The property on the Gold Coast was left in ruin with the insurer claiming the damage stretches into tens of thousands of dollars.

“The property has been totally trashed,” said EBM Insurance Brokers’ RentCover general manager, Sharon Fox-Slater.

“Every window and a number of walls were smashed. Most of the walls that weren’t smashed had graffiti all over them. And there was also a small fire,” she said.

“However, we are so thankful that nobody got hurt.”

Police arrested Jamie Ross Odering, 31, 29 hours after an emergency situation was declared last week.

Mr Odering was posting on Facebook during the siege and allegedly threatened to blow up the house where he’d taken refuge with gas bottles stockpiled inside after his relationship broke down.

The owner of the property had a RentCover policy from EBM Insurance Brokers, which covers not only tenant damage but the rent they will miss out on while repairs are made.

Ms Fox-Slater warned that it was quite common for tenants to smash up properties if their relationship with the landlord or property manager turns sour, and having adequate insurance cover was vital for property investors to be able to cover their costs.

“Property investors think it will never happen to them but, as insurers, RentCover sees examples of tenants smashing properties all the time,” she said.

“This incident provides a timely reminder about the importance of landlord insurance.”

Source Rpmonline.com.au

Unpaid fines have increased by more than $60 million since the Treasurer announced new measures to rein in the mountain of outstanding debt.

At the end of last month, $838 million was owing, compared with $777 million in September – shortly before a trial of professional debt collectors began.

Fines include everything from failing to vote in elections and jaywalking to offences such as speeding and drink driving.

Although an average $19.8 million a month has been repaid to the State Government, the total debt has continued to grow by about $10 million a month.

If it continues at that rate, the debt will exceed $1 billion in just over a year. Queensland Consumers Association secretary Max Howard blamed the rapidly escalating debt on “over the top” fines and penalties imposed by government and other organisations.

In the past five months alone, the Electoral Commission of Queensland has registered 166,209 fines worth $27 million with the State Penalties Enforcement Registry (SPER) for people who failed to vote in recent elections.

Major Neil Dickson from the Salvation Army said people were finding it more difficult to make ends meet, often as a result of an unexpected expense such as a fine on top of other cost-of-living expenses.

A Treasury Department spokeswoman said the main reason for the blowout in Queenslanders’ debt was “increasing volumes of unpaid debts registered with SPER”.

She said as well as the large volume of ECQ fines, the new offender levy had had “some impact” – as was predicted by legal groups.

Introduced by the Newman Government last year, the $100 to $300 levy is automatically referred to SPER for anyone who appears in court and pleads or is found guilty of an offence.

Since November, 44,744 payments totalling $4.3 million have been registered with SPER.

Queensland Council of Social Service CEO Mark Henley said the Government’s management of unpaid fines needed to take into account a person’s capacity to pay.

“When you consider that an unemployed person on Newstart is already living below the poverty line, they have a very limited capacity to pay fines,” Mr Henley said.

“Paying back those debts shouldn’t cause further hardship or poverty.”

Major Dickson said Salvation Army community centres were seeing more people in need of assistance than six months ago.

“What we’re seeing this year is people seeking help with the basics like food, petrol for their cars, assistance with utility bills,” he said. “There’s certainly a large number of individuals and families who are struggling to cope.”

Mr Howard urged a rethink on how fines were imposed and collected.

“When you’ve got unpaid fines increasing at a rate of $10 million a month, it suggests the whole system is broken,” he said. “We’d like to see more innovative ways of dealing with unpaid fines, and a review of the range of fines available.”

The Treasury spokeswoman said the trial of mercantile agents would continue until June, when the Government would assess its effectiveness.

The trial is expected to recover an additional $47 million from offenders who persistently fail to make payments to SPER.

Debt collectors are managing 16,000 cases with outstanding debts of almost $30 million, including 4000 without a current address on file.

The spokeswoman said the rate of debt recovery had been hampered by the temporary suspension of payments for flood-affected people.

“While enforcement action is in the process of being re-activated, ongoing provisions exist for the case management of debtors impacted by natural disasters,” she said.

Source Courier Mail

Barry Plant Real Estate agents Chris Lio and Con Constantinou, both 52, were arrested and charged last week after police raided more than a dozen houses managed by the men in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.

Police allege the syndicate splurged more than $660,000 to set up the houses as elaborate drug labs where more than 2000 plants were uncovered, with another 1000 expected to be seized.

Some of the houses are believed to have been extensively damaged, with Barry Plant bosses now working with clients to inspect properties, assess damage and begin repairs.

The two men, directors at Barry Plant Real Estate’s Epping office, were charged with several drug-related offences following raids on the houses.
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Police said six others, including five believed to be Vietnamese illegal immigrants, were also charged.

Police will allege the foreign nationals were employed as sitters to cultivate the crops.

The massive haul came as officers searched 16 properties in Thomastown, South Morang, Wollert, Epping and Mernda yesterday afternoon and expected to execute up to six more warrants.

The houses, all Barry Plant rental properties, were rented out to the alleged drug-growers since last November.

Officers were seen confiscating industrial-size exhaust fans and powerful hydroponic lamps at an alleged grow house in Wollert.

Inspector Richard Read said while it was a significant haul, police expected to uncover more plants during future raids.

“This is a syndicate of addresses we have been dealing with; we have executed warrant after warrant and they are linked,” Insp Read said.

“We are talking in excess of 20 addresses all full of marijuana plants, it is a reasonably large amount but I believe that it would only scratch the surface, there are many more out there.”

Barry Plant Real Estate CEO Mike McCarthy said the group, which manages 26,000 properties across 82 offices, had been left shocked by the arrests.

“Other property owners need to understand this is an isolated incident,” Mr McCarthy said.

“Our primary focus is to work with property owners to inspect properties and assess the damage then start work on repairs.

“This is one office in the 82-office network, but for our clients we hope it is business as usual.”

Mr McCarthy said the company could not take disciplinary action because Mr Lio and Mr Constantinou were not employed by Barry Plant Real Estate.

But he said it could be possible for the men to lose their franchising license with the group.

Source Herald Sun

Source: AppFolio.com

We are a SPECIALIST Property Management Agency servicing the greater Brisbane area from Caboolture to Pimpama.

Our Clients are many and varied and range from first time single property investors to seasoned investors with multiple properties as well as Marketing Groups and Property Developers.

Who you choose to manage your investment property can make a big difference to your life and your future wealth creation plans.

Common reasons we hear from Landlords wishing to move Agencies include:
• Lack of communication
• Lack of routine inspections
• Persistent rental arrears
• Unexpected maintenance expenses
• Lack of rent reviews

We tell you as it is when it happens
Our dedicated team of professional property managers offer common sense down to earth advice so that you can always make an informed decision.

Your property gets inspected every 16 weeks
Our dedicated inspections officer conducts a thorough internal and external inspection of your rental property every 16 weeks (notwithstanding entry and exit reports), providing you with a thorough report with photos at the completion.

We collect your rent
We conduct on a daily basis, rent arrears checks and immediately follow up on any outstanding monies owing. Failure to pay rent triggers action under the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act will be taken.

There are no nasty surprises
Maintenance on a rental property is inevitable. Things break or stop working. We always look for the most cost effective solutions and we always call you to discuss before we act.

You always get the current market rent
Regular rent reviews are conducted prior to re letting a vacant property and at every lease renewal.

60 Day Trial

We believe that trying our services should be free of risk and expense. It’s easy to promise but it’s another thing to deliver.
Our 60 day trial gives you the opportunity to see if you like what we do and how we do it.
It’s a no obligation no risk offer. Click here to read more.

Free Rental Appraisals

Want to check what the market rent for your investment property is? Click here to read more.

Accredited Property Managers

Our dedicated team of Property Managers are accredited by the REIQ.They are committed to providing you with the best service and advice.They attend regular training sessions and are fully conversant with all relevant Acts including the Residential Rooming and Accommodation Act and Property Agents and Motor Dealers Act (including Real Estate Agency Practice Code of Conduct) and the REIQ Standards of Business Practice.Click here to read more.

Industry Best Practice Software and Systems

Including
• Console Gateway Live to the Trust Account and Property Management functions.
• P M Boss which is an online system and library of resources encompassing industry best practice procedures and documents.
• Monthly, quarterly and yearly Audits to various components of the business including- Trust Account, Files and Documentation, Bonds and Business practices.

Portals

Your rental property listed on the best websites including:
• www.realestate.com.au
• www.reiq.com
• www.rent.com.au
• www.rentfind.com.au
• www.homehound.com.au

Compliance

Compliance issues we attend to on your behalf include:
• smoke alarm, safety switch and pool fencing compliance,
• corded internal window coverings compliance,
• property workplace safety compliance
• attending to and checking both emergency and routine maintenance
• ensuring all contractors are insured, licenced and compliant

Maintaining the Value of your property

• conduct at least annually a termite inspection of the structure and surrounds and act on any advice given
• conduct at least annually a building inspection and act on any advice given
• conduct at least annually a plumbing audit to all internal/external taps/hot water system etc. and to ensure all plumbing is in good working order
• conduct at least annually an electrical audit to all light switches/power points/stoves etc. to ensure the safety of all tenants
• conduct at least annually a Property Preventative Maintenance Schedule
• as well as our entry and exit condition reports and our 16 weekly routine inspections.

Landlords should remember that well maintained and compliant rental properties attract higher yields, better tenants and give you the Landlord peace of mind!

Changing to us is simple and stress free.Call Lu now for a confidential, no obligation consultation of your needs.

Lu Bracher – GENERAL MANAGER
B. Economics (Sydney)
J.P. (Qual)
Licensed Real Estate Agent (Lic No. 3055945)
REIQ Practising Member (No. 30973MF)
Certificate IV Assessment and Workplace Training
Interior Design – CATC

Mobile: 0425 22 5678
Email:lu@propertymanagementhq.com.au

The ATO has put together some tips to help investment property owners correctly claim rental property deductions this year.

This year we are writing to over 100,00 rental property owners, so knowing what you can and cannot claim will help to ensure your return is filled in correctly.

Here are some tips to avoid a follow-up from the ATO:

What can I claim straight away?

Interest on a loan to:

•   Purchase a rental property or purchase land to build a rental property
•   Purchase a depreciating asset for the property, such as an air conditioner
•   Finance renovations like a deck

Cost of repairs and maintenance such as:

•   Repairs to part of the guttering or windows damaged in a storm
•   Maintaining plumbing, repairing electrical appliances or machinery

Tenancy costs such as:

•   The cost of preparing a lease agreement with your tenant, and
•   Costs associated with evicting a tenant

What can I claim over a number of years?

Expenses that can be claimed over a number of years include:

The cost of depreciating assets (‘decline in value’ deduction)such as:

•   Stoves
•   Refrigerator
•   Kitchen cupboards
•   Air conditioning, and
•   Hot water systems

The cost of building construction and structural improvements (capital works deduction) made by you or a previous owner.

Borrowing costs such as:

•   Stamp duty charged on a mortgage
•   Loan establishment fees, and
•   Title search fees charged by your lender

If these amounts are less than $100 in total they can be deducted immediately, otherwise they are generally deductable over five years or over the term of the loan, whichever is less.

What cannot be claimed?

Deductions for rental properties not genuinely available for rent.

Interest on a loan you use to buy a home that you do not use to produce income or from the time you start using the property for private purposes.

Borrowing expenses or interest on the portion of the loan you use for private purposes like buying a new car.

Travel expenses when the main purpose of the trip is a personal holiday.

Stamp duty charged by your state/territory government on the transfer of the property title or leasehold interest.

Insurance premiums where under the policy your loan will be paid out in the event that you die, become disabled or unemployed, and

Solicitor fees for the purchase of the property and the preparation of loan documents.

What if I sold a rental property?

You may have a capital gain of loss that you will need to include in your return if you sold a rental property in the 2011-12 financial year unless you acquired it before 20 September 1985.

You can also make a capital gain or loss from come capital improvements made since 20 September 1985 to a property you acquired before that date.

To work out whether you have a capital gain visit www.ato.gov.au/cgt for more information.

More information

The ATO website www.ato.gov.au/rental has information outlining what you can and cannot claim for your rental property.

If you would like to talk to someone at the ATO about tax deductions for rental properties call 13 28 61.

UNRULY public housing tenants will soon find themselves looking for somewhere else to live with the Newman Government set to introduce a “three strikes and you are out” policy.

And they could be out even sooner if they engage in violent or illegal behaviour, Housing Minister Bruce Flegg said.

Mr Flegg will today announce the Government’s plans to adopt a scheme similar to that used in Western Australia to help clamp down on public housing tenants who continually break the rules.

“I am proposing to crack down on these unruly tenants by asking them to leave if they receive three strikes within 12 months for disruptive behaviour like noisy parties, vandalism or destroying property,” Dr Flegg said.

“If tenants have engaged in assault, acts of violence or drug manufacturing, the department would immediately initiate legal action to evict them.”

Dr Flegg said the Government wanted to send a “clear message” that if public tenants did not appreciate their homes, there were plenty of others on the waiting list who would.

But he said he would also look at measures to ensure those affected did not become homeless as a result.

“People are struggling in a range of areas including finding affordable housing options, maintaining rental tenancies and moving from homelessness to stable housing,” Dr Flegg said.

“This has increased the demand for social housing assistance with the numbers on the Queensland waiting list increasing from around 21,000 to more than 30,000 between 2008 and 2011.”

Dr Flegg, who will make the announcement at the 7th National Housing Conference in Brisbane today, flagged the policy in September and has since gained LNP support.

He said initial evidence showed the Western Australian scheme was working.

Legislation is expected to be introduced into State Parliament next year.

Source Courier Mail

When Divanny Lamas decided to move to San Francisco from Silicon Valley, she knew the hunt for an apartment would be competitive — but it was far worse than she imagined.

At a “nice” $3,500-per-month loft in the Mission, “80 people showed up for the open house,” said Lamas, 23, who recently began working at a tech company in SoMa. “And the landlord said to me that he’d gotten 250 applications.”

The cost of applying was $40, so if the landlord wasn’t exaggerating, he grossed $10,000 in application fees.

Call it a deposit with no return.

Two years ago, during the recession, landlords had to lure applicants with deals, like a free month’s rent. Today fees just to apply have become part of the city’s overheated rental climate, where dubious behavior — by both landlords and renters — appears to be increasing.

Lamas searched hundreds of vacancy listings and ultimately visited 20 apartments, many charging an application fee. After four months, she finally secured a $2,500-per-month, 600-square-foot, one-bedroom in the Mission.

“Everything was overpriced,” she said. READ MORE

It’s been a while since we heard about the “top 1%”.  The protests that spread the globe earlier in the year have fallen under the radar in Australia – buried deep below the Thompson affair and global “wows”.  However, according to recent reports, if you live in the United States, the 1% are busy bulk buying thousands of real estate foreclosures and taking full advantage of what’s becoming – in some states – a very tight rental market.

The once “American dream” that fueled a nation with a similar owner-occupancy rate to that of Australia is slowly turning into a rental nation.  It’s no secret that US recovery from the financial crisis has been little more than a halfhearted limp.  If owner-occupiers have managed to hold onto their homes, it’s been at a substantial capital loss. Aside from the large number of foreclosures – which according to a recent report in the New York Times has been in the order of some 4 million since 2007,   potential home owners now find it virtually impossible to access finance.  This, along with the pressures of record high unemployment, has begun to fuel an unparalleled rental boom.

For example, in San Francisco the vacancy rate has dropped to around 2% compared with 5% in 2009. Property managers are charging fees simply for placing an application, and rents have increased some 13% since last year.  As one report puts it – trying to access rental accommodation has turned into a ‘competitive sport’, and it’s a similar story in other cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Boston. To read more Click Here

HOUSE rents in Sydney have hit record highs.

Competition among renters for fewer homes has seen the median asking rent for a typical Sydney house rise to $520 a week, the highest level on record for the city.

The squeeze was felt most among house renters and may push more families to live in flats.

House rents rose 4 per cent in the three months to September but rents for units stayed the same, at $470 a week, according to Australian Property Monitors.

The pressure was also felt by tenants wanting apartments in inner city suburbs.

Unit rents in Edgecliff, Woolloomooloo, Leichhardt and Darlinghurst rose between 6 per cent and 9 per cent. But the rise was not uniform, rents fell in Glebe and Haymarket.

First home buyers were putting off buying and instead turning to the rental market, the Australian Property Monitors economist Andrew Wilson said. ”That means there’s more demand … and that’s one of the factors that has driven up house rents,” he said.

”A shortage of houses and an increase in competition from tenants for what is available has put upwards pressure on rents.”

Recent figures from SQM Research show Sydney’s vacancy rate – the proportion of unlet dwellings – was 1.8 per cent in August. By contrast Melbourne’s was 2.8 per cent. A vacancy rate of 3 per cent represents a balanced market. Anything below is considered to favour landlords.

While some struggle with Sydney’s tight rental market, Darwin’s is even more daunting, Australian Property Monitors’s September quarter figures show.

Median rents there have hit $700 a week, a massive jump of 27 per cent over the year; while prospective tenants in Perth are also facing much higher charges.

A flood of mining-related labour has pushed rents up 15 per cent year-on-year.

As a result, it is now cheaper to rent in Melbourne than most other Australian cities.

House rents stayed flat over the September quarter at $360 a week.

However, in popular suburbs, such as Albert Park, Kew and Balwyn, rents rose sharply.

Weekly asking rents in Darwin ($700), Canberra ($485), Perth ($450) and even Brisbane ($380) now outstrip the Victorian capital.

While the sluggish rental market was good for Melbourne’s tenants, it meant property ”investors were quite disinterested in that market at the moment,” Mr Wilson said.

Nationwide, median weekly rents rose for both houses (1.6 per cent) and units (0.2 per cent).

Unit rents rose sharply in Darwin and Perth but fell in Hobart, Canberra and Adelaide.

Source: SMH