Steve Moran Real Estate

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Source REIQ

Following the culmination of months of hard work and ongoing consultation between the REIQ and government, the Property Agents and Motor Dealers and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2010 was last night passed in Parliament.

The government liaised extensively with the REIQ throughout the process and since early August the REIQ has urged the government, including representation to the Premier, to have the legislation debated and passed so that an orderly introduction can occur on 1 October.  The government continues to recognise that the REIQ vigorously and professionally puts forward the concerns of its members.  This process has reinforced the REIQ’s position as the peak professional body which the government consults with first and last.

The amendments simplify Chapter 11 by removing the overly prescriptive requirements for the presentation and delivery of proposed residential property contracts.

Major improvements include:

• A ‘once only’ requirement to give a clear statement to the buyer directing the buyer to the warning statement and the proposed relevant contract. The buyer must sign the warning statement before the contract is signed;
• The warning statement must be attached to the contract but there will be no prescribed order of documents;
• A right to terminate a contract if the buyer is not given a clear statement directing their attention to the warning statement and proposed contract at the time of giving the proposed relevant contract to the buyer. If the warning statement is not attached to the proposed contract then a clear statement has not been given;
• A buyer will have the earlier of 90 days or up to the date of settlement to terminate, but if the buyer has signed the warning statement they will be considered to have had their attention drawn to it and will no longer have a right to terminate.

The amendments establish the rights of buyers with contracts which have not settled when the revised requirements take effect. Those buyers will only be able to terminate after commencement if there has been a failure to draw the buyer’s attention to the warning statement, or information sheet if an apartment sale, and contract documents and this right exists up until settlement of the contract, capped at the 90-day limit. Existing rights to terminate for technical breaches, such as documents being delivered in the wrong order will cease when the new legislation takes effect.

The Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 has also been amended, to reflect the changes in Chapter 11.

Other amendments include:

• Removal of the requirement for a registered employee to notify their employer’s name to Fair Trading;
• Removal of the requirement for employment authorities;
• Removal of the requirement for notification of an intention to open a trust account – the requirement to notify account details once opened remain; and
• Removal of a requirement for an applicant for a resident letting agent’s licence to have obtained body corporate approval at the time of application for the licence.

With a commencement date of 1 October 2010, it is imperative that those in the profession are aware of what is required under the new legislation and how to prepare.  The REIQ will be holding educational forums throughout the State which will provide further information on these amendments as well as other impending legislative updates.  All members are encouraged to attend these sessions in order to gain a full understanding of the changes.

Click here for more information on upcoming sessions in Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Gold

The Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) has applauded both the Government and the Opposition for ruling out the abolition of negative gearing for the purpose of property investment at today’s debate at the National Press Club, Canberra.
“This is fantastic news for renters, affordable housing and real estate investors,” said REIA President, Mr David Airey.
Negative gearing, for the purpose of property investment, in its current form is addressing the supply of rental accommodation and is complementary to the goals of the Housing Affordability Fund (HAF).
“The Hawke Government abolished negative gearing for property in 1985 only to have it reinstated in 1987. During that period rents increased by 57.5% in Sydney, by 38.2% in Perth and by 32.0% in Brisbane. At the same time building approvals fell by 13.8%”, continued Mr Airey.
When negative gearing was reinstated, the Government noted that any tax advantages conferred by negative gearing were countered by the CGT regime when capital gains were realised.
“To amend the current negative gearing provisions for housing as some critics have suggested would be treating real estate differently to other asset classes and create a resource misallocation”, he continued.
“The big question now is – when are any of the major political parties going to release a specific housing policy?” he said.
“Housing is a crucial part of the economy and is facing some major challenges, however seems to have been left off the election campaign agenda”, concluded Mr Airey.
#The Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) is the national professional association for the real estate sector in Australia.

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Reserve Bank Interest Rate Announcement

The Reserve Bank has opted to keep interest rates steady at its board meeting today.

It was a widely expected move and will give mortgage holders another welcome breather from the six rate hikes they have endured since September last year.

“It looks as though the earlier interest rate hikes are already biting,” says Domain.com.au blogger Carolyn Boyd. “Auction clearance rates are down and house price growth is cooling. Real estate agents are also reporting there are less people looking to buy.”

Each 0.25 per cent interest rate rise adds another $50 to the monthly cost of an average mortgage. Australian mortgage holders are already paying about $300 more per month in repayments than they were in September last year.

Mortgage holders on variable interest rates are currently being charged about 7.4 per cent by their lenders.

The beginning of recent housing developments around the nation is forging ahead, driven more or less exclusively by government stimulus spending on public accommodation. New home numbers leaped to the greatest level since middle-2004 in the March quarter.

The number of public sector housing starts jumped from 2,360 inside the December quarter to 4,096 in the March quarter, but this doesn’t precisely depict the vastness of the federal government’s public housing program, which is constructing 20,000 housing units.

Housing Industry Association chief economist Harley Dale estimates the total starts for public housing jumped from 4,000 to 8,000 units in the March quarter, which suggests that new housing for personal purchases dropped inside the quarter.

“The level of detached house starts, while significantly healthier than in the course of the GFC, came back by 2.1 per cent in the March quarter,” he said. There was hopes this year that the housing industry would indicate a stable recovery because of the rush in new housing approvals from local councils within the latter part of last year.

The speedy growth in population has also led to forecasts that home construction would soon pick up. But Mr Dale believed those approvals weren’t in fact equating to new housing starts, to a certain extent because of the difficulty in securing home loans.

The overall number of housing starts climbed buy by 4.3 per cent to 42,400, amid strongest growth in Western Australia (12.1 per cent), South Australia (10.5 per cent Victoria (9.4 per cent) and New South Wales (9.2 per cent).

“A positive outlook for 2010-11 and beyond isn’t assured amongst considerable supply-side obstacles, which, in this cycle, have been added to by a dire shortage of available finance for development,” he said.

* Countries yet to report Q1 2010 data, Q4 2009 data shown.

Tax time of the year is always a daunting time but it shouldn’t be! Playing it safe is always recommended, keep personal, business and investment expenses separate. We have devised a simple but basic check list to ensure you include this with your tax.

• Statements in sequential order for each separate property

• Checked statements against bank account statement to make sure all payments have been made

• If you have recently bought a property have you got all contract and agreement details

• Water charge accounts (if not paid by agent)

• Bank Fees

• Capital costs

• Interest on loans accounted for (beware if you have a line of credit that you have itemized personal from property expense)

• Advertising fees

• Agent fees (should be on your statement with any maintenance paid by agent)

• Body Corporate fees and statements

• Borrowing expenses

• Cleaning & general maintenance (if not already itemized)

• Council rates

• Gardening

• Insurance premiums paid

• Land tax

Tax experts advise that claiming depreciation is one of the easiest and most valuable ways to save money at tax time, and yet 80 percent of property investors don’t claim it! A Tax Depreciation Schedule is simply a report on all the items in an investment property that are decreasing in value.

If you would like a tax depreciation schedule done for your property please give Claire a call

ph: 07 3505 4444    or  m: 0434 133 285

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Government Survey

Australian mortgage holders are a third time unlucky this year, after the Reserve Bank board today lifted interest rates by 0.25 per cent. It is the third rate rise in as many months.

Mortgage holders will be disappointed with the increase. After being told by the Reserve Bank Governor, Glenn Stevens, that rates were getting close to normal levels, borrowers would have been hoping the pace of rate rises had slowed. Today’s 25 basis point rise takes the official rate to 4.50 per cent.

It is the sixth increase since September and means mortgage holders are now paying about $300 a month extra for their mortgages than they were in the middle of last year, says Domain.com.au blogger and property author Carolyn Boyd. “There were a lot of mixed signals this month that may have had mortgage holders thinking they were in for a break. While inflation last week came in higher than expected, consumers have been spending less at the shops.”

Until today’s decision, mortgage holders on variable interest rates were paying about 7 per cent to their lenders. The rates that borrowers pay to their financial institutions are expected to normalize at about 7.5 per cent to 7.75 per cent by year’s end. That could signal there are still one or two more rate rises to come before Christmas.

Pauline Hansen's Home For Sale

Pauline Hanson has portrayed herself as a victim of political correctness following the furore over her refusal to sell her home to a Muslim.

Ms Hanson this afternoon hit back at Queensland’s Anti-Discrimination Commission for saying she would be breaking the law if she knocked back a potential buyer on the grounds of their race or religion.

“I’m the one who decides if I want to put my signature on my contract, it’s my right I will decide whether I want to sell my land to a certain person on that contract or not,” the former One Nation leader told Fairfax Radio 4BC.

Ms Hanson said some of her critics were “a bunch of hypocrites” and they should respect the fact people still had the hard-won right to free speech.

“Little by little we’re losing our rights in this country,” she said.

“Because I’ve voiced my opinion I’m sort of jumped on and been howled down, ‘My god, you can’t say that’.

“Political correctness has taken over our lives if we don’t have a right to have an opinion.”

Ms Hanson, who is selling her home in Coleyville, south-west of Brisbane, ahead of her temporary relocation to Britain, ignited the latest controversy by telling a television station she would not accept any offers from Islamic buyers.

“Because I don’t believe that they are compatible with our way of life, our culture,” she told Seven’s Sunrise program. Read the rest of this entry »