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TPC Gold | How to Maximise Your Tax Returns in 2025

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This snippet is from an Empower Wealth episode: How to Boost Your Tax Return in 2025: Ben & Julia’s Hot Tips. 

In this week’s bonus episode, Ben shares key highlights from his recent Talking Property Tax conversation with property tax expert Julia Hartman—covering what smart investors need to know before 30 June. 

From HECS/HELP debt changes to interest prepayments, land tax rules, and advance rental payments on commercial property, this episode is your end-of-financial-year tax health check. 

Here’s what you’ll learn in this short but sharp episode: 

💥 Why you should avoid paying off your HECS/HELP debt before 1 June 2025
🏡 How to decide if paying interest in advance is right for you
🧾 What deductions you can and can’t claim in advance for investment properties
⚠️ What to watch out for if your commercial tenant wants to prepay rent
📉 How to avoid getting locked into a deduction strategy that no longer suits you 

If you want to get ahead of tax season and potentially boost your return, this one’s a must-listen. 

Want to Maximise Your Return This Tax Time?

At our sister company Empower Wealth, the Tax & Property Accounting team specialises in helping property investors claim every dollar they’re legally entitled to—no guesswork, no gimmicks. 

We even back it up with our Maximum Refund Guarantee! 

If you want to get the maximum refunds you are entitled to, now is the time to get your tax strategy sorted. 

Book your free initial consultation today and chat with one of our experienced accountants via the link here: thepropertycouch.com.au/tax  

__________________

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Transcript

Ben Kingsley
G’day folks, Ben Kingsley here. Now last week I did an episode on Talking Property Tax with Julia Hartman. It was Episode Six of that series, and today we’re sharing a summary version of those conversations I had and it’s all to do with your tax planning in the lead up to the end of the financial year. So this is a summary version of the episode I did recently with Julia Hartman on Talking Property Tax.  

Today we’re going to be talking about some very interesting and timely topics. I’m going to cover off on HECS and HELP debt. So there’s some changes now that the Labor Party have got in. We’re also going to have a reminder around tax and property planning for those property investors, which is obviously our mainstay of audience. And then we’re going to go a little deeper in terms of some of the superannuation and planning around that, and also cover off on some of the fundamentals. So it’s going to be a great show. I’m looking forward to getting into it. So Julia, let’s get started. I want to talk about the HECS or HELP debt as it’s sometimes referred to, and what are some of the important things that we need to be aware of now that Labor has got back into power.  

Julia Hartman
Well, I suppose the most urgent and important thing is to warn you not to pay off your HECS debt between now and the 1st of June. So there’s not many people who are going to benefit from that. But whatever you owe at the 1st of June, the government’s going to give you a 20% discount on it. So you want to owe as much as possible at that point. But the uplift factor will kick into that amount too, but that should only be about 3%. So what your employer takes out of your pay packet is not going off your HECS debt until you do your tax return, so don’t worry about what’s coming out of your pay. It’s just those voluntary payments that you don’t want to do in the next three weeks.  

Ben Kingsley
So it’s a pretty straightforward piece of advice and that is because it’s a 20% value of your existing HECS debt. Well, don’t pay it before the 1st of June because that’s the calculation date. So if we leave it till after that, then you’ll basically get the higher deduction off your HECS debt. So great piece of advice there, Julia. And that one was an easy one. There wasn’t really much else in regard to general far reaching or macro changes that the Labor Party have made to the tax system this year, so what I wanted to do was focus in on tax planning for property investors, because this is the time of year.  

Now it is early May, and so we need a little bit of time to basically potentially do some of these things, and in terms of getting ourselves in order for the next tax round. So the first one, and one of the most common ones we get asked about, is obviously the ability to pay potentially 12 months’ expenses in advance. And that’s the rule. That’s all allowable when it comes to residential investment properties. And the biggest one, obviously one of the biggest costs for a lot of people is the interest cost. And so talk to us about the interest in advance, interest costs that might be claimable, and what are some of the pros and cons associated with that, Julia?  

Julia Hartman 
Right, well first of all when you enter into this arrangement it’s not just enough to work out what the interest is and pay it off the loan. You’ve got to make arrangement with your bank that they actually do charge you the interest and that’s what you pay to get interest in advance. And then you’ve got to think about: Is this the year to do it? And the tax brackets aren’t that different over the next few years so you can look at your income and also whether you might be taking time off work. So if you pay two years’ worth of interest in this year, then next year the only way you’re going to get any interest deduction is to pay a year in advance again. So you see you’ve lost that advantage; you’ve just got one years’ interest next year and you’re locked in to paying it in advance each time in order to get any deduction at all. So you want to save it for that big capital gain or something like that. Or on the other side of the coin, save it for a time when you might take a year off work – for family or whatever reasons. So you make the extra payment the year before you take the time off work, and then when you don’t need the deduction so much in the following year you can catch up, and then the year after that it’s all business as usual.  

Ben Kingsley
Yeah, so there’s a couple of really important points that you make there. In the event that if your income is going to be regular over a long period of time, once you’re sort of in this interest in advance, you then have to keep rolling it over and over. And so a lot of people think: Well, why am I doing this? I mean, there’s potentially a cost for your tax agent to do that. Also, if you’re working with a broker, this needs to be put in place with a lender. That’s why we’re talking about it in May, because it does take a bit of time and you ultimately need to pay that money into the bank so there’s a record and documentation which is what Julia was saying. So the best time when these things are advantageous is in the event that you have a high income year that you want to offset the tax. And then to Julia’s point, if you’re having maternity leave or paternity leave and your income is going to drop considerably in the next year or two, that’s the run-up and planning that we’re talking about. So may not be applicable for you this year. Or the other thing, if you’re maybe coming closer to retirement and the same principles apply in terms of if your income is going to drop substantially, then the interest in advance on lending is something to consider as part of your tax planning. The other ones which are probably a little bit less known for some people, Julie, is things like rates, insurances, body corporates. Do you see a lot of that throughout the BANTACS practices in terms of people trying to pay those in advance?  

Julia Hartman
No, not really. I’ve included this more as a warning to people that you can only pay 12 months in advance. So if your body corporate fees are already in advance, you can’t go and pay another 12 months’ worth and claim a deduction for it.   

Ben Kingsley
So a lot of people don’t realise that, but body corporate fees don’t run necessarily on a financial year. So the example there is if you’ve paid body corporate fees up until the 31st of December already in advance, then technically you’ve only got six months of additional fees in advance. And I think some of the other challenges there is again, you’ve got to actually pay it before 30 June, and you’ve got to have documented evidence of that. And I’m just trying to think, from a rates notice or from a council point of view…how would they account for that and what sort of record or information would they provide to you?  

Julia Hartman
Well, you can get a statement off most councils that should show the payment being made.  

Ben Kingsley
But it’s certainly not something that I hear often about because it’s not a huge amount of money, whereas the interest in advance on a loan potentially has some advantages associated with that. So that’s interesting.  

Julia Hartman
Yeah, it’s just a warning.  

Ben Kingsley
Okay. Let’s move down now to land tax. And obviously land tax is treated differently. So let’s talk to what are those differences, Julia?  

Julia Hartman
Well we’ve been talking about paying in advance and all those sorts of things to draw the claim forward. But the land tax is only deductible in the year it applies to, so paying it the following year doesn’t mean it goes in that year’s tax return… and certainly you can’t do any payments in advance. It’s: Right, you’ve been assessed for that year; that’s the year the tax return goes.  

Ben Kingsley
Yeah, so your accountant will do that calculation and make sure that they’re claiming the right portion in the right year as part of that story. So that’s an interesting one. The other one that’s interesting is in terms of interest in advance, and we’re going a little bit into commercial tenancies here. There might be a few people who have some commercial tenancies. There’s, you know, in terms of the discussions and reading the blogs that you put together, in some instances the tenants potentially might want to pay in advance, but that has unintended consequences for the actual owner of the property, doesn’t it?  

Julia Hartman
Yes, well it’s generally people that can get a tax deduction for their rents, so commercial properties is a rule of thumb. If they pay you that money 12 months before the 30th of June, you’re going to have to declare it unless you can argue somehow you might have to pay it back. It’s the Arthur Murray principal… where it’s dance school and they said oh yeah, but if they don’t take all the classes, we’d have to pay it back. So then they didn’t have to declare it, but I think that would be pretty hard when you’ve got a lease in place to stay. So yeah, you’re stuck with 12 months’ extra rent in your tax return if they pay it. Run.  

Ben Kingsley
And can you, you know, I suppose in your commercial contract you might have a clause in there that says no rent is payable in advance because you don’t potentially want that surprise. Is that sort of something you’ve seen in the past? 

Julia Hartman
Yeah, it would be not surprising for a tenant to want to pay rent in advance in a good year. So it’s just something to watch out for.  

Ben Kingsley
But it potentially has to be agreeable by the landlord as part of those deals or no if it’s received in the bank account. Surprise surprise, you’ve got a little bit of extra tax to pay in that year. You’ve got a little bit of surplus cash that you didn’t expect coming.  

Julia Hartman
Yeah, it’s not all the windfall it’s made out to be.  

Ben Kingsley
Nah, true, true.  

Well there you have it folks, that’s obviously just a snippet… the highlights of some of that episode. If you want to listen to the full version of the episode, just go to the summary notes or the notes inside this episode, click on that link and you’ll get full access to the whole episode where we go a little bit deeper on the topics.  

Also before you go, if you don’t have a property specialist tax accountant and you are looking for one, of course this is where I say you may want to consider Empower Wealth. We obviously have a guarantee and that guarantee is the Maximum Refund Guarantee. So we’ll ensure you get the maximum refund possible for all of your investment property tax returns, and also your personal tax returns as well. So you can check that out by going to www.thepropertycouch.com.au/tax. Thanks for that and always remember, knowledge is empowering but only if you act on it. 

 

TPC Gold | How Property Spruikers Pressure You into Buying

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This snippet is from one of our previous episodes: WARNING: The Unconscious Mental Triggers Property Spruikers Use To Trick You. 

Today we dive into a topic many Aussies don’t realise they’re being exposed to until it’s too late: the tactics used by property spruikers to pressure you into making a decision. 

Bryce and Ben break down the psychology behind these marketing strategies and explain how you can spot the signs before getting caught in the hype.  

From red sticker sold signs in display booths to “limited time only” offers and infomercial-style urgency, property spruikers know exactly how to create a sense of scarcity and FOMO. 

In this short and sharp bonus snippet, you’ll learn:
✨ The classic sales tactics property spruikers use to create urgency 
⚠️ Why the scarcity pitch is often manufactured—not real 
📊 How established properties differ from off-the-plan in terms of genuine scarcity 
🔍 What to ask before you sign anything 
📄 Why doing your own due diligence is your strongest defence 

Cut through the noise and start making confident, informed decisions when it comes to property investing! 

Want Personalised Property Advice Without the Hype?

The team at our sister company, Empower Wealth aim to help you make better property decisions—with no pressure, no flashy promises, and no “limited time only” gimmicks.  

👉 Build Your Own Property Portfolio Plan  

No two people or plan are the same! When you engage one of our qualified property investment advisors, we’ll sit down together to design a plan that fits your very own personal lifestyle and retirement goals. 

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Transcript

Ben Kingsley
Scarcity is a big seller.  

Bryce Holdaway
When there is less of something people will inherently want it more.  

Ben Kingsley
Correct.  

Bryce Holdaway
Well the thing is, knowledge is empowering but only if you act on it Ben, isn’t it? So some of these things are, but for us it’s you know a free book or whatever we’re trying to use scarcity. We’ve got a webinar – to attend those webinars they’re free right. 

Ben Kingsley
Infomercials: the first 50 only get this offer with the bonus. All of those things are all part of trying to enact you to take action right now.  

Bryce Holdaway
So how does that work in property, folks? Well, you’ve all walked into a display booth and you’ve seen all the red stickers on the ones that are “gone”, Ben.  

Ben Kingsley
Sold. 

Bryce Holdaway
Sold, therefore there’s only a few left and then they released new stages of land and all those sorts of things. So it well and truly happens. But so if we circle back to my experience with timeshare, I was told that. Because the offer that was provided was compelling and I was impressed.  

Ben Kingsley
Yeah, they are amazing those programs. 

Bryce Holdaway
And they said: If you don’t sign up today, you can never be exposed to this offer ever again. And I played a little bit, and I went, so does that mean if I talk to another person, like in two months’ time or two years’ time. He goes: No, your name will be in the system. You won’t be able to get this offer again. So that was actually pretty good scarcity. And I could see how that would get someone in.  

Ben Kingsley
Yeah, well, and yet we know that two months later, two years later… trust me, if you’re putting money on the table, they will take your money. There is no doubt about it that it won’t be a limited time offer. It never is. And they stack the value as part of that story as well. So they normally put high values on certain things and say, if you sign up today, you’re getting $19,000 worth of value for only $2,997 or whatever that looks like. So when you’re seeing those types of stack-the-value opportunities, you’ve also just got to say to yourself: but the thing that I’m buying, the thing that I absolutely want today and what I want to get from this and what I learn from it is that, does that represent value for me? Because if that represents value for you and you’ve checked and done all your research, then that should still be something you would consider. Because if you don’t, they were just ancillary. If the product stacks up on its own, then that’s something I would go after. So I’d be very, very mindful of the way in which scarcity is always used and just be mindful, okay, they’re gonna use it on me. So again, if I still feel like there’s a good opportunity here, I’ll explore it more, but I’m not gonna sign anything on the day. I’m gonna digest it and basically look at it. 

Bryce Holdaway
In established property there is a bit of scarcity that you do need to pay attention to like once the auction hammer goes down, make sure that you’re on the right side of that. If you’re buying established properties, they’re usually not homogeneous. There’s not sort of Apartment 9 or Apartment 22. There is legitimate scarcity that comes from having to act and move quickly. 

Ben Kingsley
And that’s why it’s such a good performing asset price because it’s unique, it’s one of them. There’s not 20 or 30 of them being built. That’s the property in that street, in that location, at that price point. And you’ve to go after it. 

Bryce Holdaway
Which is the asset, but I was even talking just a little bit about action you know, sometimes if you’ve identified an asset, you do need to move quickly. And you do need to jump. Sometimes we find anecdotally with clients, they are a little bit… what’s the right word here?  

Ben Kingsley
They’ve got to lose something before they gain something sometimes, and we’re saying please don’t be that type of person. If the expert’s telling you that this is good and all that, you don’t want to lose the good one. Because sometimes a good one can just turn up 48 hours after you’ve decided that this is what you want to do. Sometimes it can turn up four weeks later. So that’s the challenge.  

Bryce Holdaway
And the thing is these mental triggers are most powerful when they’re in clusters. So if scarcity on its own has none of the other triggers, like that before the auction goes down or you’ve got to move quickly because it’s an established property and it’s going to go… In the absence of the other ones, well then there’s not necessarily a bigger game being played other than to try and serve you. So folks, the mental triggers when it comes to marketing. Number one, reciprocity. Two, have an event paced. Number three, include anticipation. Number four, have social proof. Number five, have actual proof. Number six, community. Number seven, have some form of interaction conversation as Ben said, storytelling. And number eight as Ben double checks my counting is scarcity. Now why did we go through that, folks? Because Athena and Jason wrote in to say they went through this process. Alex wrote in to you Ben; we get scores and scores of people so we are trying to defend and advocate for folks to make sure that you don’t go to a slippery spot and slip.  

Ben Kingsley
So can I just give some tips? Ask questions. Ask lots of questions. Keep asking more questions. Ask how you’re getting paid. Talk about your qualifications. Talk about the business success. You know, of the overall performances of everything that they’ve done and what they’ve done and how humble are they in giving that announcement because same with us in our business, we’re not perfect. You know, there’s properties that we would say second time over, over the thousand properties we’ve bought. Maybe, maybe not. It’s a line ball decision. So that’s the truth right, in terms of so are they telling you the truth? If they’re offering things like satisfaction guarantees, full refunds… 

Bryce Holdaway
Mazda 2s… 

Ben Kingsley
Don’t sign anything on the day that they’re doing the pitch to you. Digest it, get some information behind it, go and do some of your own independent investigations. Certainly for house and land packages that’s a classic one, where if you actually do a bit of research on those new estates you could probably find other opportunities to buy the same property in that area for about $25,000 or $30,000 less than what’s being offered. So you’ll find that, and we’ve had plenty of feedback from our listeners over time saying exactly that. This person was selling me product off-the-plan. I did some of my own investigations. I rang around, and within two days, I got an offer on the table that was less than the fee that they were gonna charge me. So it’s little things like that that you can then sort of make sure you understand. So just some little tips and takeaways as we close it out.  

Bryce Holdaway
Very good Ben. So there you go folks, we want to make sure that you make better decisions. So make sure you are aware of those things. 

 

TPC Gold | Have I Left It Too Late to Buy Property?

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This snippet is from one of our previous episodes: When Is It Too Late To Get Into Property? 

It’s a question many Australians are quietly asking themselves: “Is it too late for me to buy property?” 

In this TPC Gold snippet, Ben and Bryce respond to a heartfelt listener question from Luke—who, at 46, is still renting with his wife and two teenage kids.  

With $80K in savings and a growing concern about renting into retirement, Luke wants to know:
👉 Is it worth taking on a $700K mortgage at this stage of life?
👉 Or is it simply too late to start the property journey? 

In this honest and practical discussion, Ben and Bryce break down: 

  • The mindset shift needed when starting later in life 
  • The real numbers behind a $700K home loan at 46 
  • Alternatives like downsizing, rentvesting, and seeking support from family 
  • Why “lifestyle by design” should always be your north star 

It’s not about comparing yourself to others—it’s about what’s still possible with a clear plan. 

Not Sure What the Right Move Is?

Book a free initial appointment with our Property Wealth Planning team. We’ll help you get clarity on your financial goals, borrowing power, and next best steps. 

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Transcript

Bryce Holdaway
“Is it worth having a $700k mortgage at our age?” is the title for this. Here it goes: My wife and I are at a crossroads. We never thought owning a home was worth it until now. And I reckon we’ve missed the boat. For years, my wife and I deliberated over buying a home. We travelled for work in our twenties, so renting was easier while we were on the go. By the time we settled down to have kids, one income made it almost impossible to save for a deposit. Fast forward 15 years and we’re 46 with two teenage kids and still renting. We have around $260,000 in super between us, plus $80,000 in savings. We’re sick of seeing that $3k rent disappear from our banks each month and we’re scared of renting as we age further. So, is it worth having a $700,000 mortgage at our age? And if not, what’s the best way for us to secure our future? That’s from Luke. Good question there, Ben and probably there’d be a bunch of our community who could relate to that.  

Ben Kingsley
Yeah, look, it’s a really challenging question, right? Because what’s going on in Luke’s mind is that he’s seeing the stories of the day showing property prices booming and a whole consideration for what his life looks like. So I’m gonna start with a sort of broad concept here and then hopefully we can get down to some number crunching as well, just to give some dialogue around that. My first point here is, don’t worry about what the Joneses are doing because what you and your family need to work out Luke, is what floats your boat? What’s the lifestyle by design that you want to create?  

Now, if traveling is a big part of that and not having all of the bells and whistles and all of this, you know, the sort of the spoils of high-end things, don’t worry about that. What I am saying to you, if that is important to you and having a nest egg and a financial future for life, we do need to do something now, right? We do need to basically look at your situation. So how we would go about that is spend a bit of time in terms of writing down your core values. What are the things that are important to you that give you great worth? Not as in material value, but in great worth in terms of make you enjoy life and have happiness around that life. And then start to work from that position in terms of what money do we need to be able to enjoy that?  

Because you will come to a potential conclusion that you are right, that rental that you’re paying, that $3,000 if you could substitute that for a mortgage, whereby that’s then going into a longer asset and the reality for you at 46 is you don’t have a 55-year, 60-year retirement target. The funds that you’ve saved up unfortunately won’t carry you through for 30 or 40 years. So you’ve got to make that decision around what that looks like for you. And as a family, what you’re going to do as a family unit to get that. Because what we haven’t learned from you, Luke, is all of those experiences, that amazing travel journey and all the things that you’ve done, which has made your life a rich life in terms of that. Well, now we’re starting to think about the future. So if you can understand those concepts, you can now start to get yourself into a stage where you can start doing some number crunching around what’s possible. 

Bryce Holdaway
Yeah, because it’s true that time is the secret sauce. So the longer the better, but 46 is certainly not over the hill. And as you said, if the time horizon for retirement age is like, it’s not 55 or 60. It’s more extended than that. Let’s call it 65. That’s at least 20 years that you have in a cycle going forward. And if it’s at another 10 years, it’s 30 years; that’s still a long time. So the question of “Is it worth having a 700K mortgage at our age?”  

As Ben said, it’s not easy to say because we don’t know what your income is. But it’s probably worth thinking that if you’re just having cash in the bank, you’re probably losing money each and every year because of inflation, right? Cash is not returning much, whereas at least if you have a property, it’s giving you a hedge against that inflation. And ultimately, the goal here is to not, it’s not to retire on $2,000 a week, which our book is. The goal is to actually find out the number that you need to actually get what Ben said, the lifestyle by design that you’re chasing. So a couple of things to think about.  

It’s not too late at 46 if it’s still your goal to get into the property market. But one of the interesting things that you’ve got here is $80,000 in savings. That is a phenomenal amount of cash to save. Like ask anyone who’s tried to save $20,000. It’s difficult and it requires sacrifice. So you’ve done four times that, which is $80,000. So $80,000 is a lot of money to save, but then when you put it in context with purchasing property, it’s not a lot of money because there’s a fair bit that you need to buy. So what I would suggest is needing to be really realistic about where you can buy, because if you’re renting, chances are you’re probably able to rent in a location that allows you to match your lifestyle. But the big question is, can you actually still buy in the same area for as Ben said, like for like. The amount of rent that you’re paying equals the amount of the mortgage that you’d be paying. So I thought a quick run through of the basics might be helpful here. So if you have, let’s go back to the question, $700,000 that you wanna (use to) buy property.  

Just so you have an idea in your mind in this situation how much you need. If we just do a basic 20% deposit, so the bank will lend you 80%. $700,000, 20% (of that) is $140,000. So first of all, you’ll need to kick in $140k, but it doesn’t stop there because you’re also going to have to get the entry cost for property, which is stamp duty and costs. So let’s just do that at 5%, sometimes a little bit more, but 5% because I don’t do quick maths in my head. So $700k, 5% (of that) is $35,000. So if at a 5% deposit, that’s another $35k. So add those two together, the $140k plus the $35k means $175,000. So you need $175,000 to buy the property. But then if you’ve spent all your money to get the property, that’s a dangerous position to be in, so you need a buffer. So if you’re 46 with teenage kids, let’s just say you need a $20,000 buffer. So add all that together, the $175k plus the $20,000 buffer means you need $195,000 to buy a $700,000 property, which clearly is a bit a way from the $80,000. So it’s hard often to reconcile that… that I’ve saved all this money, Ben, but then when you put it into what does it take to buy some real estate, it’s still not enough.  

Ben Kingsley
No, it’s not. I think that the challenge that Luke has got is gotta be around what you’ve got to do. It’s absolutely, it’s non-negotiable, right? You’re gonna have to start putting some money away for something. So whether you choose to put that into super or whether you choose to put that into property, it’s really clear that the run rate that you’re on right now is not necessarily gonna build out that nest egg for a comfortable retirement.  

So if you looked at your opportunity, you’ve got effectively judgment calls and trade-offs to make here. The trade-off could be that you move to a cheaper location and you effectively then try and buy in that cheaper location. So Bryce has used the classic 20% example. If we do say a $500,000 purchase, 5% cost is $25,000. You put a 10% deposit down, that’s 50 grand. That’s a total of $75,000; you capitalise the interest on lenders mortgage insurance because you’re above the 80% and you’re pretty close. And then you’re in the game. And then all of a sudden your $3,000 is going off to paying off a debt over a 20-to-30-year period. And you’d be pretty comfortable in the view that property prices will increase to a point where you build up a nest egg. Now it may not be your dream home; it may be a property that you buy that you add value to over time.  

And you may choose to sell that one to downsize or retire to a regional town or whatever to live out a quieter life. And then put the proceeds into investments and live off that passive income or into super. But the bottom line here is you need to start doing something. The clock is ticking on your retirement target. And the longer you leave it, the more a situation where you see you could be working into your late 60s or early 70s. So we do want you to do something.  

You can go and seek advice to get a look at those numbers and those cash flows. Once you do the work on what’s important to you and your wife and the kids. The alternative option, which we haven’t addressed and probably our community saying, how come you haven’t mentioned rentvesting yet? Rentvesting is a model where you live where you wanna live, but ultimately you trap the difference between a very high mortgage and what you’re paying as rent and you turn that into some form of investment in acquiring, say borderless assets and low entry level properties that you can build out cashflow on and build out that wealth over time as well. So you then try and get the best of both worlds. There is an increased risk element to that for some people. But again, the bottom line for me here is you need to get some advice around your situation.  

And that needs to be firstly around goals, secondly around cashflow. And that will start to tell you the story in terms of what you’re prepared to trade off, what you’re prepared to give up and sacrifice for the long-term benefit of you and your wife in retirement.  

Bryce Holdaway
And look, the last thing I’ll add to that is if you are in a fortunate position where the ‘bank of mum and dad’ is an option for you, well, then that clearly could be another place where you could use that security to buy the $700,000 property, which means that you can keep your cash still available because you’re still servicing the whole debt. And then you can demonstrate that you have some liquidity there. You have a buffer, and you can get on with life and make sure that the family member is comfortable that you can service your debts.  

Ben Kingsley
They’re older, aren’t they, Bryce? So that’s the thing. You’ve got to make sure that the bank has an appetite for those people who might be semi-retired to be able to use that equity. But they’re around. So that’s where again, an investment-savvy mortgage broker could do that option shopping for you in terms of choices. And that’s another example of where you can potentially borrow more but have some security of your parents behind that as well. So, a good piece of advice. 

 

TPC Gold | Property Due Diligence: What to Know Before Buying an Existing Unit

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This snippet is from one of our previous episodes: Is Now The Right Time to Buy a High Rise Apartment? 

When it comes to buying an existing apartment or unit, doing the right due diligence can save you from years of costly surprises. 

In this TPC Gold snippet, Bryce and Ben break down the must-do checks every buyer should know before purchasing a strata or medium-density property.  

From digging into the body corporate minutes to having quiet chats with the neighbours, they share the practical (and often overlooked) steps that separate a smart buyer from a regretful one. 

“If you’re buying into a building, you’re buying into a community—and sometimes that community has stories you won’t find in the contract. – Bryce” 

Whether you’re a first-home buyer, upgrading, or planning your forever home, this is a must-listen if you’re considering purchasing an existing property. 

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Where our existing Buyers Agents have helped thousands of investors find the right property to build wealth, this new division is specifically designed for everyday Australians looking to find their dream home. 

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✅ Clarity and confidence: Cut through the overwhelm with guidance tailored to your exact needs and lifestyle.
✅ Save time and stress: Let a seasoned professional handle the search, shortlist, inspections, and negotiations.
✅ Avoid costly mistakes: With experience across different property types, our agents know what to look for—and what to avoid.
✅ Access off-market opportunities: Get access to homes that never even hit the open market.
✅ Emotional balance: Stay objective in one of life’s biggest decisions with a calm, strategic expert by your side. 

Book a free consultation with one of our Buyers Agents today and take the stress out of your next home purchase! 

__________________

If You Enjoyed TPC Gold | Property Due Diligence: What to Know Before Buying an Existing Unit, You Might Also Like:

Transcript

Ben Kingsley
So what’s the DD, what’s the due diligence we need to do, Bryce? What’s the number one thing?  

Bryce Holdaway
Number one due diligence is you go and have a look at the past track record of body corporate minutes, because what does that tell you? You’ve got a community of people coming together saying the body corporate’s got a responsibility for X, Y and Z and if there’s something wrong with the building they’re going to let you know, or if there’s something wrong with a defect or a person who’s living there or something that is affecting the peaceful enjoyment of that community, it is usually going to be in those minutes. And I would go back as many as you can possibly get your hands on, minimum two, but it’d be nice to see three, so you can see if there’s anything back in the past where there might have been an issue. Now I’ve got a beware on that Ben, because based on what we’ve been talking about today, would there be an incentive Ben for… 

Ben Kingsley
…the body corporate not to disclose, Bryce? 

Bryce Holdaway
Correct.  

Ben Kingsley
Yes. 

Bryce Holdaway
Because what’s one of the biggest challenges that you’re going to have with the current issue around the crisis is people protecting the value of their asset. And how do they protect the value of their asset? They have an off-record chat, Ben, about some issues that they do not put on the minutes because they know this is what the diligent people will do. But first of all, that’s what I would do, Ben. Notwithstanding there’s an issue.  

And secondly, I talked about it before, but do you have a body corporate that is proactive about realising that a building will need some maintenance done? And are they going to be reactive or proactive? And reactive means that they will just deal with stuff as it happens versus people who go: Hey here’s our 10-year maintenance plan. Here’s that divided by 10; here’s that divided by the 18, the 16, the 12, the 8 owners. Here’s your contribution each year, so that you make that. Have they got a sinking fund balance for a rainy day? 

Ben Kingsley
A healthy sinking fund balance is a good sign of a couple of things, Bryce; a well-built building as well. Because if they haven’t had to do anything with it, and I’ll give you a good example. Where was I? I was in Brisbane, and I was looking for an apartment for a client of ours and I came across this one in about six kilometres out of Brisbane and I went and had a look at it and I thought, okay, it’s really well-priced, good floor plan. I did notice a couple of cracks, so I’m like, okay. So everyone goes, well, can you still get a building and pest inspection on the building? I go, yes, you can. And you can even get them on high rises.  

Now, some building and pest inspectors will say there’s a limited scope in terms of the external work they do, especially if it’s 20 or 30 stories, they’re not gonna be able to get up on a scaffold and go and have a look at it. But they can still do the underground car parks, they can still do that, because most stuff comes from the foundation and works up. So in this particular case, I got a building and pest inspection done and I was like, oh, a couple of cracks there I’d like an engineer to have a look at. As soon as he said that, I said, no, no, don’t even worry about it. As soon as you say that I’m out. That’s it, I’m moving on to the next block because you can pay $400, $500, $600 and you get that and all of sudden it’s like, okay, if that’s worse than I thought it was because it’s structural in an area… I don’t even need to engage in an engineer; I’m not gonna buy that for my client. It’s like, next property please. Even though I thought it was a good buy, I’m moving on.  

Bryce Holdaway
That’s what we call self-selection, Ben.  

Ben Kingsley
I don’t need to spend a few grand to have the engineer tell me what’s wrong with it.  

Bryce Holdaway
Yeah, so there you go folks. And the last one is, I apply this particular one, Ben, even if it’s a house, if it’s a townhouse… I go and talk to the neighbours.  

Ben Kingsley
Yeah.  

Bryce Holdaway
Because they are only too willing to tell you.  

Ben Kingsley
Well, it comes back to that story about whether the body corporate is fully disclosing right? So if you are buying into a medium density; again, owner occupiers could be listening to this saying: I do want to live here and that is the price point to get me into that suburb and there are lots of apartments with 30 or 40 apartments in them now, so go and door knock. You know how they’ve still got the security that you can’t get through the front door? Just door stop them. I’ve done it before, my door stop is: Oh excuse me do you live here? 

Bryce Holdaway
But what happens if you’re not a Collingwood supporter…?  

Ben Kingsley
There’s a nice way of doing it, and here’s the approach. It is as simple as: Oh hi. Because what they do is: Oh do you need to get in? And it’s like: No actually, I’m interested in apartment number 31. But I would love to have a chat with you. Do you own or rent here?  

Bryce Holdaway
“Ohhh, you’re buying the one that Jessie’s divorcing in, eh?” 

Ben Kingsley
Thank you, tick; nice bit of information. “Oh lovely couple, didn’t know what happened there.” Especially the old folk who have been in the building forever. Some of them ask you up for a cup of tea. “Would you like to come up and have a look at my place as well? Are you a buyers agent? Oh you can probably value it, what is my property worth?” You get the whole thing right. And “are you on the body corp? Oh you’re on the body corp? What’s happening?” Oh it’s just unbelievable. I would stop three or four people to get the information that I need to get to. 

Bryce Holdaway
That could cause a crisis Ben because people are wondering if they’re gonna buy this they might get stopped by you for a little chat and they might not buy anymore, so yeah. 

 

TPC Gold | Why We Swear by the Seven-Day Float

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This snippet is from one of our previous episodes: Seven Tips to Trap Your Surplus Cash. 

In today’s TPC Gold soundbite, Bryce and Ben unpack one of the most powerful—and underrated—tools in the MoneySMARTS money management system: the seven-day float. 

Forget spreadsheets, complex budgeting, or tracking every dollar you spend.  

The seven-day float is all about simplicity and control. It’s a weekly spending system that helps you stay on top of your cash, ditch the guilt, and spend with purpose. 

As Bryce puts it:
“It’s a game changer. It might feel hard for the first couple of weeks, but once you find your rhythm, it can completely change your money habits.” 

What is the Seven-Day Float? 

It’s your weekly spending allowance—the money you’ve already set aside (based on your plan) to spend on things like food, petrol, and everyday expenses. You’re not budgeting in the traditional sense—you’re following a clear, rules-based system that helps you avoid tapping into savings or overspending. 

And the best part? It works whether you’re a uni student, a parent managing a household, or the CEO of a big company. 

Why It Works 

✔️ It replaces guesswork with clarity
✔️ It breaks the “tap-and-go” overspending habit
✔️ It gives every dollar a job
✔️ It builds financial confidence and discipline 

“The seven-day float makes you pause. It helps you ask: Do I really need this right now? Can it wait till next week? That’s the magic.” – Ben 

The banks don’t love this approach… because it’s not built to get you to spend more. It’s built to help you trap surplus, build wealth, and live with less stress. 

Want to Know How to Start with the Seven-Day Float?

Learn all about MoneySMARTS—including how the seven-day float fits into the broader plan—in our book, Make Money Simple Again.  

It’s helped thousands of Australians take control of their money without giving up the things they love. 

__________________

If You Enjoyed TPC Gold | Why We Swear by the Seven-Day Float, You Might Also Like:

Transcript

Bryce Holdaway
So number three is get money smart. That’s a surprise from us.  

Ben Kingsley
Yeah, well we’ve got to weave it in, don’t we? But the point here is…  

Bryce Holdaway
…we believe in it. 

Ben Kingsley
It’s a proven system, Bryce. So the reason why we believe in it is because a lot of people don’t like to have complex ways in which they’ve got to document every dollar they spend. So our top-down approach in terms of how we make money management easier is what it’s all about. And in terms of these top seven tips, the one we want to highlight the most is the seven-day float right, so the weekly allowance.  

Bryce Holdaway
It’s a game changer. 

Ben Kingsley
It’s a game changer because you take that mindset that we were talking about before about how much money have I got, so irrespective of whether it’s a cashless economy or you don’t care that it’s a tap and go then, because you will absolutely know that I have got $50 left so this is a decent purchasing decision. Whereas if you know that there’s $60,000 in your offset account…  

Bryce Holdaway
Absolutely. 

Ben Kingsley
So boom, boom, you’ll just keep doing it, right? So we’ve gotta change that habit. It’s like, no, no, I’ve gotta get to my next seven-day allowance, you know, that weekly flow.  

Bryce Holdaway
So I’ve been doing the seven-day float for years now. Thanks to you and Popey introducing that. I can say to the people, and I don’t know if you can remember far back when you started it, I say to the people, when you implement it, you will probably stumble. Keep going. Because it’s usually week two, you’ve made less, week three, maybe even week four, Ben, but you’ll eventually get into the cadence, you’ll eventually get into that rhythm, and it’s really, really important. Because if you’re trying to undo a lot of habits of keeping up with the Joneses, tapping and going, not being accountable with your money, keep going back to the well. It’s actually a huge shift for you to go: Ooh, what do you mean I’ve got to reign in my spending? What do you mean I’ve got to actually identify how much is in my seven-day flow? What do you mean I’ve got to actually use Grade Five Maths just to keep up to date on how much money I’ve got left? It is an adjustment, it is a shift, but it’s one of those things if we go back (to) if you do what’s easy, your life will be hard. It’s actually gonna be hard in the very first couple of weeks as you’re trying to get two people on the same page if you’re sharing agenda with someone else, but once you’ve done it, it makes an enormous difference.  

Ben Kingsley
It does. I mean we’re seeing some of these money apps from the banks and so forth. I mean they want you turning money over, right? It’s in their best interest, commerce, the whole thing works for them, right? So if their app tells you, I can’t go and buy a dress now because it’s not payday, but if you’ve just been paid, you can go out and buy a dress or you can go out and buy something material, that’s probably not still the best money management system. What you should have is a classification for clothing and footwear, and you should provision for that, and you should know basically how much you’re going to spend on that over the year. Whether you go and buy that dress tomorrow, that’s fine. Just don’t go and buy three or four more dresses or five pair of shoes or in the guy’s case, don’t go and overspend on business shirts or whatever it is you’re going to spend on. That’s the point in terms of once you’ve provisioned for it, you’re able to spend it, but just don’t spend any more than that. So there’s a combination of ideas that meshes together to build the money management system in terms of MoneySMARTS. That’s the way in which to use that.  

Bryce Holdaway
So couple of things for MoneySMARTS… It’s not a budget; it’s a money management system.  

Ben Kingsley
Correct. 

Bryce Holdaway
It’s the money that you said you’d spend each week; we call it the seven-day float, and it just means that you don’t unconsciously overspend again, Ben. And the rest is just a simple rules-based system thereafter. So the fundamental principle behind it is that every dollar has a job to do, every dollar is allocated somewhere, and it’s just based on how our grandparents used to use money BC (before credit cards), and it’s evergreen, Ben. It works at every stage of your life.  

Ben Kingsley
Every stage.  

Bryce Holdaway
If you’re a university student on casual income, no problem. If you are CEO of a Fortune 500 company, it works. It doesn’t discriminate; works for everyone. So if you wanna check that out, clearly we’ve written a book on it, but it’s something that we think is imperative to trapping surplus cash. 

 

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