$7000 bill got me regretting a purchase in Brisbane!

Yes, I got a plumber as I am looking to do a granny flat, the builder had the council records indicating where the main sewer connection was, however paper records can be inaccurate some times so the only way to really know is to do a camera check which in conjunction with a transmitter and scanner can tell you exactly where a pipe runs underground, and by looking at a monitor you can see the condition of the pipe very well. Have the business card for the guy I can get it to you later.

 

A week after settlement 7yr tennant calls advising all plumbings backing up, advises it's been a continual issue approx every 6mths, mainly during winter.

Luckily the awesome plumber I got onto had been looking after the place for the past 9yrs, when it was septic tank, confirmed it had been a continual issue since mains connection, believed it was related, recommended to PM to have him research what the issue was however over the years PM just kept getting him out to plunge the pipes. Turns out PM never advised previous owners/landlords.

Long story short I got the plumber to check it out with a camera and it became Watercorps problem/cost.
"Apparently" when the mains line was installed, they (likely contractors) used the wrong joiners to connect all premises to it, items clog at the join backing the whole system up, not only mine but anyone connected to the branch, neighbours were having similar issues, one had their rear yard flooded with doo'doo's, sprayed all over the back of their house when the line was cleared with a Watercorp airline.

My plumber is down there this week digging up/replacing all the connections, ~10 of them, as a contractor to Watercorp, no cost to us directly, but obviously one of those stuff ups that cost all Watercorp customers in some way.

 

Wow. There's a like and a dislike in this story....

 

Lol when the sewerage go's wrong

Actually its from when I visited El Totumo Mud Volcano is a mud volcano located in northern Colombia in the municipality of Santa Catalina. A local tourist destination, popular for its alleged healing mud-bath, it receives most of its visitors from nearby Cartagena

 

The cost is claimable through Tax as it wasn't foreseeable. I bought my property and 3 months in upon Tenancy I was made aware my Air Conditioning Unit was faulty, both indoor and outdoor. I got it fixed a few days before tax-time and I was able to claim for it.

 

Tax cases and rulings dont discuss it being deductible based on whether it was unforseeable or not. In fact they say the exact opposite.

An initial repair is a repair to remedy defects, damage or deterioration in existence at the date of acquisition of the property.Taxation Ruling TR 97/23 discusses the deductibility of repairs. It states that:

• 'An initial repair expense is not the type of repair expenditure ordinarily incurred as a working or operating expense in producing income or in carrying on a business. This is because it lacks a connection with the conduct or operations of the taxpayer that produce the taxpayer's assessable income. It is essentially an additional cost of acquiring the property or an improvement in the quality of the property acquired…It is capital expenditure and therefore not deductible under section 25-10…The cost of effecting an initial repair is still not deductible even if some income happens to be earned after acquisition but before the repair expenditure is incurred…It is immaterial whether at the time of acquisition the taxpayer was aware of the condition of the property, including its need for repair.'

Just because your accountant claimed something doesnt mean it is accurate. Audit would identify. Sounds like a capital expense and the item should be depreciated not expensed as a repair.

 

No idea. My wife thinks it might have been 'on the go' or 'prompt plumbing'. It could have been anything as far as I recall.

 

Mike, I assume the burden of proof would be on the tax payer to prove that the defect was non-existent at the date of acquisition?

Could be quite difficult then unless you had a building inspection report or something like that which identified no issues.