On February, the State of Victoria rolled out a new program, Recycling Victoria. Among many information about what we will tackle the rubbish and recyclable materials, there is an item that could affect us as real estate investors.

Tl; dr;

• Landfill levy is increasing from $65.90 to $125.90 per tonne in 2023.
• Eventually it will be passed down to council rates, i.e. the rates will be higher.

What is landfill levy?

Landfill levy, or waste levy, is a tax applied to waste types by weight. The government designed it to incentivise waste generators to reduce general waste, and increase diversion through recycling. Governments also use landfill levies to fund environmental and sustainability programs to improve waste management.

In a simpler term, it is the tax that home owners pay to get rid of their trash, for the trucks to roll in every week and take the rubbish away and process it. As a result, this levy often mixes into the council rates that we pay every quarter.

How much is it increasing?

According to Victorian Landfill guidance, the rates are increasing year by year, and stop at 2023. In details, they are increasing from $65.90 to $125.90 per trash tonne.

The levy for FY 2019-2020 stays the same at around $65.90 per tonne.

This increment will put into Sustainability Fund, which funds sustainable projects and improve the waste management system.

The government hopes to reduce landfill amount by increasing the levy. People will be more inclined to use recyclable products. This implies that the increased amount will pass down to rates payers, i.e. home owners and investors. Expecting your rates to increase by a small amount in the next 3 years is not unreasonable.

Summary

It is good to know the government cares about the environment and has some initiative to promote sustainability environment. However with the increment of rates in mind, we need to be a bit more careful on how we as property investors calculate our numbers.

By Tuan Nguyen

Recently I ran across some interesting matters regarding what do we own in terms of owning the title of a piece of real estate. I think it is useful to note down and share with people.

Tl; dr;

By owning the title of the land, one has the right to the air above and the earth below.

If you find something valuable, e.g. gold nuggets, in your backyard; it belongs to the Crown.

Air rights

In Australia, if someone owns the title of the land, he or she has the rights to use the air space above the land.

In Latin, this is defined as follows “cujus est solum ejus est usque ad coelum et ad inferos” – Property Rights, 2016. This means “to whom belongs the soil, his is also that which is above it to heaven and below it to hell”.

So we own the airspace, but how far up do we own? Surely it is not as far as the airplane altitude, which is somewhere around 35,000 feet, or about 10.6km. According to the Property Rights, it is as high as to “be necessary for the ordinary use and enjoyment of his land and the structures upon it”. It highly opens for debate of how high can an airspace be. One can argue that if a helicopter flies too close to the house and that stops him from enjoying the land, then it is an invasive of the air rights.

Subsurface rights

Well it is not called “Subsurface rights” in Australia, nor defined separately from the air rights. However, this is related to the land and the mining rights of the soil below the land.

Similar to Air Rights, there is no hard limit on how far the owner of the land can dig. However, you need to obtain a permit from The Crown to be able to dig down for minerals and natural resources.

Which brings us to the most interesting facts…

Valuable items found in your backyard

So what happens if you found something precious in your backyard? Gold, precious gems, or even a natural oil vein.

According to the mineral rights, The Crown is the first in line to say about all coal, oil, silver, gas and gold found on public or private property. Therefore even if you found something valuable, it will be the Queen’s property, and should be returned to her.

Summary

Those are interesting facts about owning the land in Australia. Now we know better about what we actually own, and realize that we actually own more than we know.

By Tuan Nguyen

Recently I have been listening to quite a few podcasts and videos about real estate investing. And today I listened to a few pieces of thoughts that I find interesting. Which I decide to note them down for future references.

Tl; dr;

• Land is a commodity, house is a consumer good.
• Income growth is a major force to sustain real estate appreciation.
• Real estate is a strong force to push inflation.
• Real estate does not produce capital goods unless redeveloping.

House is a consumer good.

“A commodity is a basic good that is most often used as inputs in the production of other goods or services.” – Investopedia.

“Consumer goods are the end result of production and manufacturing, which is what consumer sees on the store shelf.” – Investopedia.

With the above definitions, we can clearly see that land fits the definition of a commodity, which is a basic input good that is used to produce; or in this case, develop; real estate. At the same time, the house is the final result of the real estate production chain, available for the consumer to purchase.

From this, we can see that if we treat real estate as an investment, the land is what we look at in the form of growth, as it is the only thing that appreciates in value. While the house degrades and goes out of fashion as other consumer goods, or as we call it “depreciate”. I have known about this for a while, but the explanation above so far is the simplest way to describe the fact.

Income growth sustains real estate appreciation

Australian income growth by year

As explained by Ray Dalio, production growth increases income, and as a result, increase affordability and push real estate price. If the income growth has not been too much, but the housing price is still going up, we need to figure out what caused it. At a macro-economics level, there are 2 other things that push housing price up, debt and foreign imports.

With debt, people in Australia rarely buy a property in cash. They almost always borrow most of the purchase amount from a financial institutions. The more we leverage, the more buying power we can afford to purchase one, two or multiple properties. This in turn will push the price up, especially in an auction environment, since everyone has the leverage to pull and they do not hesitate to get the dream house they want. However, without a good income, the buyers soon realize that it is challenging to keep up with the mortgage payments.

Foreign imports are pretty straightforward. People from other countries see Australia as a developed country with a stable government. They start to pour money into the Australian real estate market as an investment, or just a form of wealth preservation. For these people, it is difficult for them to borrow from Australian banks. Therefore they mostly purchase with cash. And because of the vast number of purchasers available with a limited amount of land, they push the real estate price up immensely. The cause of real estate growth is external and we all know external causes are not stable comparing to internal 

Real estate is a strong force to push inflation

Imagine a property worth $100,000 that is rented out for $200 a week. The market is growing for 10% a year in that area. In the next year, the house worths $110,000. Now the landlord has 2 options, either to keep the rent as is, or increasing it to fit the new “value” of the property.

This normally is not a problem for existing landlords, however it can be a big issue for the new investors who just bought into the area. They need to have the rent up to keep up with the mortgage repayment. Therefore the median rental price will be increased, without the change in supply and demand. This is what is known as the cost push inflation, and is generally considered as a bad form of inflation.

Real estate does not produce capital goods.

Probably the most controversial topic, however I think it has a good point.

Unless you are developing/redevelop the land, whether by sub-division, building granny flats or straight out building a new construction, exchanging blocks of dirt back and forth and drive the value up does not help improving the country’s economy since it does not produce capital goods, i.e. goods that are used to produce consumer goods and generate profits.

So would it be better if people do not dump so much money into the housing market, and pour it into other industries that could have improved our economy. In turn, it increases our income, and then increasing the housing market steadily?

I guess people are not patient enough for that to happen. Investing in economy takes time and we will not see a rapid growth in the housing market if that is the path we take.

Some final thoughts.

Is real estate investing good for an individual? Yes definitely. It increases our income by renting out the property. And there are more millionaires who get rich from real estate than any other form of investment in the world.

Is a rapidly rising real estate market good for the economy in general? Probably not, since if it is rapidly rising without a strong base to support; in this case, income growth; we could be over leveraging ourselves into the properties that do not produce enough income for us to keep it.

Summary

There are good and bad aspects of investing in real estate. We normally see it as a good form of investment for ourselves and the family. However whether it is good for the country, that is left to debate about.

Some ideas are inspired by The Economics of Real Estate.

By Tuan Nguyen

I just learned about something called Deposit bond while reading How to achieve Property Success by Margaret Lomas. It is quite helpful in helping people buying properties more efficiently.

Tl; dr;

Deposit bond is an insurance policy that purchaser gives to the vendor, instead of the deposit amount. This can be done because of various reasons. One of which is the purchaser may not have 10% deposit available after winning the auction, but still financially able to purchase the property.

To utilize deposit bond, one must seek approvals of the vendor. And have the auctioneer/vendor approves it on writing.

What is a deposit bond?

A deposit bond is an insurance policy. It covers the vendor in the event that the buyer defaults on the purchase. The vendor will receive the full amount of the deposit, should the conditions of losing deposit are satisfied.

Instead of giving the vendor 10%, or any amount that represents a deposit, the buyer can just hand over the deposit bond. This means no money has actually been exchanged, and full amount of money will still need to be transferred at settlement date.

Benefits of a deposit bond

There are benefits to both buyers and sellers in the usage of deposit bonds.

For sellers, they enjoy the insurance that the deposit is fully paid, no matter the circumstances of the buyer. Since once the conditions are met, the insurance company will disburse the money. Then they will go after the other party to claim that amount back. It reduces the awkwardness when it comes to financials.

For buyers, the advantages may slightly be better.

• They keep the deposit in their bank/offset accounts, and it continues to earn them interest/offset their mortgages during the settlement period.
• In the situation where they are in the process of selling a property before purchasing another one. Buyers may not have the cash in their possession yet, and a deposit bond may be the answer to that circumstance.
• The premium amount is small, on average it is 1-1.5% of the deposit.

An illustrated example of the deposit bond at work.

Jane purchased a property for $500,000, with a 6-month settlement term. She was required to put $50,000 as a deposit when she won the auction. However she did obtain the deposit bond for $500 and gave it to the vendor.

John also purchased a property for $500,000, with the same settlement term. However he pays the deposit up front.

Given that they both have other mortgages to pay, and assuming that their interest rates are the same at 4% pa. Over 6 months, Jane saved $1,000 ($50,000 * 4% / 2) in interest by parking that deposit amount in her offset account, while John has to pay that amount from his pocket.

Limitations of Deposit bonds.

Not surprising, nothing is all good. So what is the limitations of Deposit bonds?

First off, vendors have the right to not accept the deposit bond, and requesting the full amount of deposit to be paid up front. Especially in Victoria, where the deposit bond is not at all popular. This is why buyers need to obtain the approval in writing, should the disagreement arise later.

Previously, the deposit used to be transferred directly to the vendor’s bank account. They can use it to put down on another property if they need to, or pay the Real estate agents their commissions. The agents prefer to have the money sooner rather than later, so a deposit bond goes against their interest.

However, with the recent changes, everything has to be in escrow, meaning that a third party will hold all the money until settlement. In Australia, one such company is PEXA. Therefore it does not matter whether the deposit is in cash or in deposit bond anymore, since nobody can touch that money until settlement date.

Secondly, buyers will need to go through another round of financial approvals when they apply for the deposit bond. This can take more time before they can go out and find their next home.

Thirdly, it is hard to know the exact amount of the deposit in an auction situation, therefore normally the insurance company will insure the maximum amount of deposit on the maximum price that you can afford. As a result, sometimes it may not be beneficial to do so due to a higher premium. E.g. you’re insured for $50,000 deposit, but you only purchase a property for $300,000 (in this case, deposit amount is $30,000).

Summary

Deposit bonds are definitely something to look into, or be aware of when buying properties. I will certainly be exercising this options when purchasing my next property.

Should I be successful in utilizing deposit bonds, I will have a recap on the experience.

By Tuan Nguyen

Many property advisory companies promotes their properties with rental guarantee benefits. While this sounds reasonable and brings many benefits to the buyer. Let us take a better look at this benefits.

Tl; dr;

As the old saying goes, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” 

Rental guarantee often indicates that the project, or a particular property, has some negative aspects. These issues are not highlighted by sale agents because of obvious reasons. 

If a project offers rental guarantee benefits, it is highly advised to research a lot more into the project, see if they are viable to your property strategy in the long run.

Benefits of Rental Guarantee

There are multiple benefits that can come out of this scheme, provided that the sellers hold up their end.

Firstly, it is often advertised of having a guaranteed rental income that is the same with the current mortgage interest rate, or higher to represent a good cashflow amount. This amount can cover the interest payments and all buyers have to spend is for principle payments and other operating costs. And since it is guaranteed, investors can have their peace of mind if the property cannot find tenants for an extended amount of time.

Secondly, it is much easier to forecast cashflow if there is a rental guarantee scheme in place. You can always have that much income, and if the property can find tenants, it will be even more income. The sky has never been bluer.

What are the dark sides of Rental Guarantee?

Who pays for the Rental Guarantee?

Just taking an example from Property Update.

The developer wants to sell properties at $600,000. However the market price in that area is around $520,000. And the rental yield is about 4.6% in that area.

If he offers the rental guarantee scheme, say 6% guarantee over 3 years. The amount to spend on that scheme, provided that there are tenants is $600,000 x (6% – 4.6%) x 3 = $8,400 x 3 = $25,200.

So if he can sell the property at $600,000, factor in the rental guarantee, he can still walk away with a nice bonus comparing to the market price of that property.

So the first hidden gem is that most of the time buyers actually pay for their own Rental Guarantee.

What happens after the scheme expires?

Most investors found that after 3 years, the yield drops back to its real value. If the market has not responded to the rental growth, they are stuck with an under-performed property.

Worse case, if investors try to sell, they can only sell it at market value. And if within those 3 years, the capital growth is not as good as it was advertised, they may end up having a property that is over-priced, and unable to find a buyer.

One more thing to note is banks are cautious to lend to this kind of properties. They will NOT consider the rental guarantee amount, but taking in the real market rent amount instead.

Do you actually get paid?

Sometimes, the entity operating Rental Guarantee scheme can go broke. And in that event, all “guarantee” is simply gone.

Let’s say the developer creates another company called Rental Guarantee Pty. Ltd. with $1 equity. This company will provide rental guarantee to the investors in a project. Then when people come around asking for the guarantee payment, the company simply goes bankrupt.

Since there is no regulations related to this scheme, it is totally possible to do so. Developers do not need to register with a government body to assimilate this scheme.

What can we do to protect ourselves?

If you are offered properties with this scheme. You need to do more research into the area.

• Find out what is the market rent, and how much growth it has over the years.
• Find out what is the average market price over the area. If the advertised price is a lot higher than the market price, it is certainly something to look further into.
• Ask if you can have any discount if you just don’t take rental guarantee.
• Check the entity that provides the scheme, as well as their ability to honour the payments.
• Note for myself – Best thing to do is just don’t buy into those projects.

Summary

Rental guarantee is advertised mostly by developers and their reseller networks. Although on the surface it may seem beneficial, but personally I think it is a way to rip investors off of their hard earned money.

This is by no mean saying that there is no investor that benefits from this. I just feel that the chance I can land such benefits is minimalistic.

I do not think I will buy into any of those projects in the foreseeable future.

By Tuan Nguyen