It’s all very well pooh-poohing National’s package & rolling out the old ‘landlords as Ebenezer Scrooge’ trope, but perhaps you could tell us what the party you support will be running with this election?
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I've got two rentals and I'm currently running them at a loss of 10k each this year. If I head up to 7% plus when my lending renews in April 2024 I'll be looking at a 30k loss on each. I am already at what I feel is top of the market. I renewed one at $795 a week recently, the other we approached the existing tenant to broach the idea of an increase and they advised they were already considering to end their stay with us as the current rent ($750) is getting tight for them.
They are great tenants and we want them to stay so we left it as is and let it go periodic. The house they are in is superior to the one I'm getting more rent for as well.
If market conditions improve and my lending costs come down, I definitely would consider it for great tenants. I have shown them my books and they know I'm running a loss, rates and insurance have also gone up quite a bit recently so it seems pretty unlikely I could lower however.
Also just to try and paint the picture of some landlords not being evil, the tenants in the front house paying $795 a week asked about the middle (better) house and I said it could be coming up in the near future. They asked if they could move into that one if it does become available with no other changes to the existing lease and I said yes. In writing.
Your personal testimony shows your humanity and the complexity of the situation. You have very real responsibilities and financial concerns which no doubt cause you stress and worry and require careful management. Unfortunately the Left are raised on some pretty basic tropes where all nuance and reality are discarded and all landlords, business owners, and those disparaged as ‘wealthy’ are reduced to a caricature: privileged, selfish, greedy, soulless exploiters whose only motivation is a life of comfort at the expense of their fellow man.
‘So National's new catchphrase is "squeezed middle", and they seriously believe an extra $20/fortnight, for a family, is meaningful "tax relief." I am trying hard to keep an open mind here,’
If you were ‘trying to keep an open mind’ then you wouldn’t have posted that families will get an extra $20/fortnight.
The package -
Incomes
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A family with children earning the average household income of $120,000 will be $250 a fortnight better off.
An average income child-free household up to $100 a fortnight better off.
Full-time minimum-wage workers get a $20 boost to their fortnightly incomes, and paying lower rates of tax on extra hours worked.
Anyone earning over $78,100 gets the same tax cut of $40 a fortnight.
A superannuitant couple will get up to $26 a fortnight more.
Tax Cuts/Credits
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17.5% threshold moves from $14,000 to $15,600.
30% rate moves from $48,000 to $53,500.
33% rate moves from $70,000 to $78,100.
Extend eligibility for Independent Earner Tax Credit from $48,000 maximum income to $70,000.
Previously announced childcare tax credit of up to $150 a fortnight for 25% of costs of early childhood education for low and middle income families.
Increase WFF in-work tax credit by $25 a week.
Canceled taxes
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Fully restore interest deductibility for rental properties.
Bring the brightline test back to two years.
Cancel Labour’s planned fuel tax hikes which would add 12 cents per litre of petrol, or $8 for a full tank.
Remove the Auckland Regional Fuel Tax which adds 11.5 cents per litre of petrol.
Cancel Labour’s new App Tax.
Fully costed?
They say that they'll get $8.4Bil from cost savings but don't say where most will come from (they have a few figures but not $8.4B worth).
Much like them harping on about billions in wasteful spending but only ever coming up with a few hundred million.
I developed/built them.
I am in it for the long term, or was. I am lucky to live in the area I grew up in, I worked for Kiwibuild for almost 4 years and during that time I learnt a lot from my peers but also saw a lot of housing development I didn't think would be good for social outcomes in years to come.
I built in a way I thought was a useful contribution and made better use of the largely underutilised land I had (70m² footprint house on 645m2). I shifted the original dwelling back and added 2x more stand alone, 3 bed, 2 bath w garage homes which also look like the original house. I put a new roof on mine too and painted it so they are all the same.
I ran through all the costings before hand and modelled what it would look like at interest rates as high as 6 - 6.5% which was the peak of rates while I've been a homeowner. Wasn't going to get rich quick and I manage them myself. We were looking alright but costs went up, the project went over budget (I did put a bit of money into improving our personal home but I also did alot of the work myself). I've ended up borrowing about 300k more than I had planned, but I didn't compromise on materials or outcomes.
In fact we actually turned down unconditional offers from 3x developers (williams, wolfbrook and faisandier) with the best offer being $1.2m, I'd already sunk 100k out of my own pocket (not the banks) and had my building and resource consents signed off. The developers would have stuck an ugly, low quality, high density here instead.
I am getting to the point of considering selling, but at this stage if we sold anything it would be our personal home. We've figured we can clear out enough debt by doing that we'd have more cashflow by renting, cutting my rates and insurance bills, I can get rid of 2 out of 3 vehicles I own and we can be closer to work in the wellington cbd.
Or head to Australia again.
‘Much like them harping on about billions in wasteful spending but only ever coming up with a few hundred million.’
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Yet ‘Spread your legs’ Chipkins and ‘giant fiscal hole’ Robbo have been saying for months that no cuts can be made without impacting frontline services….they with an embarrassing PREFU looming they suddenly find $4 billion of cuts!!!!
I can’t believe the Labour faithful allow themselves to let the likes of Chipkins and Robbo pull the wool over their eyes time and time again.