I have no experience in this, but common sense would suggest that as long as you were paying your spouse a reasonable hourly rate, and the hours allocated are in line with the amount of work required, than all would be fine.Cheers,Luke

And I believe you will also have to pay GST due to the creation of a new title.Luke

You really need to ask you accountant in order to get the correct answer. I will give you what I think is right, but I am not an accountant so dont take my word for it!!!FHOG- From memory I believe you have to live in the house for a minimum 6 month period commencing within 12 months of settlement. So if you settle on the 1st of July and then move…[Read more]

I would suggest getting a job in the industry, whether it be as a labourer, in a supervisor role, contracts management, project management, as an architect, engineer or anything. This would be really beneficial as you would be immersed in the industry for 5-6 (or 7!!) days a week and you will learn quickly. You will also find and meet people who…[Read more]

yes

You would need to let your insurer know about this as no doubt your insurance policy does not cover the property if used for this type of activity.I would also be concerned that the tenant could do some shoddy 'improvements' and then decide in 6 months that they do not want to live there anymore, moving out and leaving you with a property in poor…[Read more]

4.5% yield seems very low post development. It really depends on what you are aiming for- capital growth or rental yields, and is impossible to comment without knowing where the property is located.Cheers,Luke

I have used Deppro before, I am pretty sure they have offices in every major city. From memory their depreciation schedules cost about $500 to get done. Would like to hear if there are better organisations out there (esp. in Sydney).Cheers,Luke

Secondary dwellings can be built on blocks of land that do not meet the requirements for subdivision. Sure, if you can subdivide then I would definitely subdivide. But if you are not able to subdivide, then building a secondary dwelling is a way to gain extra income and bring the property to its most profitable use.For example, some councils…[Read more]

If they transfer the property to you, then they will be liable for CGT and Stamp Duty. Even if no money changes hands (i.e. they gift the property to you), then you will still need to pay Stamnp Duty and CGT on the market value of the property. If they have always had the house as their PPOR then it will likely be CGT exempt. You should also…[Read more]

These are called granny flats, or secondary dwellings. They are allowed (in NSW at least) provided the land is more than 450m2 and also if the development meets certain other local government criteria. They can also only be a maximum of 60m2 in internal living area.This is a good way of increasing rental yields on an existing property.Cheers,Luke

You can check out the API magazine- that has statistics on what the vacancy rate is. However, as SNM has said, if it is a new development, there is probably not many people renting there and the statistics may not be available yet.Cheers,Luke

You should be able to find out who the owners are from council or similar and contact them directly by phone. This will have much more chance of gaining attention that a hastily organised letter drop and show that you are genuinely interested in purchasing the property.Cheers,Luke.

You can roll property from unit trusts to a SMSF but not from discretionary trusts as far as I am aware.Cheers,Luke

If anyone seriously thinks that it would be a good thing if the bottom fell out of the housing market then you need to get your head checked. It happened in the USA and look what the result was- massive job losses and unemployment in excess of 10%. If you think that that scenario is better than what Australia is got at the moment then I am sorry…[Read more]

Yep, I agree with xdrew- if the property isn't renting then it is probably over priced. Have a look at realestate.com.au to check out what other 4 bedroom homes in the area are renting for to make sure your asking rent is right.And also try ringing an agent and giving them the address, what the asking rent is, a description of the property and see…[Read more]

Hi,I have a few comments to make about your ideasa. This sounds good and should be easy. Do some research on your target market- if the units around your area typically sell to investors, then this might even be a win for them as it will likely be negatively geared. So they get to secure the property at the price that suits, but delay the cash…[Read more]

StingrayBirke wrote:
Members of Somersoft seem rather nervous: Somersoft members worried?

Really?? Did you read the posts there?? No one seemed worried to me!!

And I forgot to add- I don't think that these campaigns will not effect the property market at all.Luke.

I dont think there is any possibility that the government will legislate to remove negative gearing. It has been done once before and it was a disaster.In my opinion the people at Get Up do not know what they are talking about.Cheers,Luke