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Why retro-green existing Sydney commercial real estate?

Article by Tim Green Commercial

With the City of Sydney Council’s vision for a sustainable city by 2030, it is increasingly important for Sydney commercial real estate owners to give greater weight to environmental issues. Government policies will also be significantly ‘greener’ after the round of UN talks on climate change and sustainability UN talks Copenhagen in December. The government has also committed .7million to drive energy efficiency in commercial real estate between2009-2010.

As a result, experts from the Property Council of Australia recommend owners or prospective owners should retro-green existing commercial real estate in Sydney. Here are several reasons why:

- Energy efficiency disclosure scheme. The government has recently agreed to implement a initiative that requires all building owners to disclose the energy efficiency of their property to potential buyers and tenants. With sustainability at the forefront of everybody’s consciousness these days, Sydney commercial real estate should consider retro-greening their property to stay competitive in the market place – particularly as energy efficiency ratings will soon be mandatory to disclose.

- Financial cost. According to the Australian Sustainable Built Environment (ABSEC), energy efficiency alone could provide savings of 30-35% across the entire building sector including the growth in the overall number of buildings out to 2050. In fact, by 2050, increasing energy efficiency in the building sector could help boost the annual GDP by around billion!

- Environmental cost. A recent report by ABSEC and the Climate Change Task Group revealed that almost a quarter (23%) of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions is caused by the building sector.

- Market competition. The Property Council reports that 63,373m² of new office space is due to enter into the market in 2009, and a further 97,550 m² will be available in 2010. As such, once the economy eventually picks up again, older buildings without accredited energy efficiency ratings or major refurbishments will most likely lose their competitiveness in the market.

To find out how you can increase the marketability of your commercial real estate, while reducing costs and environmental impact, or for other property management advice, please visit or contact Tim Green Commercial.

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Angel Investment Opportunities for Entrepreneurs in Denver, St. Louis and Kansas City

During the current economic climate, there are factors that entrepreneurs look at more closely when it comes to starting up a business.  The “where” and “how much” factors become a bigger part of the decision, as one looks to trim any unnecessary cost factors.  Gone are the days where if you were technology based, you’d set up in Silicon Valley or if you needed to network with business contacts – set up shop in New York.  Ironically, thanks to modern day technology, you can set up in a much wider range of locations.

Entrepreneurs look at factors like the ease of recruitment, and as a result – have looked into the central states of the US, such as Colorado, where the workforce is well educated, quality of life is good, and cost of living is a big step lower than on the coasts.  

With hopes up about stabilisation of the economy, this is a great opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs and small business start ups alike to take things to the next level.  Over the last few years, several angel groups and individual investors have started to set up shop in cities like St. Louis (such as the Arch Angel Investor Network), again bucking the general trends.  

On the Central Investment Network – entrepreneurs in the Central states of the US get another chance to connect with angel investors.  Members can get their business ideas and plans out to hundreds of local investors – and since Central Investment Network is part of the Angel Investment Network, members can connect with thousands of other investors from around the world.  In fact the network grows continuously, with branches in over 40 countries and investments occurring both on a local and international basis.

Of course, the plans have to be well thought out and organised, as while entrepreneurs may have less competition, the investors are also more choosy.  Still, there are signs that more successful angel investment strategies such as venture capital investments are occurring within the central states.  While some venture capital backed companies have gone bankrupt this year in the U.S, almost all of them are California based, and none of them are in the states that the Central Investment Network covers – which includes Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Utah & Wyoming.

Find out more, by visiting http://www.centralinvestmentnetwork.com

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Indiana Property Taxes – 16 Key Features

Indiana Property Taxes are quite different from the other property systems. Here some of its key features that would help you understand them better.

1. The Department of Local Government Finance administers the Indiana Property Taxes.

2. These are collected by the local county treasurers.

3. Their value is assessed on the basis of the county’s assessors and the property’s fair market value as per the determination of the township.

4. In Indiana, over 99% of the Indiana Property Taxes received as revenues are diversified towards the local community.

5. The Indiana Property Taxes are used for various social causes like:

i. Funding the school systems
ii. Local townships
iii. City & county budgets
iv. Only a small part of it goes to fund the libraries and state governments.
v. Over 50% of these funds generated are diverged directly towards the schools.

6. These taxes are always paid as arrears – that is the amount you pay at present is actually for the year that has gone away.

7. The Indiana Property Taxes get due twice very year that is – May 10 & November 10.

8. This tax is evaluated on the basis of assessment made by the local tax assessors regarding the property’s current assessed value. This evaluation is determined every year on March 1.

9. The County officials then add all the assessed values of the property together in a county. Further they subtract the applicable deductions in order to determine the net assessed value of the county.

10. Based on the projected revenues for the county, the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance then sets a total amount of money that the government units in the county would spend.

11. Just like the other taxes, sometimes you can get some exemptions from a certain part of the property taxes. For instance the property taxes are limited for the senior citizens, veterans & homeowners. They could claim a homestead exemption against their primary residence only.

12. The local county government office is the right place to get guidance and apply for the exemptions. They would also update you on the tax limit status.

13. After you have made the application, it is the government’s job to verify the eligibility. Henceforth, they notify you regarding the acceptance or denial of the exemption request.

14. In case you wish to contest on the assessed value of your property or home, the right place to make the appeal is through the county and/or the local jurisdiction.

15. In this case you would have to attend a hearing where you would get an opportunity to state your stand and explain as to why you believe that the assessed property value is very high. Then the tax assessor would present his view as to how they derived that figure. The decision would lie in the hands of the appeal board. They make the decision within the time period of 120 days and thereafter notify the taxpayer.

16. Indiana property tax rates range somewhere in the middle in contrast with the other states. The range is 6.67% per $ 1000 to 15.11% per $ 1000 of the home’s value.