Are back yard burn offs still legal in WA? For $1k you'd get 3 men for a day plus rubbish removed – how many acres do you have?

roxannec wrote:
hi,The people who owned it before me half renovated the house – new bathroom, new roof, restored the stone work, paved the backyard, new shedwhen i bought the house it was perfect, but after 2 years it has cracked internally.

Roxy, if the people before you renovated (depending upon how  long ago), the insurance may still be current.

It is all a matter of risk & how you undertake your due dilligence. I visit each area of interest, usually more than once (unless you rely on others to undertake this work).Get to know the agents, the good, the bad & the ugly. How will you know when you are being ripped off either on purchase price, rentals or repairs/refurbishment?

Roxy,Do you have any comeback under builder's warranty insurance (7 years for structural) or are the cracks cosmetic?Trakka, did you realise that in Qld that they now require licensing for all categories of building – residential, commercial and shopfitting? Probably a good thing to weed out the cowboys however DFT are usually toothless tigers…[Read more]

Is it possible to salary sacrifice sufficient to get to a lower tax threshold? – that way you are taxed on the cgt at the lower MRT (is this feasible or does any salary sacrifice get added back to your income for cgt assessment?)Quit work (take a sabatical/unpaid leave etc to reduce your income)Find a few capital losses to offset against the gain…[Read more]

A couple of points to note – how many sales have been used to determine the median? what are they comprised of (ie are they comparable sales or sales of glitzy palaces or dogs with fleas (are the sales skewed or are they a good representative sample)? How does this property compare to the median or those which have sold?Speak to other real estate…[Read more]

Intrinsically unless there are substantial differences between the units eg views (not availble from other units), additional common walls/ceilings, unit entitlements, traffic noise (internal roadway or main road), elevation, proximity to neighbours/lack of privacy issues then it would come down to your personal preferences.The freestanding unit…[Read more]

Many streets are tightly held, even within a complex there may be very few sales for a number of years. Depending upon how old the block is, it may just be part of the cycle that several owners have decided to liquidate their assets (more-so the case with absentee owners), also some may have reached the point where interest was no longer bearable,…[Read more]

tammy wrote:
Hi Scott, In my case the boot is on the other foot. I sold 2 properties, one in March 07 the other in July 07. I just recieved a land tax bill for $1700. When I called the number on the bill to say I no longer owned them I was advised that it is ownership as at the 31st Dec. I was also advised that it is not possible to pass on this…[Read more]

Not necessarily, the LOC is secured against the ppor, the 80% IO loan against the IP & your income + rent.

I'd suggest researching the fringes of Blacktown/Toongabbie/Seven Hills/Winston Hills. The west has taken a battering over the past few years and presents reasonably good value (prices in the area need to catch up).  Blacktown – has a railway station & busway/regional shopping centre & is between M4/M7/M2. Close to the industrial area, uni of…[Read more]

Fixed price contract, underpriced in a rising market (labour shortages) – not that hard. I'd much rather a slow economy and be able to screw a better price than be screwed the other way.

If there is a contract for perusal, it will pay to flick that past the conveyancer BEFORE you submit an offer. Depending upon what you have offered, the conveyancer may have to sign the waiver of the cooling off period or carry out some of the searches beforehand.

Generally speaking, the above sounds OK (aka "I'm no expert").  The offset is a bank account (same bank as your lender & tied against a P&I (usually) or IO loan (some banks apparently permit this). I am not aware whether you can do this with a LOC (there is no point as this is a constant drawdown facility). Any money in the offset account is t…[Read more]

Billy, how much are you looking at making? House $700k SD/Legals +/- 4% $30kAgent selling comm 2.2% say $18k (on $800k sale price)Legals etc on Sale $2kYou have $50k of costs before you have touched the building. Basic kitchen/bath  say $20kPainting say $10kCosmetic + gardens say $10kWhat do you expect to be your sales price? Are people prepared t…[Read more]

If the builder or the developer have gone into liquidation try looking at the ASIC website or VCAT (builders licensing). Better yet, try contacting the builder or developer directly (or their administrator/liquidator).

WW, these are relatively small sales samples. A single project eg new 10 lot subdivision or block of units is enough to skew such a small sample (even the resale of newer property in one area compared to sales of older properties in the other, the sale of a few larger subdivisible blocks etc). Familiarise yourself with what is behind the numbers.

Sarah, a little more information please? Are you dealing directly with the owner or through an agent? & is the house on the market?The offer letter: best done at your desk, but seriously, the letter should comprise the essential conditions: ie Your name & address (typical letter fashion), Addressee (dear Sir/madam etc), property…[Read more]

Yes, that sums it up.

Is the car lease being salary sacrificed? ie are you paying for the use of the car (rego, ins, fuel, depreciation etc) as part of your package or will you have to pay these costs separately ie reimburse your employer? Will the 'extra' travel to the IP cause you to over run your km allowance on the car hence getting a lower resale?