Empower Blog Property & Financial Investment

Wealth Secrets

Occasionally, we would have some spare lump of money that just sitting idly in the bank account. Although they might be generating some steady interest rates but there are always other options and investments where you can put the money to a better use.  In the third Wealth Secrets issue of Money Magazine, Bryce Holdaway was interviewed on what he...

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Sky Business Channel, Your Money Your Call (May 2014)

In the 5th of May session of SKY Business Channel, Your Money Your Call, Ben Kingsley joins Margaret Lomas and Ian Rodriguez from Bishop Collins to discuss about different aspects of property across Australia. This time, they answered a number of emails and calls from viewers and some of the topics are: The increasing dwelling value across most ...

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What Properties are considered Risky by Banks?

I think the answer to this question is having an understanding of what properties the bank would be comfortable letting you have lenders mortgage insurance on, and that's a scenario where if you borrow more than 80% of the purchase price, so 85% - 95% of the purchase price, the bank will actually give you lenders mortgage insurance (LMI). There ar...

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The era of entitlement IS OVER – What can be done?

Joe Hockey delivered the nation’s 2014 Federal Budget last Tuesday. He was true to his word about it being a tough budget and based on the changes they want to push through the senate and bring into law, it certainly didn’t miss any of us, as their catch cry stated “we are all in this together”. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it agai...

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Are One Bedroom Apartments still the Poor Cousins?

Ask a baby Boomer what they think the great Australian dream looks like and chances are they will say a detached house on a quarter acre block surrounded by a garden with a BBQ and a hills hoist. Ask the same question to a Gen Y and they are likely to say an apartment in the suburb where their café culture lifestyle is… usually the inner city su...

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How to Move past Investment Property One?

Let's face it. Growing your property portfolio is not an easy feat. There are a number of hoops you must jump through and you need to have nerves of steel to deal with unexpected issues arising from your investments. Yet there are many ordinary investors who are creating extraordinary wealth through property. So why are so many investors getting st...

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In the Hot Seat | Bryce Holdaway

Co-host of Foxtel series Location Location Location Australia and Director of Empower Wealth, Bryce Holdaway reflects on his property investment journey to date. He was interviewed by API Magazine (Australian Property Investor) and answered five common questions regarding Property Investment. One of the question that was asked is "What's the bes...

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Trust by Association

It's easy to be skeptical about anyone who is entrusted to look after your money, but there are a number of factors you can look out for to ensure your property professionals are trustworthy. In the April 2014 issue of Smart Property Investment Magazine, Ben Kingsley; chairman of Property Investment Professionals of Australia (PIPA), writes abou...

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RBA Rate Decision – May 2014

Hello, Ben Kingsley here and today the RBA met and release their cash right decision. As anticipated by many, the cash rate was kept on hold at 2.5 percent. In this month I want to talk to you about the big pending discussions which is dominating the financial sector at the moment and that is the budget. Next Tuesday night's budget and what that me...

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What is a Tax Depreciation Schedule?

Depreciation is tax deduction for property investors. We invest in property to increase our wealth over time. One thing that we need to do is make sure we claim everything that we are able to claim, one of those thing being depreciation. Items in a property are wearing out over time, the buildings will one day fall over I guess and so the tax offic...

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Coast a perfect location for young families and TV celebrity

Young families looking for the ultimate sea-change are choosing the Gold Coast as their destination choice. With a warmer climate, relaxed lifestyle and a lower cost of living, the Glitter Strip is a top pick for people raising children. In the 14 April 2014 issue of Gold Coast Bulletin, Bryce Holdaway, co-host of Location Location Location Aust...

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How can Parents help?

I had a fabulous Christmas party with my Mum's side of the family Christmas just gone. Three exciting things happened. Firstly - I'd pulled together a wonderful negotiation on a large floorplan 2BR apartment in St Kilda for a lovely client who was traveling in Vietnam with her friend. Her Dad had agreed to be her Power of Attorney in the event that...

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Is Land Size still King?

Look in my view, I think land size isn't King anymore and I think in the 20th century it was and its largely driven by baby boomers who had the Great Australian Dream as an aspiration and their idea of the Great Australian Dream was a detached house on a quarter acre block, surrounded by garden with a barbecue in heels hoist and that was represente...

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