Property, Straight Up

When a relationship ends, the decisions about property and money often have to be made when people feel least ready. In this episode, Mel Dennis sits down with Bronwyn Montgomery, Partner at Farrar Gesini Dunn and a family lawyer of more than ten years, to work through what really happens to property when you separate.

Bronwyn explains why there is no automatic 50/50 split, how settlements are actually weighed up, when a partner can claim a home you already owned, and why reaching your own agreement generally beats going to court. She covers timing a sale, buying again after separation, the biggest mistakes people make, and why any agreement needs to be properly documented.

Connect with Bronwyn Montgomery, Farrar Gesini Dunn: https://www.fgd.com.au/about-us/our-people/bronwyn-montgomery

Property, Straight Up is brought to you by Domain & Co, Your Property People. domainandco.com.au

Only around half of Australians have a will, and half the people who think they know how their property is held are wrong. In this episode, Mel Dennis sits down with Tracey Collins, Accredited Specialist in Wills and Estates Law at Collins Lawyers and Consultants, to work through where your property really goes when you die.

Tracey explains why marriage invalidates a will in Victoria, why DIY will kits go wrong once life gets complicated, and why joint tenants vs tenants in common can override your will entirely. She covers superannuation and binding death benefit nominations, owning property across state lines, the blended family mistakes she sees most often, and how to find a lawyer who actually specialises in this work.

Property, Straight Up is brought to you by Domain & Co, Your Property People. domainandco.com.au

Most property owners have no idea what the planning controls on their land actually allow, or what they could allow in the future. In this episode of Property, Straight Up, Warwick Brookes talks with Laurie Rigoni, founder of Terrain Consulting Group, about the planning reforms reshaping property value right across Melbourne.

Laurie explains the 70/30 housing split, the 60 activity centres changing density near you, what rezoning to housing choice zones means for height limits, the December 2024 car parking changes, and the new canopy tree rules catching owners and developers off guard.

Connect with Laurie Rigoni, Terrain Consulting Group

https://terrainconsulting.com.au/

Property, Straight Up is brought to you by Domain & Co, Your Property People. domainandco.com.au

Warwick Brookes sits down with Luke Sacco, Partner at Nelson Alexander's Northcote office, for a frank conversation about nearly three decades in real estate and what's really happening in Melbourne's property market right now. From the widening gap between renovated and unrenovated homes to the proposed changes to auction reserve pricing, Luke shares what he's seeing on the ground with buyers and sellers every day.

They cover the biggest mistakes sellers are making, why presentation and staging matter more than ever, what's driving demand in Melbourne's inner north, and why nervous buyers are slowing down every deal. A straight talking look at what it takes to build a lasting career in real estate, and what both buyers and sellers need to understand right now.

Connect with Luke Sacco, Nelson Alexander: https://www.nelsonalexander.com.au/real-estate-agents/luke-sacco/149/

Property, Straight Up is brought to you by Domain & Co, Your Property People. domainandco.com.au

Downsizing is not just a property decision, it is one of the most emotionally complex transitions people face. In this episode, Mel Dennis talks with Robyn Strickland, founder of Love It or Leave It, about what really happens when someone lets go of decades of belongings and a family home.

Robyn shares why clutter affects our wellbeing, the role adult children play, how the process works step by step, and the one thing she says makes the biggest difference: starting early.

Connect with Robyn Strickland, Love It or Leave It: https://loveitorleaveit.com.au

Property, Straight Up is brought to you by Domain & Co, Your Property People. domainandco.com.au

Buying the right property is only half the equation. In this episode, Mel Dennis sits down with Nicola Michels, Senior Business Development Manager at Longview, to talk about what great property management actually looks like, what investors get wrong, and the small changes that can have an outsized impact on rental returns and long term performance.

With over two decades of experience across metropolitan Melbourne, Nicola shares what's happening in Melbourne's rental market right now, why the right property manager is worth far more than the fee difference, and a real life case study of a property turned around from two months vacant to let in two weeks. If you own an investment property, or are thinking about buying one, this conversation is essential listening.

Connect with Nicola Michels, Longview: www.longview.com.au

The Melbourne Property Brief is brought to you by Domain & Co, Your Property People. domainandco.com.au

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction and Welcome

00:25 Meet Nicola Michels: Senior BDM at Longview

01:17 Longview's Coverage Across Metropolitan Melbourne

02:22 What's Happening in Melbourne's Rental Market Right Now

03:34 Pricing Right: The Key to Minimising Vacancy

04:07 Buy With Your Head, Not Your Heart

05:10 What Makes a Property Appeal to the Rental Market

05:51 Long Term Tenants Mean More Money in Your Pocket

06:22 Average vs High Performing Investment Properties

06:54 The Right Team Around You: Why It Matters

07:26 Data Doesn't Lie: Understanding Real Rental Returns

09:17 The Biggest Mistake Investors Make: Choosing the Wrong Agent

09:58 Don't Skimp on Management Fees for a Million Dollar Asset

10:38 What Good Property Marketing Actually Looks Like

11:43 Floor Plans, Virtual Tours and Photography: Why They Win Tenants

13:02 What Service Standards to Look For in an Agent

13:52 Compliance and Legislative Changes Landlords Must Know

15:28 Longview's Service Guarantee: Putting Money Where Their Mouth Is

16:39 Practical Ways to Maximise Rental Return and Minimise Vacancy

17:55 Proactive Maintenance: Prevention Is Better Than Cure

19:39 How Often Should You Review Your Property's Performance?

20:37 The Case for a Property Management Only Agency

21:41 Unbiased Advice: Sell or Hold?

22:12 Real Life Case Study: Vacant for Two Months, Let in Two Weeks

24:06 Closing Advice: The One Thing Every Investor Should Do Now

24:15 Wrap Up and How to Connect With Nicola at Longview

Most property investors leave their tax planning until it’s too late, and it ends up costing them. In this episode of Property, Straight Up, Warwick Brookes talks with Christie Morris, an accountant and tax agent at Semmens Partners Accountants, about the EOFY mistakes, negative gearing changes, ownership structures and hidden costs that catch property owners out.

Christie explains why timing your depreciation schedule before 30 June matters, why the SMSF property pitch from brokers rarely stacks up, and why understanding the difference between a tax deduction and actual cash flow could change how you think about your next property decision.

Connect with Christie Morris, Semmens Partners Accountants

https://semmpart.com.au/

Property, Straight Up is brought to you by Domain & Co, Your Property People. https://domainandco.com.au/

Timestamps:

00:00      Introduction

00:29      Why End of Financial Year Timing Matters

00:58      Meet Christie Morris, Accountant and Tax Agent

01:54      What Property Owners Should Be Doing Before 30 June

03:29      The Capital Gains Tax Timing Trap: Contract vs Settlement Date

05:20      Depreciation and the Hidden Capital Gains Catch

06:19      Negative Gearing and CGT Changes: Navigating the Limbo

07:40      Ownership Structures: Personal, Trust, Company or SMSF

08:27      The SMSF Property Warning: What Spruikers Get Wrong

10:14      When SMSF Property Actually Makes Sense: Business Premises

11:28      Will CGT and Negative Gearing Changes Shift Investor Behaviour?

12:09      The Pre-CGT Asset Removal: The Change People Missed

13:03      Choosing the Right Ownership Structure for Your Situation

15:04      Pub Talk vs Professional Advice

16:19      Victoria’s Land Tax Increases and the Rental Market Impact

17:55      Tax Depreciation Schedules Explained

18:44      Tax Deductions vs Cash Flow: What’s the Difference?

19:24      Interest Only vs Principal and Interest Loans

20:31      What If Scenarios

20:43      What If I Turn My Home Into a Rental?

21:55      What If I Inherit a Property?

22:43      What If I Renovate Before Selling?

23:08      What If I Airbnb My Property?

23:32      What If My Kids Move In?

23:57      What If I Buy With a Sibling?

25:00      Why Getting Advice Before You Act Changes Everything

26:02      Wrap Up and Key Takeaways

Most people don't think about what happens to their property in a separation until they're already in one. In this episode of Property, Straight Up, Mel Dennis talks with Claire Walczak, an accredited family law specialist and partner at Lander & Rogers, about property settlements, binding financial agreements and the mistakes that end up costing people the most.

Claire explains why having property in your name doesn't make it yours, why a 50/50 split is far from guaranteed, and why an informal agreement can come back to bite you. She also shares why mediation often beats court, how a Vendor Advocate can lower the temperature during a property sale, and what a binding financial agreement is really for.

Connect with Claire Walczak, Lander & Rogers

https://www.landers.com.au/legalservice/family-and-relationship-law

Property, Straight Up is brought to you by Domain & Co, Your Property People. domainandco.com.au

Timestamps: 

00:00 Introduction

00:25 Meet Claire Walczak, Lander & Rogers

01:11 Claire's role and areas of expertise

02:10 How real property is handled during separation

03:15 Selling vs. retaining the family home

05:19 Who gets to stay in the family home?

06:29 The biggest misconceptions people have about property and separation

08:10 Does separation always mean going to court?

09:57 How to avoid unnecessary disputes and reduce legal costs

11:16 How a Vendor Advocate can help during a property sale

12:28 How independent guidance reduces stress and conflict

13:24 Binding financial agreements explained

14:10 How a BFA protects wealth if a relationship ends

15:27 How to have the BFA conversation with your partner

16:05 Are attitudes toward these agreements changing?

16:51 Think of a BFA as an insurance policy

17:12 When should you seek legal advice?

18:13 The one thing to do to protect yourself and your family

19:07 Closing thoughts and free checklist 

In this episode of Property, Straight Up, host Mel Dennis sits down with Inna Segal, director of RET Conveyancing, to talk about what can go wrong when buying or selling property and how to make sure it doesn't happen to you.

Inna has over ten years of experience as a licensed conveyancer and has spent the last five as director of RET Conveyancing. She is the person who sees the mistakes before they become disasters, and in this conversation she shares exactly what those mistakes are and how to avoid them.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• A conveyancer is not optional. Inna explains what the role covers and why skipping it is a costly mistake.
• The Section 32 is one of the most important documents in any transaction. Inna explains what to look for and what a defective one can cost you.
• Finance timing matters more than buyers expect. Thirty days goes faster than you think, and missing the window carries real risk of default.
• Skipping a building and pest inspection is a gamble, not a shortcut.
• Section 27 lets vendors in Victoria access their deposit before settlement, and most don't know it exists.
• Tenanted properties carry a vacant possession risk that has ended deals entirely. Inna shares the cautionary tale.
• Undisclosed renovation works can come back on sellers under the seven-year disclosure rule.

CONNECT WITH INNA SEGAL AT RET CONVEYANCING
https://www.retconveyancing.com.au/

ABOUT DOMAIN & CO
 Buying or selling a home is one of the biggest decisions of your life. Often the biggest financial decision you'll ever make. Bigger than anything else you'll sign your name to.

And the people meant to help you make it have started to look a lot like the people you didn't trust in the first place.

The polished ones in the sharp suits. The corporate machines who never learn your name. Or worst of all. No one. Just you and a portal and a hunch.

We've spent thirty years on both sides of property. The buy and the sell. The boom and the bust. The houses that grew. The ones that didn't. The agents you'd want in your corner. The ones you wouldn't.

We've walked the same families through five, six transactions across decades. First home. Family home. Forever home. The next chapter after that.

So we don't pitch. We don't perform. We don't take work we don't believe in. We just tell you what we'd do, if it were us in your position.

For property, told straight. We're your property people.

https://domainandco.com.au/

Download the Buyers & Sellers checklist here - CLICK HERE

In this episode of Property, Straight Up, host Warwick Brookes sits down with Gerard Burg, economist at Cotality (formerly CoreLogic), for a data-driven conversation about what is actually happening in Australian property right now.

Gerard works with national property data every day, and he brings that perspective to some of the biggest questions buyers, sellers and investors are asking. From Melbourne's slide down the national leaderboard to Adelaide overtaking it for the first time in history, from the structural supply crisis no government target will fix quickly, to the apartment submarkets where owners have been losing money for nearly a decade.

They also cover the early signals from the negative gearing and capital gains changes, what three consecutive rate rises have done to first home buyer confidence, and the one mistake Gerard says buyers will look back on and regret.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Melbourne's underperformance is real but overstated. Affordability is drawing buyers priced out of other markets.
• Adelaide overtook Melbourne for the first time in history, driven by pandemic population shifts and inadequate supply, not fundamentals that are likely to hold.
• Construction costs and trade shortages mean new supply will not rescue affordability anytime soon, but they do put a floor under prices.
• Melbourne CBD unit values peaked in March 2017 and have not recovered. Oversupply, not demand, is the story.
• The negative gearing changes will discourage investment, but it is too early for the data to show exactly how much.
• Three rate rises have started to cancel out the benefit of the government's 5% deposit scheme for first home buyers.
• The investors who come out ahead are the ones who act on opportunity when it appears rather than waiting to time the bottom perfectly.

ABOUT DOMAIN & CO

Buying or selling a home is one of the biggest decisions of your life. Often the biggest financial decision you'll ever make. Bigger than anything else you'll sign your name to.

And the people meant to help you make it have started to look a lot like the people you didn't trust in the first place.

The polished ones in the sharp suits. The corporate machines who never learn your name. Or worst of all. No one. Just you and a portal and a hunch.

We've spent thirty years on both sides of property. The buy and the sell. The boom and the bust. The houses that grew. The ones that didn't. The agents you'd want in your corner. The ones you wouldn't.

We've walked the same families through five, six transactions across decades. First home. Family home. Forever home. The next chapter after that.

So we don't pitch. We don't perform. We don't take work we don't believe in. We just tell you what we'd do, if it were us in your position.

For property, told straight. We're your property people.

https://domainandco.com.au/

Timestamps

 00:00 – Introduction 

00:54 – Guest Introduction: Gerard burg, Cotality 

01:36 – Gerard's Career Background 

03:18 – How Cotality Analyses Property Data 

04:09 – The CoreLogic to Cotality Rebrand 

05:28 – Media Narratives vs. Real Data 

06:14 – The Case for Melbourne as an Investor Market 

08:04 – Adelaide Overtaking Melbourne Explained 

09:50 – Melbourne's Supply Advantage 

10:49 – Construction Costs & the Trade Shortage Problem 

12:19 – Investor Policy & New Build Requirements 

14:33 – Post-COVID Buyer Behaviour Shifts 

15:53 – Data Overload & the Buyer Advocate Boom 

17:46 – Melbourne Apartment Losses: The Data Story 

20:08 – Undervalued Pockets in Melbourne 

21:41 – Negative Gearing Changes: What to Watch 

23:14 – Rate Rises & First Home Buyer Capacity 

24:47 – Five-Year Outlook: What Matters Most 

25:35 – Close