I just wish everyone talked to an accountant before paying down loans because it seems every two weeks someone start a thread with these exact same questions!!!!!!

But if you seperate, then your partner still owns a portion of the property? Doesnt this go against your goal of asset protection in the event of a seperation?Luke

Legaaly you could look at holding the property in a trust. I have read that you can set up trusts with yoursefl as the primary beneficary and your wife as a secondary beneficiary. Then you could specifically exclude any ex-wifes that you might have from being a beneficiary to protect yoursefl in the event of a divorce. Of course this would mean…[Read more]

Jamie M wrote:

lifestylez wrote:
I want to read another of hers "20 Must Ask Questions" before I buy my next property.

It's a good read – I would have listed it.Dolf De Roos also has a good book that covers the basics – can't remember the name of it though.CheersJamie

Real Estate Riches by Dolf de Roos I think you mean. It is a good…

You need to check how the drainage is going to work, maybe get a draftsman/architect/surveyor/builder/hydraulics engineer to have a look. a slope from front to back is generally not good, and costs may blow out if it doesnt work well.Cheers,Luke

Thanks Jack, an unbiased and interesting view as usual.

Hi Sonny,If your accountant has told you it is best to pay off your investment property while still having money owing on your PPOR then it is time to get a new accountant. I don't mean to be rude but getting bad advice like this can cost you lots of money in the long run.Cheers,Luke

It can be done, but you would need to consider your budget and plan accordingly. I think $10k sounds like a pretty small outlay for a reno and you might not be able to improve it much with that kind of budget. Cheers,Luke

It depends on where it is located. Without knowing what council the land is in,  no one will be able to tell whether it can be done or not. Sure you can fit them on, but whether the council allows it or not is another matter.Cheers,Luke

I don't think you should make the decision not to purchase in a trust just because it is your first property and it seems hard. It is pretty easy if you have a good accountant, and would surely save you money in tax in the long term as Terry has mentioned.Cheers,Luke

Having a high income and paying lots of tax is a good problem to have. If you were to purchase property, it should not be for tax benefits. If you do purchase property, it would probably be a good idea to purchase using a discretionary trust structure so you can direct the income into the lowest income earner and save on tax.Cheers,Luke

I am pretty sure Centrelink sees through trusts and counts the assets of the trusts as if they were the ssets of the beneficiaries/appointer.Cheers,Luke

Right, I think if you are targeting executive market then you should do the job properly and replace the cupboards.Cheers,Luke

Hi,Trusts can be pretty complex so it would be best to get your accountant to help out. I can say though that if the trust repays $2000 to you as a part loan repayment, this is not taxable income for you. The trust can not claim the $2000 as a tax deduction, in much the same way as you can not claim the principle component of a bank loan as a tax…[Read more]

I think it depends on what area the property is in. If it is in an affluent area, then a new kictchen would be worthwhile. And in a lower socio economic area it might be best to do a cheap job and save a bit of money. Also depends on what kind of house it is.I would think that in most situations it would be easier just to replace the cupboards,…[Read more]

It depends. In a nice neighbourhood it might be a positive, but in a rough area it might be a bad thing. Also depends who your target tenants are.Cheers,Luke

A property in Western Sydney negatively geared to about $80/week and at 75% LVR doesn't sound like you are getting as much from the property as you could. Of course I do not know where it is, or what kind of property it is.You should consider adding value in order to increase the rent, such as doing a cosmetic reno, doing a more serious reno (new…[Read more]

I think you will find that property repossessions are relatively low compared to other developed nations around the world, and by no means high compared to historical levels in Australia. No need to hit the panic button.Cheers,Luke

I think I remember reading about disability trusts in a book- I think it was in Trust Magic or maybe Family Trusts by Renton, I can't remember, but I think that you are right Micahel.Cheers,Luke

christianb wrote:
It's an interesting question.Perhaps it has to with the structure you use.I'm not an expert in these matters, but there are others on here that are.In any case perhaps it could work like this:You form a unit trust with a corporate trustee to purchase the property.You provide security for the trust using your equity.The trust…[Read more]