News
Depreciation and the Instant Asset Write-off – Economic Stimulus Package 2020
Here’s what you need to know about the changes to depreciation allowances and the instant asset write-off changes as part of the Governments $17.6 billion coronavirus economic stimulus plan. What has changed? The instant asset write-off – The turnover cap and the asset value threshold have increased The Government has committed $700 million to increase…
Read MoreYou 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 MoreWhat you need to know about short term leasing your investment property
I’ll admit that I struggled with an appropriate title as the above one is certainly clunky, but I wanted to share some tips on how to rent your investment property out on a short-term basis, similar to an Airbnb type setup. My pet subject is depreciation, so I’m not going to let you get…
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 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…
Read MoreDeductions & Depreciation for all – Why the kids are doing OK
Like any good analytical thinker, I love to hypothesise. Some think it’s a character flaw, whereas I – and those of my quantity surveying ilk – enjoy nothing more than ingesting data, extrapolating the assumptions and producing a conclusion. I was thinking about the recent federal election and the discussions put forward pre-poll day about…
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