In 2018, we have all listened with great interest to people recounting their experiences with the banking industry.

Whilst many of the encounters have had a devastating effect on the people involved, few of their stories surprise the legal  profession - and no doubt many others.

At some future time, the Royal Commission will release a detailed report containing recommendations for a raft of changes.

When reading many of these harrowing stories, a consistent factor appeared to be that legal advice was either not obtained, or if obtained - was not acted upon. 

Today's brief article is intended to give you an idea why a lawyer should often be the first person to speak with when contemplating many finance transactions. 

This article is not about someone buying their first home, or someone upgrading their home.  The emphasis of this article is very much on those people who are borrowing money secured against real estate assets to buy investments - such as real estate, shares or businesses.

This week, property owners are receiving the Annual Land Valuation Notice from the State Valuation Service.

Many people won't pay much attention to the Notice as it's only a valuation of property you own. The Notice doesn't require you to pay any money.

The problem is that the valuations are used to calculate the Land Tax that you will pay in October. And if the valuations are unreasonably high, you have to take action now. Any objection has to be lodged by 8 May 2018.

It's worth taking this issue seriously. One government agency is determining the value of your property so that another government agency can send you a bill based solely on their own assessment.

Earlier this week, clients sent me a Land Tax Assessment Notice for $18,000. Their family trust owns an impressive house, which they rent out.

They intend to move into the house as the family home. Bearing in mind that land tax is an annual charge, which usually increases each year - they wanted to know whether the land tax could be avoided.

Today's article provides some good news, as it explains the circumstances where Land Tax won't be payable on a family home owned by your family trust. You can enjoy the asset protection benefits of a Family Trust without paying the ever-increasing burden of annual land tax payments.

Most people own their home in their personal names & enjoy these financial benefits: ◦lower (or no) Transfer Duty ◦no Land Tax ◦no Capital Gains Tax

However, asset protection is becoming more important to many people, and they avoid owning assets in their personal names. The problem with owning your home in your family trust is that you lose these 3 major financial benefits.

Defective Goods & Unfair Contracts

As we are approaching the peak season for consumer spending, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has recently been promoting awareness of your legal rights when dealing with retailers.

Today's article brings to your attention some of these public statements made by the ACCC which you need to keep in mind when making a purchase.

Moving Home: Same-day Settlements.

When you decide to move your home from your current address to a new premises, it's common to try and sell your existing home, and buy the new home at the same time - and to settle the 2 Contracts on the same day

You may have successfully bought and sold on the same day before - and if it all went smoothly, you'd think it's common-place and the normal thing to do.

We've been waiting for 25 years, but it appears that the Queensland government may finally be about to improve the embarrassingly poor quality of Contracts for the sale of real estate.

The Commercial and Property Law Research Centre at the Queensland University of Technology is a specialist network of researchers with a vision of reforming legal and regulatory frameworks in the commercial and property law sector. The public can make submissions regarding their report up to 10 November 2017.

The Current Situation

The current process requires a Buyer to sign a Contract without the Seller disclosing the most fundamental of information which would directly impact upon whether (i) the Buyer would want to buy the property, and, (ii) at what price the Buyer would be prepared to pay for the property.

Asset Protection: But Who From? One afternoon, Gary was driving home from work. As he approached his house, he noticed a pile of material on the footpath outside his property. The sort of scene you see after a flood, when all your water damaged furniture is dragged onto the footpath ready to be transported to the local tip!

Earlier this year, I mentioned that if a New Zealand citizen intended to buy a Queensland property, it would be a good idea to obtain legal advice (before signing any contract) regarding the amount of transfer duty that might be payable.

At the Property Law Conference held in Brisbane last week, the Office of State Revenue clarified their approach to the treatment of New Zealand citizens.