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Hi, I'm converting a residence into a holiday rental property, to be listed with sites like Stayz, Takeabreak, etc. I'm currently insured with CGU. They've said they don't offer a landlord's policy that covers short-term holiday accommodation - their landlord policy only covers...

In another thread I was asking about the technical aspects (routers, hardware etc) of offering a wireless hotspot to your guests/tenants if you own a holiday-let property. Most of the holiday homes listed on sites like Stayz, Takebreak etc. seem to offer free internet to guests. Technical...

I'm about to rent out my home. It has an internal hardwood timber staircase which looks great, but is quite slippery. To reduce the legal risks of a tenant slipping on it, e.g. situations like: http://www.somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15602 … I need to do something to the stairs...

I'm planning to holiday-let my home soon, possibly through sites like Stayz or Takeabreak. In looking at comparable homes that are listed on the sites, most holiday home owners seem to offer free internet to guests, presumably using a similar sort of wireless hotspot arrangement to those used...

Here's another commission-related question... We have a house listed for sale with Agent A. We've had a few inspections, but no offers although a few people are "still thinking about it." Agent A's (exclusive) listing period is about to expire. For a few different reasons we weren't...

Someone related an incident to me recently where a lady he works with was interested in a particular property. It was open-listed, with at least 3 different real estate agents' signs in the yard. She first called one agent and viewed the property with him. The next day she wanted to go...

I understand the differences between your principal place of residence (PPOR) and an IP, such as interest deductibility on IPs and the fact that your PPOR is not subject to capital gains tax (CGT) when you sell. Typically there's one PPOR, and the rest are IPs. Because of my work I spend...

I'm considering selling an IP. The tenants still have 4+ months to go on their lease. If we list the property for sale, how does it work showing prospective buyers through a tenanted property? Obviously we'd need to give the tenants a certain amount of notice before any visit or...

I was thinking of buying a small fire extinguisher for my IPs and sticking it in the cabinet under the sink. I know they're not a legal requirement (unlike smoke alarms), but they don't really cost much (less than $20), and of course they'd be tax-deductible anyway. I was just curious if...

Hi, I'm thinking of installing an Exterra termite monitoring/baiting system in an IP I've bought in Qld, and was wondering if anyone can offer any thoughts/opinions on Exterra as a termite protection system, compared to other methods (chemical barriers, etc.) The main disadvantage with...

Most standard leases contain a space at the end for any special clauses which the landlord wants to include. Can anyone suggest any special clauses which you've added (or would add) to your leases, to strengthen/improve/clarify your position and rights as the landlord?

Hi, I have a rental property I need to find tenants for, and have a PM manage it. I'm just wondering what the best way to go about this is - the two options seem to be: 1. List the property with one agent only, and hope that they can find a (good) tenant soon. 2. List the property with...

I'm thinking of including free pool and garden maintenance services with an executive rental property I have. Because the rent will be quite high it would be a relative small percentage of the rent, and at least I can be sure the garden and pool are being properly looked after. For those of...

I'm watching an interesting situation unfold in a high-rise apartment block on the Gold Coast. The building has a strict no-pets policy. A new owner asked the body corporate if she could keep her (small) dog in the unit, subject to some strict guidelines, such as the dog not being allowed to...

Hi, I'm looking at buying a brick house in SE Qld. It's about 20 years old, and in a recent renovation, the owner rendered over all the weep holes (the building & pest inspection pointed this out.) I'm aware this can give rise to problems like rising damp, moisture in walls...

The standard REIQ sale contract explicitly states that buyers can terminate the contract if they can't get finance or they're not satisfied with the building/pest inspection within the agreed "subject to" period. When you buy a property, your solicitor/conveyancer also does a routine set of...

I'd always get a building/pest inspection report done when buying a house. However, I'm now looking at some apartments in highrise buildings (built in the 80's or 90's). Never having bought an apartment in a highrise before, should I get a building/pest inspection done, or is this not...

Hi all, I realise the traditional way to make an offer on a property is to have the agent draw up a formal offer document which, if the seller accepts and signs it, creates a formal legal contract. However, in the very early stages of a negotiation when there's likely to be lots of 'going...

Hi all, I'm trying to decide if I should buy my next IP in my own name, or use a trust for asset protection. (I'm single and in the max tax bracket, so other than asset protection I can see no other reason to use a trust.) There's a tremendous amount of excellent information on this forum...

Most investors are quite familiar with the use of basic "subject to" clauses when buying property; e.g. "Subject to finance", "Subject to satisfactory building/pest inspection," etc. (Or in Brisbane, "Subject to satisfactory Flood Report!") However, many experienced investors have learned...