Resending the newsletter with the correct Twitter address, just in case you are looking for some great DIY tips, go to www.twitter.com/rosalie_US

Regards

Rosalie

Welcome

I trust that the Easter bunny was kind to all of you and everyone had some down-time over the Easter break to spend with their family, friends and loved ones. For me personally, our family headed to Adelaide for the break - what fabulous weather and fun (particularly at Haigh's chocolates and Glenelg beach). There are many properties in Adelaide that would benefit from an Urban Sensations rejuvenation - if you know anyone in Adelaide who would benefit from our service please pass this newsletter on to them or have them contact me to see what we can do for them....

I would also like to welcome all our new newsletters subscribers. I hope that our newsletter adds value to you.

For those of you into social networking - I have recently opened a twitter account and am doing a free reno tip each day for the next 30 days on twitter. Feel free to follow me at www.twitter.com/rosalie_US

We are keen to get your feedback on what other services and products Urban Sensations can provide for you, in order for you to have a hassle-free rejuvenation. So stay tuned, we will be asking for your input very soon!

I am looking foward to seeing some of you this evening, at our own Urban Sensations jewellery party. If you are coming, you are in for a fabulous time.

Enjoy this month's edition of the Urban Sensations newsletter......
Warm regards
Rosalie

In this Issue

Property Update
Guest Business Section - John Carson (Australian Unity Financial Planning)
Urban Sensation News - new website, new services
DIY Tips
Rosalie Recommends
Speaking Engagements
Recent Project

Property Update

I recently received this article from the Quantity Surveyor's that we use for our depreciation schedules - depreciator. It was so good that I asked if I could reproduce it in this newsletter - so here it is.....

With tax season rapidly approaching, NOW is the time for you to start thinking about a Depreciation Schedule if you will need one to do your tax this year. If you do need a depreciation schedule please contact depreciator now to arrange.

Repairs vs Improvements

At this time of year we gets lots of calls from clients about what constitutes a 'repair' vs an 'improvement', so we thought it might be an idea to clear this up for everybody. The following is not specific advice, it is just a general guide.
As you would know, repairs can be claimed in full in the tax year you incurred the expense, whereas improvements have to be claimed over time. Naturally, people want to claim work as repairs where possible. But every year there are people who get pinged by the ATO for wrongly claiming work as repairs.
So, what is a repair? Essentially, it is restoring something to the condition it was in when it was purchased.
If you replace an entire item, it is NOT a repair. If you make an improvement to a structure, it is NOT a repair.
Let's look at a couple of examples.
You have an electric upright oven in a rental property and it has seen better days. You've been renting the place out for a year, and two of the elements on top have stopped working. If you replace these two elements, it's a repair and you claim the cost in full. If you decide to install a new oven, it's an improvement and you have to depreciate the new oven.
Painting is where many people get caught out. If you have been renting a property out for, say, a year and you have to paint the kitchen and the hallway, it is feasible that this could be a repair. If, however, you paint the entire interior of the property you are essentially saying that the tenants were so grotty in that year of occupancy that you had to paint the entire place to get it back to the condition it was in when you bought it.
Be careful in making overly ambitious claims for repairs because you could be asked to substantiate them. And remember, that if you settle on a property, then do work to it before renting it out, any work you do is NOT a repair. To claim repairs, you need to have been renting a property out.

The team at Depreciator
To book your depreciation schedule simply click on this link... 
www.depreciator.com.au/agent/alogin.asp?u=urbansensations

 

Guest Business Section

It gives me great pleasure to introduce John Carson.  John is a financial planner with Australian Unity Financial Planning and specialises in the areas of personal life insurance, self managed super funds and tax effective structures for holding investments.  I have spent many hours with John and have always been impressed by his integrity and desire to really understand what his clients requirements are and how he can assist them so that he is able to solve their problem.

How to safeguard your most valuable asset (i.e. your ability to earn an income)

Most people will earn a fortune between now and when they retire. And yet many people neglect to insure their ability to earn an income.
This is despite statistics which show that:

• Every working Australian has a one in three chance of becoming disabled for more than 3 months before reaching age 65*
• More than half of all serious accidents happen outside of work – when workers’ compensation doesn’t apply.^

If you suddenly had no income due to illness or accident, how would you – and your family – cope? Could you afford to pay the mortgage, your superannuation, school fees, living expenses etc? The solution is income protection insurance.

This insurance provides a monthly payment of up to 75% of your pre-tax income in the event you are unable to work due to sickness or injury. Many policies also include payments for rehabilitation to help you get better sooner. Importantly, the premiums for income protection insurance are tax deductible for most people.

* Source: Australian Institute of Actuaries: Interim report of the Disability Committee 2000
^ Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics National Health Survey 1989 – 1990

How much will you earn from now until retirement+?

Income p.a.	Age now - 30 years	Age now - 40 years
$60,000	$3,365,096	$1,786,685
$80,000	$4,486,795	$2,382,246
$100,000	$5,608,494	$2,977,808
$150,000	$8,412,741	$4,466,712

+Assumes income increases each year by 4%. Retirement age 60.

The two year under-insurance trap

Some people have basic income protection insurance through their employer’s super fund. But this insurance generally pays a benefit for a maximum of only two years if you were to suffer an illness or accident. This means that if you are unable to return to work after two years you may not have a source of income. By taking an additional policy with a benefit period of up to age 65, but starting after a two year waiting period, you can remove this risk in a very cost effective way.

Obligation free consultation with John

 As a special offer to Urban Sensations clients, you can contact John for a cost and obligation free consultation to seek advice on how best to improve your personal finances. Please phone 85419807 to arrange your free consultation.

# John Carson is an Authorised Representative of Australian Unity Financial Planning Limited (AUFP) ABN 26 098 725 145, AFSL 234459.

This information has been prepared by AUFP. The taxation position described is a general statement and should only be used as a guide. It does not constitute tax advice and is based on current laws and their interpretation.

This information has been prepared without taking into account the investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any particular person. Because of this you should, before acting on it, consider its appropriateness, having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.

US News

Firstly, I would like to introduce Karen Glass as a member of the Urban Sensations team. Karen is the person responsible for getting this newsletter to you and helps me enormously with all of the "behind the scenes" activites that are occurring at Urban Sensations.  If you have an administration query, you can email Karen at karen@urbansensations.com.au.

Thank you so much to all of you who provided direct feedback on our website. It is much appreciated and I am indeed gratified by your positive comments. Also a big thank you to those who have embraced the new service from Urban Sensations and have booked an individual consultation with me.

For those who may not have read all of our last newsletter (and we know who you are now!) , we are now offering individual consultations with people (home owners and investors) who want to manage their own rejuvenation. The benefit of this service is that you can  access Rosalie’s many years of knowledge and experience to avoid many of the common mistakes that DIY’s make at a fraction of the cost of those mistakes! The even more fabulous part is that Rosalie is able to offer this service anywhere in Australia! So for those of you with investment properties outside of Melbourne – here is a great opportunity to make full use of Rosalie’s knowledge and know-how.

So if you would like a few hours of Rosalie's experience to guide you - whether this is advice about the design and practical aspects of the rejuvenation, help with planning the rejuvenaiton, help with sourcing fittings and fixtures, help with scheduling your rejuvenation so you can complete it in 4 weeks and/or help with problem-solving along the way contact Rosalie today, to make your appointment. This is so easy, just click on the booking form here to nominate your preferred appointment time or ring Rosalie direct on 0411 323 877.

Consultation fees for this service are as follows:
• Initial 1 hour consultation and rejuvenation feedback - $179
• Off-site activities (eg: project planning, scheduling etc, email communication, mentoring) - $759
• On-site activities (problem solving, assisting with decision making, discussions with tradesmen) - $469

To celebrate the launch of this fabulous new service, Rosalie has reduced these fees by a whopping 30% to everyone who books a consultation by the end of April 2009. So you must book TODAY to take advantage of this special offer!

DIY Tips

The choice of the right light fitting, the kind of light and its positioning is paramount to the feel and function of a room. Choose well and you will be rewarded by creating the desired atmosphere and feeling in the room and also add value to the design of the house. Choose poorly and you will just have light in the room.
Make sure that the fitting is reliable, cost effective and solves your lighting problems. There is no point putting downlights in a ceiling which is 3 metres from the floor - you simply won't get enough light where you need it! High ceilings require lights that can be suspended down from the ceiling, so that the light is closer to you. For most people (unless you are a tradie) it is difficult to change light bulbs in light fittings that are more than 2.5m from the floor. Do you have a ladder readily available to change the bulb when required? Similarly, do check when you purchase the fitting how easy or not it is to change a bulb (and remember that the fitting will generally be hanging above you). For ceilings that are highly decorated - do use a fitting that enhances the plaster and ceiling work. A plain round batten style fitting does nothing except highlight your poor choice in lightfittings and desire to do things as cheap as possible. In order to save on energy, you will need to choose fittings and globes that give strong light relative to the amount of heat they produce.

Rosalie Recommends

I have 2 tickets to give away for a Life Mastery Day with Rik Schnabel (valued at $990 each). Rik is the founder and CEO of Australia's self-development company Life Beyond Limits and is a wholistic wealth coach. I recently had the pleasure of hearing Rik speak at The Mega Networking and Referral Event. I was impressed! Actually, I have 4 tickets, however I will be using 2 myself! For more information on Rik, visit the following website www.lifebeyondlimits.com.au

Speaking Engagements

Rosalie was recently a guest speaker at the following events:

• Investors Edge Finance Group monthly meeting – talking about  investment property rejuvenations.  For further information about Investors Edge Finance go to www.investorsedgefinance.com.au.
• Property Investment Group Melbourne (PIGM) monthly meeting - talking about investment property rejuvenations and how the numbers behind the Urban Sensations rejuvenation strategy stack up.

Rosalie can speak on a range of different topics such as property design, planning, time management, products to use, ideas to save you money etc….

To book Rosalie to speak at your next property event, please call Rosalie on 0411 323 877 or email info@urbansensations.com.au

Recent Project

Alterations to a family home that is now converted to an investment property. These alterations were done to improve the appeal of the home to prospective tenants and maximise the rental yield.
The following items were done:
• Painting of external pergola and associated shelving. Replace rotten end board.
• New window coverings and light fittings in some rooms
• New shower screens, mirrors, tap fittings and matching accessories in bathrooms 
• Install new stainless steel 600mm electric oven (which client directly purchased from Grays Auctions at a fabulous price)  
• New filters to rangehood
• New ducting vents to those that were broken
• Remove insinkerator. New shelf under sink installed due to many years of previous water damage.

The property was rented within 1 week of it being on the market.
Before.....                                                                            After........
      

If you think any of the above information would be useful for others please feel free to pass this newsletter onto a friend Send to a Friend
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