GRA Blogs

Property contracts, including sale and purchase agreements and building contracts, sometimes include clauses that can be harmful to the unwary. And by unwary, I simply mean people who are not used to dealing with such legal documentation.  One of the advantages of using a professional..

When it comes to building wealth, do you put your hard-earned coins into property, shares, bonds or something else that is going to grow your wealth?  The decision we make, whilst ultimately a personal one, is influenced greatly by historic events that have affected our..

Many changes are occurring in our financial and real estate landscape. LOAN TO VALUE RATIOS (LVRs) As per my last blog on the proposed LVR rules, the LVR applicable across the whole of New Zealand for investors of residential property has now been set at..

From 1 September 2016 we are likely to see higher LVR rules being applied to investors who are borrowing to purchase residential investment property as per the Reserve Bank announcement today.   Under the proposed new LVR restrictions, investors across New Zealand will be required to..

Most people are aware that from 1 October 2015, residential property (with some exceptions) that is bought and sold within a two-year period will attract tax payable on capital gains made.  This rule will apply to equally to individuals, companies and trusts.  If a property..

Recently there has been a lot happening on the economic and political fronts which may have the propensity to affect our property and borrowing decisions. In these times, it can be difficult to decide what a sensible course of action to take is.   If..

I wrote the following article for the August/September 2015 issue of REINZ Magazine, which was sent to all real estate agents within New Zealand. Our Professional Trustee is in demand! AVOIDING A TRAIN WRECK In the effort of getting a vendor to list a property..

The headlines read "House prices out of control", "House prices can't keep going up", "House prices are going to fall".  But are the headlines right? How far can house prices continue to climb?   Demand outweighed supply. Housing shortage pre Global Financial Crises (GFC) existed...

On October the 23rd we're holding a seminar called 'Property and Trust Event' at Ellerslie Event Centre. This is your chance to catch up on the latest development of the Auckland Unitary Plan, the Auckland property market as well as information on trusts. It's becoming..