Queensland

How To Avoid Renovation Traps

Renovations done right can pay off. Literally. That said there are some serious traps to avoid. Potential problems from wiring to asbestos issues often come up especially in older houses, so it’s important to seek professional help. Jim’s Buil...
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The Case For More Home Inspections

Building surveyors are calling on Victoria’s state government to mandate balcony inspections. This follows the tragic balcony collapse in Doncaster East in late 2017. Sadly, two people died and many others were injured, according to The Age. In ...
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The D-Word: Time To Talk Depreciation

Sad fact: Many Australian rental property owners are failing to correctly calculate depreciation. “I have often seen clients who have owned investment properties for five, six or seven years and have never claimed any form of depreciation becaus...
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The Dirt On Property Depreciation

What’s depreciation? In a nutshell, it’s an allowance under tax laws in Australia for investors. It means they can claim deductions for expenditures in their property investments. Why depreciation? Even extremely well-built houses aren’t imm...
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Things to consider when building your first home

You might decide that rather than buying an established property as your first home, it would better suit you to build. Building your first home can be both an exciting and overwhelming experience. Building allows you to customise your home from t...
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Re-stumping red flags

A guide to Re-Stumping Re-stumping - or re-blocking as it's known in Victoria - is big business in Australia and can be a very costly exercise, particularly if you don't know what you're looking at and you don't understand what you've bought into....
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What Does Jim Know About Building Inspections Anyway?

ACTUALLY, QUITE A BIT MORE THAN WE EVER REALISED! We recently discovered that Jim Penman’s dad was a forensic engineer. From an early age Jim’s father was investigating materials, structures and their components which failed o...
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Do you think that property you are looking to buy has asbestos?

If the house you are looking to buy was built or renovated before 1990, it is likely that it will contain some form of asbestos-containing materials. Did you know that approximately one-third of homes built in Australia contain asbestos products? ...
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Rental Reforms To Hit Queensland

Queensland’s 40-year-old rental laws are under scrutiny. One big potential change: making it easier for tenants to own pets and more pressure to address repairs in a timely manner. Property owners, however, may have more powers in their hands to ch...
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How Can I Save Money This Year?

This year has been a year of challenges. These challenging times are leading to many investors asking the question how can I save money this year? One of the ways many investors can save money is by looking for ways to reduce their tax burden. That ...
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