Where did we put that Billiard table?
Do not make the mistake of assuming that others know what they are looking for.
Did you hear the one about the Senate enquiry into two disappearing billiard tables?
These two tables used to be located in the parliament’s staff recreation area and when it was realised that they had disappeared a senate enquiry ensued to find out where they had gone and importantly $100,000 was spent to find the tables that had been sold for a sum total of $4,900.
How does that fit with you as a tax payer? Continue reading
Project Monitoring With Continued Due Diligence
With the complexity and size of current new developments as well as their varying funding & delivery arrangements, our National Building Consulting team is undertaking an increasing number of Project Monitoring commissions for a variety of clients.
We are seeing a current trend of acquisitions of development property from international investors partnering with local developers – and more lately, from local property companies and superannuation funds. This is coupled with major corporates wanting anchor tenancies in new developments.
Project Monitoring is distinct from both Project Management and Construction Monitoring. Its primary role is to protect the Client’s interests by identifying and advising on the risks associated with acquiring an interest in a development that is not under the client’s direct control.
Is it time for a Napier & Blakeley Health Check?
Recently Napier & Blakeley completed a health check on a client’s existing depreciation claim. In one tax year the client added $300,000 cash to their tax return. 
If we can do this to one years return what else could you and your investors be missing out on ?
Do not make the mistake of assuming that others know what they are looking for.
Napier & Blakeley are the original experts in property depreciation; would you trust your health to anyone but an expert?
Call us today to talk about your options. Continue reading
Protecting Your Assets by Making Good
Under typical lease arrangements the tenant is responsible for repairs and maintenance to a specified condition during the lease term and for returning the property to a defined condition at expiry.
This should not be underestimated. In terms of commercial office property, lease end Make Good can equate to 75 to 120% of the rent per square metre and more under certain circumstances.
If left to the uninitiated a lack of repairs and maintenance will lead to reduced life expectancies of the building’s elements, plant and equipment – and in turn, premature capital expenditure for the replacement of such items.
This often leads to conflict and disputes which can complicate the tenant’s relocation or the landlord’s re-letting of the premises. In some instances this can also legitimately allow the landlord to claim loss of rent, rates and other associated losses which can be significant. Continue reading
Strategic Asset Management
Property owners are now emerging from survival mode and searching for opportunities.
One of the first steps is evaluation and gaining a better understanding of their existing portfolios, to make the best of what they’ve got – given constraints on availability of finance. Typically the portfolios are older, B grade and ripe for opportunity.
Strategic Asset Planning provides short, medium and long term views on minimising cost, managing risk and maximising returns through continued due diligence.
There is a positive trend towards this approach starting with understanding baseline data in terms of condition, performance and environmental and regulatory compliance in such a way that is cost effective, meaningful, useable and enduring. It is vital to know what data needs to be collected and how it should be best used and managed for maximum effect. Continue reading
Where next for the Development Markets ?
Over the past few years, the Australian development market has been severely hit by the credit crisis by the reduction in primary lenders and also the remaining banks appetite (or sometimes lack of it) to fund anything that they deem to be “risky”.
“Risky” has taken on a whole new meaning in the last few years and as we’ve talked about before you could have the best site in town, with an award winning design and 100% pre sales – but this in some instances still proved too risky for the banks in an uncertain market going forward.
To be fair to the banks, we are seeing increased lending activity in some sectors of the market, generally not large builds but certainly in the up to $20m market and more recently to a limited extent in the $20m to $100m sector with some isolated builds over $100m, so some of the banks, at least seem to have a developing appetite for deals.
A significant issue raised by a number of banks, is the quantum and quality of equity being put forward by developers with lenders wanting to see “real dollars” as a means of mitigating their risk further. Continue reading
End of Year Investment Property Tax List
Property Tax Deductions are available as follows:
- Depreciation of plant – such as air conditioning and mechanical ventilation, some electrical items, lighting, carpets, lifts, furniture and fittings.
- Building Structure (Capital Allowances) for investment properties constructed after July 1982, or for refurbishment, renovations, additions alterations after that date.
Now answer these questions…
- Have you got a current depreciation schedule? If not Napier & Blakeley are qualified to establish values for the depreciating assets that you own.
- Have you bought an investment property throughout the tax year?
- Have you altered, renovated or added to your existing investment property throughout the tax year?
- Have you demolished all or parts of your investment property?
- Have you changed, added to or thrown out any items of fitout or FF & E during the financial year?
The establishment of a compliant depreciation schedule allows you to calculate your entitlements to Depreciation and Capital Allowances deductions and to manage the process of change to your asset. Continue reading
Are you managing your Energy Reporting Risk ? As come November the Penalties are harsh !
Commercial Building Disclosure (CBD) is a national program designed to improve the energy efficiency of Australia’s large office buildings.
Transitional Provisions Ending this Year
The current transitional provisions of the CBD program that require only a NABERS base building energy rating to be disclosed will end on 31 October 2011, with full mandatory disclosure requirements commencing on 1 November 2011.
From 1 November 2011, the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Act 2010 (BEED Act) requires corporations selling, leasing or subleasing certain large (>2000sqm) office spaces to register a full Building Energy Efficiency Certificate (BEEC), not just a NABERS rating.
Continue reading
Have you been band-aiding your Depreciation & Asset Registers ?
The past few years have thrown many challenges the way of private practice accountants, as well as those working within the property trust markets. Whether it’s been the rush of buying as we saw in 2007/08 period or the sell that has occurred in most recent times. It has been very hard to keep control and track of capital expenditure. It’s even harder when many never engage with the building or the people that manage assets directly. Now that we are in the world of hold and manage assets, it’s probably time to stop making do and to get engaged!
Napier & Blakeley, long recognised, as the market leader in property depreciation, see so many depreciation schedules that are not maintained as they should be. Assets that have long been removed from site still being depreciated and quite often representing large sums of money.
It is a regular occurrence and easy thing to do to simply adopt the vendors depreciation schedule. Tax law, however, allows a purchaser to apportion values to all depreciating assets they acquire, i.e air conditioning, lifts, carpet, chattels, etc to reflect the cost of the asset as acquired by the purchaser. In a rising market this may even represent a value that is more than its original replacement cost. Continue reading
Muscle up and wrestle your tax back…
It’s here again, the end of the financial year, a time for collating all of the financial happenings over the past 12 months and thinking about new beginnings from 1st July. Or as is the case for many in the property industry, preparing accounts and reports for share holders, as it is just the beginning of the reporting period.
Napier & Blakeley are the original experts in property depreciation deductions – we will make sure that you do muscle up and receive the maximum benefits available to you through depreciation and capital allowances. Our experience is second to none in the market place and our track record speaks for itself. So let us wrestle on your behalf.
It’s at this time every year that we provide an update of the legislative goings on in the accounting area of property depreciation and over the past 12 months there have been a few. Continue reading
