21 November 2018 Sharon Fox-SlaterWhile the Airbnb juggernaut seems to show no signs of slowing, hosts are risking their finances by failing to ensure they have legal liability insurance. The tragic death of a 4-year-old boy and the injury of a 7-year-old girl, who were playing on a homemade swing when it toppled down a slope at a property being rented via Airbnb on the Sunshine Coast in September, raised a question about legal liability at Airbnbs. The incidents shone a...
Are your Clients protected against the risk of Non-Compliant Building Work? By Paul Watkins, General Counsel, Australia Stewart TitleThe enforcement powers of Local Authorities to issue building notices and building orders for unapproved building work is a risk which is well known among settlement agents in Western Australia. However, the issue of non-compliant building work also poses a significant risk, particularly as purchasers and their settlements agents may be lulled into a false sense of security if the Orders & Requisitions...
Due to the popularity of our spring special, we are changing our pricing structure away from the Antiquated Settlement Scale Fee and adopting a fairer ‘user pay’ model. The move to a fairer ‘user pay’ pricing model- uses a competitive base Settlement Fee set for the basic straight forward Property Sale and Purchase based on market value price brackets, with capped surcharges applicable as required, rather than apply an excessive hourly rate for the ‘outside of normal’/additional work. Settlement Fee...
CIRCULAR 17 DUTIES ACT 2008 Foreign Buyers Duty The Duties Amendment (Additional Duty for Foreign Persons) Bill 2018 (‘the Bill’) was second read into Parliament on 13 June 2018. The Bill operates to amend the Duties Act 2008 (‘Duties Act’) to impose additional duty on certain transactions involving foreign persons or entities acquiring residential property in Western Australia.These amendments are subject to the passing of the Bill by Parliament and the granting of Royal Assent. The changes are proposed to come into effect on 1 January...
For the most part there are very few changes in the 2018 Federal Budget targeting the property industry. Some interesting points of note include: Property owners who leave vacant land undeveloped, otherwise known as “land banking”, will no longer benefit from tax incentives Home buyers, particularly first home buyers looking to create a deposit for purchasing a home will be able to store their savings in their superfund tax free. Australians over the retirement age can now access the equity in...
The GST on property transactions measure has been introduced, as schedule 5 to the Treasury Laws Amendment (2018 Measures No. 1) Bill 2018.To recap:The Government will strengthen compliance with the Goods & Service Tax (GST) law by requiring purchasers of newly constructed residential properties or new subdivisions to remit the GST directly to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) as part of settlement. The measure will require the purchaser of newly constructed residential properties of new subdivisions to remit the GST...
