Weekender

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Some holiday home buyers are overlooking five key strategies which can turn their costly lifestyle investment into a money-making asset.

Australians invariably get caught up in the holiday romance of buying a ‘weekender’ and some will act on impulse while on vacation.

Often investors reason that by renting to holidaymakers when they aren’t using it, the asset’s maintenance and holding costs will be covered, but that’s rarely the case. Instead, holiday home buyers must seek maximum rental income and depreciation benefits to make the investment viable.

Most are buying emotionally and discover that higher-than-normal vacancies make their investment returns marginal at best. But smart investors know there are moves which can turn the numbers around.

Home property managers have five key rent boosters that also deliver great depreciation benefits.

There are a few things that boost your home’s appeal with holiday makers which not only maximise rental income, but also deliver excellent tax depreciation benefits. This means, come the end of the financial year, you’ll have more upside in your tax return thanks to your holiday home. 
 

1. Climate control

<a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/shutterstock_612232358.jpg" rel="gallery-all"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="385" src="/s3/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/shutterstock_612232358.jpg?itok=Kj3zRE-n" width="580"></a>

Ensuring your holiday home is airconditioned is essential for attracting holiday makers. Vacationers will spend plenty of time relaxing at your short-stay, and they’ll want their comfort levels to be spot on.

Guaranteeing your home has split system air-conditioning and insulation not only helps improve the holiday experience for renters, but delivers tax benefits too.

The deductions available when you install a new split system represent 20 per cent of the cost of the asset within the first full year of claim. So, spending $3500 on a split system will equate to $700 worth of deductions in year one. 
 

2. Pet appeal

Holiday homes that are pet friendly command a premium, as pet owners look to take their ‘fur-babies’ on holiday which saves on the cost and stress of kennelling. But improvements which help create pet-friendly rentals also provide depreciation benefits.

Think boundary fencing, hardwood floors, pet proof landscaping. Even items such as an external doghouse can be depreciated. 
 

3. Outdoor entertaining

Holidays are built for family barbeques and lounging in a shady spot. The addition of a roofed outdoor relaxation and entertainment area will drive holiday makers to your home. They are also filled with depreciation opportunities such as ceiling fans, built in barbeques and benchtops.

For example, a relatively modest spend of around $4000 would both elevate your property’s rental earning potential, and deliver over $1000 in tax deductions in the first year after installation:

<a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/screen_shot_2021-01-19_at_4.31.29_pm.png" rel="gallery-all"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="192" src="/s3/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/screen_shot_2021-01-19_at_4.31.29_pm.png?itok=gu0O4Lb4" width="580"></a>

4. Pools

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Even when near a beachside holiday spot, there’s no denying the appeal of a pool when holidaying.

If you’ve been fortunate to buy a home with a pool, don’t forget to claim depreciation benefits on the fencing and filtration system. 
 

5. Wifi and entertainment

Providing unlimited Wifi has become pretty much mandatory for holiday homes.

Access to streaming services, scrolling through websites on local hotspots or checking in on updated weather alerts and surf conditions make web access a must. Simple elements such as supplying a television can improve your tax deductions.

For example, televisions have an eight-year effective life, so under the diminishing value method, a $2000 TV will provide $500 in deductions in the first full year of claim.

While depreciation rules for computer equipment are currently found within the commercial sections of the tax legislation, it’s likely that computer equipment will become a residential plant and equipment item in time. Either way, routers and range extenders will always attract deductions.
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Anyone who has impulse bought a holiday home over Christmas must get serious about making it profitable

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Five ways to turn holiday home investment duds into diamonds

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The Coogee-based comedian Tim Minchin and wife Sarah have bought themselves a weekender in Kangaroo Valley.
They've paid $1.08 million for the renovation project. 
The two storey brick and Colorbond home last sold for $30,000 in 1989.
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2020/9/28/Kangaroo%202.png" alt="">
Spanning two level, the home has four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a number of living areas and outdoor terraces.
There's a semi-cleared house paddock on the near five hectare block.
Raine &amp; Horne Berry agents Jacqueline Crapp and Luke Tancred secured the sale, initially seeking $1.25 million in March. 
 
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Tim Minchin buys Kangaroo Valley weekender

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Neighbours star Olympia Valance, 27, and her AFL star boyfriend Thomas Bellchambers have purchased a cottage in country Victoria.
It is a two-bedroom Glenlyon home near Daylesford in Victoria, that was settled on Valentine's Day.  
They jointly purchased the six acres for $587,000.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2020/4/22/Vallance%202.jpg" alt="">
The home was promoted as offering spectacular views of the district.
It was also offering its owners to experience ‘off grid’ living in style. 
Vallance has since <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/112795-olympia-valance-lists-one-bedroom-southbank-apartment" target="_blank">listed her one bedroom apartment in Southbank,</a> asking between $500,000 and $550,000.
 
 
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Olympia Valance and Thomas Bellchambers buy Victorian weekender

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The vendors hoping for a Santa Claus rally in the ailing property auction market were mostly left disappointed after their weekend auctions.
Buyers traditionally tune out in the lead up to Christmas given all the distractions.
A few homes will be sold today, Christmas Eve, but most estate agents have headed off on their long holiday hibernation. 
Ofcourse some buyers will be back in the market keen for Boxing Day-style discounts from anxious vendors who've committed elsewhere and are desperate for a sale. 
The last minute pre-Christmas weekend auction offerings numbered just a dozen or so around most capitals, rather than the thousands that are regularly on offer most Saturdays of the year across the nation.
Estate agent Adam Docking recently suggested pre-Christmas listings were "a calculated risk."
“The weekend is usually very, very soft the Saturday before Christmas,” Mr Docking told News Ltd.
However the very last scheduled auction of 2018 found a buyer yesterday in Hampton Park, in Melbourne's outer south east.
There were 11 interested parties when the five bedroom late 1980s house at <a id="LPlnk816199" href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-hampton+park-130021094" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable">3 Candlebark Close</a> sold under the hammer at the 2pm Sunday afternoon auction, just two days out from Christmas.
"A local first time buyer was the top bidder," said Elias Samili, the selling agent from Rexhepi Real Estate.
"The vendors got $13,000 over reserve," he added after the bidding kicked off at $470,000.
There was just a shortened three week auction campaign following its recent renovation.
The agent had previously told the Herald Sun that the auction date was set to suit their religious commitments, and an auction process had been selected to ensure there was an "unconditional sale this year."
Hampton Park median house prices finished off the year at $550,000, according to realestateview, having kicked off the year at $500,000.
Another first home buyer secured a $350,000 Belmont house (above) with big plans for a renovation since its currently unlivable.
The three-bedroom house at <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-belmont-130002634" target="_blank">5 Donald Street</a> was marketed as an opportunity to renovate or detonate by the McGrath Geelong agent Ricky Forte.
It had a $329,000 to $349,000 price guidance.
There was also a sale in Melbourne's Westmeadows when <a id="LPlnk256837" href="https://www.realestateview.com.au/real-estate/22-swan-avenue-westmeadows-vic/property-details-sold-residential-12269916/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable">22 Swan Avenue</a> fetched $675,000 through Barry Plant Gladstone Park.
The price guide for the four bedroom, two bathroom house had been $610,000 to $650,000.
Another Saturday auction hopeful that sold was <a id="LPlnk160395" href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-roxburgh+park-130004822" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable">4 Korab Place, Roxburgh Park</a>.
Set on a 580 sqm block, the house has an indicative price guide of $540,000 to $580,000.
It fetched $625,000.
The four bedroom two bathroom house was marketed as having a crescent driveway with room for seven vehicles.
It had been a $200,000 building project in 2010 after the block was bought six years earlier for $154,000.
<div>All up there was 32 percent success rate in Melbourne from around 200 offerings over the past week, mostly held mid-week.</div>
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<div>Sydney had some 150 offerings over the past week which saw a fatigued 38 percent success rate in the final sales week.</div>
<div>There was a $925,000 Merrylands sale in Sydney.</div>
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The three bedroom home at <a id="LPlnk378703" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.realestate.com.au/130026390" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable">1 Montrose Avenue sold through Starr Partners</a>, one of just a handful scheduled for Sydney weekend auction.
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Queensland had an 11 percent success rate from the 95 auctions scheduled over the past week.
Canberra saw just 8 percent of its 30 listings find a buyer over the past week.
Adelaide was the most resilient with a 41 percent clearance rate from its 60 auctions over the past week, according to CoreLogic.
Its sales included <a id="LPlnk656681" href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-sa-torrensville-130099886" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable">15 Stephens Avenue, Torrensville</a>, a four bedroom house set on a generous sized 1100 sqm holding which sold for an undisclosed price.
The 1930’s Tudor home was marketed as likely to "respond well to renovations or subdivision subject to council consent."
Auction volumes will be negligible now until early February, excepting in coastal locations.
Agents have listed dozens of fresh beachside offerings with many set for late January auction, especially on the Australia Day weekend.
Everything from a <a id="LPlnk626147" href="https://www.realestateview.com.au/real-estate/boatshed-8-point-king-beach-portsea-vic/property-details-buy-residential-12313877/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable">bathing box at Portsea</a>, with $450,000 to $495,000 hopes; a 37th floor <a id="LPlnk507917" href="https://www.realestateview.com.au/real-estate/3701-crown-towers-5-19-palm-avenu-surfers-paradise-qld/property-details-buy-residential-12318110/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable">Surfers Paradise sub-penthouse</a> to a vacant waterfront <a id="LPlnk931582" href="https://www.realestateview.com.au/real-estate/24-the-anchorage-noosa-waters-qld/property-details-buy-residential-12301542/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable">Noosa Waters building block</a>.
In Western Australia there's <a id="LPlnk382" href="https://www.realestateview.com.au/real-estate/38-lanyard-boulevard-geographe-wa/property-details-buy-residential-12276339/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable">a Port Geographe waterfront 838 sqm vacant block </a>with direct access to Geographe Bay set for January 19 auction.
Some beach offerings have been snapped up as soon as they hit the market including a beach shack at Berrara on the NSW far south coast that was listed at $1.75 million
<a id="LPlnk810369" href="https://www.realestateview.com.au/real-estate/18-myrniong-grove-berrara-nsw/property-details-buy-residential-12319421/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable">The home </a>that sits on a 1,138 sqm beachfront block quickly went under contract last week. 
The Ray White Surfers Paradise Group is gearing up for its annual auction program The Event, its flagship residential auction on Monday, January 28.
“The Australia Day long weekend will be the prime time for buyers as inquiries are traditionally up 60 per cent during January and we’re expecting next year to be no different," Ray White Surfers Paradise CEO Andrew Bell said.
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No Santa Claus rally for pre-Christmas auction vendor hopefuls

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The Channel Nine chief executive Hugh Marks has spent $4.075 million for a retreat in the Berry hinterland.
It comes as he is announced to lead the Nine-Fairfax merged media company which sees Nine own 51.1% and the weakened Fairfax at 48.9%. 
The family's Shoalhaven weekender is a contemporary, architect-designed residence at Broughton Vale.
Yeramba is set on 40 hectares with about half cleared for livestock.
Much of the rest is natural bushland with a permanent creek, waterfall and rock pools.
It was sold by former NEC and Hewlett-Packard boss Alan Hyde and his wife Joanne.
The marketing of the TDDP Architects-designed home indicated it was "developed on ecological and sustainable principles."
Nick Dale of Belle Property Berry secured the $4.075 million sale. 
The Berry district residential price record was set at $4.75 million last December when Bond University chancellor Annabelle Bennett and her husband <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/80247-former-solicitor-general-highlands" target="_blank">David Bennett, QC</a>, bought a 20-hectare retreat from a Macquarie Group executive.
Marks, who was appointed to Nine’s top job in late-2015, has been appointed as the next chief of the Nine Fairfax merged media entity under the chairmanship of Peter Costello.
Mark advised the merged "marks a truly momentous development for Nine’s future."
The existing Nine television and digital businesses, to be known as NEC will become the proprietor of the historic Fairfax mastheads as well as the new majority owner of Domain (60%) and the Macquarie Radio Network (54.5%). 
The transaction Nine will also move to 100% ownership of Stan.
His property purchase, without the precise price, was revealed last weekend by Fairfax Media.
He has been based in Artarmon where he bought his Californian bungalow for $765,000 in 1998.
Last year he spent $2,015,000 on a three-bedroom investment <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/75950-channel-nine-boss-hugh-marks-buys-neutral-bay-pad" target="_blank">Neutral Bay</a> pad.
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Hugh Marks, the new Fairfax boss buys Berry weekender

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The Point Piper-based rag trader Stephen Leibowitz and his wife Pamela have bought the Palm Beach historic home Craig Rossie.
<a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-nsw-palm+beach-127097158" target="_blank">They paid $6,025,000</a> for the Snapperman Beach weekender, some two years after its initial offering.
It was built in 1936 for grocery chain-owner Andrew Derrin, and bought by World War II fighter pilot-turned-author Paul Brickhill in 1960 following publication of his novel The Great Escape.
Following Brickhill’s divorce from model Margaret Slater in 1964, it sold for £23,900 to the late Emmanuel and Valda Georgouras.
They subdivided in 1987, carving off what is now Mana Moana next door for $1.66 million to the rag trader Gary Leonard.
Valda died in 2012, aged 91, and it was listed two years ago.
The 1150-square-metre property in the north-facing corner of the beach was recently offered through LJ Hooker agent David Edwards.
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Craig Rossie, Palm Beach weekender sold to Point Piper rag trader

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London based Macquarie infrastructure boss David Roseman and his wife Sue finally sold their Berry weekender.
It sold just days before Christmas having been listed for March auction when they were asking $4.75 million.
They had bought the 20-hectare Coomonderry Ridge hobby farm in 2011 for $1.18 million.
The two-storey residence with a separate guest house amid landscaped gardens fetched $4.75 million <a href="https://www.belleproperty.com/listings/488459/2-coomonderry-ridge-berry-nsw-2535/" target="_blank">through Gary Dale at Belle Property</a>.
Roseman was appointed to the merchant bank’s top infrastructure post in 2015.
The manor-style mansion he and his wife, former Macquarie executive-turn-interior designer Sue was built near Seven Mile Beach.
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Berry farm sold by Macquarie Group banker David Roseman

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<div>The Dow Chemicals chief Andrew Liveris sold his ’70s-style beach house at Whale Beach at weekend auction.</div>
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<div>It fetched $3.33 million — with whispers quickly suggesting it was snapped up by a neighbour. </div>
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<div>The Belle selling agent Greg Griffin who had $3 million hopes given its down-at-heel presentation wouldn’t be drilled on which one.</div>
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<div>The 1100sqm Whale Beach Rd parcel sloping down to the ocean had cost $3.675 million in pre-GFC 2006.</div>
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<div>The Michigan US-based Liveris and his wife Paula will make an $8.15 million Point Piper apartment part of their retirement plans.</div>
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Liveris, who previously worked on an advisory panel for Barack Obama, was described by President Donald Trump as "one of the foremost leaders in manufacturing, one of the foremost leaders in the world of business".
This article was first published in the Sunday Telegraph.
 
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Dow Chemicals boss Andrew Liveris sells at Whale Beach for a loss to neighbour

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One of the world's leading businessman, the Dow Chemicals chief, Andrew Liveris has changed his mind up on keeping his beach house at Whale Beach.
The soon to retire Darwin-born businessman listed the 1970s beach house in February, before a change of heart.
But now its back up again with Belle Property Avalon agent Greg Griffin, who has it for November 25 auction with $3 million hopes given its down at heal presentation.
The Whale Beach Road clifftop property cost $3,675,000 in 2006 when bought Liveris who has been the chief executive of Dow since 2004.
It was expected the Michigan US-based executive might have gone on to rebuild before their imminent return to Sydney.
The home sits on a 1,100 sqm parcel sloping down to the ocean.
Griffin is marketing it as a "premier site for a new home."
Liveris and wife Paula already have a Point Piper triplex apartment as part of their retirement plans. They bought it for $8.15 million in 2013.
Liveris, who previously worked on an advisory panel for Barack Obama, was branded by President Donald Trump as "one of the foremost leaders in manufacturing, one of the foremost leaders in the world of business".
The Darwin-born businessmen was on President Trump's manufacturing council but the board was abandoned in the wake of controversy following the US President's heavily criticised response to deadly violence in Charlottesville, Virginia in August.
This article was first published in the Sunday Telegraph.
 
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Andrew Liveris relists Whale Beach weekender

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Melbourne-based retail boss Mark McInnes has listed his New South Wales South Coast beachfront at Coalcliff.
The former David Jones boss paid a suburb record $2.5 million for the <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-coalcliff-126625242" target="_blank">home as a weekender</a> from his amalgamation at North Bondi.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2017/10/11/McInnes2.jpg" alt="">
It comes with a $3.3 million guide through Ray White for its November 11 auction.
The home will push the $3,387,000 record set late last year.
McInnes recently spent $12 million on a <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/73941-premier-investments-chief-executive-mark-mcinnes-buys-back-into-toorak" target="_blank">Toorak mansion</a>.
 
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