[AafreenParticipant@aafreenJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 22]

December 14, 2004 - 8:34 am

hi everyone,

thank you for all the responses.
today, we finally got the vendor to sign the contract, with the subject to finance clause and 30 day settlement terms.

The REA promised to get back to us yesterday to give us an update but he didnt. so this morning we called the agent again, and we were told there are now 3 interested buyers (including us). we managed to find a contact number of the vendor. we called but the person responsible for making the decision was not available and we were told to deal with the REA. We told them that we were not happy with the way the agent was dealing the case, and not letting us know where we stand, so we could have a chance to better our offer if necessary.

A few minutes later, the REA called and said potential buyer 3 has withdrawn their offer. (this withdrawn offer was 320K. no finance clause with 60 day settlement). SO now there was only one party competing with us. we didn’t like the idea of negotiating over the phone so we drove to the REA office.We demanded proof of the other offer. The other buyer has same condition as ours, (subject to finance plus 30 day settlement). Their offer was $313K (3K more than ours). We said, we’ll pay $314K, the agent called this other buyer to give him a chance to better his offer. Other buyer said No more. So we changed the price and settlement dates on the contract and then went to get a check for the 10% deposit while waiting for the vendor to come sign the contract.

Vendor signed the contract, we faxed a copy of the contract to our solicitor and now we seat and sweat while we wait for the bank to do their job. There’s this christmas holiday coming and we are a bit worried there will be some delays.

It’s been tough, this is our first purchase, it will be our PPOR. We did get emotional and that was not good at all. However, we have done a bit of research on the area. we must have checked every single property on sale that has asking prices from 5-15% above and below our price range. And there was another property literally across the road (same building size, smaller block and 3 years older) and the vendor is not willing to accept offers lower than 315K. Their asking price is 330K-345K. we attended a few auctions as well, and from there, we still feel that this property at $314K is still a good buy. (hopefully!)

Now, we need more help. AM i right by thinking that we need to let the vendor know 3 days before the finance clause timeframe expires, otherwise we wont be able to use that as a scape clause if the bank say No? What happens if the bank can not get back to us within this timeframe ? Can we apply for an extention ? What penalties will be there ? Are we gonna loose our 10% deposit ?

Thanks again everyone. hope everything will go well. Biggest lesson i learned from this one, is to not get emotional about any property!

cheers,
aafreen

[AafreenParticipant@aafreenJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 22]

December 3, 2004 - 1:23 am

Hi everyone,

once again, thank you for all your detailed responses. no doubt that these tips are going to save us a lot.

we’ve looked at a few more properties in the area yesterday and dealt with 3 different agents.

We’ve made the mistake of telling the agents how much is our maximum! and now when we ask them what will the vendor take, they would say, they might consider your maximum price. And one agent refuses to show us the properties that are listed 10-20K above what we told him our maximum budget.
while the other agent would show us properties 30K above our price range. We went home so confused not knowing how are we going to determine the fair price.

Also, we’ve ask the agent how much was a certain property sold for and he would say, around the asking price. Is it okay to ask them for a copy of the list of properties sold say in the past 2 weeks or this is confidential ? Can we buy this list from the council or something? I think the rpdata would not have the latest sales.We’ll start asking for the copy of notice rates. that will help us.

we’ll keep you posted. this is all so exciting and nerve wrecking for us

aafreen

[AafreenParticipant@aafreenJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 22]

December 1, 2004 - 1:23 pm

Hi Steven,

thanks for your response. i will go for the rpdata. hoping it would help us decide as to what is the fair price to offer.

we’ve seen a few properties, the last one was reduced to $309K from $320K. And without any effort from our side, the agent simply said that the owners would consider $270K. The other property had an asking price of $290K and the agent said , they will take $265K. These are 2 different agents. This will be our first purchase so we are a bit nervous.

Any tips on negotiation will be very much appreciated

thanks again,
aafreen

[AafreenParticipant@aafreenJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 22]

November 29, 2004 - 8:29 am

Hi Terry,

how about a self employed person with ABN for more than 2 years and same situation as JOsh, (about 40K deposit and no large debts or assets) ?

Could you recommend the best available lo doc loans for this scenario ? Also you said you still declare income on a low doc loan. How do you go about that, what papers/ documents you will need for declaring income ?

thanks

[AafreenParticipant@aafreenJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 22]

September 5, 2004 - 1:56 am

Thanks everyone for the input. going to check out Tarneit today, so we’ll see how we go.

[AafreenParticipant@aafreenJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 22]

September 2, 2004 - 1:47 am

Thanks guys for the reply.

We are looking at buying our first property. we will be living in it for at least 6 months to qualify for the FHOG and then rent it out. But we would also like to buy in an area where there is reasonable CG in the next 2 years, as we plan to pay out the loan as quickly and as much as we can within this first 2 years, and then use the equity to purchase another IP. We’ve never owned any property before so Im not sure if this is the best way to do it. We are learning as much as we can, and also started visiting some places. We visited Frankston last weekend, and then Caroline Springs. So this coming weekend we plan to drive to Tarneit just to check it out. We have not learned to figure out whether it is better to buy in the established area or in these new development areas as yet. So at the moment we are just simply driving from one area to the other.
We have some friends who bought in Point Cook at the early stages of its development, and told us how much their property has increased in value. So we were wondering if that will be the case with Tarneit, although I have read somewhere that Hoppers Crossing is not a good area for CG, and since Tarneit is just next to it, does that mean Tarneit is not good for CG as well ? Meaning do i need to wait for like 7years or the next boom to see some increase in the property value?

Yorker, how did you do your feasibility study on Tarneit ? Could you please point me to a book or website or a course that will show me *step by step* how to compare suburbs. I know im suppose to be looking at what developments are going on in that area and stuff like that. But i would greatly appreciate some tips on what to look for when doing a research in a certain area. There’s just so much to learn and im so eager to do our first purchase but i don’t just wanna buy blindly.

Also, i’ve read some post saying this is not the time to enter the market ? why is that so ? We are planning to buy before december, is this not a good time ? should i wait for next year and use the time to learn more about property ?

Im sorry I have too many questions.

Aafreen

[AafreenParticipant@aafreenJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 22]

July 29, 2004 - 10:18 am

Hi Jo,

hope you will never tire of giving lengthy and detailed answers/ explanations to questions of newbies like me. it definitely helps us in the learning process. not to mention the encouragement you guys also give

i’d started making a list of all the questions that come to mind. and we have decided we will definitely go for a house this time, so that’s one question with a tick

just a quick question this time. What is considered as “good size” in terms of population size ? 10,000 ? 30,000 or this populaiton size matters only if im investing in the rural areas ?

thanks again

aafreen

[AafreenParticipant@aafreenJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 22]

July 28, 2004 - 1:07 am

Exactly what im trying to figure out…should i buy in the established suburbs or in those new development estate ? I dont have a crystal ball, and I dont’ have enough knowledge, facts and experience YET to help me be confident in making my own decision and direction. Im trying to learn as much and quickly as i can, but im totally new to RE investing so my learning progrress is a bit slow. Your opinions are such big help to me, so keep on educating me [exhappy]

like Yack said, everything has gone up in the last 2-3 years. But if i buy in the next 6 months, I wouldnt be expecting my property value to increase that quickly now would i ? Unless i find the right property. But how ?

Anyway, yes the intention is to make it a PPOR for a max of 2 years and then rent it out. But if in my learning process i’ll find an area where the value will go up so much that i’ll make money in selling the place at the end of 2 years, then that would be even better. But the question now is, HOW do i find that area/property ? Frankston seems to be popular these days. When you guys talk about Franskton what do u see ? Do you see CG in the near future (1-3yrs time) or positive cashflow from day 1 or what ? More importantly, HOW did you come to SEE whatever is the golden thing that you are seeing in Franskton now ?
and I am not lazy. I am more than willing to do my due diligence. Just a bit lost in the process at the moment. And the more i sit down here and try to compose my post, the more i realize how little i know about property investing. So please bear with me.

thanks again for all the help/ opinions.

aafreen

[AafreenParticipant@aafreenJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 22]

July 26, 2004 - 9:28 pm

you guys are lovely! thanks for showing me some starting point.

I’ve been in Melbourne for roughly 5 yrs, but the first 3 yrs i was a student and wasnt really interested in properties. Spent most of these years living around the MOnash Uni Caufiled area. So places like Prestone or Reservoir never crossed my mind. Always admired Fitzroy (not that i know the area like I know Caulfield) but yes that place is a bit too pricey for me. Or maybe i’ll look at some apartment in my price range in that area while doing the research on houses in other places like Reservoir or Sunshine ? I still have to learn the difference in owning an apartment and a house with land, but instinctively, im just leaning towards houses right now.

Gotta do some serious research now that i have some places to start with, and not waste anymore time wondering where to start Thanks again, now i have a clearer mind !

Love this forum!

Aafreen

[AafreenParticipant@aafreenJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 22]

July 26, 2004 - 9:30 am

Hi Jo,

Thanks so much for your reply! Your advice on the suburb snapshot has given me a really good starting point. I visit domain.com and other RE websites but i just click from 1 property picture to the next and never noticed the link on suburb snapshot.

we are more interested in areas like sunshine rather than Franston although i have read a few good things about Frankston, just too far for us. At this stage, we probably wont go farther than Dandenong.

you have not mentioned about Point Cook or Caroline Springs or Laverton. What is your opinion on these places ? I have seen some 3 bedroom houses (around 300K) in that area.

I definitely need to do my homework, and lots of it. !!

Again thanks, your reply has made me more confident, that eventually I will be able to understand how this property investing really works!

Aafreen

[AafreenParticipant@aafreenJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 22]

October 11, 2003 - 1:25 pm

redwing,

we actually intended that savings for a deposit, then i don’t exactly remember (or refuse to remember!)how we ended up using it for the trip which was great, visited 7 countries but wish had postponed it. but yes, we do have some good record with the bank and have been with them for years now. we have good credit rating as well, always on time or advance in paying bills, rent etc. the thing is, we now have 2 kids and we just find it a lot harder to save, and with the way we are going, it’s gonna take at least a year or so for us to save a decent amount for the deposit. but yes, we should approach our bank. funny, we considered banks suggested by the mortgage brokers we spoke to, and never really thought about the bank with been dealing with for years.

aafreen

[AafreenParticipant@aafreenJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 22]

October 11, 2003 - 6:28 am

HI Mini,

im amazed to know you were clueless just “a year ago”. from your previous posts, i’ve always assumed you must have been in this real estate game for at least 8 years ( just the impression that i got). thanks for encouraging. btw, did you take any real estate courses, do you think it’s worth doing it ?

felicity, im based southeast melbourne. i’d be interested in any of these areas, caulfield, carnegie, murrumbeena, bentleigh or nearby areas.

if you have houses in these areas (or others, i might be interested) please email me at [email protected]

cheers,
aafreen

[AafreenParticipant@aafreenJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 22]

October 8, 2003 - 6:56 am

Steve,

melbourne

[AafreenParticipant@aafreenJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 22]

October 8, 2003 - 2:57 am

HI everyone,

thank you for all your responses and encouragement.now, i feel like a “real” member of the forum, rather than just a mere observer[:0)]

i went thru the papers but i didn’t notice any ads for wraps except for some country land. anybody in this forum offering wrap services ? or i’ll call the real estate agents and ask ?

steve, i appreciate that bit of economics “lecturing” u gave me:) i’m going to go grab an econ book from the library and try to dig it! it’s important for me to understand how EX , IR etc relate to each other, no matter how boring they are(for now). Hoping it will turn into an exciting area to study specially when i start making money[]

aiyaaz, tried St george but were told this 100% finance does not apply to self employed applicants.

im not saying im gonna go do wrap for sure. i just want study the option closely and see if it fits us best.

aww my 10month old is up again, gotta go !

[AafreenParticipant@aafreenJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 22]

October 7, 2003 - 5:59 pm

Billfromoz,

thank you, thank you for your reply ! all i hoped for was a single response ( my previous posts didn’t get any) and i was excited when i saw it came from you. i’ve read some of your posts and always admired whatever you have to say.

i’ll send you an email.

btw, i get my best sleep around 10-11am when my 10month old takes a nap and my 4 year old is at kinder. night/dawn is the best time i have to read the forum posts and/or steve’s books while hubby and the kids are sleeping soundly

cheers,
aafreen

[AafreenParticipant@aafreenJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 22]

September 9, 2003 - 7:08 am

hi pete,

just wondering, have u joined bridgepoint ? we went to one of their free seminars but haven’t really joined any of their programs/ training sessions.

cheers,
aafreen

quote:

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Has anyone had any experience with ‘bridgepoint united’?

They have a site at http://www.bridgepointunited.com.au

Any thoughts would be great.

Pete

…Beware of the dreamtakers…

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