Today rental problems discussions.

WELCOME TO BRISBANE AFFORDABLE RENTALS, YOU ARE INVITED. In this blog, we will discuss rental problems that we may encounter when renting, and the problems of running affordable rentals. We will also discuss, what the government can do to help the renters pay their rent, and the property owners run a better service to the renting community, instead of blaming the landlords.

Anyhow, we believe that the government Social Security System, can help both the people that are renting and the property owners. They should give more rent assistance to people on low income that are renting, and they should abolish or modify the assets test on active rental properties, if they want the rental market stand on its own, so, to speak. For this reason, we are writing several articles, where we will talk about the rental problems and the Social Security System. 

This blog can be found at this link, http://affordablerentals.blogspot.com/))

And here are other links to our internet articles

http://menfranco-re.blogspot.com/, http://manneedsgod.blogspot.com,  http://menfranco.blogspot.com, 

http://ifyoubelieveingod.blogspot.com/, http://genzanoit.blogspot.com/, 

https://sites.google.com/site/prayersofreconciliation/,https://sites.google.com/site/menfrancoreconciliation/

This article can also be found at this link, Today Rental Problems Discussions. 

Discussions about Australia rental shortage.  

When there are not enough houses or unit for rent it is hard for everybody to find accommodation, it is a real problem. But what are the reasons why this is happening to a greater degree now than in the past, because in the past these things did not happen so often. 

Welcome to our article, Today Rental Problems Discussions. 

Dear readers, what I am going to say in this blog is a bit controversial, because it is not what most people want to hear. You see, people always side with those people that are believed to be the underdog, but in this article, we want to point out that those people that seem to be better off than the underdog, in realty, they can be even worse off than them. 

Anyhow, we can say that today the rental market has many problems, so, it is a never-ending story and everybody laments about it. Whether you are a tenant or a landlord it makes no difference, the rental market is out of balance, so, there are many problems to solve.

The main problem is that there are not enough houses or unit for rent on the market, because houses and other rental accommodations cost too much to build, too much to buy, and then they cost too much to run. Not only that, but they are also very hard to run, and if you are not careful enough you can lose money, these are some of the reasons, why there are less people that own properties for rent.

Part of these problems can be solved with more money, like more rent assistance from Centrelink to those people that are on Centrelink payments and the low-income earners. But I wonder whether the federal government has worked this out and is going to do something about it in next federal budget, which is only a few days away, and with a federal election coming up, there is hope that the treasurer will do something about it, we just must wait and see. Now let us look at this problem the small landlord way.    

 

Today the landlords are slowly disappearing. 

We could say that the small landlords are slowly disappearing, it seems that everybody hates them, when in fact they should be viewed as the heroes of the rental market, because it is so hard to be on the rental market. Now, if the politicians want to save them, because the rental market needs them, it is okay, but some politicians do not see it that way, because it is convenient to them since they gain some extremist votes. But I believe they are wrong to see it that way, because I believe that the small landlords are needed, and they should be on the endangered list and make laws that helps them, instead of blaming them for everything that goes wrong on the rental market, after all the rental market needs them a lot more than the politicians think, because it has been so in the past, when everything was more balanced.   

 So, what is the reason this is happening, one may ask. Anyhow, I do not like to say this, but I must say it to make it clear what I believe is happening.

Today the rental market is so harsh that is near impossible to be in it and survive without being hurt, because one spends so much time to run the rental property and there is not enough money in it. Even if you have been there for a long time, things are becoming so bad that you wish you did not have any property for rent, at least that way you could live in peace, instead of trying to solve the rental problems that never end. And what’s about when you get some tenants that do not want to pay your rent, they damage the property and leave only after they have done so much damage. This is what the politicians that make the rental laws should think about; they must make balanced rental laws, and not only laws in favor of the tenants.

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  We can solve some rental problems. 

Now we want to discuss, how we can avoid some rental problems. I believe that most rental problems happen on the cheap affordable rental section, because if people are not careful there is not enough money to go around. Today it is a bit worse than in the past because building houses and units costs a lot more, also to run rental properties cost a lot more. However, this can be overcome if Centrelink pays more rental assistance to people that qualify for rental assistance. But even here we can run in problems, because some people cannot be trusted.

I have seen it happen to a close friend of mine. You see, he rented this unit to two mature people that seemed good enough to him, they did not have a permanent job, but he thought that even if one day they ended unemployed and received unemployment and rent assistance, they would be able to pay this affordable rent easily, but it did not work this way, because at one stage they started not paying rent for a long time. My friend asked them several times verbally and in writing, but they came up with some excuse, they even said that Centrelink has not paid them, for a long time which is hard to believe, since I believe that Centrelink pay people that have no money regularly.

Anyhow, my friend needed that rent money, since he is retired on part government pension, and counts on receiving that rent to live a modest life.

Here one needs to ask. Would it be better not to have any property for rent when you are old? Because it looks like that you would be better off financially, and you can live a more relaxed life on a full government pension instead of being pestered from tenants that sometimes don't even pay the rent.

Here again one must ask, what is happening to the rent assistance money that those people receive because they are renting?

When things like this happen, would it be better if this rent assistance money is paid straight to the landlords to stop these selfish tenants use it for themselves? After all that money is being paid to pay the rent. 

This is what the politicians should think about and make better laws how to improve the rental property market. Perhaps they should pay even more rent assistance but make it obligatory that the rent is being paid, instead of siding always with the tenants.

We could say more, but this is all for the time being.

 

To see more click on this link, Today Rental Problems Discussions.

How we can fix the rental shortage

WELCOME TO BRISBANE AFFORDABLE RENTALS, YOU ARE INVITED. In this blog, we will discuss rental problems that we may encounter when renting, and the problems of running affordable rentals. We will also discuss, what the government can do to help the renters pay their rent, and the property owners run a better service to the renting community, instead of blaming the landlords.

Anyhow, we believe that the government Social Security System, can help both the people that are renting and the property owners. They should give more rent assistance to people on low income that are renting, and they should abolish or modify the assets test on active rental properties, if they want the rental market stand on its own, so, to speak. For this reason, we are writing several articles, where we will talk about the rental problems and the Social Security System. 

This blog can be found at this link, http://affordablerentals.blogspot.com/))

And here are other links to our internet articles

http://menfranco-re.blogspot.com/, http://manneedsgod.blogspot.com,  http://menfranco.blogspot.com, 

http://ifyoubelieveingod.blogspot.com/, http://genzanoit.blogspot.com/, 

https://sites.google.com/site/prayersofreconciliation/,https://sites.google.com/site/menfrancoreconciliation/

This article can also be found at this link, How We Can Fix the Rental Shortage, 

Looking at what needs to be done to fix the rental shortage

We all know that there are many types of properties for rent, but today there is a shortage of affordable properties to rent. So, we are going to look at the reasons why this is happening and discuss what could be done to improve the situation. 

How We Can Fix the Rental Shortage,

Welcome to our blog, How We Can Fix the Rental Shortage,

Dear readers, I believe that the rental shortage can be fixed, if we look at the reasons why this has happened. But the main reason, I believe it is because today there is not enough money in renting properties, and a lot of expenses and problems. This is not what most people want to hear, but we must accept that this is the truth, because if there was enough money, there would be lots of people wanting to own properties, and lots of properties for rent. 

Anyhow, in this article, we are discussing what are the main causes, and then, what could be done to fix the rental market. I know that what I am writing here is my personal views of the situation. But even the views of a single bloke can sometimes help find a solution. Anyhow, I have been following the rental market shortage for a while, and in my lifetime, I have been renting one or two properties myself, perhaps then it was easier than today to rent a property, but even then, it was not easy. Anyhow, I know something about rentals and the problems that people encounter, so, I want to see if there is something that I can suggest how to improve the situation, but it seems to me that today there is no quick fix option, and I believe that if we don’t do something about it soon, it may even get worse, because prices will continue to increase on the rental market.

One of the reasons of course is that there are not enough houses or unit being built, and until they build more houses and units this shortage will continue, and the prices of houses and rental will continue to go up, but that is not easy to do, because there is also this skilled labor shortage and other financial problems.

Today it seems to me that this problem is not going to go away by itself, like it did in the past, when everything was more balanced and affordable. Therefore, it needs to be studied and fixed by the governments of the day. But most times the people that we send to the government, instead of looking at the reasons why this is happening and find a solution, they blame the landlords, when the landlords find it hard to stay on the rental market, because there is not enough money to run the business, and one of the reasons, is that there are too many levies to pay. Then the price of the properties goes up, and to build a new building costs a lot of money, that is hard to recuperate during the usefulness of the building, it seems all a chain reaction that continues, and needs to be balanced and fixed, if we want to go back to normal rental affordability, so, what needs to be done?

What we believe needs to be done. 

I believe that what needs to be done, is to look closely at what was different when there were enough properties on the market, and somehow there were enough rental properties being built, and somehow, they were able to keep pace with what was needed. Today we blame the government that lets too many people come to Australia, but I believe that, this is only part of the negative situation, and it needs to be balanced. In fact, in the past it seemed to be a good thing that people came to Australia, at a steady pace, and the economy was running along well, because there was enough work for the building tradesmen, but that equilibrium has been lost today. So, it would be good, if we can find a way to balance those needs.        

Anyhow, to make the right decisions we must look at the reasons, why today the rental shortage is this bad, because in the past there has not been a rental shortage so severe, so, what are the reasons?

One of the reasons is the governments greed that charge too many high levies on rental properties, and the landlords are forced to pass in on, they cannot run a business at a loss. Sometimes what they do is evident, at other times it just happens, and they do nothing to fix it, because they collect more money. One of these examples can be found hereunder, where the Queensland government collects more money, just by not changing the land tax threshold. Which we are going to show you hereunder.

 

One of the issues is the land tax. 

AS I have said, one of the issues is the land tax levy, that these days is too high. (So, here I quote from what I found on the internet)  

From the internet

Taxpayers would need to pay $1 billion each year to give landlords the tax breaks they desire, Queensland government modelling shows.

The Treasury analysis comes in response to lobbying from the Property Owners Association of Queensland and the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) to reduce land tax on landlords.

The Property Owners Association wants the state government to raise the tax-free threshold on land values by 200 per cent, from $600,000 to $1.8 million.

Treasury modelling shows the proposal would cost the budget $1 billion a year over the next four years.

The REIQ wants land tax thresholds indexed to keep up with inflation since the threshold has not changed since 2008.

A Treasury spokesperson said the proposal would cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars each year, rising to $400 million in the 2027/28 financial year alone.

"Land tax is a critically important part of Queensland's revenue base," the spokesperson said.

"It pays for things like new roads, hospitals and schools, and it pays the wages of nurses, teachers and police officers.

"Even so, Queensland has one of the most generous land tax thresholds in the country."

Treasury analysis shows 0.9 per cent of Queensland's population pays land tax, disproportionately affecting people who own multiple investment properties.

Land tax does not apply to homeowners who live in their house as their principal place of residence.

(End of quote)

What we have said above, is only one of the charges that the landlords must pay, and there are many other fixed expenses that the landlords must pay, so, do not blame them for the high rent, they need to run a business, and to run a business one must make money, or at least break even, otherwise they will go broke. This indicates what needs to be done to fix the rental market.  

I could say many other things about charges and running cost, but this article is becoming too long, so, I need to write another article soon, about the cost of running a rental property, and other things, See you soon. 

To see more click on this link, How We Can Fix the Rental Shortage, 

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Housing problems discussions.

WELCOME TO BRISBANE AFFORDABLE RENTALS, YOU ARE INVITED. In this blog, we will discuss rental problems that we may incounter when renting, and the problems of running affordable rentals. We will also discuss, what the government can do to help the renters pay their rent, and the property owners run a better service to the renting community. 

Anyhow, we believe that the government Social Security System, can help both the people that are renting and the property owners. They should give more rent assistance to peple on low income that are renting, and they should abollish or modify the assets test on active rental properties, if they want the rental market stand on its own, so, to speak. For this reason, we are writing several articles, where we will talk about the rental problems and the Social Security System. 

This blog can be found at this link, http://affordablerentals.blogspot.com/))

And here are other links to our internet articles

http://menfranco-re.blogspot.com/, http://manneedsgod.blogspot.com,  http://menfranco.blogspot.com, 

http://ifyoubelieveingod.blogspot.com/, http://genzanoit.blogspot.com/, 

https://sites.google.com/site/prayersofreconciliation/,https://sites.google.com/site/menfrancoreconciliation/

This article can also be found at this link, Housing Problems causes in Australia.

Yes today in Australia is hard to find a house or units for rent. It is hard to understand the reasons why this is happening, so, we are looking for the reasons why this is happening and writing these discussions to explain what we think is happening 

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Welcome to our article, housing problems discussion   

Dear readers, as I have said, I have been writing several articles about this rental crisis in Australia, and I have suggested a few things, but I do not know if what I am doing is helping, because there is no feedback, all I know is some people read them.  

Anyhow, I will continue to write more articles, at least I know I have done my best to help solve the situation, because it is only through people views and discussion that most problems are solved. In this article we will review what we have said and talk about what we see happening.

One of the things that is worrying me is that there are properties that end up in the wrong hands, one of which is foreign ownership. Look what I found in the net, (and I quote).

The daily mail 20 July 2023

How Chinese buyers are snapping up Australian properties at the rate of $6million a day.

Story by Stephen Johnson, Economics Reporter For Daily Mail Australia • Yesterday 1:49 pm

• Chinese spend $2.4billion a year on Australian property 
• Australia top choice for Chinese real estate buyers

Chinese buyers are snapping up real estate spending more than $6million a day, with Australia an even more popular market than Canada, the United Kingdom or the U.S.

New Treasury figures show the Chinese spent $2.4billion on Australian residential real estate in 2021-22, with investment surging in the following financial year. (Shortened article)

-----------------------------  

On another article.

Chinese buyers return and cause tension at auctions across Australia as they outbid locals, says real estate expert. Here's why they are buying up homes down under

Story by Olivia Day For Daily Mail Australia.

• Auctioneer said Chinese investors are back on property scene
• He said local buyers felt 'resentment' towards Chinese buyers
• Chinese buyers spending up to $8million on Aussie real estate 

A top auctioneer says Chinese buyers have returned to Australia's property market and are causing tension at auctions as they outbid locals.

And then.

One Nation Leader Pauline has raised concerns about the impact migration and foreign investors have on Australia, saying it’s hard for Australians to “buy their own home”. 

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Now let me tell you about my views on this foreign ownership. I believe that Australia does not need them, because what they do is drive the price of real estate up. They also do not seem to care if their rental properties are vacant. So, they are here because they have too much cash in their country, and they want to transfer it to Australia to keep it safe and avoid taxes. In this case it would be good if the Australian government taxes them, with a tax that applies to foreign ownership, at least they could recuperate some of the damage they are doing to the economy.

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Other things affecting rentals.

We have talked about the Chinese investors, that buy rental properties for their own benefit, but there are many other things that need to be assessed, like what is being done to fix the rental problem, and is it the right thing to do, so, let us see what is happening, and report what we find here. (And I quote)  

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Greens Senator Janet Rice says the government is only going to provide a “tiny drop in the bucket” by building only 30,000 homes in the next five years.

“We want to see an outcome,” Ms Rice told Sky News Australia.

“We’ve got 750,000 people on public and affordable housing waiting lists around the country.

“What the government’s proposing is only going to provide 30,000 houses over the next five years – tiny drop in the bucket of what’s required.” (End of quote)

-----------------------

My reaction to that is. Okay Senator Janet Rice, we agree with you 100% that what they are going to build is not enough to solve the rental problem, but your party is making it harder even to do that, and with you scare tactics you are making it even worse, look at what else is happening. (And I quote)

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• Aussie investors 'over it' as they bow out of the property market
• Queensland sales of investor-owned property have ballooned

Property investors in one state are 'over it' as they bow out of the market in droves amid rising interest rates and higher land taxes.

Sales of Queensland investor-owned property increased to almost a third of all homes sold in June, according to PropTrack research. 

It comes as owners across Australia face skyrocketing property taxes and rental price cap speculation - adding pressure to their high mortgage repayments.

Sales of owner-investor properties in Queensland grew by eight per cent in just one month - up to 29.5 per cent of all house sales, higher than other state.  (End of quote).

--------------------- 

I must say that, after seeing what is happening in the rental market, as I have reported above, I believe that things are getting worse. And the Greens party is making it hard to fix, with their short sightedness, they want only to help the have not, even if they make the small investors become have not, with their unworkable policies.   

Anyhow, my view is that to solve this problem, all Australian sectors must try to work together, we do not need foreign ownership to control the Australian rental market, and the politicians must make sure that that does not happen.

So, it would be wiser to try to reconcile the differences and keep the rental market as it has been in the past, in   if it has worked for a very long time in the past, and it will continue to work in the future. Here I must add that, if the politicians want affordable rentals for the homeless at affordable cost, they must make sure that the landlords, can run their properties at an affordable cost, that guarantees some earning at the end, nobody can run properties at a loss. Therefore, they must not charge levies that the landlords find hard to pay. I hope I have explained myself clear enough.

I could say many other things, but I believe that this article is becoming too long for today readers, so, see you in our next article,  Australia rental problem review.  

---------------------------

Housing problems causes in Australia.

WELCOME TO BRISBANE AFFORDABLE RENTALS, YOU ARE INVITED. In this blog, we will discuss rental problems that we may incounter when renting, and the problems of running affordable rentals. We will also discuss, what the government can do to help the renters pay their rent, and the property owners run a better service to the renting community. 

Anyhow, we believe that the government Social Security System, can help both the people that are renting and the property owners. They should give more rent assistance to peple on low income that are renting, and they should abollish or modify the assets test on active rental properties, if they want the rental market stand on its own, so, to speak. For this reason, we are writing several articles, where we will talk about the rental problems and the Social Security System. 

This blog can be found at this link, http://affordablerentals.blogspot.com/))

And here are other links to our internet articles

http://menfranco-re.blogspot.com/, http://manneedsgod.blogspot.com,  http://menfranco.blogspot.com, 

http://ifyoubelieveingod.blogspot.com/, http://genzanoit.blogspot.com/, 

https://sites.google.com/site/prayersofreconciliation/,https://sites.google.com/site/menfrancoreconciliation/

This article can also be found at this link, Housing Problems causes in Australia.

 

This house is an old house for rent in Brisbane, TO CONTINUE

This is a typical block of units in Brisbane, these units are self-contained, so, they can be owners occupied of for rent. In cases like this, there is a body corporate and another levy, that the owner of each unit has to pay, four time a year.

Housing Problems causes in Australia.

Housing problems causes in Australia.   

Welcome to our article (141) Housing problems causes in Australia.

Dear readers, as I have said before, I want to inform you that I have followed the rental market for a long time, and I have written several articles about it, pointing out what I think can help to solve the rental problem. I have done that, hoping that someone in power takes notes of what I am saying, and does something about it, but so far nothing has happened. Anyhow, I believe that the main problem is that the Australian Social Security System must be equal for everyone, but it discriminates against the small investors away, to fix it they can start by abolishing the ASSETS TEST that keeps off the small investors that could have a property for rent. Anyhow, I will continue to write more rental articles, hoping that something positive happens, so, let me go on writing.  

So, let me make a short list of the most important things that in my view need to be done, to fix the rental problems that exist today. Now what I am going to say next is not what the people in power want to hear, because I believe that they are the people that have caused it, because of their greed, they are charging very high levies, and then hide behind the landlords, saying that it is the landlord greed that is causing this rental shortage, but it is not, because most of the landlords of affordable rental properties, are family people that have one or two properties for rent, the rich people keep away from rental properties, they cannot be involved, because they are hard to run, and cause too many problems, so, for them it is a waste of time.

Anyhow to make this brief I must say, I have found two things that hurt the rental market most. The first one is the land tax, that sometimes is so high that it is not worth to have rental properties, the second one is the ASSETS TEST, that in some cases can be even worse than the land tax, because it cuts off the small property owners to receive the government pension, and it also stops the disabled, the jobseekers and others to receive help from the government. So, hereunder I am going to describe step by step, how the ASSETS TEST affects the property owners in a negative way.

The land tax and the assets test problem.

Now to explain how the land tax and the assets test affects the small investors in a negative way, I am going to write an example. To make it easier to understand, the example that I am writing will be exaggerated a bit, so that it is easier to understand the message I want to convey. So, let me start to write this imaginary situation.

Mr and Mrs Lee have worked hard all their lives, they saved as much as they could, and have invested their saving, on two houses, and both the houses are on two large blocks of residential land, and the land value is over one million dollars each. They may be able to avoid the land tax for the house they live in, but they must pay the land tax on the rental property that could be around $6000.00 each year, just because they owned that house and land on the 30^th of June.

Now Mr and Mrs Lee are retiring, so, they would like to apply for the Age Pension from the government, because they do not have much money, since they have spent most of their money on these two properties. but it is very unlikely that they will qualify, because of the assets test. So, let us try to work out if they can receive any pension from the government. But they cannot because they have over one million assets. So, the assets test cuts them off, because the maximum they can have for part pension is $986,500. So, they cannot have any pension, and they must live with what rent income is left, after paying all expenses, which is not enough.

Now let us work out how much money is left from their rental property.

They are renting the house at $600.00 per week, which in a year is about $31,200. Now from this money they must pay all the rental property expenses. So, let us see how much they expenses can be.

In Mr. and Mrs Lee case  

 Land tax $6000.00    

Council Rates charges $3000.00   

Urban Utilities $1800.00

Insurance $1500.00

Maintenance $1000.00 or more

Real estate charges to rent property. Over $2000.00

Now let us add them up. 6000+3000+1800+1500+1000+2000=$15,300.

So, the expenses are nearly 50% of the rent.

And Mr and Mrs Lee, only earn about one per cent of the value of rental property net.

If they did not have this house for rent, they would have received the full pension, which today is:

•  Couple (each): $802.00 per fortnight (approximately $20,852 per year)
• Couple (combined): $1,604.00 per fortnight (approximately $41,704 per year)

From the imaginary example of Mr Lee property, we can say that this is one of the reasons why there are not enough rental properties in Australia, but there is more to talk about, one of which is the foreign ownership, see below.

 

What other problems we have in rentals.

Then there is the problem of foreign ownership. See what I found on the internet.

New Treasury figures show the Chinese spent $2.4billion on Australian residential real estate in 2021-22, with investment surging in the following financial year. (Shortened article)

But we will talk about that in our next article.

So, if the government want the rental market to be self-sufficient, they must abolish the assets test on affordable rental properties, owned by Australians and permanent residents of Australia, or they can set the assets test at minus one dollar per thousand instead of minus three dollars per thousand a fortnight. So that some people may still want to own a rental property, because the way it is now, people are losing money, if they own a rental property and are on a government pension.  

There are more issues that influence the rental market to talk about, but this article is becoming too long, So, see you in our next article, where we are going to talk about the foreign ownership and Australian politics.

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Housing problems discussions

 Housing Problems Discussions. 

Welcome to our article (142)