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Investing
Every investing article on Burbfinder, sorted by latest. 22 articles in this category.
Investing9 min
Granny flat permit rules by state: the planning maze that decides whether the math actually works
Two identical 700 m² blocks one state apart can give two completely different answers to 'can I put a granny flat on this?'. The state planning rule, not the build cost, decides whether the investment works.
Investing8 min
Vacant land tax in VIC and NSW: the rules investors and landbankers keep missing
Vacant land tax is the surcharge most investors don't budget for until the first assessment notice lands. It's distinct from ordinary land tax, with its own threshold and its own reporting deadline.
Investing8 min
Smoke alarms and safety switches: what landlords must actually do, by state
A failed smoke alarm in a rental is rarely a $50 problem. The compliance gap between what landlords think they owe and what each state actually requires is wider than most insurers will tell you.
Investing8 min
Cross-collateralisation in Australian property: why the bank loves it, why most investors should refuse
Cross-collateralisation looks cleaner than it is. The bank gets one risk position; the investor gets a structure that quietly removes optionality at the exact moment a sale or refinance needs it back.
Investing9 min
Subdividing land and battle-axe blocks in Australia: the council process, the costs, the actual ROI
A 1,200 m² block in a 600 m² minimum-lot suburb is worth more than two 600 m² blocks next door, but only on paper. Subdivision turns the gap into cash; the gap is smaller than most calculators assume.
Investing8 min
FIRB foreign-buyer rules: what non-residents can actually buy in Australia, and what it costs
Australia's foreign-buyer regime is restrictive on existing dwellings, permissive on new builds, and expensive in fees and surcharges either way. The arithmetic for a typical Sydney purchase runs into six figures before any standard duty.
Investing8 min
Capital improvements vs repairs and maintenance: the investor tax line everyone gets wrong
Replace a worn hot water system and it is a repair. Replace it with a solar one and it is a capital improvement. Same job, two tax outcomes.
Investing8 min
Rentvesting explained: buying where you can afford, renting where you want to live
The arithmetic of rentvesting is brutal in some suburbs and benign in others. The difference is rental yield minus mortgage rate minus the opportunity cost of forfeiting the main-residence CGT exemption.
Investing9 min
Land tax by state in 2026: what investors actually pay on top of stamp duty
Land tax is the silent investor bill — payable every year while you hold, calculated on unimproved land value, and structured so a single second property in NSW can push annual cost past $5,000 before the rates notice arrives.
Investing9 min
Buying investment property in a trust: when the structure pays for itself, and when it doesn't
Trust ownership of investment property is the right answer for maybe one in five buyers and a costly mistake for the other four. The deciding factor is rarely tax and almost always asset protection or estate planning.
Investing8 min
Granny flat investment in Australia: the 15% yield math nobody talks about
A standalone investment property yields about 3%. A granny flat on land you already own can yield 15%. Here's why the math works, and where it bites back.
Investing7 min
QLD suburbs with the strongest gross rental yields in 2026
Queensland holds five of the highest gross-yield suburbs in the country right now, and they aren't the postcodes the headlines fixate on.
Investing8 min
Landlord tax deductions in Australia: the checklist that actually matters
Most investors leave three to five thousand dollars of legitimate deductions on the table every year. Usually because they treat repairs and improvements as the same category.
Investing9 min
50% discount vs inflation indexation: 5 CGT scenarios compared
Headlines say the CGT discount is being abolished. The arithmetic across five scenarios says the 30% floor is doing most of the damage, not indexation itself.
Investing8 min
Buying property through an SMSF: what it actually costs and what you can't do
An SMSF can buy investment property, but the rules are stricter and the costs are higher than most explainers admit. Here's what the numbers actually look like.
Investing6 min
Renovation ROI in Australia: which improvements actually pay off
Most renovations don't return what they cost. Here's the room-by-room ROI ranking, the ceiling-price trap that burns margin, and a worked $75k example.
Investing6 min
How to read ABS Building Approvals like a property investor
Building Approvals tell you about supply 1 to 3 years out, not next quarter. Here's what the monthly ABS release actually says, and how to read it.
Investing8 min
Investment property vs shares in Australia: an honest comparison
Property's reputation as the higher-returning Australian asset is mostly a leverage story. Here's the honest after-tax comparison with shares over a 10-year hold.
Investing7 min
Depreciation schedules for investment properties: what they cover and what they save
A quantity-surveyor depreciation schedule typically pays for itself in the first month it lands in your tax return. Here's what's in it and why most investors leave money on the table.
Investing5 min
Understanding rental yield (and why net yield is the honest number)
Gross yield sells the property. Net yield reveals whether you should buy it. Here's how to read both and what most calculators leave out.
Investing6 min
Negative gearing in 2026: what changed and what it means for your numbers
Negative gearing is a tax mechanism, not a strategy. Here's how it works, what's on the policy table, and how to model your own numbers without the slogans.
Investing7 min
Capital gains tax on investment property: a 6-step worked example
Capital gains tax on a sold investment property, walked through in six numbered steps with a single $700k-to-$1.05M example carried end to end.