Empower Blog Property & Financial Investment

Finance Talk: Seek Help For Those Big Life Decisions

We all know that buying your first home is at that moment in time most likely your most confronting finance and one of a big life decisions as well, but from that moment on throughout your life you are going to be faced with making big decisions about your finances, your well being, your future etc, etc. So it’s only logical that you seek advice...

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The Impact of Risk

In our previous newsletter, we looked at the impact of the capital growth and the yield of an investment asset by considering an example of an investor owning shares in a fictitious company.  The example looked at the different outcome that would result, depending on whether the investor was seeking an investment which offers the prospect of a hig...

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Feeling Brave?

Who was it that said “fortune favours the brave?” Or who was it that got credit for it in the modern age, as I’m sure throughout history this comment would have been reeled off several hundreds of times around the world as men went to war for the control of land, its people and its wealth. Fortunately, and pardon the pun, these days the sa...

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Rental Yields Vs. Term Deposits

With the further cut in the cash rate announced this month by the RBA, the banks will shortly start to announce their new savings deposit rates, which are coming down with each cut. Some commentators are talking about the cash rate getting as low as 2.5% which means it’s cheaper for the banks to access money from the RBA than via customers’ ...

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Financial Sacrifices and Choices

This month commentary has evolved from the clear message that comes out of ANZAC day each year – Sacrifice.  Our Diggers’ case represents the most poignant and refined definition of the word.  The men and women of Australia back then and today are still choosing to make a sacrifice for the greater good of their community.  Some of them makin...

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Stamp Duty; friend or foe?

There is a lot of news in the media right now about Stamp Duty on the Transfer of Land. For a buyer, the cost of stamp duty is a significant upfront cost when buying property. We often get asked by the media about stamp duty and how Australians (and in particular, Melburnians) feel about it. It was an interesting topic to discuss because many poi...

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ATO Ruling on Interest Capitalisation

After earlier releasing a draft ruling on interest capitalisation the ATO has finally released its ruling: TD 2012/1. In property investing terms, interest capitalisation is where a person or entity is claiming interest costs on top of the original interest costs and instead of paying the original interest the borrower is paying down other non-d...

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Chasing the Deal of the Day – Good Luck with That

Over the many years that I have been dealing in mortgage finance I have learnt a lot about this game, especially given the fact that at any point in time I’ve had access to over 600 different loan products at my disposal; from different credit policies, to loan structuring to maximising borrowing capacity etc. But the most important lesson in my ...

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RBA Rates Decision – May 2012

The RBA has just announced a larger than consensus reduction in the cash rate – 50 basis points.  This is a very rare event for a traditionally conservative board.  So much so I have decided to add the entire statement from the RBA governor, Glenn Stephens. “At its meeting today, the Board decided to lower the cash rate by 50 basis poi...

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The Impact of Growth vs Yield

Growth vs Yield? In whichever kind of investment, this question has always brought along endless debates. In previous newsletters, we have discussed the impact of the capital growth of an investment asset and the yield or income produced by that asset.  In the majority of long term investment strategies, both of these factors are important.  The ...

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How Does a Property Investor Ensure that they Buy Well?

Every aspiring property investor is gripped with fear about the impact of their selection when I first meet with them. Their questions range from "where should I buy?" to "what do you think of off-the-plan apartments?" The answer is simple - there are MANY factors that you need to take into consideration to ensure that you buy well; it's not JUST a...

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Stable Market – Good News for Now…

Can we call it yet?…….. Do we have to repeat ourselves again? Will the papers and naysayers' such as the likes of Steven Keen  finally admit they got it wrong (Mind you Steven was claiming  well before the GFC that property values would drop as much as 40%, when in fact property prices since have record double digit growth). So will everyd...

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RBA Rates Decision – April 2012

The RBA has held off on a cash rate movement again this month, as they still appear happy with the current economic activity within the economy. Those doing business in the two biggest state economies of Sydney and Melbourne might disagree about the level of growth they are enjoying! But it’s not the RBA’s job to set cash rates for each state; ...

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