they are using depreciation allowance to make it become CF+. Thr houses are new and gorgeous looking, and may not be a bad price, but I wish these companies would say they have “yields of 6%, growing to 9% using depreciation” or something.
My questions would be… is there really a stable rental demographic who can afford 350 bucks a week rent for the long term? (ie why aren’t they buying these places for themselves if they can afford such high rental?)
If the market rental is actually much less than that (which would be similar to two-tier marketing, where rentals were so much lower than advertised), then your property becomes of much more dubious value.
Having said that, I do think 289k for a new 4-bedder around cairns is a decent price. But can a family (apparently the targeted demographic given the look of the housing) afford it?
I can’t find anything (of interest) in google.com.au about cameron bird.
kay henry
Hi Jack,
I’ve bought one through them – a holiday unit on the NSW coast. They seemed okay. No sign of any two tiered nonsense. They would have a big data base and would be used by developers to flog property. I didn’t pay alot of attention to their cash flow projections – I just figured they would be inflated. I did some sniffing around of my own and the purchase stacked up.
Kay is right, like most of these guys they use depreciation to make the purchase stack up. And on the place I bought they used the wrong percentage for the building write-off. They had it at 4% instead of 2.5%.
ScottI think, from my enquiry in the past, that they ‘strongly adviced’ to use their mortgage broker or lender.
I just wonder why that is…is it just because they have made a deal with this lender, or is it because no other lender would agree with the valuation price?
If I buy something I want to choose my own broker or lender!Originally posted by depreciator:a holiday unit on the NSW coast.
And on the place I bought they used the wrong percentage for the building write-off. They had it at 4% instead of 2.5%.
ScottHi Scott,
I was under the impression that property classified as ‘traveller accommodation’ and built after 27/2/92 is eligible for a 4% buidling write off.
I thought, and based on your description, your holiday unit would be eligible for the higher rate. Have I missed a ruling change somewhere?
Derek
[email protected]Property Investment Support Available. Ongoing and never stopping. PM welcome.
Well thanks for your comments guys. From what I can gather there is nothing bad about them that people have encountered, and I might even give them a go.
I still think it would be wise to remain careful (buyer beware) and I would like to put one of there properties to Steve’s Due Diligence testers.
Cheers guys!
Jack[cowboy2]
Hi Derek,
Accomodation built for short term travellers is still depreciable at 4% (building).I think it was May last year when the ATO released an Interpretative Decision on what constitutes ‘short term traveller accomodation’. It is prudent to abide by Interpretative Decisions as they tend to be an ATO reference point in the event of an audit.
In short, the nature of the accomodation is crucial, as opposed to its prevailing usage. An apartment will always be regarded as an apartment by the ATO even if nobody ever stays there for more than a week at a time.
Let’s say somebody owns an apartment in a building on the Sunshine Coast that has an onsite manager, a restaurant, room service, a desk for tour operators etc etc. And it is used exclusively by short term travellers. If it’s an apartment, depreciation on the building is 2.5%.
I say to people if they could live in their property, it’s not ‘short term traveller accomodation’. So if a property has a seperate bedroom or 2, bathrooms, a kitchen, perhaps a laundry, it’s depreciable at 2.5%
So what does constitute ‘short term traveller accomodation’? A hotel or motel room would – you can buy into hotels. These would typically not have a kitchen or laundry. They may only have a kettle and a bar fridge i.e. you couldn’t really live there long term. It’s a pretty tight definition.
This Interpretative Decision will affect people with holiday houses, units, ski lodges, serviced apartments etc. If the ATO decide to target this group, they will make a killing.
Can a taxpayer fight the Decision? Sure. I tend to avoid fights with the ATO, though – we tread a fine line between being aggressive and conservative.
Remember everyone, if an investor pays for a Tax Depreciation Schedule and uses it in their tax return, the liability for any errors lies with the taxpayer, not the QS. The taxpayer is the client of the ATO.
Hope the above makes sense. If anyone wants a copy of the Decision, e-mail me and I’ll dig it out.
ScottHi Scott,
Would love a copy please.
Derek
[email protected]Property Investment Support Available. Ongoing and never stopping. PM welcome.
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