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NEW YEAR â A FRESH START FOR YOUR ESTATE PLANNING
Fri, 11 Jan 19
At Affinity Lawyers, we like to take the start of a fresh new year to remind you that itâs a great time to take stock of your circumstances, and get some of those pesky tasks that you never seem to have time to do â done.
For many tasks, including getting an up-to-date will drafted, completing it at the start of the new year allows you to easily remember the date it was completed, and serves as a perfect way for you to remember to review it as it was done on an easily remembered date/occasion.
IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS
Thu, 13 Dec 18
It is that time of the year again when people are starting to relax, and are getting ready to enjoy the Christmas/New Year break after the busy working year and start looking forward to 2019.
Therefore, we would like to extend to you some carefully drafted Christmas wishes, with an abundance of lawyer humour:
Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, our best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all . . . and a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2019, and without regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith, choice of computer platform, or sexual preference of the wishee.
AIRBNB AND BODY CORPORATES
Tue, 11 Dec 18
The ability for unit owners to rent out their units for short term accommodation via sites such as âAirbnbâ or âStayzâ has long been a grey area, with many body corporates attempting to stop these types of rentals from happening by attempting to enforce by-laws which have been explicitly drafted to exclude short term rentals. It has been an ongoing tug-of-war between unit owners and Body Corporates, with each vying for the âwinningâ position.
It appears that the âwinnerâ has now been determined, and the recent decision of the Body Corporate for Hilton Park CTS 27490 v. Colin Robertson [2018] by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal has provided clarity for unit owners by ruling that they are legally entitled to offer their units for short-term rentals (through schemes such as Airbnb or Stayz) and that any attempt made by the Body Corporate to restrict such use by way of a by-law or other means is invalid and will not be enforceable.
PPSR CHARGES - ARE YOURS ABOUT TO EXPIRE?
Tue, 11 Dec 18
Personal property is considered to be any form of property other than land, buildings or fixtures which form a part of that land. This can include cars, boats, caravans, art, machinery and crops as well as intangibles such as intellectual property and contract rights. The Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR took over from the REVS (Register of Encumbered Vehicles) Queensland and Bills of Sale Register in 2012.
The purpose of the register is to determine the priority for secured creditors in the event that a debtor defaults or goes into liquidation.
PROPERTY TRANSACTION CHANGES FROM 1 JULY 2018
Wed, 4 Jul 18
We have previously written about the numerous changes to the Additional Foreign Acquirers Duty for property purchases in Australia by foreigners, and several of the major changes stemming from the 2017 budget have come into effect on 1 July 2018.
As a result of the mid-year fiscal economic review, it is expected that the foreign acquirer duty rate is going to increase from the current 3% to 7%. Transitional arrangements for contracts entered into before 1 July 2018 but settling after that date have not yet been confirmed, and accordingly, foreign persons intending on purchasing property in Queensland should consider the timing of their transactions in light of the recent changes.
WHY SPECIAL CONDITIONS ARE SO IMPORTANT IN YOUR CONVEYANCING CONTRACT
Thu, 7 Jun 18
Buying or selling a property is one of the biggest financial transactions you will undertake in your lifetime, and it is important to ensure that the contract is drafted correctly, takes into consideration your individual circumstances and accurately reflects the agreement reached between the parties.
WHY YOU NEED AN EXPERIENCED LAW FIRM TO DO YOUR CONVEYANCING
Fri, 8 Sep 17
Following on from a recent article we published regarding cheap âwill kitsâ, we often find that clients are also compromising one of the largest purchases they will make in their lifetime, being the purchase of their first home or real estate, all for the sake of saving a small amount of money.
We find that many people try to âdo it themselvesâ to save money and before long they are floundering and need urgent assistance from a law firm, where unfortunately, they have already compromised their position by acting for themselves and have unwittingly breached the contract. Breaches of contract can result in significant financial loss and is not a matter to be taken lightly.
2017 BUDGET TARGETS ALL PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS OVER $750,000
Sat, 8 Jul 17
Further to our recent article regarding the shakeup to conveyancing transactions as a result of the 2017 budget, a new piece of legislation has come into effect on 1 July 2017 which directly affects all real estate agents and buyers/sellers, where the market value of a property is over $750,000.
Although the aim of the legislation is to ensure that foreign residents selling property valued above $750,000 donât short-change the Government with respect to paying tax on the sale of the asset, the legislation will encompass all transactions over that threshold regardless of whether the seller is a foreign person or not. Thus, it is important for all real estate agents, sellers and buyers alike to be aware of this change in statutory requirements, moving forward.
GST ON PROPERTY SALES - WHAT THE 2017 BUDGET MEANS FOR PROPERTY SALES IN 2018
Thu, 1 Jun 17
As a result of the 2017 budget, it would appear that from 1 July 2018, any buyers purchasing new residential property or land within a subdivision will have the onus placed on them to collect the GST from the purchaser and pay it to the ATO.
This change will necessarily require developers to amend their existing contracts to reflect the upcoming changes, and to protect their positions with respect to property transactions.
The driving force behind these changes appear to be evidence of developers who have claimed input tax credits on transactions, but then failed to remit the GST to the ATO, and increases in businesses which are wound up by the ATO with outstanding GST liabilities. Further, as a result of instigating these measures, it has been estimated that there will be an increase of approximately $660 million dollars in GST revenue raised, indicating a further incentive for the changes to be enacted and implemented by the Government to support our economy.
BUYING OR SELLING A HOUSE? WHAT HAPPENS IF THE HOUSE IS DAMAGED IN THE PERIOD BETWEEN THE CONTRACT DATE AND SETTLEMENT?
Wed, 26 Apr 17
As one of the leading Gold Coast law firms, our property and conveyancing team at Affinity Lawyers deal with many transactions, and a common question asked is âwhat happens if the house is damaged after the contract has been signed, prior to settlement occurring?â.
As most of you would be aware, Queensland has been suffering some wild weather recently as a result of tropical cyclone Debbie, and the damage bill to property in our state has already been calculated at hundreds of thousands of dollars. So it is timely to consider what would happen if you were in the midst of the sale or purchase of a property, and the property was damaged before settlement.
