CREATING WEALTH AND LIFESTYLE THROUGH

by Grant & Christina Penrose

Issue 24

Make aPacket on

Unit Rentals…

Save Tax andMake theMost from

Your RentalProperty

Deductions

Finally, Brisbane’sHouse Marketis Stabilising!

The 6 TopShops ForStaging YourHouse to Sell…

Want to Know theNumber One Tipfor Getting theBest Deal withYour Home Loan?

Profile

Helping you understand Real Estate

Wow, I can’t believe how 2012 has flown! We’vejust come back from the RE/MAX High Achieversconference with 55 top agents, including a bunchof our agents.

We all had a fabulous time in Sydney, capped by a nightcruise gliding past the Harbour Bridge, Opera House adsparkling city lights.

This will be our last newsletter for the year. We are crazybusy and expect to be right up until we take a break fromthe 24th (yep you read it right - all the way up toChristmas...) and back again on Wednesday 2nd January.

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone somuch for the fabulous support, custom and referrals wehave received this year. It has been a good year for us withsales already up 34% so far on last year. We know we’redeeply blessed to work with such a fabulous team of 17great agents who have aced it in what has to be called achallenging market for most.

In the last couple of weeks we celebrated Jade’s 19thbirthday. She is such a beautiful young woman, working andstudying at TAFE, and we don’t see enough of her. As youcan see from the photos, the boys idolise their big sister andlove every minute they get with her.

Life seems to be a succession of never-ending parties forthe boys who always seem to have an invitation pending fora friend's birthday bash and this month a “Halloween Party”was even thown into the mix. And speaking of treats we'reincluding a couple of photos here of our last holiday inHervey Bay where we visited Fraser Island and saw the

whales. Of course this seems like a distant memory nowand we're looking forward to our Christmas break.

In the spirit of Christmas giving – we are gifting professionalphotos for any new property we are given to manage beforeChristmas. If you or a friend are seeking the best propertymanagement, we would love to help and of course you willbe rewarded too for your referral if applicable. Rememberwe sell and rent properties all over Brisbane, which isperfect if you have more than one property as you only needto deal with one property manager.

Wishing you health, wealth and a joyous Christmas season,

Christina Penrose

In this edition� Finally, Brisbane’s House Market is Stabilising!

� Want to Know the Number One Tip for Getting theBest Deal with Your Home Loan?

� Save Tax and Make the Most from Your RentalProperty Deductions

� The 6 Top Shops For Staging Your House to Sell…

� Make a Packet on Unit Rentals…

2 RE/MAX PROFILE REAL ESTATE creating wealth and lifestyle through property

Parties, Pressies and Property!

Celebrating Jade’s 19th birthday at Park Road

Lots of fun with the boys trick or treating

Alexander, Joshua & Daniel on holiday at Hervey Bay

Over the past ten years, Brisbane home value growthwas much stronger over the five years to July 2007(14.5 percent annually) than it has been over the mostrecent five-year period (0.6 percent annually).

Median house prices across the city are $74,000 higherthan unit prices based on median selling prices over thethree months to July 2012.

The average levels of vendor discounting in July 2012 haveshown an improvement compared with July 2011 butremain higher than average. Discounting levels are currentlyrecorded at an elevated 8.9 percent for houses and 9.1percent for units compared to 9.5 percent for houses and8.8 percent for units a year ago.

It is typically taking a slightly longer number of days to sell aBrisbane home than it was a year ago. Houses and units arecurrently selling after an average of 74 days on the market.In July 2011 it took an average of 68 days to sell a houseand 73 days to sell a unit.

Of those Brisbaneproperties that sold overthe past year, vendorshad owned their housesfor an average of 9.2years and units for 7.4years.

Brisbane’s population wasestimated to be almost2.1 million persons as atJune 2011, which was 1.7percent higher over the year. Brisbane is the state’s mostpopulous city however; just 45.3 percent of all residents ofthe state live in Brisbane.

Source RP DATA

Materials and articles in this publication are general comment, not advice. The information is believed to be accurateand reliable but no responsibility is taken for any opinions expressed or for errors or omissions. Readers should notact on the basis of the material without taking professional advice relating to their particular circumstances.

Finally, Brisbane’s House Market is Stabilising!

Grant & Christina Penrose www.propertysalesbrisbane.com 3

How do you know which lender is offering the best deal foryour home loan? There are so many different interest ratesand deals available.

In order to make it easier for consumers to work out the true cost of amortgage, all lenders must disclose a benchmark comparison rate in theiradvertising of home loans and personal loans.

Designed to reflect the total annualborrowing cost, it wraps up all the interest payments and fees, showing them ina single percentage figure. For instance, a bank's advertised interest rate maybe 5.49 per cent, but its comparison rate 6.75 per cent.

Source : Quartile Property Network (2 August 2012)

Want to Know the Number OneTip for Getting the Best Dealwith Your Home Loan?

4 RE/MAX PROFILE REAL ESTATE creating wealth and lifestyle through property

Save Tax and Make the Most fromYour Rental Property DeductionsThe ATO has put together some tips to helpinvestment property owners correctly claim rentalproperty deductions this year.

This year we are writing toover 100,00 rentalproperty owners, soknowing what you canand cannot claim will helpto ensure your return isfilled in correctly.

Here are some tips toavoid a follow-up from theATO:

What can I claimstraight away?

• Interest on a loan to:

� Purchase a rental property or purchase land to build arental property

� Purchase a depreciating asset for the property, such as anair-conditioner

� Finance renovations like a deck

• Cost of repairs and maintenance such as:

� Repairs to part of the guttering or windows damaged in astorm

� Maintaining plumbing, repairing electrical appliances ormachinery

• 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 intotal they can be deducted immediately,otherwise they are generally deductableover five years or over the term of theloan, whichever is less.

What cannot beclaimed?

• Deductions for rentalproperties not genuinelyavailable for rent

• Interest on a loan you use to buy a home that you do not use toproduce income or from the time you start using the property forprivate purposes

• Borrowing expenses or interest on the portion of the loan youuse for private purposes like buying a new car

• Travel expenses when the main purpose of the trip is a personalholiday

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

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

• Solicitor fees for the purchase of the property and the preparationof loan documents.

What if I sold a rental property?

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

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

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

More information

The ATO website www.ato.gov.au/rental has information outliningwhat you can and cannot claim for your rental property. If youwould like to talk to someone at the ATO about tax deductions forrental properties, call 13 28 61.

Materials and articles in this publication are general comment, not advice. The information is believed to be accurateand reliable but no responsibility is taken for any opinions expressed or for errors or omissions. Readers should not

act on the basis of the material without taking professional advice relating to their particular circumstances.

When it comes to staging your home to sell, time andmoney are often in short supply, so I’ve done the hardyards for you and selected my six top stores for homestaging.

Some of these stores e.g. IKEA offer a one-stop shop. Others, likeBeacon, are more focused, but they all offer value for money.Remember, staging is all about return on your investment. The ideais that creating a great effect achieves you a greater selling price.An additional bonus is that 4 of the selected shops offer onlineshopping. Perfect if you’re not in an urban area or you’ve beenbusy de-cluttering all day or have young kids and only have time to shop at night.

Pillow TalkMost of us live near a Pillow Talk store and if youdon’t you can order online. They have a greatrange of bed linen and towels at all price pointsand are also very strong on accessories andcushions (and we all know we can never havetoo many of those).

TargetA first port of call if you are looking for decorativestorage baskets, value canvas artwork, bed linenand lighting.

Beacon LightingMost houses are too dimly lit so additional lighting isusually required. Beacon have a fantastic range ofvalue ceiling lights but also table lamps and pendantlights.

IKEAIf you’ve read my blog before you will know I’m a fan of IKEA forhome staging. Ready-made curtains, cheapand cheerful accessories, rugs andoccasional furniture are all great buys. Formore on IKEA see a recent blog of my toppicks from the 2013 catalogue for staging.

FreedomIf you are looking for ready-made blindsand curtains (even shower curtains!) thenyou need to check out Freedom. Theyhave a great range in neutral colours. Ialso like Freedom for their lightingsection. If you want to stage an outsidearea they have one of the best ranges ofoutdoor furniture and accessories.

MastersNot everyone has a Masters near them (Masters is like a spruced-up Bunnings) but there are now a few in Brisbane. If you arelooking for value artwork (thatdoesn’t shout IKEA) then Mastersis great and set out by colour soyou can’t go wrong. Also worth abuy is their range of hardware –new taps, door handles etc andpaint (obviously). Their rugselection is a fantastic price forthe quality and the lighting alsoworth a look.

Happy shopping!I’m Imogen Brown, a home stager based in the western suburbs ofBrisbane. If you would like help preparing your house to sell or justsomeone to go shopping for those finishing touches, then give mea call on 0432 994 056 or contact me through my websitewww.homestagingbrisbane.com

This article was written by Imogen Brown of Home Staging Brisbane.

The 6 Top Shops For Staging Your House to Sell…

Want FREE “Do it yourself”instructions for showing offyour home so buyers will fallin love with it and pay yourdream price?Visit our facebook pagewww.facebook.com/howtosellyourhomeforadreampriceinrecordtimeor order a copy of our book from our website or simply callwww.propertysalesbrisbane.com/our-book/

Seduce yourBUYER with thehome of theirdreams!

record time!sell

BY GRANT & CHRISTINA PENROSE

How to your home for adream price in

www.facebook.com/GrantChristinaPenroseGrant & Christina Penrose www.propertysalesbrisbane.com 5

Materials and articles in this publication are general comment, not advice. The information is believed to be accurateand reliable but no responsibility is taken for any opinions expressed or for errors or omissions. Readers should not

act on the basis of the material without taking professional advice relating to their particular circumstances.6 RE/MAX PROFILE REAL ESTATE creating wealth and lifestyle through property

Loving4064

Loving 4064?Like The Facebook Page!

www.facebook.com/Loving4064

‘Like’ the page and promote your 4064 business

Keep up to date with what’s happening and specialoffers in 4064

Unit rental yields in Brisbane are particularly strong and rising – the current medianweekly advertised rent for a Brisbane house is $411 while median unit rents are recordedat $402.

House rents have increased by 2.0percent over the past year which is inline with average annual rental growthover the past three years. Unit rentshave risen by 1.7 percent over thepast year which is slightly lower thanthe 1.9 percent average annual growth

rate over the past three years. With rents showing low levels ofincrease and values continuing to fall, there has been anoticeable improvement in rental yields. In July 2011, houseyields were recorded at 4.4 percent and unit yields were 5.2percent. As at July of this year, rental yields for houses hadincreased to 4.7 percent and unit yields had risen to 5.6 percent.Source RP DATA

Make a Packet on Unit Rentals…

Are You AProperty Investor?

Stay up to date with the latest opportunities, legislation andinteresting articles for landlords on our facebook page

www.facebook.com/propertyrentalsbrisbane

Materials and articles in this publication are general comment, not advice. The information is believed to be accurateand reliable but no responsibility is taken for any opinions expressed or for errors or omissions. Readers should notact on the basis of the material without taking professional advice relating to their particular circumstances.

Property Rentals Brisbane

Grant & Christina Penrose www.propertyrentalsbrisbane.com 7

The Market

Brisbane, QLD October 2012 Annual Change

Median Weekly Rent - House $385 � 1.3%

Median Weekly Rent - Unit/Apartment $370 � 2.8%

Days on Market (Avg) 24.8 � 0.5

Days Vacant (Avg) 14.6 � 1.2

RENTE

D

10 Yeerinbool Crt, Arana Hills $420pw - 3 bed - 1 bath

RENTE

D

106 Dunellan St, Greenslopes $490pw - 2 bed - 1 bath

RENTE

D

1/28-30 Rutland St, Coorparoo $500pw - 2 bed - 2 bathREN

TED

28 Trevi St, Jindalee $500pw - 4 bed - 2 bath

RENTE

D

81/14 Ferry Rd, West End $420 pw - 2 bed - 1 bath

Just Rented

We Want YourProperty To Manage!

Handling the difficult situations!

“As a non-resident landlord, RE/MAX Profile has been areliable and responsive contact for over two years.

During this time, they have consistently met or exceeded myexpectations covering the broad spectrum of propertymanagement duties; i.e. from detailed routine inspections andrecommended maintenance, interaction and follow up withthe body corporate, locating and managing tenants. Duringsome difficult situations, Nikki has maintained a calm andprofessional manner.

I am delighted to recommend RE/MAX Profile’s propertymanagement skills and have no reason to look any further foran exemplary property manager.”

Cheryl Hennessy,November 2, 2012

What our clients say

List your property to rent with us before christmas andwe will pay for professional photos to display your property

at its best and achieve the best rent.Call us today on 3510 5222; we manage properties all across Brisbane.

8

(07)

337

5 18

68

ww

w.L

itho

Art

.co

m.a

u

Materials and articles in this publication are general comment, not advice. The information is believed to be accurate and reliable but no responsibility is taken for any opinions expressed or for errors or omissions. Readers should not act on the basis of the material without taking professional advice relating to their particular circumstances.

P: 07 3510 5256 M: 0418 747 997E: grantpenrose@remax.com.au christinapenrose@remax.com.auA: PO Box 388, Paddington QLD 4064W: www.propertysalesbrisbane.com

Profile

17 agents selling across Brisbane

These are some of our most recent sales.Let our team work for you! Call us today!

EVERTON PARK BARDON PETRIE BARDON

ARCHERFIELD FIG TREE POCKET SPRING HILL ST LUCIA

CHERMSIDE BARDON

SEVENTEEN MILE ROCKS SPRING HILL

GAYTHORNE SPRING HILL SEVENTEEN MILE ROCKS COORPAROO

BOWEN HILLS CLAYFIELD SOUTH BRISBANE SOUTH BANK