options may be to earn more money, or reduce your debt or a combination – if you have exhausted all avenues.

Interest would only be deductible if you borrowed to acquire a property. If you pay cash you would have acquired it already. If you borrow against the property after settlement what you use the money for would determine deductibility.
See s 8-1 ITAA97

I don’t see it as unfair. Imagine that interest was deductible based on security for the loan. I…[Read more]

How do you pay for it if you cannot get a loan?
If you pay cash and then get a loan the interest could not be deductible.

Not doing this maybe a better plan!
What could happen if one of you dies, goes bankrupt, family law separation, capacity, have a falling out, wants to sell etc?
If on separate titles it might be worth considering, but on one title there would be many issues to consider.

Also, are you properties paid off now? If not could you qualify for finance…[Read more]

Mortgagees have fiduciary duties to get the best possible price and so do executors. They are also more difficult to negotiate with so I think this will be a hard way to find an undermarket value property.

Which would make you more money? How would you fund the GF?

Often adding a granny flat won’t add as much value as they cost, but they can increase the rent a fair bit.

Accountants can only advise on the commonwealth tax aspects of trusts. You will need a lawyer for proper advice as Trusts are complex legal arrangements between beneficiaries and the trustee involving obligations over property. Trusts are not separate legal entities for example.

Borrowing capacity would be potentially more with a trust (could be…[Read more]

a caveat is just notification to the world that someone other than the legal owner has an interest in the property. A caveat itself is not a form of security, the security would be an unregistered or equitable mortgage which gives the lender a charge over the property, a caveatable interest.

A caveat loan is just a loan which is not secured by a…[Read more]

best to see a lawyer if you want to consider asset protection as this is legal advice after all. You can achieve asset protection while retaining legal ownership of assets, but how you set it all up will depend on what you are trying to protect yourself against.

Maximising borrowing capacity is credit advice so you should see a broker about this.

Perhaps you might have some recourse to insurance, although you did give him permission to be there so he is not trespassing.

Best to seek legal advice.

wow!

Even if finance is approved would you want such a guy building for you?

If you borrow more money the interest deductibility will depend on what the money is used for. if you build a shed on the same property the interest on this will generally be deductible if the property including the shed is rented out.
But if you borrow to recoup cash paid the interest will not be deductible.
if you do this you should split the…[Read more]

best to not let an accountant decide whether a transaction is a loan or not.Take some tax advice and then get legal advice on the consequences plus how to record things. Mere accounting notations are not enough.

How did you contract with them?

That reads like an advertisement!

Then why are you concerned?

Shares of a jointly owned property are fixed at settlement. You will either own as tenants in common which could be 50/50 or any unequal % or as joint tenants which is considered 50/50 for tax purposes.

It is still possible to use strategy 3 – one joint owner selling their interest to the other joint owner. Must be the whole interest though for…[Read more]

No such thing as a love clause!

You could sell to your spouse, but this would result in duty in VIC. There used to be an exemption for transfers between spouses, but now only if gifted and end up 50/50 owners.

Here is a link to an old thread on here where I outlined 13 strategies you could…[Read more]

Not transferring title doesn’t mean that CGT doesn’t apply. In many cases it does
a) granting an easement
b) granting a life interest
c) declaring a trust
etc

Yes I could review legal documents for you. I testamentary trusts are a speciality of mine. Was it drawn up after legal advice? You can email me direct if you wish.

But then again it might.