2008.12.31 00:23:48
It’s the last day of the year and I caught my very first King Fish after nearly 25 years of fishing.
The barrier is great for fishing and I am glad I went out nice and early this morning.
The fish was a beauty at about 6 kilo’s and since I use light gear the fight was amazing. I could not believe how much that rod bent.
So I am pretty happy about tucking another goal into my list of goals achieved.
With 2009 about to arrive I thought I might give you a little blurb about structure, well not a complete run down on structure but at least a glimpse at ownership structure.
Everybody is different and the same goes for goals and financial situations so the ownership structure you choose for your residential property investment will depend on your own circumstances and goals. Some things to consider though are:
* flexibility over time
* simplicity – a complex ownership structure isn’t always necessary
* the ability to introduce other participants
* the growth of your property investment portfolio
* taxation
* the ability to exit.
So you can own your investment property in 3 general ways, your own name, a company or a trust.
There are a number of advantages to setting up your property investment as a company or trust:
* It enables you to separate your business activities from your personal interests – so your personal assets can be protected if anything happens to your business.
* You may benefit from tax advantages. The current company tax rate is lower than the top individual tax rate.
* It makes it easier to treat your residential investment property like a business.
There are a number of company structures to choose from, including a Loss Attributing Qualifying Company (LAQC) which, unlike some other structures, allows you to offset any losses against your personal income tax.
Structuring your property and other investments is an important part of an overall financial plan. A qualified financial planner such as myself can help you decide what structure best suits your situation.