With Commercial Property … Balance Wins the Day

6 November, 2013 by Leave a Comment

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Sub-Lease-Space-L

THIS CHART APPEARED as part of a recent article in the Financial Review, by Mercedes Ruhl (30 October, page 41).

The article reassured investors that the anticipated short-term surge in sublease space (within Australia’s CBD Office markets) has simply not eventuated.

“Sublease space spikes at times when the economy is weak and business confidence is low because companies are restructuring and downsizing.”

Furthermore, the article suggests the overall amount of sublease space is expected to fall sharply over the next few months — following the post-election improvement in business confidence.

And of all the capital cities, the CBRE research shows Melbourne has provided the greatest improvement over the past year. [Read more…]

Filed Under: *Expert Panel, Economic Issues, Global Scene, Market Sectors, Offices, Opportunities, Property Insights, Stability, Your Exposure Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Depreciation Differences: Part 2

30 October, 2013 by Leave a Comment

ComVsRes-Depn-2

Commercial Vs Residential Property.

LAST WEEK, we covered the different types of Depreciation and the depreciation rules for tenants in Commercial properties.

Read on now, for the rules for claiming occupancy in a Commercial/Residential property — plus another useful tip, when it comes to when claiming deprecation. [Read more…]

Filed Under: *Expert Panel, Industrial Sector, Market Sectors, Offices, Residential vs Commercial, Retail Sector, Tax Depreciation, Taxation Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Commercial Vs Residential Property … What are the Depreciation Differences?

22 October, 2013 by Leave a Comment

ComVsRes-Depn

THIS IS THE FIRST of a 2-part article, to help provide you with a useful comparison between the depreciation of Commercial and Residential property.

Investors considering purchasing an investment property will often enquire whether a Commercial or a Residential property will provide them with more deductions in the form of depreciation.

However, there are many important factors you need to be aware of when making a choice between these two investment options. [Read more…]

Filed Under: *Expert Panel, Industrial Sector, Market Sectors, Offices, Residential vs Commercial, Retail Sector, Tax Depreciation, Taxation Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

New Effective Lives of Depreciable Assets

3 September, 2013 by Leave a Comment

TaxLives

THE AUSTRALIAN Taxation Office (ATO) has released a new tax ruling — effective from the 1st of July 2013.

Tax Ruling 2013/04

Replacing Tax Ruling 2012/2 , Tax Ruling 2013/4 explains the methods you should use when determining the effective lives of depreciating assets.

While Table B of Tax Ruling 2013/4 lists the effective lives of depreciable assets currently recognised by the ATO.

Roll Out of New Effective Lives

The tax ruling in effect at the time you acquired an asset determines the effective life of that asset. Therefore, any changes the ATO have made to the effective lives of assets in Tax Ruling 2013/4 — only affect assets purchased and installed for use after the 1st of July 2013. [Read more…]

Filed Under: *Expert Panel, Industrial Sector, Market Sectors, Offices, Retail Sector, Tax Depreciation, Taxation Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

How to Use the Equity in Your Commercial Property

27 August, 2013 by 6 Comments

Equity-Release

RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY INVESTORS commonly release equity in their homes in order to invest in other property. But can you do the same with your Commercial property?

Equity in Commercial Property

It is possible for you to utilise the equity in Commercial property … but it is a bit more difficult and complex than with residential property.

Banks are more risk-averse to Commercial property funding than they are to the residential market. And they will want to have some measure of control over the use of funds — before releasing cash to you. [Read more…]

Filed Under: *Expert Panel, Finance, Industrial Sector, Market Sectors, Offices, Retail Sector Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

How to Find the Right Builder

20 August, 2013 by Leave a Comment

The-Correct-Builder

LIKE ALL THINGS, there is a “right” approach and there is a “wrong” approach to finding the perfect builder for your project.

Some developers, investors and building owners fall into the tempting trap of trying to cut costs — by bringing in builders who offer to work for much less, but who may not have the experience needed for that particular project.

These people hope that by reducing initial costs, they can boost their overall profits. Unfortunately this tends to backfire on them, more often than not. [Read more…]

Filed Under: *Expert Panel, Due Diligence, Industrial Sector, Market Sectors, Offices, Retail Sector Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Claiming Depreciation Can Transform Your Bottom Line

30 July, 2013 by Leave a Comment

BMT-Tax

IN MANY CASES, commercial properties are positively geared. And that means their rental returns are often higher than loan repayments and outgoings for the property.

What what you may not realise is that the income received from a positively geared property can have avoidable tax implications.

Claiming depreciation on a positively geared commercial property can help you substantially reduce your overall taxable income, and further improve your after-tax cash position.

Perhaps a Case Study would help … [Read more…]

Filed Under: *Expert Panel, Industrial Sector, Market Sectors, Offices, Retail Sector, Tax Depreciation Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Control The Loan Process

23 July, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Commercial-Loan-Application

THE OTHER DAY, I was doing some analysis on the loans lodged over the past year … looking at the time-frames, and where the delays have occurred.

And I was struck by the number of stages a loan application needs to go through, before settlement. Plus the number of people the file depends upon, to go smoothly.

The people involved in this process can include the broker, the bank officer, credit analyst, valuer, borrower’s solicitor, bank’s solicitor, vendor’s solicitor, accountant, financial adviser (if financial advice is required), real estate agent and, possibly, the tenant.

As you can appreciate, delays can occur at the hands of any of these stakeholders with dire consequences. That’s why it is advisable (as far as possible) for you to retain as much control over the process as you can … in order to avoid potential pitfalls. [Read more…]

Filed Under: *Expert Panel, Economic Issues, Finance, Industrial Sector, Market Sectors, Offices, Retail Sector, Using Debt Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Detect Hazardous Materials BEFORE Demolishing Begins

18 July, 2013 by Leave a Comment

HazardousMaterial

HAZARDOUS MATERIALS are found in a range of locations, forms and types of building structures; plus they are not just limited to Commercial projects. Unfortunately, they are widely spread through residential and public properties as well.

The identification process is the first step for anyone wishing to undertake alterations, demolition or disturbance of materials — which could be potentially harmful to workers, or the general public. And then, you need to quantify the cost of rectification; and what effect that will have upon your intended project.

3 Key Questions to ask … [Read more…]

Filed Under: *Expert Panel, Due Diligence, Industrial Sector, Market Sectors, Offices, Retail Sector Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

With Commercial Property Managers … What Should You Expect?

17 July, 2013 by Leave a Comment

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Commercial-Property-Management

OF COURSE, everyone’s expectations will differ as to how your property should be managed. But over the years, my clients have provided a few clues. And these have been rather helpful in creating a simple checklist.

Good Property Management is the Key to Your SuccessAnd so once you’ve finally acquired a suitable Commercial property, any ongoing Management will need to make sure that … [Read more…]

Filed Under: *Expert Panel, Industrial Sector, Market Sectors, Offices, Opportunities, Property Insights, Property Management, Retail Sector, X~Factors, Your Exposure Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Never Cross Collateralize Your Loan Arrangements

27 June, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Cross-Collateralizing-2
Part 2: Proper Loan Structuring can give you Protection.

LAST TIME (in Part 1), you discovered why the banks should not be allowed to call the shots. And perhaps a couple more Case Studies will help to further explain that.

Let’s take a look at what happened “Kevin”

He was a very successful property investor who had an impressive portfolio, consisting of several residential and commercial properties.

Kevin was able to build this portfolio through a mixture of a good knowledge of the market, savvy negotiating skills, a high-income job with a resources company and, it has to be said, some luck in picking the trends.

Kevin’s problem was that he wanted to retire early — which is something someone of his net worth should easily be able to do. But he made one major mistake. [Read more…]

Filed Under: *Expert Panel, Economic Issues, Finance, Industrial Sector, Interest Rates, Market Sectors, Offices, Opportunities, Retail Sector, Your Exposure