I have a lender on my panel that will do 6 unit on one title

If you are saying that you can do this as residential, frankly I don’t beleive you. Maybe at residential rates, but not as a residential lend ie same LVR etc.

Hi Therese,

Can you give a little more info on the type of units eg are they upmarket or are you looking to get them done as cheaply as possible. I have dealings with a number of buoilders and am happy to recommend one, but they are all suitable for different sorts of developments, depending on what you’re after.

Regards
Alistair

Hi JWN,

You can do substantially better than that in terms of both rate and leverage. The rate will be heavily dependent on the actual size of the loan and the Leverage that you want. You can get very good rates up to 70% quite easily, if you want to go higher there are a number of ways you can do it and which is best depends on factors,…[Read more]

I’m with LifeX (although I’m biased because I live in Bayside). There are some great secong choice suburbs such as Highett, Hampton East and Cheltenham where you can still get hopuses around the $400K mark. If you go further away from the City you get more properties in this price range.

Regards
Alistair

Hi Frank,

It is possible to build over an easement, you need to get in contact with the appropriate referral authority, this will depend on what type of easement it is.

I own a town planning consultancy and would be more than happy to get one of my planners to give you some assistance if required. Have a look at our web site…[Read more]

95% lo docs have been around for a while Josh.

Hi JRN,

I am not against selling property, but you have to take into account the cost of doing so and, looking foward, whether it will put you in a better position in terms of your net wealth. If you absolutely have to sell at a loss, then do so, this is a risk we all bare as investors and should be looked as a cost of doing business. There are…[Read more]

Hi TK,

In answer to your queries:

1) There is no minimum lot size, however there are requirements for car parking, open space etc that mean that in reality the lot has to be of a certain size. Having said this, a good designer will often be able to fit a dual occ on a block that a less skillful designer could not.
2) Not sure
3) Have a look at…[Read more]

What do you mean you are in a bad way. You’re doing bettere than most people and are in a very good position to invest. Just work out what sort of investment (ie commercial property, residential property, shares etc) you are most comfortable with and go for it.

A good site for info on commercial property is http://www.gal.com.au by the way.

Regards
Alistair

I would consider council enquiries to be the first and most important piece. If they wont conisder a Development Application then the project would be delayed through concilliation.

This and similar advice comes up as advice very often, it is not correct. Nothing you are told by a council officer in an initial inquiry, particularly if there are…[Read more]

Hi Steve,

RE Agents will generally price commercial property on a per square metre basis when comparing sales prices. Obviously the quality of the current tennants and their leases will affect this, but you are unlikely to get a great discount on unleased space unless there is a forced seller or the property is a lemon.

As you are new to…[Read more]

Hi John,

I am in Victoria also. I can promise you that in general you do require a planning permit prior to subdividing (I own a town planning consultancy by the way), and in most cases you need to have started building. The circumstances where this is not the case are generally in outlying areas where there are very large block sizes eg…[Read more]

Hi Whitelaw,

If you are subdividing just using a surveyer then you have obviously purchased quite large lots. This is really only possible in outer areas like Paynesville (which I think is a very good area by the way). In most cases it is necessary to obtain a planning permit prior to subdividing and councils generally like building to have…[Read more]

Hi Peter,

This is not a suggestion for making the unit cashflow positive, but is important nontheless. Make sure the loan you get is interest only and that you have a 100% offset account attached, as you intend to make the property an IP in future it is important that you don’t tie up excess equity in the property.

Regards
Alistair

Hi Dave,

One thing that is very important to understand when dealing with town planning is that the permit pertains to a design. The zoning and overlays are very important, but just because what you propose seems to fit the resrtictions they place on the block is by no means a guarrentee that you will get a permit to build what you want.

Your…[Read more]

I would go with a mixture of the two options. I would buy somewhere to live for a short time to get access to the FHOG, livie in it for at least 6 months and then move back home and turn it into a rental. If you do your sums I think you will find that you would be quite a long way ahead after 6 months as compared to if you bought a property and…[Read more]

Hi Steve,

If they are good then use them by all means. I wouldn’t even consider the donation to the Salvos’s though. This is just a marketing ploy. If you are concerned about using a broker who is a good citizen ask them when you first meet them if they give to charities, I’m sure there are lots of brokers who donate money to good causes, just…[Read more]

Hi Giulio,

The answer to your problem is pretty simple, don’t deal with the council yourself and don’t expect preofessional advice from an architect when it comes to town planning (some are very knowledgable in this area but most arne’t), get a town planning consultant.

Regards
Alistair

Hi Joolz,

I know a few commecial buyers agents who operate in Victoria, two of them that I know well enough to recommend, if you want some professional assistance with locating and purchasing commercial IP’s are:

Chris Lang of Gardner & Lang http://www.gal.com.au
Stuart Bonning of Bonning Property

Chris Lang’s contact details can be found on his web…[Read more]

Hi Mick,

If you already have approval for the subdivision you can do this with a simple construction loan. If not there are a number of lenders that will give you what they consider to be an unsecured loan of an additional 10-15% on top of the regular 70%, I’ve emailed you some info re this. There are also lenders that do a straight 85% lend,…[Read more]