Japan has been flat or declining since 1990. Why do you think things are going to change now? (serious question).

Hi DanielThanks for the update. It is good to see a variety of opinions. You will find that not many accountants have a good understanding of trusts and not many lawyers either. I was surprised to see my lawyer friend owning a number of properties in his own name with his wife not working. He ended up doing risky business ventures too.…[Read more]

Sometimes there are people with the same names – so maybe your MIL had a credit check done, but they checked the report of someone else, and that is why it was rejected and why the last bank does not appear on her file.

I should also point out that jointly owning property can have adverse consequences on borrowing capacity for future properties. Since  each person is responsible for the whole loan, lenders will assume each person is paying the whole mortgage. But each person is only entitled for 1/4 of the rental income.

If you are the only person on the title, then you are the sole legal owner. The others may have a case that you are acting as trustee for their share. This can still be the case if there is no written agreement, but you will have to check with a lawyer on this.If you are the sole owner, then you can leave your property to whoever you chose. But…[Read more]

There is a catch – all pre-approvals will be subject to valuations and most to the bank verifying all information supplied.But having a per-approval and showing the vendor will help them take your seriously and may even help you negotiate a discount.

You cannot structure the loan in a way to claim the interest of the new PPOR. Whatever is borrowed for this won't be deductible whether you take it from the old loan or have a larger new loan.If you had equity, what you could do is set up a LOC and use that to fund all IP expenses freeing up your money to place into the new home loan saving you…[Read more]

HiI think the CGT exemption only applies if a house was constructed – but check this with an accountant anyway as you may be totally exempt if it was your intention to build a house to live in.But, if you claim this then you probably cannot go and claim the ongoing costs of holding the land such as interest and rates etc. If it was an investment…[Read more]

Using a discretionary trust will give you the best possible asset protection, but you cannot offset losses against your personal income. If you are going to live in it, you may be able to get CGT exemption – but this is not available if bought in a trust.Tax issues are complex as you are dealing with the tax laws of 2 countries so you will need a…[Read more]

I wouldn't even consider it myself. too specialised.

This will be complex. You need to speak to a lawyer and probably get an agreement drawn up.You could transfer to a trust, but you would be up for stamp duty again. Doing a co-owenership agreement may be easier abd you can work out an arrangement on who pays what and who gets what on the sale. Can also cover death – but as you are sole owner your…[Read more]

Neither option would not help with financing unless your contract had been exchanged more than 12 months ago, then you may be able to get financing based on the current valuation rather than the contract price.

The ATO considers any redraw like a new loan. So the interest on this portion won't be deductible in the future as the purpose was personal.

And stamp duty (and CGT) would be based on market value too.

You would basically have to buy her share of the house – and pay stamp duty. She may also have to pay CGT if it is an investment property.Maybe you should just try another lender?

Hi DanielAre the accountants charging you for all these meetings?Be careful as I had a client go around for a few initial meetings and he ended up getting billed at a later date.

Yes, very interesting isn't it. It is hard to get money out of a dead person!

First they have to prepare the mortgage documents and post them to you, you then have to sign them and send them back. They then have to process them and then book in settlement with the other party. This whole process can take weeks, but it can be done in a matter of days if necessary. You might even be able to pick up documents and sign them on…[Read more]

No one is going to enter into an open ended contract so you will not a time frame. You could ask for a long settlement, maybe 6 to 12 months with the possiblity to settle earlier, or you could possibly purchase an option and just work out some aggreeable terms between yourself and the vendor.

278/350 = 79% LVRYou could borrow up over 90%, but LMI will be payable.Say you buy a $300,000 property, the LVR would be578/650 = 88%If you included some costs600/650 = 92%You shouldn't use your investment unit as it wil be messy and this will affect your wife's sister.Of course, you will still need adequate income to obtain a loan.