Short but funny. There was a flood, and an old woman watched as the water came closer to her house. A man in a boat came by and offered her to help her.
"Thank you," she said, smiling, "but the lord will save me."
The water rose higher, and she had to go to the second floor. Another boat came by, and the people in the boat went to the window to rescue her.
"I'm okay," she told them. "I have faith in the lord. He'll save me." The boat left without her.
She was on the roof finally, with the water swirling around her feet, and a helicopter came. She refused their help too, telling them that she had faith and the lord would save her. Soon afterwards, the water took her away and she drowned.
When the woman arrived in heaven, she stepped before God and, crying, asked him, "Why didn't you help me? I had faith in you!"
"Not help you!" God replied. "What do you mean? I sent you two boats and a helicopter!"
1. NSW carves up stamp duty on new homes People buying newly-constructed properties will get a 50 per cent stamp duty cut in a massive stimulus boost to the state's housing sector announced in this week's NSW Budget. The stamp duty cut is worth up to $11,245 per dwelling as the NSW Government targets a housing stimulus to people outside the first home buyer market, including investors, to stimulate the construction and purchase of new properties. People buying newly-constructed properties will get a 50 per cent stamp duty cut in a massive stimulus boost to the state's housing sector announced in this week's NSW Budget. The stamp duty cut is worth up to $11,245 per dwelling as the NSW Government targets a housing stimulus to people outside the first home buyer market, including investors, to stimulate the construction and purchase of new properties. State Treasurer Eric Roozendaal said the NSW Housing Construction Acceleration Plan comes into force from July 1, 2009 and will run for at least six months, to be reviewed on December 31, 2009. Under the bold initiative, stamp duty will be cut by 50 per cent per dwelling for people buying newly-constructed properties worth up to $600,000 - including property investors. The saving is worth up to $11,245 a property. It will not apply to first home buyers because they already pay no stamp duty on purchases up to $500,000 and a reduced rate between $500,000 and $600,000. The Government also announced it will extend the $3000 first home buyer supplement for newly-constructed homes, announced last November, until at least the end of June 2010. NSW first home buyers currently receive up to $41,990 in grants and stamp duty cuts - among the most generous in Australia. "This is an investment in NSW jobs," Mr Roozendaal said. "This initiative will stimulate the NSW housing market and the property development industry by encouraging people buying property to consider buying a newly constructed property. "This program will include house and land packages, as well as recently-constructed homes, where the transaction is the first sale of that home since its construction. "This program provides a strong incentive for property buyers to consider buying a new property, with more than 80 per cent of NSW home sales under $600,000." Mr Roozendaal said the initiative puts the NSW property market on the path to recovery from the global recession. In 2007-08, almost $80 billion worth of residential property was bought and sold in NSW by families, first home buyers, investors and companies. In 2007-08, more than 30,000 new homes were approved. But in 2008-09 this number has dropped to an average of under 2000 new dwellings being approved each month, as high interest rates and then the global recession hit the NSW property
market. Investors will also be able to take advantage of the stamp duty cut in a move that will make investing in a new property development a more lucrative investment option. Since the introduction of first home buyer grants in July 2000, more than 400,000 first home buyers in NSW have received grants and stamp duty exemptions worth over $5.7 billion. March, April and May this year saw consecutive records for the number of first home buyers receiving grants with a total of 20,603 first home buyers receiving more than $500 million in grants and stamp duty concession in those three months alone from both the NSW Government and the Commonwealth. 2. Investors step up Demand for home loans continued to rise in April, particularly for investors and owner-occupiers, according to figures released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). First home buyer numbers dipped to 16,651 in April from 17,652 in March; however, this is still almost double the 8,818 who entered the mortgage market in August 2008, before the First Home Owner Boost was introduced and cash rate cuts began. Demand for home loans continued to rise in April, particularly for investors and owner-occupiers, according to figures released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). First home buyer numbers dipped to 16,651 in April from 17,652 in March; however, this is still almost double the 8,818 who entered the mortgage market in August 2008, before the First Home Owner Boost was introduced and cash rate cuts began. The overall value of housing finance commitments for all dwellings rose for the fifth month in a row, by 3.6 per cent. This compared with a 6.7 per cent rise in March and a 1.3 per cent rise in February. Investor-fixed loans and owner occupied housing finance demand increased notably, by 8.9 per cent and 1.9 per cent respectively. The value of new housing loans across all categories - first homebuyers, owner-occupiers and investor fixed loans - all rose significantly. In fact, first homebuyers as a total of the value of commitments hit a record 28 per cent, from 27.3 per cent in March 2009. Mortgage Choice CEO, Michael Russell said that the drop in loans for first homeowners could be due to the tightening of credit. "All potential property market purchasers need to understand new lending restrictions coming into play," Mr Russell said. "For example, most lenders now want to see at least a 5-10 per cent deposit built over at least three months from genuine savings. "Self-education is key to becoming a successful property market entrant," he added. 3. Profiting from your property investment As a difficult financial year draws rapidly to a close, it is time to take stock and look for any tax advantages we can find. Yet many property owners are losing potential tax credits by failing to take full advantage of a property's tax depreciation potential, according to quantity surveyors BMT. As a difficult financial year draws rapidly to a close, it is time to take stock and look for any tax advantages we can find. Yet many property owners are losing potential tax credits by failing to take full advantage of a property's tax depreciation potential, according to quantity surveyors BMT. BMT Director Bradley Beer says that it is common for owners to miss out on obtaining tax credits, simply because they do not know what they can claim. "Property tax depreciation is available to any property owner who obtains assessable income by way of rent or operates a business from a property," Beer says. Some key points regarding depreciation of investment properties include: - Any building irrespective of age will attract some claim for depreciation with respect to the plant and equipment items contained within the property including air conditioning, carpets, light fittings, etc;
- As a general rule any property constructed after 17 July 1985 (residential) and 19 July 1982 (non-residential) is eligible for the construction write-off allowance;
- Any property having had additions or refurbishments undertaken after 17 July 1985 (residential) and 19 July 1982 (non-residential) may be eligible for a construction write off allowance;
- All external works including fencing, paving, pergolas, garden sheds etc constructed after 26 February 1992 will attract the building write off allowance;
- Depreciation and capital allowances can be backdated/amended for up to two years if previously unclaimed or not maximised.
The depreciation potential of an individual building will differ greatly depending on its age, use and original construction cost, Beer says. "The maximisation of a depreciation claim on any building requires a unique combination of construction costing skills and experience combined with an intimate knowledge of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997." Beer suggests it can be worthwhile to engage a specialist to maximise depreciation at a number of stages in the property life cycle including: - purchase of an existing building;
- completion of a new building; and
- professional assessment of currently-held property.
BMT Tax Depreciation are Quantity Surveyors recognised by the Australian Tax Office under TR 97/25 as appropriately qualified to estimate construction costs of a building for tax purposes. 4. Rug up your home Winter has set in well and truly this month and has been making its presence felt since, with rain, snow and chilly winds. Do you find that no matter how well you heat your house, an icy blast blows in every time someone opens a door? Just as we rug ourselves up in warm protective clothing to beat the cold when venturing outside, we can wrap our homes with windcheaters to ward off those chill winds. Winter has set in well and truly this month and has been making its presence felt since, with rain, snow and chilly winds. Do you find that no matter how well you heat your house, an icy blast blows in every time someone opens a door? Just as we rug ourselves up in warm protective clothing to beat the cold when venturing outside, we can wrap our homes with windcheaters to ward off those chill winds. Possibly the most effective way to deflect winter winds is to plant a barrier along the side of the house where they are most prevalent. A hedge or a row of evergreens such as yew or box - or if you prefer natives, wattle, banksias or bottlebrushes. An added bonus of the living windbreak is that it will also provide protection for the garden and warm spots for you to sit on a sunny winter day. As a short-term solution, erect a trellis or bamboo screen in the garden so that it breaks the flow of wind into your house. There are also things you can do inside the house to deflect the chilly winds of winter. If external doors open directly into an open room such as the living room, try placing a barrier such as a bookcase or screen just inside the entrance. Again, plants will absorb the flow and `mute' it before it reaches into the room. If your builder's hands are stronger than your green thumbs, you may consider putting up walls
around a patio making it a porch, creating a wind break for the front or back door. Using fibreglass or strong structural glass can insulate the area while still letting the light in. Even running a simple wooden screen a few metres from the house will form a windbreak in areas that are most exposed and affected by the wind. Basically, any type of windbreak will work to lower the wind chill near your home, which occurs when wind speed lowers the outside temperature. For example, if the outside temperature is -12°C and the wind speed is 32 kilometres per hour, the wind chill is -31°C. A windbreak will reduce wind speed for a distance of as much as 30 times the windbreak's height. For maximum protection, plant your windbreak at a distance from your home of two to five times the mature height of the trees, so if there's ever any high winds strong enough to uproot them, you have a buffer zone. The best windbreaks block wind close to the ground by using trees and shrubs that have low crowns. If snow tends to drift in your area, plant low shrubs on the windward side of your windbreak. The shrubs will trap snow before it blows next to your home. In addition to more distant windbreaks, planting shrubs, bushes, and vines next to your house creates dead air spaces that insulate your home in both winter and summer. When planting, leave at least 30 centimetres of space between full-grown plants and the nearest wall. 5. $10 ticket to multimillion-dollar luxury home  What do you do when a tumultuous market leaves your multimillion-dollar home practically unsaleable?
While it may not be a problem all of us will face, one US couple may have found a way to move the house and get the money they wanted for it, one US$10 raffle ticket at a time. The Brannans decided that raffling their 6,000 sq. ft. Florida home was much more likely to attract interest than just another luxury home with a price tag that exceeds the current climate's viability. Aiming to sell 300,000 tickets to meet the asking price, the couple have also committed a portion of the proceeds to their local church. Pictures of the home that offers 6 bedrooms, 6.5 baths, a theatre room, winding staircase, 4 car garage and 100ft deep ocean water front access can be seen at floridaluxuryauctions.com, along with a bidding option in case you're feeling lucky. 6. Switch to safe storage Frequently when a house is robbed, the intruders will be in and out in well under 10 minutes. While it's a good idea to install a security system and have strong locks put in by a trusted locksmith, keeping your valuables hidden somewhere obscure and secure will keep their discovery well outside the scope of the average opportunistic thief's 10-minute scramble. The Hidden Wall Safe is an innovative take on household safes, as the entrance to it is a high-impact plastic and metal cover that looks just like a power socket. Once installed, the safe pivots out to reveal the secret hiding place, perfect for storing money, jewelry and other small but priceless items. | |
There are already strong signs of a recovery for the housing industry over the next financial year, according to a new report. 
Last Friday was World Environment Day, but don't fret if you didn't get involved in the day's festivities and tree planting sessions, you still have plenty of chances.
There have been some bizarre developments recently in the design of bathroom mirrors, many of which seem to stem from a love of multi-tasking. But hey, if you're going to spend time in front of one, why not get the most out of the experience? 
The building industry took heart this week from another solid increase in approvals for both new dwellings and renovations.
Homeowners who want to install solar panels but cannot afford to do so right now could be interested in a scheme being offered this month by mortgage broker Mortgage Choice in partnership with Diamond Energy. 
Unless you can reach a towel while you're still in the shower, chances are you're going to end up with water on the floor. A few drops here and there isn't much between friends, but puddles can spell trouble in the form of slips, spills and soaked socks. 
