News Archive
29 December 2006
Are you a Happy Landlord?
How confident are you in your Property Management Agency? Can you REALLY sit back in the knowledge that you and your best interests are covered when it comes to your investments? When we think about these questions we realise that we are placing a lot of trust and money in the hands of a Property Manager. If the average property is worth $330,000 and most Property Managers each look after 140...
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22 December 2006
Development Sites- do I have one?
There are many property owners unaware of the potential of the land they are living on. What used to be known as the average residential block is now looked at with different eyes. There are many suburbs throughout Brisbane that contain properties ready to be sold and re-developed. If your property is zoned LMR (previously known as RB3, RB4) and is a minimum size of 600 sqm your land may have the...
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08 December 2006
Brisbane Real Estate Overview
Brisbane real estate is much more affordable than Sydney and Melbourne thanks to a very competitive building sector and relatively lower home & land prices. Back in June 2002, there were more than 30 Brisbane suburbs with an average house price of under $200,000. In June 2003, there were 6, and now you would be hard pressed to find 1. The median house price is now around $...
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27 November 2006
Unit Sales & Rents On the Increase
According to an article in last weekend's Brisbane Sunday Mail, new unit sales in the Brisbane CBD have increased noticeably over the September quarter. This is good news for developers and investors and is a positive outlook for the future of property in Brisbane.
Residential Tenancies Authority statistics show that Brisbane inner city unit rents have also increased with 1 bedroom units rising ...
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17 November 2006
What is fair wear & tear?
The term "fair wear & tear" is often considered a grey area in Property Management. According to the Residential Tenancies Act 1994, the tenant of a property is to leave it in the same condition as when they occupied the property, allowing for fair wear and tear. Fair wear and tear is considered to occur through "normal use" or are the "normal changes" that take p...
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08 November 2006
Legislative Facts for Rental Properties
There are 2 very important issues relating to investment properties that require urgent attention: Smoke Alarms
From 1 July, 2007, all property owners must install at least one nine-volt battery powered smoke alarm. As a legal minimum requirement a smoke alarm MUST be installed: on or near the ceiling on any storey; between any area containing bedrooms and the rest of the property eg hallways;...
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06 November 2006
Changes to Stamp Duty
From January 2007, under the new legislation outlined in the Revenue and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2006, first home buyers (principal place of residence) will pay no stamp duty on:
* an established home valued up to $320,000; or
* a vacant block of land up to $150,000.
First time buyers will also pay less stamp duty on:
* an established home valued over $320,000 but less th...
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18 October 2006
The Importance of Inspections
Routine inspections
If I had a dollar for every time a tenant has said to me "but my last Agent never did inspections", I would be rich by now. Why is it that some Agents do not make routine inspections a part of their continual service to their clients? They are imperative for so many reasons but most importantly, how can a property be managed if it is not being looked at regularly?
There a...
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17 October 2006
Maintenance on Rental Properties
Whose Problem Is It?
Liability for repairs and maintenance of investment properties is a major issue in real estate today.
A recent Queensland Court of Appeal decision pointed out that Property Managers and/or Landlords are now expected to engage the services of someone with experience in home maintenance to ensure the good repair of a rental premises at the commencement of a tenancy.
Pa...
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10 October 2006
Estimating rents
Estimating the weekly rent!
LoanStar Realty takes your rent seriously. This is necessary to ensure that your property is reaching its maximum potential in every way.
There are no advantages to keeping a rental price low. If you attempt to sell your investment with minimal return, it will put investors off.
If you are not receiving maximum dollar, it will not be possible to maintain the ...
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