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thanks so much for posting all of that info GFC2007. I have posted my outcome in the help needed forum (i double posted). If you click on my name and click see all posts you should be able to find the link for my outcome. (it was good)
. A very interesting situation to be in indeed!cheers,
LOL, ooops i was a little stressed when i wrote it all. IT IS DECEMBER 2006 WHEN WE AGREED TO BUY IT.
Update is, (and thanks for replies), we were buying it from a council and i guess they just didn't seem to take personal ownership of the settlement or following things up (even with us faxing and asking). we even had a letter from their solicitor stating the bank had misplaced a title!!!!
So i spoke with my conveyancer and she reminded me that i did put a special condition in the contract stating 'we get to keep any rent that has been paid up until the date of settlement. Another condition put in was 'if after 12mths settlement has not proceeded then either party can withdraw from the sale'.
I'm just glad to realise i wasn't so stupid as to not put in that clause. I think it would have to be close to a record for longest settlement thats for sure.
We came out of it with 27 months rent and our 10% deposit back. (we were getting a 65% return on our outlay) NOT A BAD DEAL. (BUT WE DID HAVE TO PAY ALL OUTGOINGS ON THE PROPERTY, water, rates, upkeep)
for those wondering why i didn't settle and on-sell or flip, value had gone up 7% in that time but by the time you take away costs, it's easier to walk away.
i only learnt to put in special conditions like those after i was burned by a delayed settlement elsewhere and a tenant i had lined up had to walk away.
maybe someone else will read this and know that delays happen and you can only ask if you can have access earlier with special conditions just incase.
I'm in a similar situation with buying from a local council… settlement hasn't taken place yet and it's been 15mths! We are happy because we agreed on a price and that we could move a tenant in if settlement took longer than 30 days and we claim the rent and pay any outgoings. We have not yet received any council rates or water rates… unless it comes up at settlement (whenever that will be) I will NOT be saying anything. If they can't read the contract and organise the bills to change hands then i will pretend 'i no nuffing'!!
As for Linears situation… hmmm i think they will notice it at settlement but if not….. ooops. once it's all filed away, who will ever go back and check it? Could i sleep at night, yeah… whats the difference… as investors we always try and negotiate a lower price (even from the old lady going into the nursing home) we still sleep at night doing that don't we?
i think what you do is your business and what ever you decide… good luck with it.
Hi Narelle,
fantastic result, made my day too! thanks for letting us know.
All too often landlords get the raw end of the stick or a long drawn out process… i sure hope (even though the freeloaders may be peaved) that you are granted possesion soon.
I myself have just had to issue a notice to vacate due to a tenant being 17 days in arrears. my previous attempts at trying to negotiate (to be nice, even though they aren't sticking to the agreement they signed) have fell on deaf ears, and i have decided to kick myself up the pants and say 'this is an investment not a homeless shelter' I too am in a position to increase rent and rent it straight away, so emotions aside and back to business i say!!!!
the reason i snapped today – apparently my property manager got a call from a new car financing company to give a reference to the tenant (who can't even afford their rent) HOW WORRYINGLandlords seem to come last – even cigarettes are move important to some tenants!! lol
Beaniemonster from Melbourne
p.s 2008 is the 'year of the landlords' rents are going up and vacancies are low – we shouldn't have to put up with rent arrears and squatters! LOL
I can't tell you how many times i've submitted offers on 'stale' properties, only to find all of a sudden 'WOW' what are the odds another interested investor came out of no where and is suddenly interested and submitted an offer.. and as soon as i stand my ground on price, the 'investor' found another property elsewhere!
I think sometimes it does come down to the owners attitude and personality, some make decisions quick, while others maybe don't sell often and need time to mull over the biggest decision of their life – maybe it's their retirement money. I bought a property from a farmer (it was his investment property), he took one week just to get back to the agent (who i kinda trust), he finally accepted my offer if i threw in an extra $500, lol. well for the sake of not waiting another week for him to come in from the paddocks and check his messages, i threw in the $500.
good luck and let us know if you secure another one!
Okay, i don't know the legalities of squatters… but is there a local real estate property manager that could offer any advice. Does anyone here know if you would be able to hand over management to an agent and increase the rent from $0 to say $100pw? Can you even do that? just a thought.
If the property is half yours, then aren't you entitled to ask for rent? maybe that would make the freeloaders leave. I have an offer on a place next door to one i already own, it is a relatively low offer (i only want the land)- hence why they are waiting to see if they get a better offer.. but the reason the lady is selling is she is in a nursing home and 3 of her nephews (dole bludgers, pot smokers) moved in and have trashed the place… the agent reckons they get pretty annoyed when he wants to show people through the place and that maybe they will move on…. but they haven't.
Oooh gosh my property next to this one is lying vacant as it isn't livable… i sure hope they don't decide they prefer mine!
good luck with evicting the 'less than desirable freeloaders' let us know how you go, it's an interesting situation.
i have 3 loans with onedirect. i have found the service great and prompt and no frills suits me fine. very low costs doesn't always mean low service. I have phone and email contact with my guy from onedirect if and when i need it, he is very pleasant to deal with (even though sometimes i am not, lol) but he is always professional and accommodating to my questions or needs.
I am with a bigger bank for other property loans also and we have been sent 3 letters in the past year stating 'our personal banking manager is leaving and being replaced by someone else'.!!!! so much for building a relationship.My point is, nothing is perfect and maybe 'no frills' can for some people work out better for them.
Maybe we will look at changing someday but the loans with them are the properties we aren't intending on selling and have a good fixed rate,
hope this helps, good luck in your search.
If you have driven around the refinery 'theheath' you will find it is NOT Altona at all. It borders on Altona North and is closer to Williamstown North than Altona. It may be near Seaholme, but not the heart of Altona. It's a bit like 'Altona Gate shopping centre' – it isn't Altona at all, but Altona North once again. It's a bit like people saying they live in williamstown…. well…. there's Williamstown and then there's Williamstown isn't there? A selected few streets which pull the rest up to this status which is 'Williamstown'. I seem to see a lot of Kia's and Hyundais parked in driveways though. Could it be people mortgaged themselves to the hilts just to have that 'Williamstown' address. Well i can still drive to all those nice restaurants and cafe's in under 7 minutes and then come back in my luxury car to my big block of land with my inground pool and spacious 3 car garage. Now that's living! and we aren't even close to 40 yet.
lol 'theheath' well i have a cold at the moment so can't smell much, but the council spend i think (don't quote me) around $40k per year cleaning it up every morning with a tractor so i honestly don't smell it.
I'd rather that than the attractive high rise commission flats in williamstown (they make for a lovely view). oh and lets not forget williamstown officially has one of the most dirtiest beaches in the bay.
I think Maribrynong is undervalued for it's proximity to everything, i think it has a long way to go to make it really appealing to live their though (with a young family i mean). good investment for the future – i say yes.
and yep the angler taven has very nice food, very nice asset for the area and love the parks for the kids.
i agree with you blogs about peoples perception on the west being quite way off the truth. I love the one where 'Altona' smells like a refinery! Well i've been there for over 3yrs now and although i'm not near the refinery i'm a few blocks from the beach and i have never smelt it ever!!!!! we get the bay breezes and it blows the smell to altona North. Sorry a bit off topic but i too get sick of peoples unfounded opinions on the west! oh and lets not forget the sun in our eyes to and from the city, lol.
sorry just really had to vent that… back to your original topic.
AN UPDATE….. i sent an email outlining what i expect and got an email back at 11pm!!! bit odd.
NOW… i am informed the other property i have with them is more than 14 days in arrears (not sure exactly how many and when this happened) and that an order to vacate has been sent. no other details given. how appalling. i have an email i sent to the pm months ago stating that if any tenant was 14 days behind that i want an 'order to vacate' sent.
Do property managers usually tell the l/lord about this before it happens or at least send a copy to me?
Can i take the property off them now and give it to the others (the professionals – they are very good so far) how do i do this?
I know i could get a tenant straight away, so do i approach the other agents office and let them do the hand over?
Maybe i should look at self managing! (any feel good stories out there regarding that?) My gosh so much in my head right now about this, it's very frustrating.
It's very hard to answer as it would depend on the market conditions and the area and whether you were buying in a lower/medium or high value area. I have properties in regional victoria and I bought 4 of them with a 10-15% discount even though some were advertised as 'negotiable above only'. I have found 30 day settlements work for most people but it depends on the sellers situation and if anyone else is interested too.
Your best bet is to find out from the agent what is their motivation for selling. How long has the property been on the market. Vacant properties would probably be easier to negotiate if their isn't a tenant or if the owner moved out and bought elsewhere. I have found deceased estates harder as the bottom line is the money and the money is usually going to be divided up (find out how many people will benefit, sometimes if there are say 5 kids a $10k discount won't seem like much when they divide it up). Usually go in at 20-30% lower than asking price,One thing that has worked for me a few times is offer two amounts…. one with a much lower price on 30days… and the other a bit higher subject to a few things on a 60-90 day settlement. Basically they can pick one (they so feel they have options).
But usually the agent is working for 'the seller' so they will do what they can to get a better price out of you (even if they pretend to be your friend)
hope this is some of the info you were hoping for. good luck with it all.
Oh Oneplumber, don't forget to add into your list 'stay at home mothers versus working mothers (by choice), lol. The comparisons are everywhere and everyone has their own opinion and agenda.
I may be only 31 but i have learnt along the way not to judge anyone until i have walked in their shoes. I use to frown at mothers who told their kids off in public or ignored their childs crying…. until i became a mother and can now see that nothing is black and white and we all do the best we can.
I know someone who failed year ten, but is now a multi multi millionaire with a nice porsche updated regularly. (he started out in trade and now runs a lucrative business with many employees due to a niche market and specialised skill). People still comment on how he was never that smart at school (like he doesn't deserve it).
Just because someone has a degree or a high IQ doesn't mean they deserve to earn a high income. I worked with lawyers for many years and i could not think of a more boring job in my life.
If you go to a parenting forum noboby would be debating 'stay at home versus work' why… because it's a never ending debate. Each to their own i say… whatever floats your boat as my son would say, lol. Whatever my son decides to do for a job, i hope he enjoys it and earns enough to pay for a nice house and support a family one day. as long as he's happy i'm happy.
I have a sad storey. A year ago we were looking to rent out our current house and build a new house. We found a block 800sqm 2 blocks from the beach in Altona. The owner wanted to sell asap as he had moved out. The house was pretty bad and small so perfect for us to knock down. We offered 370k, he would of taken $380k. So we refused based on principal that it was 10k overpriced. hmmmmmmm, 1 year later that same block is now worth 500k+. But we ended up extending our house which is 3 blocks from the beach and it's now worth almost triple what we paid 3 yrs ago. I guess the saying is true 'Those who hesitate…..miss out'.
We will never get another block of that size for that price again. Lesson learned.
Not true in all cases devo76, we were on friendly chatting terms with our neighbours and asked them 5 times to turn down the amplifier and play at a reasonable time / day. it fell on deaf ears and we now don't talk to them and are more than happy to seek legal advice if they do it again. If you want good neighbours….. be a good neighbour i reckon. Some home owners just don't care about their neighbours (so tenants definately wouldn't).
People that can be so disrespectful to others around them, really aren't going to care if you are annoyed by what they are doing. And i love it when people say "maybe they don't know it is annoying and disrespectful" yeah right! We all have a right to a certain amount of quiet and when neighbours continue noise after being asked it is not exactly on the right path towards social cohesion.
this is along the same lines as the tradies debate…. if you give them beer and are nice to them they will do a better job. You are either a nice person ….. or you aren't in my eyes. If your neighbour has a fair request for less noise then they should be entitled to it. Especially in my case i had 2 kids under 2 and they still didn't care.
ooh one more very important thing…. keep a diary of dates and times. duration and how often will play a big part if council are to say send a letter.
You should be able to go to the local council and fill out a quick form and straight away they should be able to give you the name and address of the owners (as long as you are the person listed on the rates). or ring a few real estate agents and ask if they ever managed that property in the past they may have some details. I would think it is a noise issue, if it is disturbing your peace and quiet constantly and making your quality of life less than what should be expected where you are.
If you have animals, you could tell the local council that it is making them stressed. We once had a noise issue with a Band practisiing next door to us at night (yes i can laugh now) but the council dealt with it for us. The police only tell them to turn it down.
Take video footage if it is that bad (i did). Good luck with it, it doesn't sound pleasant to be around.
Okay I'll tell you…. lol, Maryborough!!!!! Yep, most people will be thinking WHERE? It's 45mins to Bendigo and 45 Mins to Ballarat. It's right in the heart of the Goldfields and i didn't primarily invest there because i knew the area.. but it helped a lot. I missed the boom in 2003, but since then a new 20mill dollar Prep-Y12 school has opened, an ABC Childcare centre, a KFC, a new company about to start operating at the old Nestle site and in 2yrs a new shopping centre with a coles and kmart (over 300 jobs will be created) who both signed on 20yr leases (not the usual 15). We have targeted this place to cater for the aging population and intend on building units in the lower to mid price range. There is talk that the council would like to open up the railway line again for a passenger train (but i think it's doubtful).
I have purchased a 2 acre block directly opposite the new school with a 3bd house that was rented from day one for $170pw (and it isn't exactly 5 star). I have an old heritage house near the CBD which we are going to renovate and use as a Short term rental or weekender for people (due to the farmers markets in Talbot and Avoca) and my property manager wants me to rent it for $120pw as is (but i wouldn't, i don't think it is tentantable!!) they are that desperate for rentals. It came with a block next door which we will put 2 units on and i would anticipate $170-190pw (2bds).
I think if you buy into regional areas…. you should never look at selling. You won't make CG like Capital cities so there is no point selling (unless 20yrs go by). Every house we have bought there has been clean and well maintained and tenants have all been good as it is a small town and word goes around if you're a bad tenant. Yes it is a low employment area, two of my tenants are single mothers on benefits and the condition of their leases are they pay automatically via Centrepay, so i am guaranteed my rent.
I have never talked up this town to anyone and i'm not trying to do that here. I think each to their own and as long as you know your market and aren't outlaying a lot of cash, regional towns can be great. Especially if you diversify. PM me if you need advice on this area, i know the market pretty well.
happy hunting!
Hi Andy,
I have several investments in Regional Victoria. It depends what YOU mean by "Regional", Some people would consider only regional cities of 40,000 or more people, some consider regional 10,000. I grew up in a town of about 14,000 people and for 13yrs i have lived in Melbourne. All of my friends in Melbourne would never invest in regional – WHY? because they have never even taken a drive into the country and wouldn't know what to look for. I believe in knowing your market well and my rentals have never had a day vacant. I buy in the middle price bracket and only buy something that can be rented straight away (maybe spend $200 for minor cosmetics) and with bigger land than the average block so i can build on later.
It depends what type of investor you want to be, i wouldn't personally live in this area again or live in any of the properties i own but that doesn't mean they aren't going to make me money.
I must admit i have my parents to help out with any minor problems, and i bought most of them sight unseen as my parents looked for me and i trust their judgement. My first investment was a lovely 2bd unit (1 of 2) overlooking a golf course and i haven't had one problem with it or the tenant. my return is 6.5%. That gave me the confidence to know i could do this and i kept hounding the estate agents until i found another good deal. (this was only back in November last year that i started)
What area/s were you thinkiing about? I bet there are plenty of people here who can help further. I believe regional towns can work for you if you know the areas well (as long as infrastructure is going in and as long as they don't have a declining population)
Melbourne will start pricing people out and some people will have no choice but to consider regional towns.
hope this helps a little,
My 2 cents worth… I am currently extending my home. It's been 13wks and we get several quotes for all work thats needs doing. My stress isn't about being ripped off but about not telling the truth and not turning up. My carpenter is great, found him in the local paper (not the cheapest but i liked him and he had 20yrs experience) – he has worked out well and i would use him again.
The roof guy – wonderful (great price) and did a fantastic job. The plumber (reasonable price) but too busy to turn up when we needed him b4 the plaster (so after a heated discussion) he came out the day of the plaster (oh and they scratched the whole top of my good washing machine). The plasterers (well gee wiz between the smoking, 5 breaks a day and swearing and loud music) the job is turning out great and the price was reasonable. I just keep telling myself it's nearly over.
Concreter – great guy and a reasonable price, did a wonderful job especially the exposed aggregate. (our first concreter who was lined up for 3 weeks bailed on us at the last minute, said he had another job and never even bothered to ring us, grrr)
Electrician (friend of ours) giving us a rate $10 under his usual rate per hour because he is just so busy and can't do better (but i don't care about the money, i know he does a good job and is a great guy) but he still left a live wire exposed (where my kids could get to).
Beer shelled out in total for all tradies – 2 slabs and a few coffees. Every tradie has left rubbish from the cans and lunch left lying around in and around my house. Gee there were hints dropped about providing beer also. I think no matter who we deal with or how much it costs, it is one of those areas where we just want the job done no fuss – but i have learnt it isn't that simple and i'm happy to treat all tradies well as long as i get it in return. My plasterer told me today at 11.30 he was going to lunch and he didn't come back till 4pm!! This upset me as i sent my kids to my MIL's for the day. But i know one thing for sure, my 2yr old will now sleep through any noise. lol
. A very interesting situation to be in indeed!
