It's been one hundred years since the landing at Gallipoli, I thought that I'd pay tribute to those who I knew or know that are serving their countries or had to live through wartime.  

Reflecting on these stories reminds me of how lucky we are to be living in such a peaceful and free country. It gives me inspiration to keep working hard to achieve my goals and dreams. 

One of the most common questions I am asked these days comes from investors looking to use their Self Managed Super Funds (SMSF) to invest and develop property.

It's no surprise that people who've had good experience with property investing want to apply the same strategy and take control of their superannuation investments.  But it's not as easy as it seems and you need to be clear on what tactics are permissible when investing money from your SMSF. You also need good, qualified advice. 

Generally, in a builder's tender/quote, you will see some items marked as Provisional. This means an estimate has been calculated and included. This sum is an allowance for an element of work that cannot yet be calculated accurately or fixed in price.

On a provisional item, you will pay the actual cost, whether it be more or less than the amount allowed for.

A good example is the sub concrete slab piering.  A slab needs to be supported by piers below the ground to prevent movement and increase its strength.

My last Saturday was spent by securing development sites in a new land release, then meeting with a potential new client, followed by working on the lolly stall at my son's school fete and then finally casting my vote.  In New South Wales, we had a state election and the Liberals won.

I was happy with this result. Now they say never to discuss politics or religion at a party, but there's no mention of what to include in a blog.  Look, I'm not very politically minded and I know there are great things that other parties stand for. I was interested to see a party by the name of No Land Tax, that tickled my fancy and I believe they got a fair whack of votes. But I have to say, the when the Libs are in it usually means that some big infrastructure funding will take place.