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UNDERQUOTING can take place whenever a real estate agent misleads a potential buyer about the likely selling price of a property – be it for commercial or residential real estate.
For example: When a property is promoted at a price that is lower than its estimated selling price, the seller’s asking price or at a price that the seller has already rejected. [Read more…]
ON 25 FEBRUARY 2016, Parliament passed a new foreign resident capital gains tax withholding regime.
The regime applies to contracts entered into on or after 1 July 2016; and is intended to assist the Commissioner of Taxation in the collection of the CGT payable by foreign residents.
Under the regime, a 10% non-final withholding tax will apply to foreign residents on the disposal of relevant taxable Australian property.
SUPERANNUATION, yes, it's still tax free. However, it comes with changes in that if you have more than $1.6m in superannuation at retirement, the amount over those earnings (not the withdrawals) will not be tax free from July 2017.
Not all bad news, as the bits above $1.6m still receive low concessional tax rates (10 or 15%). And, in most cases, it is far better than being taxed outside of superannuation.
COMMERCIAL PROPERTY INVESTORS will generally live in a residential property. So, here is something to consider when you come to buy your next home.
A recent decision in the Supreme Court of Victoria (Tan v Russell [2016] VSC 93) has made it clear that real estate agents do not have authority to receive notices of termination when purchasers seek to exercise their cooling off rights, unless otherwise authorised to receive such notices.
THE FOLLOWING is a little-known (but should be widely-known) ATO explanation on how to calculate CGT on a property that was formerly your home that you subdivide much later. And how the principal place of residence can be lost.
WHILE REAL ESTATE AGENTS (both commercial and residential) must act fairly and honestly when advertising property, there is no doubt that underquoting is a significant problem -- predominantly in the current Melbourne and Sydney real estate market.
Although the New South Wales Government has recently proposed legislative reforms in order combat this problem, Victoria is yet to follow.
What is Underquoting?
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THE QUESTION IS: Have the major corporate tenants been “sold a pup”? Or have their Financial Controllers merely been focusing upon cost savings, rather than employee productivity?
I’M IN MY 40s … and well behind where I want or need to be. My career has stalled and the marriage is shaky because we’re constantly arguing about money. This is probably because my partner never returned to serious paid work after we had the children.
We’re far from making any dents in the mortgage. In fact, it’s actually rising slightly each year, what with the kids’ secondary education to pay for on top of all the other demands on our single income. [Read more…]
YOUR TENANT’S OBLIGATION to pay rent, care for the premises and abide by the provisions of the lease is usually secured by your right (as the landlord) to terminate the lease and recover possession.
In reality, this does little to remedy the financial loss suffered by a landlord, as a result of a breach by the tenant. [Read more…]
YOU SHOULD BE CAUTIOUS when entering into negotiations with foreign purchasers for the sale of property, due to the restrictions imposed by the Foreign Investment Review Board (“FIRB”).
Vendors should ensure that the contract of sale protects them when approval is required by the FIRB. Because, if the purchaser fails to gain approval, the FIRB can reverse the transaction. [Read more…]
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ONE QUESTION often asked by inexperienced investors is whether or not you can manage your own Commercial property.
And clearly, the short answer is “Yes” … if you know what you doing.
However, owning a Commercial property means that you do have certain legal responsibilities. And among them are your property’s compliance with the various Essential Services requirements, under current Building Regulations. [Read more…]
