Expert Advice by Tyron Hyde
01/11/2014
Trying to find out the date construction commenced on a property is not always easy. Even Quantity Surveyors sometimes need to play detective. There are a few things you can do to determine the age of your property.
You can ring the local council or make a request in writing. This is often the most accurate way to find out. However, some councils do charge a small fee for disclosing this information.
You can check with the local utility providers, such as the water board or electricity company, to see whether they can ascertain when these services were first connected at the property.
If your property is strata-titled, check when the title was registered. This gives you an indication of the completion of construction and then you can try and work back to the construction commencement date from here.
Another clue might be the hot water system. If it is the original, it should generally have the installation date stamped on it.
But finding out the age can mean a big difference in depreciation claims – as the original construction date is what matters when it comes to determining if you can claim building depreciation benefits or not.
Tyron Hyde is the CEO of Washington Brown and is considered one of Australia’s leading experts in property tax depreciation. He is also a registered tax agent. Washington Brown manages construction costs worth over $2 billion and completes 10,000 schedules annually. For a depreciation schedule quote CLICK HERE and follow the 3 simple steps or estimate your depreciation cost for Washington Brown’s online calculator CLICK HERE.
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Disclaimer: while due care is taken, the viewpoints expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Your Investment Property.
