Residential Quantity Surveyor
A residential quantity surveyor is a type of professional that’s not well known. Even though most people don’t know what the job entails, they are critical to the residential real estate industry – particularly in investment properties.
These professionals take on two primary functions in this industry.
First, they are construction cost managers who measure and estimate the cost and value of buildings and other assets. This process ensures that there’s no discrepancy in pricing before construction begins and during the building process.
Second, they create tax depreciation schedules on residential investment property so that the investor is able to minimise their tax liability and increase cash flow.
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Quantity Surveyors and New Construction
All our quantity surveyors are skilled at construction cost management. We consider all components of a project as certified members of the Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (AIQS). That ensures we can create bank cost reports as well as council cost reports.
No initial build of a residential investment property should be without a quantity surveyor. We work through the entire project from start to finish.
Our team can engage with the architect or building designer and cost out the project as it is designed. This way, the investor knows that the project will fit within their budget.
This cost planning helps the investor decide where they want to spend their money – on the facade? On the inside?
Additionally, if the investor runs low on funds near the end of construction, we can help them decide what areas to trim back and still get an occupancy certificate.
We create bank reports that provide the independent cost estimates that banks need to release funds at each stage of construction. These estimates also allow the investor to identify what buffer they have between funds required and what the bank will loan them.
Also, then the cost of the property exceeds specific values, the local Council will require a quantity surveyor report as part of the development application. This report forms the basis for the levy they will charge the investor for public services.
As you can see, there are many ways that bring our quantity surveyors in early on a project to help an investor-builder complete a successful project.
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Quantity Surveyors and Tax Depreciation Schedules
We know that every residential real estate investor wants to get the best results from their property portfolio. This means not only having a working building that is earning income but taking advantage of every tax minimisation strategy allowed by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
Because of this, in addition to the general services mentioned above, all our quantity surveyors have a specialisation in tax depreciation schedules.
Every residential property investor should be familiar with depreciation, which is the paper loss of value on a property because of expected wear and tear from aging.
Depreciation can result in a tax deduction that allows investors to recover some of the costs associated with owning and using a property.
In order to claim depreciation, you need to have a quantity surveyor complete a depreciation schedule for your investment property. This schedule records the assets in your property and estimates their depreciation over time.
They turn this schedule over to the investor’s accountant, who can use the information to maximise the allowable deductions, which leads to a larger refund at tax time.
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Our Residential Quantity Surveyors
You may ask why quantity surveyors have such an essential role in generating tax depreciation schedules.
The answer is that the ATO requires that an independent, professional estimate of the component’s value must be used when creating a depreciation schedule.
That means your accountant or bookkeeper can’t prepare these schedules on their own like they do with other types of assets.
By regulation, our specialist quantity surveyors are registered agents with the ATO. This means the authorities will accept their results, and they will stand up to any audit.
Our job is to ensure that all components in the building are included and valued accurately, so no new information comes to light that would reduce the value of your deductions.
Our quantity surveyor will look at everything from the property to plant assets like plumbing fixtures, security systems, HVAC components, and more.
We also look at items that depreciate in residential buildings. Carpets, included furniture, kitchen fittings, etc. – these are all considered when preparing a tax depreciation schedule.
They must cost each item out, and depreciation calculated for the effective life of that asset. As you can imagine, this is a complex and time-consuming process that our quantity surveyors take very seriously.
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Residential Quantity Survey
In the end, our goal is to provide an accurate survey that allows you to claim all the depreciation that you are due.
Our quantity surveyors will provide you with tax depreciation schedules based on the two methods the ATO allows for depreciating assets – the prime cost method or the diminishing value method.
The first is a straight line method where you receive a tax deduction in the same amount every year that you own the asset. The second is a reducing method where the tax deduction is based on the remaining value every year after you have owned it. You get the most significant tax deductions early in the asset’s life, and they gradually diminish over time.
You can then decide which depreciation method is suitable for your situation with your accountant.
Our Team
If you’re looking to maximise your tax deductions, then you need a residential quantity surveyor on your side. For over 20 years, residential property investors have looked to our professional quantity surveyors to help build and depreciate their properties.
All our services are tax-deductible, and we guarantee that you will save twice the cost of our depreciation schedule in the first full year, or you won’t have to pay.
We have quantity surveyors located all over Australia, so we can help you get the most out of it at tax time, no matter where your investment property is.
Let us show you how easy it is to get the most out of your property investments. Contact us today for a free consultation.