September - Mortgage smorgasbord

The changing face of the New Zealand mortgage industry leads off the September issue of the New Zealand Property Magazine.

Thursday, August 25th 2005, 12:01PM

Although the New Zealand lending industry is still dominated by the mainstream, overseas-owned banks the emergence of smaller non-bank lenders with an eye on niche markets has been a significant recent development. And some of those non-bank lenders are tailoring loan packages specifically designed for property investors. Our cover story looks at some of those packages and talks to a number of property commentators about the mortgage industry and what to be on the look out for when securing finance for your next property investment.

Another emerging industry that property investors need to be on the look out for, unfortunately, is the rather unsavoury drug industry, specifically the increasing incidence of P-labs. Although still relatively rare the number of P-labs discovered by police is on the rise and it’s inevitable that rented properties will be used for the illicit manufacture of lucrative methamphetamines. Our story outlines what the tell-tale signs of drug manufacture are and what to do and what not to do if you have suspicions that your property is being used in such a way.

And returning to the mortgage theme our guest columnist Graeme Fowler delves into some of nitty-gritty questions that property investors need to address to be successful. An experienced property investor, author and mentor himself, he has some strong advice on the interest-free loans, and the necessity to distinguish between wealth-protection and wealth-creating strategies and the pitfalls if investors confuse one with the other. Graeme also addresses specific questions from property investors in our new question and answer forum.

Please e-mail your questions to Graeme at orion@paradise.net.nz or to us at editor@tarawera.co.nz.

Earlier this year property investors were at the forefront of submissions on the government review of Residential Tenancies Act (RTA). The Department of Building and Housing has collated those submissions and released a document that outlines a summary of the questions raised. We print an outline of that in the upcoming issue.

Another issue dear to the hearts of property investors is the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) policy on chattel and fitout depreciation. It’s an area that has long confused investors and their tax advisers. Tax expert Mark Withers looks at the confusion surrounding this issue and offers some advice on the best steps to take until the IRD makes a definitive statements on its policy in this area.

In addition Diana Clement looks at the humble home unit as potential investment area, and examines the potential of the North Shore in her Regional Review. The magazine also has its usual full array of columns, commentaries and statistics.

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