8 Steps for Buying Investment Property

BMT team — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 22:01:21 +0000

So, you’ve found your dream home or perhaps you’ve decided to enter the property investment market. What are the next steps in making that dream become a reality? Step 1. Determine your budget The first step towards home ownership involves a little self-examination. You will need to assess your finances and determine how much you can afford to repay. To help assist you, PropCalc, is a handy application which provides you with the real cost of owning a property, based on specific information about any property in question. Step 2. How much can you borrow? Now that you have a better idea of the total amount you can devote to your future mortgage repayments, you should now be able to determine how much you can borrow. This amount will vary from lender to lender and many banks do offer online calculators that allow you to determine your borrowing limit. Having found the best possible deal, it’s time to apply for a home loan, attend a loan interview and get approval. Make sure you have all the necessary documents ready for your lender or broker. Procedures do vary from lender to lender, but it is likely you will be issued with either a ‘home loan guarantee certificate’ or a ‘pre-approval certificate’. This means that your home loan has been or will be approved when you find the property you want to purchase (subject to a few conditions). One of the main conditions is often a valuation of the property to ensure a buyer isn’t paying too much for a property. Loan approvals don’t last forever. They typically are valid for around six months, but sometimes up to twelve months. Step 3. Exchanging contracts The next step after you’ve finally found the right property following all your research and weekends viewing properties will be signing the contract of sale. Neither you or the seller is legally obligated to go ahead with the sale until a written, signed contract is exchanged. The contract usually details: Property address Names of the parties involved (you and the seller) Selling price Terms and conditions Special inclusions in the sale Date of settlement Exchanging contracts is what it sounds like. Both you and the seller sign a copy of the contract then swap them so they are both signed. You also have to pay the deposit at this time. Step 4. Get legal representation While the contract is usually prepared by the seller’s Solicitor, your Solicitor or Conveyancer should check that everything is in order before you exchange contracts including: Zoning, heritage or title restrictions don’t clash with your intended use of the property That all property rates and taxes are up to date Help arrange for building and pest inspections Step 5. The cooling off period If you have bought through private treaty rather than at auction, that is you’ve made an offer to the seller and it’s been accepted, you may enter a cooling-off period after the contract is exchanged. During this period you can cancel the contract but there may be a penalty. This is normally 0.25 per cent of the purchase price. Step 6. The period between exchange and settlement The time between exchange and settlement is genuinely about six weeks, although this can change if both you and the seller agree to extend or reduce it. This is the time when you should: Arrange the balance of the purchase price. That is, finalise the finance and sign the mortgage documents Insure the property. You don’t want something to happen to the property during the settlement period and find out too late that it’s your responsibility to pay for. BMT Insurance works with some of Australia’s most experienced providers to help you select suitable and cost effective home insurance for your new home At the same time, your lender will: Arrange for a valuation of the property Step 7. Settlement at last Settlement of the property is when the rest of the purchase price is paid and the keys are yours. You may also need to pay stamp duty at settlement. Congratulations. You are now the proud owner of your new home or investment property and you are officially in the ‘property market’. Step 8. If you have purchased an investment property, organise a depreciation schedule A depreciation schedule prepared by BMT Tax Depreciation helps to maximise the cash return from your investment property each financial year. To ensure that you claim the maximum depreciation deductions, a BMT Tax Depreciation Schedule will last for the life of the property or for forty years, as specified by the Australian Taxation Office. BMT also provide a free, easy to use tax depreciation calculator, which can assist you with an estimate of available deductions for any property. Alternatively, you can contact one of our expert staff on 1300 728 726 for a free estimate of available deductions.

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Six game changing property investment tools

BMT team — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 05:09:16 +0000

When it comes to property investment, there is no shortage of information about what budding investors should do in order to successfully venture into the property market. To make the process less daunting, BMT Tax Depreciation have several easy to use property investment tools available for your convenience. MyBMT is the latest complimentary service from BMT Tax Depreciation. Register for a MyBMT account today, for on-the-go access to depreciation quotes, schedules and estimates. Property Investors: view, update and download schedules upload files including photos and receipts share your schedule with your investment team Accountants: Request new quotes and updates to existing schedules see how your client’s schedules are progressing download completed schedules in CSV and Excel format Property Managers: view free estimates from your recently listed properties via New to Rent request a quote for a depreciation schedule on behalf of clients keep your clients informed about how their schedules are progressing Calculate depreciation deductions for your investment property The BMT Tax Depreciation Calculator helps you to estimate the likely depreciation deductions claimable for all types of property including residential, commercial and manufacturing buildings. Available online or as an app for iPhone, iPad and Android phone or tablets, the BMT Tax Depreciation Calculator is an indispensable tool for anyone involved in property investing. It’s renowned for its accuracy and provides usable figures and a genuine insight into the potential cash returns you could expect from an investment property Depreciation rates at your fingertips BMT Rate Finder assists Accountants and their investor clients to search depreciation rates on the go, with more than 1,500 plant and equipment items identified as depreciable assets by the Australian Tax Office, the BMT app helps to take the guesswork out of calculating the effective life of depreciating assets. Need to find just residential rates? BMT Resi Rates is an ideal app for Property Managers to help resolve disputes over damaged assets and assist with repairs and maintenance scheduling. Download BMT Resi Rates for iPhone, iPad and Android devices and make a quick search for any residential plant and equipment assets. Find out how much it will cost to replace your property The BMT Replacement Cost Estimator uses BMT’s construction cost data to provide a guide on the estimated replacement cost of your property. Simply select the property type, property suburb and quality of finish Enter in the floor area and then answer some basic questions about the property and click ‘Get an estimate’ Based upon the data that you have entered; the results will display the minimum and maximum range for the replacement cost of the building Discover the cash flow potential of any property PropCalc provides a comprehensive summary of the cash flow potential of any residential property. This online tool uses specific property information to provide you with the real cost of owning a property. You can use the generated information or add your own for a personalised cost. Key suburb data is provided and the tool features the ability to include changes in interest rates, maintenance costs, rates, insurance and much more, making property research a breeze. It can all seem overwhelming, especially for first time property investors. However, the good news is that you don’t have to do it all alone. There are professionals out there, whose very job it is to help you get started in the property market. If you would like to have BMT Tax Depreciation, the tax depreciation specialists, as a part of your property investment team, contact us today on 1300 728 726.

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8 Steps for Buying Investment Property

Six game changing property investment tools