How do I go back to my home after Fire Damage?
A fire is a traumatic experience, and it can cause more damage than what you can see initially. Beyond the physical fire damage, you must also consider the smoke and soot contamination. Both can be dangerous and costly.
Fire damage can extend to t...
Read moreBuilding Inspectors Break Secrets
Building inspectors break secrets. It’s their job to do so and we wouldn’t have it any other way. They’re in one very real sense property detectives.
It’s fraudulent for a vendor to knowingly conceal defects according to the law. This incl...
Read moreProperty Management and Smoke Alarms are Good Friends
Property management and smoke alarms are good friends. Or at least they should be. Worst possible scenario: Inaction can lead to deaths and a stint in prison.
It’s a familiar story, even in developed countries, however. From one BBC report: “A...
Read moreMouldy Issues For Landlords
A growing number of tenants are trying to educate landlords about the many ways in which mould can make us sick. So the ABC’s AM political reporter, Alexandra Beech, took the time to speak to one such person, Caleb Rudd.
Mr Rudd is behind a Face...
Read moreRental Reforms To Hit Queensland
Queensland’s 40-year-old rental laws are under scrutiny. One big potential change: making it easier for tenants to own pets and more pressure to address repairs in a timely manner. Property owners, however, may have more powers in their hands to ch...
Read moreDepreciation - A Most Valuable Deduction
Looking to claim? For property owners, depreciation is the gift that keeps on giving and another reason to talk with the professionals at Jim’s Building Inspections. To wit, investors deduct the amount of income-producing assets in decline over the...
Read moreEXPLAINED – Owner Builder Warranty Inspections & S137B of the Victoria Building Act 1993
You're an owner builder and it is time to sell your home. The last thing you want is for your hard work to be a hindrance to potential purchasers who have reservations about quality or compliance, just because the works weren't part of a major domest...
Read moreRe-stumping red flags
A guide to Re-Stumping
Re-stumping - or re-blocking as it's known in Victoria - is big business in Australia and can be a very costly exercise, particularly if you don't know what you're looking at and you don't understand what you've bought into....
Read moreIs your house cracking up?
Is your house cracking up?
A long, spidery vein is inching its way across the dining room wall. It seems to be spreading even as you stare at it! You’re sure it wasn’t there yesterday! So what does this mean and how can it be fixed?
Don’t...
Read moreThe Dirt On Property Depreciation
What’s depreciation? In a nutshell, it’s an allowance under tax laws in Australia for investors. It means they can claim deductions for expenditures in their property investments.
Why depreciation? Even extremely well-built houses aren’t imm...
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