Tax & Legal Tips - Smart Property Investment

Tax and legal strategies are a key component of a strong, successful investment portfolio. Smart Property Investment provides investors with the latest updates, insights, tips and traps for maintaining these vital functions of a property portfolio.

Tax & Legal • 04 Feb 2026

Deposit disaster: First home buyer loses $50k in email scam

A British expat, learning the hard way that scammers can quite convincingly intercept property transactions, loses his deposit and dream of home ownership.

Tax & Legal • 03 Feb 2026

Open inspection: Real estate leasing platforms at major data leak risk, investigation reveals

New findings have revealed that popular platforms used by real estate agents may be putting millions of files containing personal data at risk of being leaked.

Tax & Legal • 02 Feb 2026

Scammers target renters in tight WA market

A tight rental market in Western Australia has seen scammers posing as landlords on social media, with renters losing more than $50,000 to fraudulent listings last...

Tax & Legal • 30 Jan 2026

Triple offender: Shady tradie hit with $15k fine

A tradie has been fined over offences at three South‑East Queensland properties, including unlicensed building work and taking excessive deposit amounts.

Tax & Legal • 29 Jan 2026

From elder exploitation to million-dollar theft: Meet the agents on the NSW ‘Name and Shame’ list

From accusations of serial underquoting and theft to taking advantage of the elderly, here are some of the acts that landed agents on the NSW Fair Trading’s new...

Tax & Legal • 28 Jan 2026

Renter support boosted with new Victorian services

Victoria has launched a new suite of rental support services to strengthen advice, advocacy, and protection for some of the state’s renters, including a special...

Tax & Legal • 28 Jan 2026

$2m theft leaves strata agent permanently disqualified

NSW Fair Trading has cancelled a strata agent’s licence after allegedly converting millions from strata funds across hundreds of fraudulent transactions.

Tax & Legal • 27 Jan 2026

NSW launches ‘Name and Shame’ list to keep records on shady agents

NSW property owners can now run their own background checks on agents and property managers using a new database that lists anyone flagged by the state watchdog, keeping...

Tax & Legal • 21 Jan 2026

Beware: Real estate scams on the surge as criminals mimic agency emails

As property scams increase, buyers and sellers are being urged to stay alert after a Melbourne agency’s email address was hijacked to distribute suspicious links to...

Tax & Legal • 19 Jan 2026

Buyers’ worst nightmare: Conveyancer’s licence revoked over alleged theft

A Victorian conveyancer who allegedly misappropriated clients’ deposits has seen their licence revoked amid an ongoing CAV investigation.