Hi Yorker,

A bit of a ‘how long is a piece of string’ question.

Ultimately it will depend upon your accountant’s workload, priority and whether or not your books are ‘tidy’ – but in answer to your question our return typically takes around two-three hours and is ready for submission (all going well) at the conclusion of the appointment.

With…[Read more]

Hi Manic,

Acquisition costs such as conveyaning costs, property stamp duty, surveyors fees are not deductible but will be used when determining capital gains tax (if appropriate).

However borrowing costs such as loan mortgage insurance, loan establishment fees, title search fees, costs incurred in preparing mortgage and mortgage stamp duty are…[Read more]

Hi GloryBoy,

Your choice of REA will be determined by the area that you are looking to invest in. Buying in an area because there is a ‘good agent’ there is placing the cart before the horse.

On a similar train of thought it is desirable that the valuer you use will also have to be on your lender’s panel. There are discrepancies between figures…[Read more]

Hi Ben,

As a member of a strata group you have a legal right to contact details of the other owners.

To sack the manager get the written approval of a majority of owners to change to a new manager and then forward the signed authority to the new manager and let them take over from there.

Based on your comments – you certainly deserve better and…[Read more]

Hi all,

Just deleted a couple of ‘off topic posts’ and one that became redundant after the deletions.

Derek
derekjones1@bigpond.com

Property Investment Support Available. Ongoing and never stopping. PM welcome.

Hi Wayne,

The recent ATO rulings regarding lifetimes and starting values of depreciable items has made it easier for an accountant to come up with a set of numbers. However an accountant is not able to establish ‘building costs’ and as such you may well be doing yourself out of 2.5% of the building costs of the property over 40 years.

In the…[Read more]

Hi Vado,

As Mydral has indicated this subject comes up frequently – the key to your success will be to hit the road searching rather than waiting to see something in the paper.

As a very rough rule of thumb the stuff advertised in newspapers etc are the ‘leftovers’ and as such it is critical that you know what you are looking for, knowing which…[Read more]

Hi Deanna,

I suspect the town in question is very cyclical – if my map reading is on the mark.

Cheers

Derek
derekjones1@bigpond.com

Property Investment Support Available. Ongoing and never stopping. PM welcome.

Originally posted by rachderick:
I am all ready to go out and find that elusive first property, but my husband is still reluctant and feels he doesn’t know enough yet to get started. How can I help him feel more confident and where is the best place, at the moment, to start looking for a positive cashflow property so I can show him how it…[Read more]

Originally posted by Hector:
Hello.
Just wondering if anyone had any opinions on purchasing a property solely for student accomodation.

Hi Hector,

I would be a little concerned if the property was ‘solely’ for students – you need to have a ‘fall back’ position.

If you cannot find a student tenant what are your alternatives? One of our…[Read more]

Hi Hunter,

There is an article in this month’s Australian Property Investor that discusses some issues surrounding storage units as an investment. I only caught the headline so I am not sure how comprehensive the article is but………..

Derek
derekjones1@bigpond.com

Property Investment Support Available. Ongoing and never stopping. PM welcome.

Hi Smithy,

Give http://www.depreciator.com.au a look.

Scott (AKA Depreciator) regularly posts here.

Derek
derekjones1@bigpond.com

Property Investment Support Available. Ongoing and never stopping. PM welcome.

Originally posted by freedomfinder:
Next door on the market for 365K and our investment is comparible and would say 350k could be right.

Hi Freedom,

Just a point of clarification and slightly off topic but it may influence your selection of lenders – be aware that a valuer will use settled sales as a guide when valuing the property – in essence…[Read more]

Originally posted by nordicskier:

BUT how do you apply for finance from bank when they want to know what the property address is? Seems like chicken and egg stuff to me.

Hi Skier,

Without going back and rereading all comments in this thread – the suggestion to get finance first – is more about knowing how much the bank will lend you in…[Read more]

Hi Price,

Income and expenses are apportioned in direct relationship with the percentage owned, which in your case is 50/50.

Salary sacrificing is a process whereby you can make certain approved payments from your before tax salary this has the effect of reducing your taxable income. Depending upon your employer there may be different aspects of…[Read more]

Hi Apprentice Investor,

Has closed down – not sure why – ran out of legs?

Derek
derekjones1@bigpond.com

Property Investment Support Available. Ongoing and never stopping. PM welcome.

Hi Rose,

Suggest you contact (via PM) one of our resident brokers – (in no particular order) – stuart weymss, mobile mortgage, mortgagehunter or terryw – sorry to others who slipped under my radar.

Derek
derekjones1@bigpond.com

Property Investment Support Available. Ongoing and never stopping. PM welcome.

Hi Deanna,

If you are goign to buy sight unseen then you will need to ensure you do complete building and pest inspections as a pre-requisite.

I would also talk to the local council to see what is happening in the area, a few of the local businesses and search the Vic Ed Department website to see what is happening with enrolment numbers in the…[Read more]

Hi Stuart,

Saw a similar piece of research in API – was that the same one as you are refering to?

If not that articles gave a similar answer albeit (from memory) there are a couple of brief windows in time when a fixer was better off. I would argue we have been in a ‘trending down’ period since the late eighties/early nineties and as such…[Read more]

Hi Fnomna,

I will state upfront the following comments are not mine but I believe they may be useful to you at this stage of proceedings.

The author, Jason Wier, is a Victorian based REA and the message was posted, as is, on another property forum.

“I run a real estate business and recently sold a place in Glenroy. I didn’t find the local…[Read more]