RE/MAX Profile Landlords' Newsletter April 2016

In this edition: How long will it take for your property to rent? Learn How Furnishing Your Property Can Save You Thousands in Tax! Discover the Three TOP Property Features that Attract More Tenants!

April 2016

Why You Should Always Use Professional Photos… A Selection of Properties Recently Leased Quote Calendar of Events

Dear Landlord,

We hope you enjoyed Easter and

had a break with your family. We

certainly did although we had the

office open Saturday so we

could continue to let properties for

you.

You would have received an email

on our new maintenance manager

system which we have implemented

this week to improve all our

comm un ica t ions dur ing the

maintenance process and increase

our checks and balances for your

protection. We have also attached a

brochure to provide you more

information.

Rental Market, Team Updates and Upcoming Events

We have a few team changes we

would like to let you know of. Freda

is moving into a sales administration

role within our business and Verna

Osborne has joined the team on a

full time basis to manage the trust

account and rental department

moving forward. Being full time it will

provide a lot more consistency in our

administration and her role will free

Helen up to be more one on one with

clients. She comes to us with a

wealth of experience in both trust

accounting and rental management

and we are excited to be able to

work with her.

Please keep Wednesday the 20th of

April 6:30pm to 8:30pm free in your

diaries for our Investor information

evening at the RE/MAX head office

at Milton. Guest speakers include a

Financial planner who will offer some

great tips for tax time. The focus of

the event will be to help you

minimise risk and maximise your

return on your investment/s. We are

confident you will find the new

content informative (if you came to

our last one) and hope to see you

there!

We are also holding a Mother's Day

High Tea and fashion parade on the

6th May 10am to raise money for

Make-A-Wish. We would love for you

to join us.. if you are in town. We

look at this as an opportunity to get

to know our clients better while

supporting a great cause.

Your Property Management Team,

Christina, Helen, Iszabel, Alex,

Kobe, Katrina and Verna

VERNA OSBORNE

www.propertyrentalsbrisbane.com FREE Information Guide For Landlords & Tenants

How long will it take for your property to rent?

That of course depends on the time of the year so here are the latest statistics for March.

BRISBANE STATISTICS The Market

Source: rentfind.com.au

Brisbane, QLD February 2016 Annual Change

Median Weekly Rent - House $420 0.0%

Median Weekly Rent - Unit/Apartment $390 0.0%

Days on Market (Avg) 32.9 3.4 increase

Days Vacant (Avg) 19.6 2.8 increase

Learn How Furnishing Your

Property Can Save You

Thousands in Tax!

When an investor first decides to

put their property up for rent,

often they will weigh up whether

it is better to rent the property

unfurnished or furnished.

Making this decision will largely

depend upon the circumstances

of the individual investor and the

type of property they are renting.

There is however a number of

advantages and disadvantages

an investor can take into

consideration before making their

decision.

Obvious disadvantages include

the initial cash outlay an investor

would need to spend to furnish

the property.

On the other hand, furniture can

make the property look much

more appealing to potential

tenants and help to reduce the

time a property is vacant when

untenanted due to the tenant’s

ability to move in straight away.

Furnishings may also increase

the weekly rental value of the

property.

One advantage investors don’t

often consider when deciding

whether to rent a property

furnished or unfurnished, is the

additional depreciation benefits

these assets can generate above

a normal depreciation claim.


Any removable plant and equipment asset entitles the owner of the property to depreciation deductions.

These items are depreciated based on their effective life as set by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and

the deductions claimed can make a significant difference to an investor’s annual cash flow. Some examples

of plant and equipment items include dishwashers, ceiling fans, clothes dryers, garbage bins, curtains, blinds,

light shades and furniture.

The more of these assets which can be identified by a specialist Quantity Surveyor when completing a tax

depreciation schedule, the higher the depreciation deductions the owner will be able to claim.

The following example helps to explain how depreciation is calculated for an investor who owns a property

purchased for $420,000. In all three scenarios, the property owner is receiving a rental income of $490 per

week or $25,480 per annum.

In the first scenario, the example shows the property owner’s annual cash flow without a depreciation claim.

In the second scenario, the investor has rented the property unfurnished and a specialist Quantity Surveyor

has found $11,500 in depreciation deductions for the property owner. In the third scenario, the property is

furnished and the Quantity Surveyor has found $16,500 in depreciation deductions from these assets.


of ATO legislation to produce a

tax depreciation schedule which

e n s u r e s t h e m a x i m u m

deductions are found for the

property owner.

Article provided by BMT Tax

Depreciation.

Bradley Beer (B. Con. Mgt, AAIQS,

MRICS) is the Chief Executive

Officer of BMT Tax Depreciation.

Please contact 1300 728 726 or

visit www.bmtqs.com.au for an

Australia-wide service.

property.

The 3 Most Wanted Features

by Gen Y:

The top answer was a modern

kitchen with modern fittings,

specifically a microwave and

dishwasher. Renovating your

property can take time and

money, but the value it adds can

be significant. Where some older

properties have small, pokey

kitchens, removing a wall, or

simply updating the cupboards

and appliances can make a small

kitchen more bearable to a

potential Tenant, and improve the

value. If a renovation isn’t an

option, updating the appliances

can improve the number of

potential Tenants. For example,

installing a dishwasher and / or

providing a microwave is a great

way to improve a property in a

simple, effective way.

Secondly, was storage. For

some, built in wardrobes are a

must-have on their property

search checklist. If Tenants are

coming from a property already

with built in wardrobes, they

won’t own any alternative

furniture and they may disregard

a property without built in

wardrobes. If the room is big

As the above table demonstrates,

whether the property is rented

unfurnished or furnished,

depreciation will make a

significant difference to the

property owner’s annual cash

flow when compared to a

situation where no depreciation is

claimed at all.

In the scenar io wi thout

depreciation the investor is

paying out $79 per week. By

claiming $11,500 in depreciation

for an unfurnished property the

investor will turn the loss to an

income of $3 per week, while the

depreciation claim of $16,500 for

the fully furnished property will

turn the loss of $79 per week into

an income of $38 per week. Over

a year, this represents a saving

of $4,255 for an investor who

rents the property unfurnished or

$6,105 for an investor who rents

the property furnished.

It is recommended that property

investor’s always seek advice

from a specialist Quantity

Surveyor on the depreciation

available for both structural items

(capital works) and the plant and

equipment assets a property

contains. A specialist Quantity

Surveyor will use their knowledge

Discover the Three TOP

Property Features that

Attract More Tenants!

There are a lot of articles out

there encouraging young people

to rent. There’s also the fact that

the Great Australian Dream of

owning your own home is

increasingly difficult for young

people to achieve. The result is a

lot of GEN Y renters. But what do

GEN Y look for in a rental

property? And what can you do

to attract the younger generation

to your property?

A recent survey asked those of

GEN Y what they look for in a

rental property. The survey result

clearly showed the top 3 features

most wanted by Gen Y in a rental


Why You Should Always

Use Professional Photos…

The best way to market a

property is to ensure that the

prospective tenants are first

seeing updated photos on

advertising websites such as

r e a l e s t a t e . c o m . a u o r

domain.com.au.

One of the first things a tenant

will do when looking at photos is

pose the following questions: can

I see myself living here? Can all

my furniture fit?

W i t h o u t a c c u r a t e a n d

comprehensive photos how can

you be sure you are getting the

best possible tenants coming to

an open for inspections? In most

cases, agents are not trained in

photography, so to ensure the

best possible photos of your

p r oper t y a p r o f es s iona l

photographer is usually always

the better option.

There are major benefits when

using professional photos:

They are tax deductible, as

they are a cost from the

management of your

property

When selling the property

there is no need to get

tenant permission to take

photos

They present bet ter

(lighting and composition)

Next time you need photos done,

it might be worth looking into the

professional photography option.

Source: Erin Kelly, Real Estate

Dynamics

enough, installing built in

wa r d r obes o r supp l y i ng

alternative wardrobes is another

easy way to gain more potential

Tenants.

Thirdly, was air conditioning. A

modern comfort, which is

increasingly considered a

necessity in Australia, air

conditioning may just sway a

GEN Y-er towards applying for a

property, and another easy

addition you can add to your

property.

Other things that were mentioned

in the survey, that you might be

interested in improving in your

property and the number of

potential Tenants, were: easy

parking, being pet friendly,

security screens, ceiling fans, a

separate shower from the bath

and more power points.

So, if you are wanting more

applicants for your property, or

are thinking of improving the

value of your property, you may

like to consider these simple

suggestions. Please consult a

registered builder for any major

renovations and costings.

Source: Elleisa Schloss, Real Estate

Dynamics

3 April Day-Light Savings Concludes 15th April Mid Month Accounting 25 April ANZAC Day (Office Closed) 2nd May End of Month Accounting

A Selection of Properties Recently Leased

Petrie Terrace House $600 p.w.

3 bed, 2 bath 2 car accommodation

Quote

“Either you run the day or the day runs you.”

—Jim Rohn

Brookfield House $750 p.w.

4 bed, 2 bath, 2 car accommodation

RE/MAX Profile Real Estate 141 Boundary Road TEL 07 3510 5221 FAX 07 3876 5544

www.profilerealestate.com.au Bardon QLD 4065 Helen [email protected]

www.propertyrentalsbrisbane.com PO Box 388, Paddington, 4064 Iszabel [email protected]

Alex [email protected]

Kobe [email protected]

Errors & Omissions: These details have been prepared by us on information we have obtained and while we trust it to be correct, is not guaranteed by us and you should rely on your own enquiries.

Herston House $530 p.w.


Calendar of Events

Milton Apartment $500 p.w.


Bardon House $830 p.w.


Indooroopilly House $740 p.w.


RE/MAX Profile Landlords' Newsletter April 2016

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Transcript of RE/MAX Profile Landlords' Newsletter April 2016