Should we sell at a loss?
Q.
We have bought and moved into a new home and we are having
trouble selling our old home, which is paid off. We now have to
look at renting it out and although rents are good we were told
from a friend that we cannot claim much on our old 40 year old home
as we owe nothing on it, but we can claim expenses. Is there a way
we can get a better return on this or should we sell at a loss?
A.
The benefits of selling the home are that it should be free of
CGT because it was your residence, and the proceeds could be used
to reduce the mortgage on your new home if you borrowed to buy it.
Furthermore, it will almost certainly lose 10 percent of its value
as soon as tenants move in. I agree that there may be little you
can claim apart from rates and maintenance if you keep it, but the
appropriate person to advise you, is a quantity surveyor. They can
often find tax deductions that the home owner can't.
Each week financial advisor Noel Whittaker answers your
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