From delivering property investment finance strategies to trusted property partner.

We welcome you to Portfolios. When it comes to property investment and finance you can rely on us as a great source of knowledge, real life wisdom, cutting edge information as well as a sound community base of active property people to help you grow your property portfolio.

With Portfolios - Property... Make it Happen

For more than a year, Portfolios has had an alliance with McGrath Real Estate Agents and their mortgage broking arm Oxygen Home Loans. In conjunction with them we provide services throughout the Newcastle, Hunter Valley and Port Macquarie regions.
We get access to John McGrath and his views on property and we thought that this market review for Winter 2011 will be of interest to you. Let us know your feedback. Happy reading!

Click here to read McGrath Market Review Winter 2011.

It’s Green for the property market

As we enter into the fifth month of 2011, are you wondering whether the market is going to gain traction and build upon some early positive signs? Positive key drivers are indicating that we are now in one of the most important selling periods of some time. What are the 8 key drivers that are making 2011 a strong year in property? Read on to get McGrath’s in depth Market Review for Autumn 2011.

Headline: 80% of property investors make the same mistake!
Sub Headline: Are you getting the most from your investment property?
80% of property investors are not properly depreciating their investment property asset – missing out on the potential to make thousands more.
Its a simple problem – often over looked.
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Depreciation on an investment property is effectively free money.
Are you missing out on free money?
Bradley Beer from BMT Tax Depreciation says that “If you own an investment property and have not been claiming depreciation, you will be missing out on thousands of dollars. Even if you are claiming depreciation you may not be maximising your claim. Property depreciation will help an investor to increase their cash flow by reducing the tax they pay.”
Asset depreciation is nothing new to a business owner.  If you earn an income from an asset you can depreciate that asset as an expense, albeit a ‘paper’ expense. Expenses of course are tax deductible.
The difference with property investors is that the Australian Tax Office allows property owners to claim this depreciation as a deduction against their taxable income. Depreciation expenses, along with other ‘paper’ property costs can cause a property to make a loss on paper thus allowing Australian tax payers to claim this loss against their pre-tax income.
Sub Headline: What Is Depreciable?
All aspects of a property and the property’s fixtures and fittings are depreciable as all aspects of the property age. If the building was constructer prior to 1985 you can not claim depreciation on the building, only the fixtures and fittings.
Sub Headline: What About Older Properties?
Purchasing an investment property should always be about the deal and your personal outcome not whether it is depreciable or now. However, you should know that all properties are likely to have aspects that are depreciable.
We recommend you get a proper depreciation schedule on an older property before settlement. After all it is part of your due diligence on the property.
Sub Headline: Are You Renovating – What About The Old Fixtures?
Renovating a property – you may be eligible for scrapping benefits.
Scrapping occurs when the items you are removing from a property, to improve that property, still have both a value and future depreciation benefits in them. You write off the potential depreciation benefit as a deduction against the property income. This also applies to the building.
If you are renovating do not throw away fittings and fixtures without understanding their depreciation potential.
Just more proof that a properly through through strategy and finance deal can get you set up to make the most from your property investment journey. Make it happen with Portfolios.

Are you getting the most from your investment property?

Up to 80% of property investors are not properly depreciating their investment property asset – missing out on the potential to make thousands more.

Its a simple problem – often over looked.

This Property Pays You – Roma Qld Property of the Month
We’ve scoured the Australian investment property market and found it, an investment property that will pay you from day one.
Roma in South Western Queensland is a small town offering big opportunities with high rental yield and good capital growth potential.
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Now with a positively geared property to add to your portfolio you could build on your strategy to pay off your mortgage sooner. Roma offers the benefits of long term growth and high rental yields. A well connected town, the urban centre is also a regional hub boasting schools, retail and other essential community services. Roma also has a relatively low unemployment rate of around 3% with property occupancy rates below 1%
With a population around 7,000 people, Roma is also located in the Suarat Basin in the western Darling Downs area of Queensland approximately 480kms WNW from Brisbane. It is situated at the junction of the Warrego and Carnarvon highways and is the centre of a rich pastoral and wheat-growing district.
The local agriculture industry is worth approximately $620 million annually, 64.3% being generated from crops. 58.7% of businesses in the Maranoa are in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector, which employs 32.7% of the region’s workforce.
But the industry mix is changing.  The “mining boom” is creating towns that are producing exceptional
rent and capital growth. The Queensland Resource Council estimates more than 18,000 new jobs will be created in coal seam, gas and LNG industries and another 23,000 in the minerals sector.
Since 1906 natural gas from the local area was used for lighting in Roma. The industry is now expanding exponentially, particularly with coal seam gas.
Origin Energy’s Spring Gully Coal Seam Gas Development is located about 80 km north of Roma and its projects include an 87 km gas pipeline to Roma’s neighbour town of Wallumbilla, Queensland to connect with the 434 km Roma-to-Brisbane gas pipeline hub there.
The Proposed Spring Gully Power Station is an $870 Million, 1000MW power station will provide electricity to South-East Queensland.
If you prefer positively geared property to balance out your portfolio, contact us quickly as there are a limited number of these properties available. In the fields below leave your name and phone number – this will be sent to our private server and we will be in contact.
Add Roma to your portfolio today.

This Property Pays You – Roma Qld Property of the Month

We’ve scoured the Australian investment property market and found it, an investment property that will pay you from day one.

Roma in South Western Queensland is a small town offering big opportunities with high rental yield and good capital growth potential.

We are constantly being asked why we put so much of a focus on Queensland when there are great deals around the country in property investment.
Ar Portfolios we scour the entire Australian property investment market, and will be bringing some properties in other areas soon.
In this article we will show you why Queensland show great potential in property investment and why we have chosen to offer such a large proportion of our property selection here.
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Firstly you will you note that all Portfolios Property is measured against our strict property selection criteria. In selecting these properties only properties scoring more than 15 out of 20 even make our short list, with the majority of our offering being 18 or above. See our previous article on property selection.
When we show you Queensland’s benefits, perhaps you might ask yourself – when looking at your potential investment – whether the area you are investing in stacks up.
What About Queensland?
The real Gross Domestic Product growth in Queensland is the highest in the country. When placed on the international stage, GDP in Queensland even out performs global competitors like UK, USA and Japan. This is staggering for one state. Much of this is on the back of the resources sector but there is also heavy expenditure right across the state in infrastructure.
Following on from above, Queensland is home to the largest public infrastructure spending program in Australia’s history. You only have to take a drive through Brisbane to see the massive expenditure taking place, but outside of the metro areas ports, roads and rail are being constantly upgraded to meet the growing market.
Queensland is home to a growing young and entrepreneurial workforce fueled by numerous world-class educational institutions. In step with this is Australia’s fastest growing consumer market, being buoyed by the relatively young affluent population. Not to be outdone many parts of Queensland are experience growth in the retirement market with favourable climate and low cost of living.
In terms of trade and economy, Queensland has the 2nd highest number of international arrivals into Australia behind Sydney. The East Coast now known as Australia’s trade coast – connects Queensland to global markets (through many ports including Gladstone, Cairns) There are over 127,000 businesses and the number is growing daily.
Queensland has been ranked by KPMG as one of the world’s mos cost-competitive locations. With the fastest growing population in Australia – major domestic inward migration – as well as from outside Australia, it is unlikely property prices will stop growing in the near future.
So there you have it – we believe Queensland is a great market for property investors. We encourage you to consider your next investment in Queensland and as always are happy to discuss your unique requirements and investment strategy to help your investment property portfolio grow.

We are constantly being asked why we put so much of a focus on Queensland when there are great deals around the country in property investment.

At Portfolios we scour the entire Australian property investment market, and will be bringing other property opportunities from other states, but it is true, we have seen the most potential to date in Queensland.

In this article we will show you why Queensland show great potential in property investment and why we have chosen to offer such a large proportion of our property selection here.