New Queensland Pool Safety Laws start 1st December 2010 - Today

The Queensland Government has introduced new pool safety laws aimed at reducing the numbers of children drowning in Queensland swimming pools. These laws affect new and existing pools.

Stage 2 of the new laws commence on 1 December 2010.

There is a vast range of information and resources available on the Queensland Governments Department of Infrastructure and Planning Website.

From 1 December 2010, pool safety certificates are required when selling or leasing a property with a pool. Pool safety certificates must be obtained from a licensed pool safety inspector. Information for pool owners, pool safety inspectors and pool safety inspector course providers is available on the Department of Infrastructure and Planning website: http://www.dip.qld.gov.au/poolsafety.

Find a Licenced Inspector here:
https://www.smarteda.qld.gov.au/pools/inspectors/inspectorSearch.action%3bjsessionid=3D199030FF5A5A8BCE9907E0F40C5FD3

Pool Safety Fact Sheets: If you are Selling or Leasing a property these facts sheets contain some very valuable information:
http://www.dip.qld.gov.au/fact-sheets/pool-safety.html

New Pool safety Flyer
http://www.dip.qld.gov.au/resources/poolfencing/pool-safety-brochure.pdf

New Pool Safety Guidleines
http://www.dip.qld.gov.au/guidelines/pool-fencing-guidelines.html

New Pool Safety Forms
http://www.dip.qld.gov.au/forms-templates/pool-safety-forms.html

All properties with regulated pools need to be included in the state-based pool safety register by May 2011. Initially Local Governments are including details of pools on the register. Pool owners will need to check the register to ensure their pool is registered.

Free public information sessions have been held across the state and there are two more of these sessions left. These information sessions are an opportunity for you to hear more about the new pool safety laws and what they mean for industry, business and pool owners.

Tuesday, 7 December 2010 2.30 pm - 6 pm Brisbane North Arana Leagues Club, 274 Dawson Parade, Keperra.

Monday, 13 December 2010 2.30 pm - 6 pm Ipswich Ipswich Golf Club, 1A Samford Road, Leichhardt.

For more imformation about these sessions contact:

Building Codes Queensland
Telephone: +61 7 3239 6369
Fax: +61 7 3237 1248
Email: buildingcodes@dip.qld.gov.au
Location: Level 5, 63 George Street, Brisbane, Queensland
Postal address: PO Box 15009 City East, Queensland 4002


If you have any questions contact Morpheus Property on 1300 911 576 or send us an email - enquiries@morpheusproperty.com.au. We can direct you to a licenced expert in your area.

Yours in property
Morpheus Property

SEMINAR - Buying the right property at the right price!

Consider 6 Key Things Before Investing in Property…

Know what your options are for a well informed decision.

Remember, even if you are buying a home to live in yourself, you should do so with an investment mindset. This event is equally relevant for you and your situation.

You are invited to this must attend information seminar designed for anyone thinking of buying or investing in property.

Hear the answers to important questions, such as:
• What makes a good property investment?
• What type of investment properties are there?
• Which refinancing options are suitable for me?
• How can I utilise my equity?
• How do I start the process?

Gain invaluable investment tips from Morpheus Property –one of Brisbane’s leading property research and investment firms, specializing in sourcing high growth and superior quality residential property.

Gain invaluable information about asset protection from Quinn & Scattini – one of Brisbane’s finest legal firms who specialize in assisting their clients with every legal matter that comes up during a life time.

Seminar 1Date: 4th August 2010
Time: 6:30pm
Address: Icon Bar & Bistro, Raby Bay Harbour,Cleveland Qld 4163
Cost: $30 - ($10 from every ticket will go to Bravehearts).
Coffee and tea provided

Numbers are limited so RSVP at this link - http://clevelandseminar.eventbrite.com/
Yours in property
Morpheus Property

More Efficiency Disclosures - This time for Commercial Office Buildings

The following message is from Quinn & Scattini Lawyers:

Commercial real estate agents in particular should be aware that the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Bill 2010 (“the Bill”) has been introduced to the Commonwealth Parliament.

The Bill is intended to promote the disclosure of information about the energy efficiency of buildings. It introduces a mandatory disclosure scheme for corporate owners and head tenants of certain commercial office buildings with a net lettable area of more than 2000 square metres.

The owner or tenant must register a Building Energy Efficiency Certificate (“BEEC”) before it offers to sell or lease the building. The Building Energy Efficiency Register will be established as a central registry to register and hold records of all BEECs.

Any advertisements for the sale or lease of a building must contain the energy efficiency rating for that building.

The BEEC must disclose the following:-
1. The energy efficiency rating;
2. An assessment of energy efficiency of any lighting;
3. Guidance as to how the energy efficiency of the building may be improved.

The owner or tenant of certain buildings may apply for an exemption. Exemptions may be available where the building is used for police/ security operations or the characteristics of the building prevent an appropriate assessment or if the building falls into a class to be prescribed by the regulations as being exempt (likely to include new buildings and buildings that have had recent major refurbishments).

Penalties for non-compliance may be up to $110,000 for each breach.

It is likely that the legislation will commence on 1 July 2010 however the obligations imposed by the legislation will only commence on the implementation day (within 6 months of commencement).

There is also to be a transition period of 12 months from the implementation day which means that an owner or tenant can use an existing energy efficiency rating issued by a recognized issuing authority (such as NABERS) during this time in place of a BEEC.

If you would like to ask any question about this or any other similar issue, Richie Muir may be contacted on 3821 2766 between 8.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday or email rmuir@quinnscattini.com.au

Renovate, but be realistic with your time!!!

Investors seem to get more interested in renovation projects if they're able to contribute labour themselves. This is often a good idea.

'Often?' I hear you say? If you're able to save money by doing it yourself, why isn't it always a good idea? One of the main culprits is where investors are too busy with their full time job to commit to the additional work. A little time passes and this eats away at the project's profitability.

Example
A 3 bedroom house is bought in Brisbane as a renovation project. It costs the buyer $420,000 and needs work to a kitchen and a bathroom. The investor creates a brief schedule of works:

Bathroom & Toilet
1/ Replace tiles
2/ Replace leaking cistern
3/ Replace cracked shower screen
4/ 4 x new cupboard handles
5/ Paint all walls and ceiling

Kitchen
1/ New splash-back tiles
2/ 17 x new cupboard handles
3/ Replace lino with tiles (much needed update on a 70's style green & brown)
4/ Paint all walls and ceiling

For a renovation project, he's avoided the costly elements and the work should give the property a real lift. In this example, our buyer is a painter. He's good at what he does (he's in high demand), so there's money to be saved. After crunching the numbers, it looks like a winner... on paper!

By doing the painting himself (including some touch up work inside and outside), the investor expects to save about $1,000 on the painting alone. By using people he knows and trusts for the remaining work, he expects to save an additional $1,500.

After buying the property, his workload continues to be high with many painting jobs in the pipeline, keeping him busy with 50 hour weeks and little time to spend with his young family.

The renovation project was supposed to be a weekend job, but he was either too busy, too tired or catching up with his family. After continuing to tell himself, "I'll do it next weekend", the painting didn't get started for 3 months after purchasing the property.

In the meantime, the property wasn't tenanted and this cost him approx $6,200 in lost rental repayments or $7,000 in excessive mortgage repayments (depending on whether it's a reno + hold or a reno + flip strategy).

Lesson
Be realistic about your availability to get the job done. Work out how much time will be needed on the project (add 20% for the unknown). Ask yourself: "Do I really have this time available?"

Work out your break-even point. In the above example, it would only take about 2 - 2.5 weeks before it would be better to hire someone else to get the job done for you.

Remember - It's an investment, so it's all about the $$$.

Property for the Short or Long Term

Have you ever heard the old adage, "Property is for the long term"??

Of course, this isn't true for everyone, as many folk have made good money using both strategies - short and long term. However, the process of analysing good property is quite different. Let's take a look!


Buying for the Short Term
When buying property for the short term, there a few key methods which are quite similar in approach:
- Renovations
- Development projects
- Quick trade
Where's the similarity? The calculations all involve common elements and can be structure much like a Profit and Loss equation:

Net Selling Price - Net Purchase Price
= Gross Profit on sale of property
Remove the acquisition, input and holding
costs
= Net Profit

(we'll keep it simple and leave out the tax effect for now, although this is also quite important)

What mistakes do most people make when buying for the short term?
- Pay too much for the property
- Overestimate the 'net' selling price
- Underestimate the input costs (renovations, development approvals, etc)
- Underestimate the holding costs (the cost of financing the property while you have it in your control)
- Underestimate the time taken (especially with council approvals - they vary, so check the expected timeframes before jumping into the deep end)

Buying for the Long Term
There are four main considerations for people buying for the long term
- Serviciabilty
- Capital growth
- Maintenance costs
- Potential risks and opportunities

Which are more important to you will depend on your portfolio. Get competent advice in this area to ensure your portfolio expands as quickly as possible.

Renovating on the cheap, but not nasty!

Let's get one thing straight, when you're planning to Buy, Renovate and Sell, there should be only one thing on your mind = making a profit!!!

When looking at residential property, we all know kitchens and bathrooms generally cost the most to update (beyond structural work). They can also be the rooms that make the biggest impact to the buyers and to your bottom line.... when the renovations are done properly and cost-effectively!

Let's say your kitchen and bathroom look like they need an overhaul. Instead of immediately planning to rip them out and start again, look to see if the fundamentals can stay and be given a facelift instead.

For example, can you escape by giving the kitchen a paint, new tiles, spash-back and new cupboard handles? If you can, the cost difference between this approach compared to ripping it out and installing a complete new kitchen could save you approx $5,000.

Bathrooms are similar. Can you get away with updating the flooring coverings, cupboard handles, fittings and a paint job (including the bath)? Again, the difference in approach could save you thousands of $$$.

For some properties, taking a 'minimalist' approach can turn a relatively neutral project into a very profitable one. I'm not suggesting you cut corners, but I'd encourage you to focus on what really needs to be done instead of assuming that everything needs to be gutted and replaced.

If you need help crunching the numbers, give us a call on 1300 911 576.