The Tax Man and You

TaxDepreciationBEING A COMMERCIAL property owner, the Australian tax system allows you to claim a deduction from your income.

And that relates to the wear and tear upon the structure of a commercial property, and the depreciation of the plant and equipment items it contains.

Depreciation is available to all property owners who generate an income from that property. But the secret is to make sure you maximise these deductions, to boost your bottom-line cash flow.

By maximizing your tax depreciation deductions every financial year can make a huge difference to the tax you pay. And it may even result in the ATO paying money back to you, at the end of the year.

A few facts about Depreciation for Commercial Properties [Read more…]

Proper Due Diligence is Vital

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MANY PEOPLE will make the mistake of not carrying out a due diligence study BEFORE they acquire their Commercial properties.

But this can end up becoming a very expensive process — because you’ll can often miss out on the property, if someone else snaps it up, before you’re able complete your study.

Therefore, the secret lies in ensuring you negotiate a deal — where your due diligence occurs AFTER you have tied up the property, under a binding contract of sale.

Anyway, here are the 5 Key Elements you need to investigate … [Read more…]

Commercial Property … With a New Look and Feel

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BY NEXT WEEK, everything will appear different!

No, I’m not referring to the Commercial property market. Rather, how it will be presented to you.

Right now, this website is undergoing a total refurb. Very much like one of your investment properties you’ve been holding for a while.

And straight away, you will notice two key differences:

  1. The articles will be presented in a modern “Newsy” format; and
  2. There will also be a wider range of topics covered — by a team of expert guest contributors. [Read more…]

How Will the Global Scene Impact Commercial Property?

The disparity in global Office Yields makes Australian Commercial property very appealing to overseas investors.YOU NEED to look “behind the curtain” … and not allow yourself to become concerned by the recent headlines. Just remember: Media companies need to make sure their newspapers sell.

Last week, share market speculators drew breath rather sharply … as China’s 3-month growth in GDP to March, came in at “just 7.7%”.

True, this was down from the expected 7.9%; but it was still in line with China’s overall growth, throughout 2012.

However, let’s get real: Compared with anywhere else in the world, 7.7% is clearly an enviable figure. [Read more…]

Commercial Property: The Interest Rate Dilemma

Interest-RatesSHOULD YOU be fixing the interest rate for the term of your investment loan … or simply running with the best variable rate?

Lurking behind that question is another concern: Will interest rates fall any further; and if so, by how much?

The Case FOR a further Interest Rate Cut [Read more…]

Does a Solid Sales Increase in February Mean the Retail Sector is Now Back?

Strip Centres are still strugglingYOU WILL quickly find that there are two different schools of thought:

  1. After much hibernation, Retail property is set to surge again.
  2. With the high dollar, and growth in online shopping, the Retailing has much catching up to do.

Despite Australia having been mostly sheltered from the global financial crisis, retailers (especially in strip shopping centres) have been doing it rather tough.

Before the GFC, Retail property yields had plummeted. In some cases, as low as 3.5% per annum — with investors clamouring for what they saw as “sexy property”. And they believed values would always increased dramatically. [Read more…]

Commercial Property: Getting The Numbers Right

Getting The Numbers RightOVER THE PAST few weeks … we’ve spent some time talking about the Anatomy of a Commercial Property Dealhow to to find Top Commercial properties and … the need for proper Due Diligence.

However, it’s probably worth showing you how to establish what funds you actually have available to invest upfront.

It’s certainly not a complicated process — but a vital one , nonetheless.

You see, many investors tend to overestimate (and will often even underestimate) the amount of the funds they may have available. And that immediately impacts upon the value of the property you can acquire. [Read more…]

How Do You Find Top Commercial Property Deals?

Being creative will deliver you Top Commercial property dealsMOST INVESTORS believe keeping an eye on the daily media will provide you with the best opportunities.

Others will mainly focus upon distressed sales like “Mortgagees’ Auctions”.

However, by doing that, you are effectively pitting yourself against considerable competition.

And while the property itself may be First-class … you are unlikely to end up with a “top deal”. [Read more…]

Commercial Property: Have You Bought What You Thought?

DueDiligenceWHENEVER you’re looking to acquire a Commercial property for $1 million or more, you should undertake thorough due diligence on it … before making a final commitment.

However, some investors new to Commercial property generally find themselves with a dilemma:

  1. By carrying out their due diligence before making an initial offer, they could end up missing out on the property and running up unnecessary costs; OR …
  2. By trying to make due diligence a condition of the contract, this may offend the vendor and derail the whole deal.

So, let’s explore both of these approaches in a little more detail. [Read more…]

How Quickly The Mood Has Changed For Commercial Property!

Has The Penny Dropped?OVERALL, people appear to have returned from their Christmas break with a renewed sense of confidence — certainly as far as Commercial property is concerned.

In a recent article, I covered the reasons for this change.

However, investors are also being buoyed by the past two weeks of solid economic data — including a welcome boost to Australia’s trade balance, as well as retail turnover increasing by 0.9% during January. [Read more…]

How Good a Commercial Property Investor Are You?

InvestSOME WOULD-BE investors never get around to taking the plunge into Commercial property.

They certainly know quite a lot, because they read plenty of books and regularly attend seminars. But even so, they remain what are affectionately called “Armchair Investors”.

How to Cure Procrastination

There is a certain hesitancy that sometimes accompanies the transition from Residential to Commercial property investing. [Read more…]