UnitCare 1

Published by UnitCare Services. P.O. Box 4040, Norwood South 5067 52 Fullarton Road, Norwood.

t (08) 8333 5200 f (08) 8333 5210 w www.unitcare.com.au e mail@unitcare.com.au

abn 193 4872 3265 This is a publication of UnitCare Services and is offered as information only and is not intended as a substitute for professional advice.

UnitCare 4 after hours emergencies - phone 8333 5200 for up to date information.

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www.unitcare.com.au

Gordon RussellManaging DirectorUnitCare Services

mail@unitcare.com.au

Autumn 2019

Cheers

Gordon Russell ps: Do you have any friends who need to read our newsletter? Ring and we will post one out or they can download it from our website o

Plumbing , Gas, Roof Leaks 1300 700 200

Electrical 1300 130 229

Building repairs 0412 034 173

Police to attend - noise/robbery etc 131 444

State Emergency Service storm/flood 132 500

emergency numbers

THE BEST A MAN CAN GET

LATEST FACT SHEETS & PODCASTS

With the assistance of Paul Willis of Media Engagement Services we are regularly producing podcasts and associated Fact Sheets on the many issues facing SA's unit owners.

The latest at the time of going to press Include ...

Buying a Unit: In this podcast we look at the challenges and precautions around purchasing a unit or lot. We have included a checklist and some useful website links..

Insurance: In this podcast we look at body corporate insurances..

Disputes: In this podcast we look at dispute resolution in strata and community titled groups.

Go to www.unitcare.com.au and click on the Fact Sheet icon to view all.

Paul Willis of Media Engagement Services can be contacted through www.mediaengagementservices.com.au

Our collegues at www.lookupstrata.com.au have sent us some useful links.

The following are from some of their most viewed pages...

www.lookupstrata.com.au/sa-neighbour-smoking-on-balcony/

www.lookupstrata.com.au/category/parking/parkingsafaq/

www.lookupstrata.com.au/factsheet-maintenance-common-property/

https://www.lookupstrata.com.au/category/noise/noisesafaq/

USEFUL LINKS

I have been in Mens Groups since the late 1970s. They are a wonderful opportunity to share and confront the challenges we men face every day. I have found it both good for my mental health and for my relationships with men and women. I implore all men to confront the men in their lives when they witness to disrespect towards women. I was pleased to see Gillette show some courage and marketing nouse when it released its latest ad titled We Believe. 'There will be no going back'

On January 13, Gillette released a new ad that takes the company’s 30-year-old slogan, “The Best a Man Can Get,” and turns it into an introspective reflection on toxic masculinity very much of this cultural moment. Titled “We Believe,” the nearly two-minute video features a diverse cast of boys getting bullied, of teens watching media representatives of macho

guys objectifying women, and of men looking into the mirror while news reports of #MeToo and toxic masculinity play in the background. A voiceover asks “Is this the best a man can get?” The answer is no, and the film shows how men can do better by actively pointing out toxic behavior, intervening when other men catcall or sexually harass, and helping protect their children from bullies. The ad blew up; as of Wednesday afternoon it has more than 12 million views on YouTube, and #GilletteAd has trended on Twitter nationwide. Parents across Facebook shared the YouTube link in droves, many mentioning how the ad brought them to tears. www.wired.com 16/1/2019. View the ad at https://youtu.be/koPmuEyP3a0

UnitCare 2 UnitCare 3

unit/update Autumn 2019www.unitcare.com.au

unit/update Autumn 2019www.unitcare.com.au

I met James at an Adelaide Fringe event in March 2019. (pix below) I am most impressed with his lifetime committment to saving our precious forests. Please read and consider a donation.

Halfcut is a fundraising movement we started with the sole purpose of buying up and protecting endangered rainforest globally

We’re taking the plunge and going #halfcut for an entire year to raise money and highlight the fact that half the world’s rainforests have been destroyed

100% of the money raised goes towards buying actual land through a special partnership we formed with The Rainforest Trust

I’m proudly wearing half a beard #HalfCut for 365 days. From the 31st August 2018 to the 31st of August 2019 I will be clear-felling each day one side of my face and allowing the other side to continue to grow, like an undisturbed forest.

“I know it looks ridiculous , but it’s ridiculous times. In the 21st century we are far from living on safe and healthy planet. This HalfCut Challenge allows me to start conversations about conservation, the climate crisis and the issues around animal agriculture. It also empowers others to start their own rainforest protection campaign, as well as options to go vegan for the benefit of their own health and the planets. I wish to protect 365,000 acres of rainforests worldwide from this year challenge”. Halfcut contributes to the Rainforest Trust.

https://halfcut.org & www.rainforesttrust.org/

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE FILM CORP'

JIMMY HALFCUT

The following is a story from RPM that may help the 2500+ unit investors with UnitCare. It appeared on 21 January 2019 and is written by Tim Neary of Residential Property Manager.

Here are five lucrative tax items that investors can claim as expenses that are not commonly understood.

BMT Tax Depreciation says that analysis of its client reports for the last financial year showed that the company had discovered slightly over $1 billion worth of legitimate tax deductions from the 10 most high-value items found in clients’ investment properties.

CEO Bradley Beer said that “by far” the most lucrative item for investors was carpet.

“If you have carpet in your residential investment property, you are likely sitting on a goldmine of tax deductions.

“We found nearly $180 million worth of carpet-related tax deductions in residential properties last financial year that can be claimed over 10 years, the item’s effective life, according to the ATO.”

Mr Beer said that split system ($146 million) and standalone air conditioners ($122 million) were the second and third most lucrative items for investors in the 2017–18 financial year.

He said that blinds and lifts rounded out the top five, with the BMT team finding $116 million worth of legitimate tax deductions for each item over their effective lives.

“I can say with a degree of certainty that if [investors] have purchased a new apartment and it has carpet, blinds, air-conditioning and a lift as part of the building, [they] are going to be pleasantly surprised by the value of tax deductions [they] are entitled to moving forward.”

Mr Beer said that ovens ($95 million), floating timber floors ($89 million), hot water systems ($81 million), dishwashers ($75 million) and cooktops ($56 million) rounded out the top 10.

He also said that last year the federal government passed some of the most significant changes to tax depreciation laws since the 1980s.

“While the changes exclude some investors from claiming certain items moving forward, there are still significant deductions available to be claimed for all owners of income-producing properties.”

www.realestatebusiness.com.au

10 LESSER-KNOWN ITEMS THAT CAN SAVE INVESTORS THOUSANDS AT TAX TIME

SQUEEZE ON PARKING

The following is a story from www.flat-chat.com.au, written by Jimmy Thomson on 18/01/2019

Have things been getting a bit squeezy in your apartment parking lots recently? Are you one of those unfortunates who have to push your Toyota Corolla in and out between a Toyota Hilux and a Ford Ranger, because your doors won’t open far enough?

I mention those three models because the Hilux and Ranger are Australia’s two biggest selling vehicles with total sales of over 90,000 in 2018. The nifty little Corolla came third with sales of just over 30,000.

This is not a new phenomenon. Crew-cab 4WDs, with four doors and a utility tray, have been the best-selling vehicles on our roads for the past three years.

Add in other “monster” trucks like the Mitsubishi Triton, the Isuzu D-Max, the Nissan Navarra and even the Mercedes X Class and there would have to be a quarter of million of these huge vehicles on our roads right now.

By the way, city slicker, what do you use it for – taking your Nespresso capsules for recycling?

Anyway, what does this have to do with apartment living? The answer is, space and the lack thereof.

At 5.33 metres long, the hugely popular Hilux SR5, only just fits into the regulation minimum car space length of 5.4 m. The longer Ford Ranger is over the edge, literally.

Now, a new block’s developer, mindful of the trends in vehicle sales, may have been generous with their parking allocations. But many will have squeezed every last square centimetre out of the available space and if you’re in an old building, the pips will be squeaking.

The long-established minimum dimensions of 2.4 metres wide and 5.4 metres long for parking spaces were based decades ago on the average sizes of cars that would have allowed enough room for doors to swing open without scratching or denting the neighbour’s paintwork.

But in the bumper to bumper battlefield of today’s strata parking, you could be making it hard on your neighbour just to get in and out of their car. And if you have anything else in your parking space, your

super-ute is probably going to be across the line.

Apart from forcing others to manoeuvre round you, your oversized truck is technically on common property and you could be breached and even towed under some strata laws.

In truth, there seems to be a lot of give and take in strata on who can park what, and where. It’s fairly common for town house residents to park their vehicles on a common property driveway while they fill their garages with all the stuff that won’t fit into their units.

There’s probably a by-law that says they can’t do that without written permission, but if everyone’s doing it, who cares (apart from the poor blighter who can’t get to their garage at the end)?

So what can you do if your parking spaces are taken over by way too many “monster” 4WDs and parking has become more of a hassle than it should be?

Theoretically, you could put a width restriction on the size of vehicles that could be driven across common property. After all, you may have a height restriction to stop vans and trucks ripping the pipework and lighting off the ceilings.

So if your monster ute fills every cubic centimetre of your parking space, and there’s a half dozen others nearby, don’t be surprised to see a new width restriction by-law proposed on the agenda of your next AGM.

UnitCare has been a sponsor of SALA (SA Living Artists Festival) for many years. We are thrilled to be partnering with the SA Film Corporation in a new joint venture with SALA. The Film Corporation has been a cultural cornerstone of our lives in South Australia for more than 50 years. A legacy of Don Dunstan, that has bought us Shine, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Sunday Too Far Away, Storm Boy, Blue Fin and many many more great stories.

The inaugual artist in residence is award winning filmmaker, acclaimed for large scale, multi-screen video installations, Amos Gebhardt was today announced as the recipient of the 1st Adelaide Studios Artist Residency. Gebhardt takes up the Residency this year with the aim to create a sensorial moving image experience on the theme of survival, using audio diaries, dance, slow motion and underwater photography, to be presented on large-scale screens.

The Artist Residency is presented by the South Australian Film Corporation and Adelaide Studios in partnership with SALA Festival, and the Anne & Gordon Samstag Museum of Art, with funding from Arts South Australia and UnitCare Services. The work will premiere at Adelaide Studios during SALA Festival during August 2019, and from 2020, the exhibiting partner will be the Anne & Gordon Samstag Museum of Art.

Gebhardt's installation at 2018 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art