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as i said, i wait to be corrected but my understanding is that if your income is less than $75,000 (that is the new threshold i think, it was $50,000) you can register for gst, buy the property, deregister and claim it back. that was the advice that i was given in 2002 when i bought an industrial but i didn't deregister as the rent was approaching the (then) $50,000 threshold. so i haven't proven it which is why i asked for rebuttal. even i think it sounds too good to be true…..
doesn't the money that you input from your pocket get carried over as a loss against the profit?
i may be wrong but as i understand it, you would have to pay gst to purchase the property. if your income from rentals is less than $75,000 you don't have to be registered/pay gst . however, i believe that you can still register, claim back the gst that is payable on purchase and then deregister after purchase.
can someone correct me if i am wrong please?
thanks for your detailed reply houseimp. i'll let you know what i think.
gracethanks for your comments. that’s exactly what i was after; an opinion from someone unconnected to MA. just for the record, i always enjoy reading your posts; they usually display knowledge and wisdom.
thanks
gracewealth 4 life; congrats mate. it is really good to hear someone who is doing well or who has had a win. it is really encouraging.
my sale went unconditional last friday. the buyers hadn't wanted a subject to finance clause in the contract but their bank insisted. today i learned that they were knocked back for finance. they were certain they would get their loan as they had a property which settled (by all accounts on 12th sept). so now my sale has fallen through….
didn't know that they have 3 days after the unconditional date to confirm finance…..thanks
gracehi
us property purchase has been my intention for some time as, on paper, they seem to pay for themselves, allowing further accumulation of property.i have been looking at southern texas which has had steady population growth and is still quite cheap to buy into. i have been looking at apartment complexes. i dismissed northern america after lots of research as all properties need a new roof every ten years to cope with the heavy snowfalls. factor that into a maintenance budget and it would really change your bottom line.
however, i have just about decided not to pursue it further for several reasons;
-our dollar has just dropped to about 82c from 98c us. that is a significant drop if you are looking at moving $100,000 or more.
-whilst employment in the area looks good indicating reasonable tenancy rates, (from a distance), the states have lots of varied taxes, which when added to the base line, eat into the returns.
-the major factor for me however, is the horror stories that i have read about american property management. dealing with issues like that from a distance would need very sound cashflow here to be able to cover the debts as well as plenty of time to be able to keep chasing things up. it is not a set and forget. so much so, that the only way i could see it working for me was to move over there for months at a time.
-add to that that the area has suffered four major hurricanes in the last month and it has paled for me as an investment strategy.
-there are also issues with australian taxation, american banking structures and foreign exchange rates, as well as silly things that would cause huge frustration like not all american banks (you need to have an account in the states) allow online funds transfer necessitating a cheque account. i haven't verified this one but i read it somewhere.
in order to maintain/grow a credit rating there, all accounts need to be paid on time everytime. if they need to be sent here first (through an unreliable agent) and then be posted back, your bookkeeping would need to be pretty smick all the time.
while i think it is probably possible to find good investments there, there are some good investments appearing here now that the temperature has dropped on the australian scene. given the amount of stress and education needed, together with very sound cash flow and bookkeeping, i have decided to stay here for now.
in fact, i made an offer on a place here yesterday.
all the best
gracewhat are you painting? that determines what kind of paint you need, the application etc.
basically, use waterbased acrylics for everything, (those that wash up in water), at least until you have some experience under your belt. enamels paints (those that wash up with turps) are heavier to apply and need more careful application that the lighter acrylic paints.
not environmentally a fab idea but; i buy 20 brushes in a packet when bunnings has them for $10/packet. i wrap them in a plastic bag when i take a break and often overnight (in cooler times). when i am finished with them, i chuck them out instead of washing them. i do the same thing with rollers. we're in the middle of a drought and it takes ages to wash a roller properly.
likewise, a brush with old crust in it will not give you a pleasant, happy painting experience!
never dip the brush into the paint all the way up to the ferule. (that's the metal bit which holds the hairy bits in). it clogs up with paint and becomes quite heavy to use. acrylic paint dries in the ferrule and then will drag, making the job much harder. always wipe the brush on the side of the can before lifting it.
go for a trip around your local paint stores and ask to see their mistints. you'll buy your paint at a fraction of the price of retail paint. you need to be prepared to be lateral with your colours though, although cream is a good choice. if you can afford to be patient, you can get some good colours sometimes.
when you are painting, have a damp rag within reach all the time. if you spill, drop, splatter, overpaint or any of a myriad of painty delights, wipe it up STRAIGHT away. trust me, it is much easier to clean up when it is wet.
always clean your surfaces first. terribly boring but waste of time painting unless surface is reasonably clean. that said, don't go overboard. it is not a hospital!
grace
original sinner, that's just beautiful. i'll flick it to barry j (grew up in kingaroy, 74 yr old dad lost several fingers this year in a farm accident), who is living in thailand… think he'll laugh as much as i did.
hi
a quick call to the student advisor for international students at the uni/s near you will point you in the right direction. they will actually inspect your property to see if it fits their criteria.if the uni approves it, it may be possible to allow them to administer the properties. at least that's what you can do here in ballarat. that removes many of the headaches and also sorts minor maintenance etc. they keep a pretty good eye on things. your property has to measure up to their standards though to qualify.
i guess you have factored in that students often go home for the long breaks so you can really only count on about 40 weeks rather than 52 although some unis have systems for that as well.
are you renting one room/one student? if so, it doesn't classify as a boarding house with only 3 beds.
good luck.you said you can get 2 for $260,000? is that a misprint? prices for a unit are pretty high in that area.
hi henry
yes i did eventually receive the ebook. the author apologised and said that she had been overseas. i did post it on this forum or thought i did but it must have been lost in the ether.are you looking at investing in the states?
almost a week later this ebook did come thru. have yet to read it. the author was very apologetic. it seems that she had been out of the country…
Warning; don't buy us investing ebook advertised here.
to my great chagrin, i sent off the $30 for this ebook last week (advertised on this site) and have not received it or even a reply to several emails chasing it. Appears to be dodgy……
this was the listing;
Hi Alan,
I have invested in the US Property Market and I have also written an ebook about this if you want to go ahead and invest in the US I suggest you read my ebook and that may help you decide if it's for you or not. Yes there maybe some good deals at the moment and great ROI but my ebook will give you all the details the good, and the not so good to US Property Investing and how to go about doing it the correct way being an Australian investor. My website details are below.Good Luck!
Best Regards,
Donna Cox
http://www.seekingfortuneinnewyorkstate.comare there other agents in the area that you can approach with questions about tenant availability?
has your agent started advertising the property yet (even if it is just listed at his office for walk-in apps), and if not when does he expect to? if i had an agent with a residential that was empty for 3 months, i'd be seriously concerned to the point of changing agents. then you keep on top of it. call all the time, drive them mad if you have to but get your place remembered and then let.of course there is a balance because you don't want dodgy tenants but if you are undergoing financial difficulties because of a slack agent, you need to be as proactive as possible.
the other alternative is to go there the weekend the tenants move out. phone thru adds in the local paper for that weekend and show people thru yourself. you can still get your agent to check them thru before a decision is made but at least you would know if there really had been no response.
i live in a ballarat (90,000) and i have a friend who has been looking for a rental. i have been shocked to learn that agents regularly make appointments for 'next week' or whenever it suits them, rather than showing the property quickly. my friend is a professional and able to move immediately. if that happens in a place as big as balla, country towns could be just as slack.
without sounding trite, stressing doesn't help. consistent checking on agents and ear to the ground does.
check your inbox, i've sent you a private message
where in the states have you bought? i am much the same position as you are and i am looking at going to the states on and off long term.
thanks for that. so just to clarify, if i already own property and have no other job, if i go to the states with the intention to investigate the purchase of property, i should be able to claim most of the costs?
hi
i would like to an answer to this question also. i have heard that if you go on one of those international property hunting trips (such as texas) that they can be classed as having an educational purpose, meaning that the costs of the trip can be claimed. is this a furphy?also, i have never heard of travel costs to see a property before it is purchased being classed as a capital cost. is this correct? does that mean that you can claim depreciation for those costs when you have purchased or does it only become a deduction when the property is sold?
hi
for what it is worth, i would never take one agent's word for an evaluation unless i knew them well and trusted them. is the regional area large enough to support other agents? if so, go there and go to meet other agents. don't give out too much info about you but ask questions and get a gut feeling for who to give it to for sale. also, i never sign 3 month exclusives. 8 weeks is more than enough. i never sign exclusives if i can avoid it either.much of this depends on the size and dynamics of the town. country towns are a rare breed and very different from city real estate.
