Taranaki Property Investors' Association

taranaki@nzpif.org.nz

News & Updates

Recent updates

Archive: May 2014

May Political Report from Thomas Chin

This is a summary of the political and regulatory news affecting the residential rental property industry
30-05-2014 more >>

Better growth, rising risks

The New Zealand economy has been recovering from the recession. But slumping house sales are a significant risk to our optimistic outlook for the economy - NZIER Quarterly Predictions, June 2014
27-05-2014 more >>

5+ Rentals to mean corporate loan status

The Reserve Bank (RBNZ) has introduced new rules that will come into effect on the 30th of June this year. These rules will see rental property owners with five or more rental properties classed as either income producing real estate or small to medium enterprises (SME's).
22-05-2014 more >>

OECD housing report shows rents too cheap

The latest OECD Housing report claims that New Zealand house prices are 70% too high compared to rental prices. There are a number of reasons why this is inaccurate.
20-05-2014 more >>

Guest Speaker: Cliff Seque

Who is Cliff Seque? He’s a 62 year old Dunedin full-time residential investor and landlord, with 80 self-contained units in his portfolio. He will be guest speaker at the Taranaki Property Investors Association monthly event on Tuesday May 20 in the St Mary’s Peace Hall on Vivian St, starting 7.30 pm. “I’m a long term landlord, for 30 years,” he says. “I started in 1973 by buying a block of three flats that needed upgrading to bring it up to the apartment bylaw standard and still have them. I went on to buy more blocks of flats that required upgrading and stand alone houses at the south end of Dunedin that required modernising and upgrading. In 1992, I started buying in the student campus area and have done so since. ”I look for properties that I can add value to by increasing the rental return. I have a buy and hold philosophy with the belief that only thing you can’t change about a property is its location.” Many landlord experiences are unpleasant; what’s kept him going for so long? “I’ve always had the attitude that if things go wrong, well I put the tenants in there so it’s my own fault. The biggest problem is money. Tenants are not always what they seem, their circumstances change and the landlord suffers.” Cliff is keen for Taranaki people to come to his talk. “I’m prepared to impart a lot of knowledge about buying and managing residential property. I have my own application forms, and my own tenancy agreements. They are very comprehensive. I don’t use the DBH forms, too many holes in them. “I keep a detailed spreadsheet for every property. I have been doing all my own property management up to 12 months ago when I employed my daughter to help. “I can talk about many things, such as how to structure a deal to your best advantage, dealing with banks, dealing with tenants and dealing with insurance. I have gone to a higher insurance excess of $2000 which reduces the premium by about one third and the saving allows me to make about two claims per year. Otherwise, you can virtually never make a claim.” It’s $20 at the door for non-members, but you can get in free if you bring along the guest form in this newsletter signed by a member.
20-05-2014 more >>

Housing pressures are easing gradually

Pressures in the New Zealand housing market are easing gradually but risks remain, the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank, Grant Spencer, said in a speech today.
09-05-2014 more >>

Update: Reserve Bank 5+ rental properties policies

In a surprise move, the Reserve Bank has deemed any rental property owner with five or more rental properties as a corporate borrower. We reported on this in our last newsletter (see here) and now have more information plus how you can find out the affects on your borrowings.
05-05-2014 more >>

Labour to Ring Fence rental property losses

Among the detail in Labour’s Monetary Policy Upgrade is ring-fencing of losses made in the early years of rental property ownership. A similar policy has been tried, failed and reversed in Australia. In the 2 year period it was law, Australian rents rose by over 25%.
05-05-2014 more >>

Easier to recover tenant debt now

Winning at the Tenancy Tribunal is just the first step in holding some tenants to account. However changes to the system for recovering debts came into place on April 14 and may make things a lot easier for rental property owners.
05-05-2014 more >>

NZPIF submission on Earthquake strengthening Bill

Residential properties with 2 or more stories and containing 3 or more units are to be covered by proposed Earthquake Strengthening regulations. The NZPIF have made a submission which you can see here
05-05-2014 more >>

How does the OCR actually affect interest rates?

The Official Cash Rate (OCR) was raised twice recently, the first change since early 2009. Floating mortgage interest rates for most banks moved up by the same amount almost immediately. But what exactly is the OCR and how does it affect the mortgage interest rates we pay?
05-05-2014 more >>

Tony Alexander reviews Labour's new Kiwisaver policy

BNZ Economist Tony Alexander looks at Labour's kiwisaver policy in his weekly review
02-05-2014 more >>


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