Hi Happygirl,

Another situation is the gap between two walls from two separate properties could be less than one inch.

Hmm, I have never heard of or seen anything like that, but then I am not familiar with Canberra. Perhaps @jamie-m can shed some light on this?

In wondering “Why” this could be, are these perhaps built on really small blocks…[Read more]

Hi Happygirl,

Another situation is the gap between two walls from two separate properties could be less than one inch.

Hmm, I have never heard of or seen anything like that, but then I am not familiar with Canberra. Perhaps @jamie-m can shed some light on this?

In wondering “Why” this could be, are these perhaps built on really small…[Read more]

Hi Happygirl,

This sounds like a Duplex to me. These are reasonably common and yes, their value is lower than a house that sits alone on a block. There are a few savings made to build them, the land sizes are typically smaller, thus they are lower-priced.

I think a Duplex is less marketable than a house – so reselling would be to a smaller…[Read more]

When KBrodee first started this thread, questioning his own thoughts re Frankston North, one of the parameters that can be useful is to consider the Median Values for an area. In this case, for reasons mentioned earlier, the Median was WAY South of reality. Have a read from here (link below) where I first questioned KBrodee about his purchase…[Read more]

When KBrodee first started this thread, questioning his own thoughts re Frankston North, one of the parameters that can be useful is to consider the Median Values for an area. In this case, for reasons mentioned earlier, the Median was WAY South of reality. Have a read from here (link below) where I first questioned KBrodee about his purchase…[Read more]

Hi again San,

One other thing I should point out relates to the “Median values”. And maybe the best way to explain it would be to point you to a post from last year where someone paid $370k for a property that had the median showing as $316k. At that time, it transpired that the particular area he was buying in had been seeing HUGE growth…[Read more]

Sounds good, San.

You asked “How can you check?” and the quick way is to take a look at the Median Values for the area.

They show $400k for Acacia Ridge 3/1 houses, so you paid way under that – tick !!
Also median rent for a similar house is 4.5%, so if your gross rent is $360 a week or better, then another tick.

Other than that, asking…[Read more]

Sounds good, San. You asked “How can you check?” and the quick way is to take a look at the Median Values for the area.

They show $400k for Acacia Ridge 3/1 houses, so you are way under that – tick !!
Also median rent for a similar house is 4.5%, so if gross rent is $360 a week or better, then another tick.

Other than that, asking around the…[Read more]

Hi Max,

I HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE GREEN LIGHT FOR A SMALL LOAN OF 180K

No need to shout…. ;)

Further to what Richard said, not every lender uses the same parameters, so it could be that some lenders might be able to lend much more than $180k. i.e. Don’t just ask in one “shop” and accept their answer as being “That’s it – I can’t do better!”…[Read more]

Hi San,

Biting the bullet for the first time can be knee-trembling, eh? But if you have been smart, and have taken on board some of the earlier replies and have stayed away from “gotchas”, then all should be fine.

To that end, maybe YOU can answer some of your own questions (let’s see, eh?) ;)

1. Is there a way I can check value to make…

[Read more]

Hi San,

Biting the bullet for the first time can be knee-trembling, eh? But if you have been smart, and have taken on board some of the earlier replies and have stayed away from “gotchas”, then all should be fine.

To that end, maybe YOU can answer some of your own questions (let’s see, eh?) ;)

1. Is there a way I can check value to…

[Read more]

Hi Hawa,

As I understand it, you can only have one PPOR at any one time – so, at some point, ONE of those two would not be your PPOR for a period.

Now in 2017 if I was to sell property 2 claiming it as my PPOR for CGT purposes and move back to Property 1 for a few years before selling it, would I
1 – need to pay CGT on the total gain from t…

[Read more]

Hi Simon,

Wow, you doing it all yourself then? Well done.

I find myself now however with lots of finishing off small jobs to do & little time to get them done.

Depending on WHAT those small jobs are, is it worth paying some “handyman” type to race through (with or without you) to help speed you to where you can get an income from it. e.g.…[Read more]

Hi Simon,

WOw, you doing it all yourself then? Well done.

I find myself now however with lots of finishing off small jobs to do & little time to get them done.

Depending on WHAT those small jobs are, is it worth paying some “handyman” type to race through (with or without you) to help spped you to where you can get an income from it.…[Read more]

The previous one was new and it was complete. I was hoping to buy complete again.

Good idea – we get to hear too many bad stories of OTP sales where the final reality is far from what was expected by the purchaser. By buying complete, you eliminate that large area of doubt.

Can I say, ONLY buy complete – and if someone is ever enticing you to…[Read more]

Hi Brett,

I am considering buying another investment property.

Good to hear – have you always bought new? Or OTP? And always in Adelaide? Just wondering…..

I am a bit interested as I hear some saying “Buy new for max depreciation deductions” and it always just seemed to me to be a strange reason to buy new. And if you HAVE always bought…[Read more]

Hi Brett,

I am considering buying another investment property.

Good to hear – have you always bought new? Or OTP? And always in Adelaide? Just wondering…..

I am a bit interested as I hear some saying “Buy new for max depreciation deductions” and it always just seemed to me to be a strange reason to buy new. And if you HAVE always bought…[Read more]

Hi Simon,
Gold Coast apartments have had quite a checkered history. In the late 80’s (was it?) apartments were often changing hands for double and triple their original price – and then the bottom dropped out when we had “The recession we had to have” – Paul Keating. They then dropped markedly in value (had been well over-priced by…[Read more]

Hi Mitch,

We are interested in investing in our education tho still not sure on where we go to find someone who’s genuinely willing to teach or mentor ourselves tho.

Smart move! If you want to kick things off, you can learn a heap right here. I think a good place to start is with the various Articles that have been posted by Steve and J…[Read more]

Hi Lewis,
Good to hear you mentioned a “compaction report” as this would be one thing that would be mandatory after such a “fill in”. e.g. if you are building on land that has been untouched for generations, the weather has compacted things to the point where footings or a slab would remain in situ for many years without concerns. But, as…[Read more]