hiThe FHOG is regulated by the states – usually the Office fo state Revenue.There is actually no min period to live in a house to make it your main residence, you just need to prove it if audited. The best way to do this is to prove as much evidence as you can with changing your address on rates, drivers licence, phone, electriicity, electoral roll etc.

I generally think it is a good idea to pay cash for a property with a LOC, reno and then mortgage it based on the new valuation. You should be able to get a higher loan amount relatively easy without the fees and hassles of increasing a loan.What you would be doing is borrowing the money from yourselves. This money is then lend to A or B or both.…[Read more]

Not really able to acheive both.you could buy it via a trust structure, but to claim any gearing benefits in your personal name you would need to buy units (and borrow to buy them). The units are assets and would be up for grabs by creditors.Another option is to buy in a discretionary trust which is the best vehicle for asset protection and to…[Read more]

I think it may be money owed by the trustee for distributions which may not have actually been paid. eg. some people as trustees, just say they have distributed money to a child (to save tax) but retain the funds. Theoretically the money is still owed to the beneficiary, but another argument is that the money has been expended on the child in…[Read more]

Yes I agree. $2000 isn't too bad and there are many things to consider such as various roles and their role players. You can save some money by setting up the company yourself. Just walk into asic and fill in some forms. $400 I think is the fee. Or you could pay $99 on law central and get all the forms filled in and a constitution as well (these…[Read more]

hi1. yes.2. 1 daybut, there are various conditions such as you cannot claim 2 PPOR at the same time – except for a cross over period of 6 months. CGT will also apply to the period of the property before you lived in it as your PPOR.

This is very complex. You will be earning an income in Australia from the rent, although you may have deductions to offset this, so you will need to lodge a tax return. You will also need to declare you overeas income. Whether you are tax more will depend on if there is a double tax agreement with the country you are working in.Whether you are a…[Read more]

I have some wooden floors in a house in a cold area and it is freezing to walk on the floor in winter – you would need slippers!But it is good in summer and cleaner as the dust doesn't build up like it does in the carpet. But you need to clean more often because it is more visible.

Hi JuderI don't think you have much to worry about. It was only an investment for 2 months, so the CGT would only apply to the growth during this period – if any. you probably have a good case for moving in as soon as practical too.Best to check with your accountant.

Cambodian standards of law are not the same, or even close, to that it Australia. If you get into any sort of dispute, it is usually the most powerful, or the one with the most powerful connections that will win. Police and government officials are easliy bribed too. So be very careful.

RudiIf you are thinking of buying in Thailand, I beleive the Bangkok bank, Singapore branch used to lend to non-residents, but they have recently stopped doing so.Another option is to buy something with Vendor finance. This is where the owner will let you pay them off in installments. I have seen a few ads for these deals in Thailand.A LOC will…[Read more]

St George is one lender who charge a LEF (loan extension fee) instead of LMI on certain products. You can also borrow up to 100% without LMI/LEF (higher rates).I don't think Westpac have a policy of instructing valuers to under-value property either!

hi NeelI don't think having a corporate trustee will change anything. Trusts can't negative gear, so you will need to work around things a bit. You can still borrow to buy units and then do it this way, but the unit holders must get all the capital gains too. you can't do the old income units/capital growth units anymore or the ATO will disallow…[Read more]

I think that as long as you intend to build on the land and to rent, then you can claim interest and other costs from day 1, as per Steele's case.

or, in the unlikely event that you can get the owner of the land to agree to go on the loan……

One of my friends recently added a bedroom to his units. He actually added it on the balcony (which was bloddy huge, and still is) so things may be different. He needed both council approval and stata approval and had a hard time getting it too.But if it inside, then maybe nobody will know?

Hi AnthonyYou should seek legal advice because there are various laws relating to raising money from the public. ASIC are actively looking at this because of the number of failed developments recently.

what state?

The main thing is to never pay off an investment loan until you have your PPOR loan fully paid off – and even then it is probably still a good idea to pay IO.Once you pay money into a loan it is trapped. Say you paid the loan down to zero, then you wanted to buy a new PPOR – you would have to borrow the lot and the interest would not be…[Read more]

I think that this company has been going for years – which is unusual in the property 'wealth' type business. The owner has written some books "seven steps to wealth" from memory – though I have never read it. They seem to promoted house and land packages in QLD and promote a buy and hold type strategy.