Thx Jamie, that was my concern – you'd need to have quite a few units to justify a fulltime caretaker (even $45k pa + s/c accom + materials/consumables etc) then adding std BC fees, insurances, maintenance, rates etc. The rents may look attractive but the outgoings would hammer the returns.

High management fees, high cleaning/linen hire charges, poor capital growth expectations, difficulty in exiting the property when you want to sell, tied to an onerous management agreement etc.

Are the units to be strata titled or sold on a sublease? Either way, it will be more difficult to get all owners to agree to a sale if the site is to be…[Read more]

a personal cheque should be fine. Just ask the agent well prior to the auction ie days not minutes. If you need a bank cheque, have it prepared to 10% of the maximum that you are prepared to pay so you can’t exceed this amount.

Whilst the cost of building replacement stock in the US far exceeds purchasing high quality existing stock the construction industry & furnishings will struggle. Not so the case in Oz.

Yep! We don’t have a large reliance on our 2ndary industries as they have been sold off in the 70’s & 80’s so we are more reliant upon primary industries like mining & agriculture for our export revenues and our large services sector to keep our economy going. The carbon tax will help close whatever manufacturing we have got left as there is no…[Read more]

My 2 cents worth: Aud to hit $1.20 usd in the short term, $1.35+ longer term outlook. Australia is to become a bit of a safe haven due to mineral/resources wealth, stable government, strong banking system etc. US & Europe to continue their slide due to high debt levels being funded out of Asia & following Japan’s lead of a long term recession. So…[Read more]

Mascot is not the issue, more so tempe, sydenham etc

Providing the house is not too close to the runways it is generally a good suburb. Check the archives or talk to the neighbours. You can also check the Air Services Australia website.

Agents are not required to provide a cost guide to purchasers, only to their client ie the vendor. In NSW they are required to back that figure with comparable sales. A sign of a poor agent is one that doesn’t or can’t provide an accurate price guides

Start thinking & doing something about your future today. Start your own smsf, have yourself & partner & working aged kids be part of the fund. Contribute $25k pa each to the fund or your maximum allowable (if work contributes 9%) – so you have $100k + in no time. Use these funds to start investing at a maximum of 15% tax and tax-free later on.…[Read more]

ah young grasshopper, these are many of the questions that every investor asks. Seek out the answers in the archives & you will find riches beyond belief.

I’m a noob when it comes to OS investments but aren’t you required to lodge a US tax return before you can repatriate any funds to oz? If that’s the case, then US tax law would apply.

The issue is that you cannot agree to contract out of a statutory obligation ie if you want to recoup water usage in NSW, you must install water efficiency devices & be separately metered as any magistrate at fairtrading nsw would rule it would be inequitable to charge a tenant some cost which may not relate to their occupation of the premises.

It means the agent is trying to empty your pockets more quickly.

due to the difficulty of proving it occurred prior to settling, it is your problem unfortunately.

The onus is on the property owner to register for land tax, not doing so may leave you open to penalties.

I’d watch that last suggestion, if there is no meter then in NSW at least, it is not possible to pass on the cost under the tenancy agreement. You might consider putting in your own submeter & the required water efficiency requirements.

If you purchase through an entity other than yourself, it is likely that you’d pay transfer costs on the entire transfer not just the half you are buying. It will also trigger a cgt event for the lot as well.

never base investment decisions on the tax outcomes government policy can change.

it is quite common for strata units not to be individually metered – it means running separate metered water supplies to each unit. In this case, the water usage forms part of your levies.