Construction
You Have Missed The Boat There Is An Embargo – Insurance update
The bushfires have steadied, the fires that were out of control are now under control, if not now largely all extinguished. It is now time for the long road to recovery. Many endless hours of insurance assessing, demolition of existing destroyed properties, delays due to contaminated waste (older house with asbestos), thousands of kilometres of…
Read MoreCase Studies – Estimating costs of our very own Australian Solar Farms
In May 2019, Giles Parkinson titled an article “It’s not easy to build a solar farm in Australia any more”. This was published on the Renew Economy website on the 16th of May 2019. Mr. Parkinson goes on to state that albeit in the past, the powers to be believed it was easier to build…
Read MoreBuilding approvals point to a potential future housing shortage
It doesn’t seem that long ago we were talking about an oversupply of apartments across Sydney, South Melbourne, and Brisbane. However, a lot has changed in the past few years. The ABS October figures on building approvals show a seasonally adjusted estimate for total dwelling units falling by 8.1% in October. The graph below from…
Read MoreWrapping up the year with Data, Dance Floors, and Depreciation
Our year started on a high, coming off the back of a massive win for MCG. Landing a position on the Financial Review’s top 100 of fastest-growing businesses, we hit the ground running! Mike Mortlock and Mitch Ford completed their much-anticipated triathlon, with over $2k raised for Heartkids, a charity helping those affected by congenital…
Read MoreProgress Claim Case Study – The MCG Method of Assessment
As part of the services of quantity surveyors, we are regularly commissioned to undertake progress claim assessments on behalf of financial institutions. During the last month, we have seen quite a common conversation held between ourselves and a client (developer) regarding the difference between our assessment of the builders claim and the amount that the…
Read MoreThe ever-changing demographics that drive smart investment decisions
Those who know me, know I don’t mind a chat. Whiling away my time via the exchange of ideas is a joy. Best of all, it’s a move out of my professional comfort zone – a chance to expand the mind beyond ‘rates per square metre’ and legislative minutia. Economists, builders, buyer’s agents and investment…
Read MoreBushfires & Floods – The cost of a Natural Disaster to home owners
Australian Research In 2000, the Construction Data division of Reed Business Information Systems (Reed) surveyed 1000 randomly selected homeowners. They concluded that: 87% of homes were under-insured by any amount The average level of under-insurance was 34% In 2002, the Insurance Council of Australia conducted a survey of seven companies sharing 80% of the home…
Read MoreWhat sort of tax deductions will a swimming pool give you?
Swimming pools and depreciation – What sort of tax deductions will a swimming pool give you? It’s not unheard of for an investment property to have a swimming pool, certainly a shared one as part of the common areas of a larger unit development is very common. However, residential houses with swimming pools aren’t terribly…
Read MoreMost common building defects in residential multi-owned properties
In a recent research paper pertaining to the examination of building defects in residential multi owned properties, there has been some great findings. These findings were authored by Nicole Johnston (Deakin University) and with Sacha Reid (Griffith University). In summary, two studies have been undertaken to identify the most common building defects in residential multi-owned…
Read MoreAn Expert Witness Case Study – Owner V Builder, August 2019
In a recent expert witness case that I was asked to provide my opinion of costs on, the result has now been published. Background The background to both applications is best described as: The Owners’ sought damages from the Builder in respect of: o (Item 1) Defective and/or incomplete works (the Defects Claim); o (Item…
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