I think you're worth more than your accountant! I was going to express my surprise at the ill-logic but RIchard has beaten me to it. Tax deductions are great – IF you need them. Can't see why you would want to deliberately give up your hard earned money in order to claim 1/3 of it back as a 'tax deduction'. Phew!I'm going to have to go and make…[Read more]

Interesting.I recently had a bit to do with a purchase in Melb (not mine) where for about 4 mths the person was looking for somewhere, and 90 % of stuff was listed as going to auction and the agents would not accept an offer before hand! …and I kid you not, stuff listed at $450-$490 was going in the high 5's EVERY time at auction, which among…[Read more]

It really boils down to did it need replacing at the time you bought the property?  If yes, then it is capital, if no (ie you did not realise, or it has deteriorated quicker than you would have thought) then it would/could be a repair.Cheers

Hi eilatan28 – and welcome to the forum.May I start by saying this is why accountants worry me (a lot of them) SO many have so little an idea on how to grasp lending and loan basics, and of course their info gets acted on, and you/we pay for the advice!Without knowing your full circumstances, and to keep it simple, here you go.Firstly, if it IS…[Read more]

Hi,Yep, Kim is spot on. Usually the CIV 's are reasonable conservative, as councils don't want too many people saying their house is not worth as much as is on the rates notice. TO confirm that, I don't know of many people who would sell their house for the CIV on their rates notice. It's a good guide though when working out what your property may…[Read more]

Interesting I think is that it does sound a lot of money doesn't it? Yet…….when you look at how much employment they create, the annual turnover of the business (which is what banks are) I put to you if you had a business that only gave back that % return on investment, would you think you were loaded, or would you lock the doors and go and…[Read more]

itsandrew wrote:
Thanks for your comments.v8ghia, I look forward with interest to see what comments you you have from the valuers.Andrew

Hi ItsAndrew. I have just posted that val info under a new topic in 'Getting Technical' Hope it helps clarify a few things. Cheers

Thanks guys.  I'll keep you posted too cadac -got a guy looking at it today, after the original one lost interest in quoting (calling me back actually) He sounded helpful, and claimed to do a lot of rewires of older laces so we'll see. Appreciate the comment on the disclaimers too. – I'll watch out.Cheers

Evolve wrote:
If you are crazy enough to enter the financial planning industry (v8ghia I am looking at you) then you need to have thick skin and hopefully the ability to provide (and more importantly SHOW) true value.  Possibly the worst job in the world.

Oh well – Got to the age where I need to do the third career change,and as I like…[Read more]

number 8 wrote:
Hi V8ghia,I think you will find these fee's of $7000 and 4-5% are a thing of the past. I do not have any fees attached to my practice. I do not know anyone that is paying for a Planner. http://www.birchcorp.com.au

Hi Number 8.I'll have to wait and see. I would prefer not to return to a bank in a planner role, and would love to do the…[Read more]

I hope you are photogenic then RIchard! Seriously, a big congrats and I'll lash out and buy that one for a look,Cheers

Hi work ur moneyDon't lose too much sleep over that one. The ANZ are one of the only lenders that will do I/O for 10 years – most are 5. THe idea is that after that time you either stat paying down some principal, or re – negotiate (ie refinance) the loan into another I/O one – by which time of course you should have had a major boost of between…[Read more]

Hi Andrew,In it's basic concept, simply owning/buying property in different locations would be the way to address this, and truly diversify. Many prefer different states too – which also makes sense. Drilling down further, different types of property would achieve this further –  ie units, townhouses, and the 'bread and butter' 3/4 br house on…[Read more]

Hi Danny, and welcome to the forum. Might be a good idea to have a chat with the local council….then again. Might be a better idea to have a chat with someone who does inspections/approvals in the area to see if they can assist, as they should be well up with what the Bendigo council wants.I'm around your area (yes, I've even bought stuff off…[Read more]

Hi wazzie – and welcome to the forum,It's not so much a 'delayed settlement' as such, but with your offer you request the settlement period to be put in your contract. THe usual may be 42 or 30 days for example, but you could ask for a 60 day one. Not much use to you if the vendor wants a quicker sale though (unless you are offering a higher price…[Read more]

Hi Terry,I did pay $1100 once (few years back now) which was inc of 'unlimited consultations per annum) but only left in place for a year – and being an amp guy not a lot of value for money. He ended up taking some of my advice though and selling some of his share portfolio to pay down some of his non deductible debt……I'm just about to enter…[Read more]

As already mentioned, it is ideal to keep separate if you can. That said, for cost saving and convenience IF you can achieve it, it is not the end of the world to cross secure the two properties with the same lender, and have 2 different loans (ie – all the refi & stamp duty costs, legals etc you would have as borrowings on the investment loan)…[Read more]

I don't think you will find a home loan application form that does not ask that very question…..' Are you a guarantor for or do you act as guarantee for……..etc etc'. Even if you wanted to lie (that is non disclosure really I guess isn't it) you may get a surprise just how much info some lenders can glean from you credit file….and…[Read more]

Hi GOldies,They will nearly always look inside now, so a tidy / fresh clean place has more appeal than a slum. Other things looked for by the valuer are sales activity in the area, environmental impact and issues (noise, power lines or HV cables nearby, outlook, distance from road) land value, and improvements done (such as fencing,shedding,…[Read more]

You also need to allow for a bit of natural variation between valuers as well. On a $300k property I would not be surprised to have a 5% variation in the value – especially if comparative sales are few and far between as mentioned already. Bear in mind, if you are borrowing money you are at the 'mercy' of whoever does the val for the particular…[Read more]