Just the other day, one of the people we know was really stressed out. He has $2000 over his mortgage limit and didn’t understand why. I had him come into the office to meet up with me and Ben Du Flou (our accountant www.allaccountedfor.co.nz). He came in and showed us his bank statements. In a flash Ben had sussed the problem. He was set up for fortnightly mortgage payments, so in his mind that was two payments a month… not quite correct… 26 fortnights in a year mean that March and September mean that in each of those months you have three payments to make. (something to keep in mind).
Ben, in true saintly fashion, helped him figure out how to sort the current situation out and worked his budget so it shouldn’t happen again.
Shayne Thurston
Lambton Property Management
Professionals, Shayne's blog
There are painters and then there is Paul and Amanda at Changing Places. The first thing that becomes apparent talking to them is that they know what they are doing. The second thing is that not only have they looked at the job, but they have also refined what you asked for and quite often have a better idea (and that is very hard for me to admit) J
From my point of view these are just two of the things going for them. The others include things such as high quality work, attention to detail, jobs coming in as quoted, an ability to liaise well with tenants, a great attitude, and the list go goes on. I am normally slightly nervous when recommending painters, but in the case of Changing Places, I am not nervous, nor do I hesitate to recommend them.
Shayne Thurston
Lambton Property Management
Professionals, Shayne's blog
A good accountant who knows about property, has a good understanding of the IRD’s views on property and also happens to be chartered, is a must have for property investors. You have to be able to put all of your faith in your accountant’s ability to do his job well and trust in his understanding of the structures (such as LAQC’s and Trusts, etc), and his in-depth familiarity of how it all relates to the IRD and your tax situation .
The accountant we use is Ben Duflou (www.allaccountedfor.co.nz). He is a chartered accountant and as well as having a extremely indepth knowledge of property matters, he is also a passionate property investor. He has a deceptive laid back way of drilling you for the information he needs for your tax returns and is really rather good at getting all of your information together in a way that works for the IRD and for you.
On Friday, Ben came in and sat down with me for three hours. Despite my well known short attention span for anything related to my tax position, he managed to keep smiling – even throughout my numerous attempts to change the subject to anything I considered to be even slightly more fun. By the end of the three hours, he had what he needed and I felt (as I always do when he manages to nail me down and get what he needs) relieved and relaxed. It’s a very nice feeling. What’s more, he also managed to stealthily get me to sign bits of paper (by saying “I suggest you sign these” – crafty fellowJ) which now means that he just gets what he needs from everywhere that my money goes through and hopefully I won’t need to put him through another three hour marathon again in a couple of months.
What can I say? The man has the patience of a saint AND a phenomenal grasp of property, personal tax law and procedures. I consider him a good catch J
Later that night as I sat at home, I found myself smiling, because in a few days I will have a completed set of accounts for the last few months AND I will be able to understand them J Cheers Ben!
Shayne Thurston
Lambton Property Management
Professionals, Shayne's blog
