Free advice for Landlords - ask our property experts a question
Do you have a property investment question you want answered? The Ask an Expert section is a free service provided for property investors in conjunction with a panel of selected property experts.
Please note that questions should be of a general nature about property investing and your question and the subsequent answer may be published in the NZ Property Investor magazine. There is a limit of ONE question per submission. We will use our discretion whether questions are published and we reserve the right to paraphrase your comments for our experts.
Before you send in a question, please read the Ask an Expert archive thoroughly. There is a chance that your question may have been previously answered and it will be listed there.
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Property Management
Ask Bernard Parker from Quinovic Property Management questions relating to property panagement
Quinovic's outstanding people and systems provide the most professional, effective and reliable residential property management service in the NZ market for over 30 years.
Last answered question:
Sale of Property fee
My property manager has recently changed ownership and the new owner has sent me an 'Instructions to Act as Property Manager' form to sign.
It contains terms that were not in place under the previous owner - eg: a one off charge of $500 (plus GST) in the event of sale of the property. Is this a government requirement or can property managers set their own terms?
It is my intention to sell the property in the near future.
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Finance & Strategy
Ask Kris Pederson, director of Kris Pederson Mortgages questions relating to Mortgages, Finance, and Strategy
Kris is a respected commentator on the property and finance markets in New Zealand and overseas. He spends his time working closely with his support team sourcing clients leading edge finance strategies.
Last answered question:
Calculating equity
My owner occupier house is worth $500,000 and my rental property is worth $400,000. I owe $600,000 to my bank. How do I calculate how much the bank would lend me for a) a second rental house (to rent) and b) a third house to live in (i.e. if the current occupier house becomes second rental)? My mortgage broker has confused me about this.
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Apartments
Ask Aaron Tunstall, owner of Impression Real Estate, questions relating to apartments.
Aaron Tunstall is the owner of Impression Real Estate, specialising in sales, building and property management. Impression has been awarded property management company of the year three times.
Last answered question:
Leasehold vs freehold
I'm interested in finding out more about apartments with a view to investing in one. What is the difference between a leasehold and a freehold apartment? And what are the pros and cons with both?
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Tax/GST/LTC
Ask Mark Withers, director of Withers Tsang & Co questions relating to Tax and Asset Structures
Mark Withers and his team at Withers Tsang & Co specialise in advising on property related transactions, valuation and restructure services and tax planning.
Last answered question:
Rental tax obligations
I have 3/4 equity in my home and I am planning to purchase a small unit as my primary dwelling and then rent out my first home to family. It will most likely be a short term rental for a few years only. What is the best and most efficient way, financially, to do this with regards to tax obligations? I have owned my first home for over five years.
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Tax/GST/LTC
Ask Matthew Gilligan, managing director of Gilligan Rowe + Associates, questions relating to tax, trusts and finance.
Matthew heads GRA's specialist property and asset planning division. He helps clients create optimal tax structures and build wealth through property. He has an extensive buy-to-hold property portfolio, is currently involved in over a dozen developments, and is author of two books - Property 101 and Tax Structures 101.
Last answered question:
Rental tax obligations
I have 3/4 equity in my home and I am planning to purchase a small unit as my primary dwelling and then rent out my first home to family. It will most likely be a short term rental for a few years only. What is the best and most efficient way, financially, to do this with regards to tax obligations? I have owned my first home for over five years.
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Tenancy
Ask Jennifer Sykes, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment questions relating to tenants and landlords
The Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment provides information and guidance on building law and compliance, services including weathertight homes, and advice for tenants and landlords.
Last answered question:
Disagreeing with Tribunal decision
I have a situation where a Tenancy Tribunal Adjudicator has ordered my agent to pay almost $5,000 on a case where a 90 day notice was issued. One year later the tenant is still at the house. The adjudicator misinterpreted the Act. Apparently, the owner is not the landlord. Aso, they accepted tenant’s statements with no evidence and rejected ours with evidence. I was not allowed to be added as a name to the matter. My question is who can I talk with about this?
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Insurance
Ask Rene Swindley, CEO of Initio Insurance, questions relating to insurance.
Rene is the founder of digital insurance platform Initio, which is about insuring houses online in real time to provide a faster, smoother and customer-first approach to property insurance.
Last answered question:
Insuring damage
Regarding the new law where landlords have to provide insurance information to a new tenant so that the tenant will know their liability (which is bond money or the landlord’s insurance excess, whichever is lower). It means that tenants can get away with trashing a property only to pay the excess amount of landlord’s insurance which would always be lower than bond money.
Are there any other tactics which would bind tenants for what they are actually liable for? For example, would increasing the excess to of insurance to more than $2,000 give some relief to a landlord?
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