Positive Gearing – How to Create Positive Cash Flows

In the world of property investment, we often hear a lot about negative gearing. On the other side of the ledger, of course, is positive gearing.

Positive gearing an investment property should be the end goal for every investor given it means that you are not outlaying any of your own funds, while the property also grows in value over time. So it’s literally a win-win situation.

What does positive gearing mean?

In simple terms, positive gearing occurs when the gross income generated by the investment is less than the cost of owning and managing the investment, including interest charged on the borrowings (payments reducing the principal component of borrowings is not included as a cost). The investment generates a positive cash flow before and after taxation is taken into account.

For example, say you receive $2,000 a month in rent from your investment property but the mortgage repayments are only $1,500 a month. Automatically you are $500 ahead every month, before tax, and even after tax is taken into consideration you would still be in front.

On the other hand, a positive cash flow property can be one that generates excess funds after tax, but not necessarily before. So, at the end of the financial year, you may claim deductions such as depreciation, which means your refund is higher than any costs you’ve had to pay out of your own pocket for the property throughout the year.
Finally, capital growth is the amount that your property grows in value each year. You can access this increased equity to purchase further properties as long as your loan-to-value ratio stays within specified bank parameters.

Can a negatively geared property become positive?

A negatively geared property is one where the cost of owning a property is more than the income it generates. However, you can deduct this loss from your taxable income.

While you’re making a loss, your property’s capital value is (hopefully) growing. Negatively geared investors are banking that this loss will be offset by their property’s potential capital appreciation.

Saving tax shouldn’t be the only reason for choosing an investment strategy, but nor should you ignore the tax benefits associated with negative gearing.

Many investors start out with a negatively geared property but over time these turn into positively geared ones. While the passage of time, as well as the increase in weekly rents, will generally see more properties become positive geared, investors can also do their bit to make this happen sooner.

A number of ways that investors can improve their properties, and consequently their rental income or cash flow, include:

• Renovations/home improvements
  • Adding extra features e.g. Air conditioning, dishwasher, etc.
  • Replacing existing features e.g. Carpet, light fittings
  • Redoing main rooms such as the kitchen or bathroom
  • Asking tenants which features could be added that they would pay more rent for.
• Cutting costs
  • Refinancing to a lower interest rate (especially in today’s historically low interest rate environment)
  • Switching to an interest only home loan (which is the best type of loan for investors given paying off the principal portion of your loan is not tax deductible

What are the risks of a positively geared property?

Proponents of negatively geared property over positive say that cash flow properties are usually less likely to generate strong capital growth. This isn’t entirely true.

For an investment property to be positively geared, it generally needs to be more affordable, with strong weekly rent, which means they can sometimes be located in regional areas.

However, you can find positively gearing properties almost anywhere because the key ingredient is time. Your portfolio may start out as negatively geared but eventually it will become positive as rents increase but the principal loan amount stays the same.

It remains important, however, for investors to do their research to ensure they are buying the best properties possible as well as giving themselves the best chance of holding them for the long-term. Issues to be wary of include:

• Buying a property in an area with little capital growth
• Not calculating all of the costs involved in owning an investing property – i.e. Repairs and maintenance
• Not being able to cover mortgage repayments during vacancy periods

Intuitive Finance – the smart choice

As this article has outlined, the world of investing in property and the ins and outs of positively geared investment property can be tricky to understand so it’s vitally important that you have a professional team on your side to help your financial dreams become a reality.

Now more than ever, you need investor savvy people working on your financial side, who can help you understand the difference between positively and negatively geared investment properties and people who can guide you through the process of knowing what is tax deductible and what is not.

The world of banking and finance can be a pretty daunting one for both novice and sophisticated investors and since our establishment in 2002 we’ve focused on providing outstanding service and business standards.

This approach was vindicated when we were named Victoria’s favourite mortgage broker at the 2015 Investors Choice Awards.

So, if you’re considering investing in property and want to learn more about positive gearing investment properties, contact Intuitive Finance to ensure you have the right information and expert support on your side from the very beginning.

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Andrew Mirams

Andrew Mirams is the Managing Director of Intuitive Finance and is a highly qualified mortgage advisor who holds dual diplomas in Financial Planning (Financial Services) and Banking and Finance (Mortgage Broking). Andrew’s expertise covers all aspects of lending for a diverse range of applications – from first home buyer loans or property upgrader loans, property investor loans, expatriates and loans for self-employed. With almost 30 years of experience, Andrew has been acknowledged by the mortgage industry as one of its best performers with multiple awards including regularly featuring in both the top 100 mortgage brokers list and Top 50 Elite business writers. Andrew was voted Victoria's favourite Mortgage Broker at the 2015 Investors Choice Awards, and won again for the same category at the 2017 Better Business Awards. The team at Intuitive Finance has also figured prominently by winning the 2016 "Best Independent Office (<5 brokers)" and "Best customer Service" Awards, and more recently at the 2017 MFAA National Awards, they also took out the "Best Customer Service" Award, a recognition which speaks for itself! Visit Intuitive Finance for more information.

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