Hi Daryl,I'm a bit unclear on what you're asking here. Do you mean cashflow aside from the rental income from the existing house?Once you have…[Read more]

Thanks for the info you two. I’ll have a poke around the ‘Net tonight.

I’m interested in SA as a possible target for our next investment and I’m trying to follow a couple lifestyle/infrastructure leads. If either of you are from SA and are interested in chatting about the place please feel free to PM me. I’ve driven across the state a…[Read more]

That’s some sound, hardball advice for a difficult situation. I’m going to bookmark this thread just for that bit of info. Hopefully I won’t need to act on the info but it’s good to have in the knowledge bank.

Cheers,
Art

‘Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.’ – Albert Einstein

Basic info like this is provided every month in Australian Property Investor mag. There is a different focus every month – this month’s issue is Unit Prices for all states and next month’s will be Median Rents (S.A. included).

Here’s a link to a .PDF scan you can download if you’re interested. It’s of the table in the December API…[Read more]

1. Personally I like this design. It’s a tie between this an 4. To me this says ‘Yes, this house can be yours’ and also has the upward (read as cf+) thrust of the tick.

2. Looks to me like cash is flying out the door of the house! Why would I do business with a company that is going to make money fly out the door?

3. Is more abstract and it…[Read more]

I completely concur with Sanjiv. There are people out there who do make successful property purchases online without ever visiting the property but I’m willing to bet that all of them complete extensive due diligence checks before they buy. Of course you should always complete due diligence checks before any purchase but when you…[Read more]

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that deals like this don’t exist but I will say that if this is your target then maybe you have to think outside the box a little. Are you in a position to develop land? Or perhaps to form a syndicate and purchase an existing block of units (thereby lowering the individual cost per unit)? It may be that…[Read more]

I too use Mack and Co.

Partner Tony Maclean is an investor and a gun when it comes to any tax questions I have. I got onto them because my uncle, a former investor in Perth commercial property, swore by them. My wife and I now live in Sydney but still use them as our accountants.

They are on Havelock St in West Perth.

Cheers,
Art
(though…[Read more]

Given the other stats and the fact that it’s Domain I would tend to agree that it’s Private Treaty discount.

Nice explanation of the discounting rate though, duckster.

Art

‘Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.’ – Albert Einstein

I don’t know if it’s because today is Australia Day and maybe the server is having a beer with some mates but boy, is it bad today. I timed how long it took to get this thread up from…[Read more]

Art

‘Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.’ – Albert Einstein

FYI, there’s a good piece on retirement property in the new (Feb) API mag.

Cheers,
Art

‘Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.’ – Albert Einstein

Thanks for the tip. I’ll be looking to redo a kitchen in the not-to-distant future and will give them a call.

Cheers,
Art

‘Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.’ – Albert Einstein

The guy who runs a tip I went to the other day told me that his quick test for asbestos is to give it a tap with something hard like a key. According to him asbestos materials have a sound almost like tapping glass or porcelain whereas non-asbestos materials have a softer sound. Doesn’t sound fool-proof to me but seems as it’s coming…[Read more]

My wife and I are in the middle of a small development (front reno, rear subdivide and build) and I’m happy to share our experiences so far.

Also, I have a mentor who has his finger in pies ranging from 3-6 unit subdivisions right up to multi million dollar land banking (he’s putting one of these together in WA as we speak) so I’d be…[Read more]

I’d be interested in reading the piece. Is there a link to it somewhere?

I’m in agreeance with Sean on the subject of RE books. I’ve managed to get something out of almost every one I’ve read but I do crack every spine with a preparedness for skepticism. There tends to be a lot of Rah Rah and flag waving in the RE authoring community and…[Read more]

You say you can’t afford more than $500pw repayments but don’t forget when working out your figures that stuff like insurance, rates and maintenance have to be paid on your properties as well. This will increase the annual (and therefore weekly) amount you’ll be paying out of your pocket on top of loan…[Read more]

Originally posted by Mortgage Hunter:
Should you draw that $100K to buy a Lexus then your original $300K loan remains 100% deductible. If you had kept the money in the home loan and redrawn it then you will now have a loan with $200K deductible and $100K (for personal use) not…[Read more]

BTW, if anyone else is looking at air con systems I’ve noticed that Grays Auctions often has a couple lots of them available in their online auctions (www.graysonline.com.au). I’m not endorsing them, just putting it out…[Read more]

Personally, for the 5-9% (tax deductible) fee you’ll be paying an agent, I’d avoid all the headache of self management every time.

Having said that, if you’ve got the time and willingness to learn and you think that is worth the 5-9% (pre tax) savings then go for your life. There are plenty of people who self manage with no (or few)…[Read more]

I’m saddened to hear the news. A friend of mine, also a young guy, ended his life last Easter after battling Depression his whole life and it’s still haunting all his good friends and family.

If anyone out there, particularly men (as we don’t tend to be as inclined to seek help as women), are trying to cope with the often debilitating…[Read more]

There’s loads of material on this very question already on the site. Do a couple searches for ‘Trusts’ and ‘Company Structures’ and you’ll come up with loads of info. Here are a couple existing threads to get you…[Read more]

Art

‘Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.’ – Albert Einstein

While I can’t say that I’ve hit rock bottom I did have, at one point, ‘bad’ (read as Credit Card) debts totaling about 1/3 of my yearly income. With planning, solid professional advice, lots of self education and a little good luck (leveraged, I have no doubt by my positive attitude and education) I got out of the hole and now have a modest…[Read more]

Where and when is this seminar?

Art

‘Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.’ – Albert Einstein

Anyone else remember when ‘Current Affairs’ wasn’t a euphemism for ‘Tabloid S#!t’?

Still, that’s a dodgy law.

Oh, and if you want a Today Tonight giggle check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewhleenoxr0
(WARNING: Some off colour language from Naomi Robson…but watch to the end for the real truth.)

Cheers,
Art.

‘Great spirits…[Read more]

Personally I found that when starting out it was good to read a couple books with broad coverage of the property investment field. From there I identified my target niche (development) and started picking up some more specific texts.

In the beginner’s department I found Dolf De Roos’ ‘Real Estate Riches’ (part of Robert Kiyosaki…[Read more]

I would also drop the coin on the inspections – it’s good regret insurance if nothing else.

More importantly I would closely examine the minutes from Body Corporate meetings (if applicable). If there is a known problem with the structure and/or public areas it should be noted there. If you feel there is a potential problem then look…[Read more]

I ran across a situation similar to this in a small NSW city last year. Someone was selling a place (a 6 bedder, I think) near the university there and was advertising it as having the potential for +ve cashflow returns. I took a look at the place out of interest and I have to say that alarm bells were ringing from the minute I walked…[Read more]

I think the asbestos question is getting some good coverage from other posters here but are you sure this is the reason for the low price/good deal you’re looking at? Loads of older places have asbestos thrown into the deal and it doesn’t generally affect price.

If you have already done the rest of your homework on the place…[Read more]

We’re with NRMA in NSW. We haven’t registered a claim so I can”t comment on the efficiency or quality of their ‘after sales service’.

When we were looking for a new insurer I just set up an Excel document (though a good ol’ piece of paper and pen would have done just fine) and set out all the insurers we were looking at and all the…[Read more]

I’m familiar with Dolf’s book and know how much he loves his carports. I would suggest, though I’m no expert, that more people would be interestd in keeping their car dry than in making their house look like Fort Knox. While security is certainly an issue (and I imagine you might score value points with, say, the elderly) I’m not sure how…[Read more]

If you want a cooling off period in WA the best clauses to insert in your O&A are, as AUSPROP says, a 21-day Due Diligence clause (meaning that your numbers and reports have to stack up for you to be satisfied with the deal) and a 28-day Subject to Finance clause (but be sure this is worded such hat the finance has to be on your terms…[Read more]