firstnational
Property Investor News November 2010
Fitting out a furnished property or holiday home Are you a property investor who wants to aim at the furnished property rental market? Have you bought your investment only to realise that you now have to pay out to furnish the property? This doesn’t come cheap but for those in the know and who do their research, there are a number of ways to save huge amounts of money. The Lifestyle Channel is a great place to start and their online website lists five tips to finding cheap/free furniture. Although
these seem to be aimed at the tenant, you can just as easily apply them to you, the landlord. • Visit the website www.gumtree.com.au where you can buy beds, tables, chairs etc or swap or get them FREE at www.ozrecycle.com which lists furniture that is no longer wanted by its owner. This is a great environmentally friendly website that also reduces landfill and unnecessary waste. You can find anything here from pianos to bulbs for the garden. • Take a drive around your local area, as people often leave things out for people to take. • Do the obvious and go to op shops such as Vinnies or The Salvos. They often have very good quality cheap used furniture. • Garage sales also provide a great place to pick up a bargain and these are usually signposted around the local neighbourhood, in the local newspaper or even on the website... egaragesales.com.au • If you really don’t want to use second hand furniture there are plenty of reasonably priced furniture shops such as IKEA or Fantastic Furniture.
Burnie 111 - 113 Wilson Street, Burnie TAS 7320 Phone 03 6431 4544
PROPERTY INVESTOR NEWS | November 2010
Did you know? Did you know that ABS statistics can be used to your advantage? Not only are they are a source of extremely valuable and free information, but they can be used to help you plan your investment strategy. A handy starting point for investors researching a particular area assists: • People – this gives you an indication of where the population growths are; the demographics of that population; income and projections for the future. Thus assisting you in initially determining whether an area is worth looking into or not.
Landlords beware – the taxman is watching you! The value of an
inspection report when a tenancy commences
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is looking into property investment and has voiced concerns over some investors who seem to be: • Claiming rental and share investment expenses that are not legitimate or cannot be substantiated;
• Not declaring capital gains on the sale of their investments; and
Obtaining Quotes
• Not reporting rental and dividend income on their tax returns correctly.
As you are aware, our office has a list of approved/preferred tradespeople that we The ATOuse. hasOur alsopreferred voiced concerns over regularly tradespeople are GST issues withifproperty transactions and reliable, licensed needed, carry PI Insurance has sent out a warning to taxpayers to and in most instances provide their services at ensure they report transfers, sales and very competitive rates.
purchases correctly on their Business We are quite often asked obtain more Activity Statements andtoincome tax than 1returns. or 2 quotes, and are finding it increasingly difficult to oblige with these requests as we have a shortage of tradespeople in ourraising area, The ATO is clearly on the warpath, and at times the $195 extra million quotes are taking weeks, approximately from audits on if not months to obtain. We are also noticing, over 3,000 GST reviews last year. For the some of the tradespeople are now charging for tax year the ATO aims they at are quotes or 2010-2011, won’t even quote because focussing on GST on the sale of a property not guaranteed the work.
and will do so by:
This has matching added to your Propertysales; Managers • Data of property and already busy work load, as they are constantly • Identifying those taxpayers who do not having to chase the extra quotes as they are the property transaction oras doofso notreport forthcoming in a timely manner, so incorrectly. 1st October 2010 our office will only be obtaining one quote if required and this will be from preferred Should you If youour are unsure tradespeople. about any issues have any questions or concerns, pleasethe speak concerning property taxes, contact with ATO.your Property Managers.
Spray painting – the quick way!
Water Rates – Who Pays What? Our office has had many queries regarding what part of the water/sewerage bill can be passed onto to the tenant. The answer is, none of it. The service charges are to be paid by the owner. Any excess water usage will arrive on a separate bill and this can be passed onto the tenant as long as they have resided in the property for the period of the notice. These arrangements will continue at this stage until 30th June 2012.
Do you have a short window of opportunity between one tenant moving out and another moving in? Do you need to touch up the paint and make your property presentable? The quickest way to do this is to use a spray gun. Spray guns are designed for interior walls as they produce less over-spray and therefore less waste and less mess.
Vacancy Rate
A standard gun can normally cover 12 square metres and comes with settings designed for various uses, from broad application to targeted spots.
Calendar
Obviously before starting, make sure you have covered the floors with a drop sheet, covered up windows and doors with newspaper, and protected architraves and skirting boards with painter’s tape.
End of Month Payments 30th November 2010
Prepare the walls in the usual way, i.e. by lightly sanding and then washing down with sugar soap and rinsing.
First National Burnie’s current vacancy rate is 0.8% Deanne Lamprey Principal
Mid Month Payments 15th November 2010
Property of the Month
A handy tip for ease of spray is to dilute the paint with 10% water to obtain a smooth consistency.
18 Pine Avenue Upper Burnie 3 bed, 2 bath, garage $220pw, 12 month lease Price $197,000
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