Have you ever wondered why the rich keep getting richer and the gap between the rich and the poor keeps widening? Michael Yardney addressees that topic in the show and tells us about his new book as well.

Tax time can be confusing for many property investors, but getting sorted is simply a matter of following some basic rules and getting the right advice. I talk to Brad Beer about that and he gives us 7 simple rules.

A few weeks ago I read an email I had received from Tiffany who suggested that we were neglecting the fairer sex and that we need some more female perspective in the show. So Tiffany joins me today and has an excellent suggestion and an invitation to join a special group – more about that later.

Did you know that 1 in 5 property transactions are currently delayed due to error? I didn’t and what’s more, these errors can cause delays of up to 1 year. There is a solution and we tell you about it today.

We do know that when it comes to buying a property first impressions count. Well now we know how much it counts because Jodi Walker and her team at Secret Agent have revealed the results of a fascinating survey they have conducted and we will even be able to give you a link to the report (The Secret Agent Report November 2015 Symmetry).

We get answers to a number of your questions from Chan & Naylor’s Ken Raiss to do with lines of credit, GST and Capital Gains tax on vacant land and transferring equity from a principal place of residence into a trust.

 
Transcripts:
Brad Beer
Kevin:  We’re always looking for ways to get the most out of our investment property. I’m going to talk now to Brad Beer from BMT Tax Depreciation. That’s always a great way to do it as we head toward Christmas, Brad, isn’t it?

Brad:  Absolutely. We all need more money at Christmas, so yes.

Kevin:  What are some of the ways that we actually get more money out?

Brad:  I still see people all the time people who haven’t really got depreciation sorted out properly. There are a lot of things that you can claim on an investment properly, and most of them you have a receipt for. You pay your interest, you get information from the bank about the interest you’ve paid, etc. Depreciation is one that often gets missed, because you don’t see depreciation happening and you don’t get a bill for it.

Kevin:  I think one of the common mistakes I see, too, is that a lot of investors think that you can only get depreciation on a new property, but we know that’s not right.

Brad:  Absolutely. A new property gets the most, and near new gets a lot, but the thing I like to say is you’re never too old. An old property still gets depreciation. It doesn’t get as much because the age does impact on some things, but it’s always worth asking the question to see if on your particular property there may be any deductions there for you.

Kevin:  With the advent of the Internet and a lot more people working from home, does that offer up other opportunities to claim depreciation from a home office, as well?

Brad:  Depreciation is claimable on any investment property, so any property that you rent out to tenants is an investment property, obviously. But when you operate a business from home, or even rent part of your home out, then part of your home is potentially becoming an investment property for the use of business. Therefore, a percentage of the depreciation that you would claim might be claimable in that situation.

It’s good to work out with your accountant the other expenses that may be able to be claimed then, but depreciation is also one of those that you can quite often get some claims from if you’re using it for that purpose.

Kevin:  Another thing I wonder, too, is that quite often we buy properties in different times of the year. Do we have to wait for a full year to claim depreciation?

Brad:  No. Settling some time in the middle of June and you may only have a couple of weeks of time that’s available to