[bespokeParticipant@bespokeJoin Date: 2008Post Count: 30]

August 17, 2009 - 5:27 am

Before you do any thing you need to know what the zoning is. That is what determins how many units you can put on any particular block of land and their minimum size. Sometimes this is given as number of bedrooms. Eg 4 x 2 bedroom dwellings per 700 sq/m.  Your first phone call should be to the local council to get an idea of what you are allowed to do.

The cost varies widely depending on finish and construction method. For example, does the land have any covenants on it requiring a certain method of construction, such as only brick and tile. Covenants can also state minimum dwelling  size.

I dont know the areas you are talking about very well (been to Werribee once).

Before you comit to a purchase on a property based on what you think you can build, consult a independant Town Planner. They know the rules inside out.

Hope this helps.

[bespokeParticipant@bespokeJoin Date: 2008Post Count: 30]

August 17, 2009 - 4:13 am

thanks for the input.

I am very concerned about them making the wrong decision about this business as they dont have anything to fall back on (except us).
Basically their situation is that they have just emigrated here from the UK and my F.I.L. has been disabled for the last 30 years (work accident, can walk, just). He is 64 and is getting a disabled pension but will loose that shortly as they have left the EU. He doesn't get the OAP for another 12 months. The M.I.L. is 60 and is looking for work to keep them going till they get the OAP.  They lost about 200K in one of the investment firms that went bust over there and have only about 50K in the bank, no home to sell, no super. They had to give the Australian gov 80K to come here. So once that 50K goes, thats it.

They don't want to be a burden on anyone (although we are their financial guarentors for immigration purposes) and they thought that buying a business is the only way they can be independant. 

The bank is who told them the profit was 25K. Initially they thought it was around 60K.

The owner also told them he gets alot of business off the resorts and hotels in town. There is one other similar business in the town but it is mainly a laundrette with limited dry cleaning abilities.

I'm not convinced it is a good proposition. They are coming to our place tonight and I'll get a look at the financial docs and books then. I just dont want them to make a huge mistake as they have had so much bad luck in their lives, especially recently.

Keep the advice coming, it all helps.

cheers

[bespokeParticipant@bespokeJoin Date: 2008Post Count: 30]

February 18, 2009 - 5:22 am

Thanks for the replies so far guys,

jeffj and  perpetrator-
I suppose the renos that just have the existing house wouldn't be that much in it if you did sell straight away if you take into consideration Stamp duty, agents fees and CGT, what about……. 20- 30K for you perpetrator?  and roughly……… 15 – 20 K for jeffj?????

Still that's nothing to be sneezed at, especially if you took a couple of weeks off work to do it…a bit of pocket money

jssmith
I think that the days of any one buying any old  house and making money just doing nothing are gone for a while and I have come to the conclusion that its best to search for a property that has at least 2 ways to improve the value as you pointed out in your example.

I have actually bought late last year a house in Newcastle which is in a "urban core" precinct, on a corner block, mainly because we have to help out my in laws who are emigrating from the UK and they only have 50 K in which to put towards their housing needs. My FIL is an invalid pensioner and MIL is 60 so not alot of income will be coming in there. So we have to help out and we don't have enough room for them to stay with us right now.

So when I did some due diligence on this property the council told me the block is too small to subdivide into the house with a separate vacant block at the rear to sell… BUT if we put a dwelling on the rear and keep the right amount of outdoor space and off street parking required per dwelling, we can apply to subdivide with the DA     (cause its in a urban core precinct).

Is that a councils logic or what!

So Ive made a quick calculation of what the front house would be worth with a smaller back yard, plus the the rear house and subtracted the costs involved and I think there is about 130 – 150 K of equity in it.

This has come as a bit of a shock to me as we only did this to help house the in laws and get a IP in the front house. There was no grand plan to start with.

So now I'm thinking I may start to research in my area (Newcastle) areas within the Urban core precincts and corner blocks to know a good opportunity when I see it as well as doing renos…………in my spare time after work!  I agree that to do it full time would require alot of equity and I wouldn't be as attractive a borrower for the banks otherwise. Maybe slowly slowly in time eh?

I need to do alot more research and learn alot more I think.

We don't plan to sell these properties as they will be cash flow positive to the tune of about $100 per week + depreciation (in todays terms) when the in laws move into the granny flat we are going to build when we build our house (on 3/4 acre).

I guess I can use this as a case study for myself as we have to reno the front house to get decent tennants.

bespoke

[bespokeParticipant@bespokeJoin Date: 2008Post Count: 30]

February 17, 2009 - 10:45 pm

hbbehrendorff,
did I not make myself clear when I wrote

"Putting aside the current market as I'm not interested in a discussion with the D & G ers, I'd be interested in hearing others opinions and experiences"?

Maybe I should make myself even clearer again for those that don't get it:

I am not interested in your ramblings of 50% (or what ever) drops in the market. I want replies from knowledgeable investors about their experiences and thoughts   NOT YOUR RAMBLINGS OF DOOM AND GLOOM ABOUT THE MARKET.  IF I WANT YOUR OPINION OF THE CURRENT MARKET I CAN READ ALL YOUR NUMEROUS OTHER POSTS AND I AM WELL AWARE, AS IS EVERYONE ELSE ON THIS FORUM OF YOUR OPINIONS.

There is a forum elsewhere for the D & Gers.

If you cant answer my question about reno's, then please don't reply.

Geeze, how hard is it to keep on the topic after only 5 posts on this subject?  (weary sigh, whilst shaking head)

bespoke

[bespokeParticipant@bespokeJoin Date: 2008Post Count: 30]

January 19, 2009 - 4:54 am

Another thing which you may not know about in regards to any superanuation you may have in the UK. 

My husband is English and didn't find out until 2 years later that he had 6 months? (not sure of the time frame) to transfer his UK super to Australia without it being taxed, after becoming a permanent resident.

If he transfers it now he has to pay tax on the amount transfered (stinks I know), not sure of the taxable rate.

He has decided to keep his over there.

[bespokeParticipant@bespokeJoin Date: 2008Post Count: 30]

January 8, 2009 - 9:38 pm

Hi all,
the programme was a NZ one and the first episode mainly was introducing the people participating in it. There are about 12 people I think all of them either looking to buy or sell a home ( a few couple are in there). There are also a psycologist and a financial guy co presenting the show.

This episode they did a lot of stuff about the how the psycological type a buyer or seller is – how it affects the way you decide to buy and why. There was also a small bit on a few couples who were looking to buy and they sat down with the financial guy and he went through with them as to where they wanted to be and where all their money was going. 

The Neil Jenman part was only very small in this episode. He just put a booklet type document in front of everyone and told them to count how many pictures were in the document and then put the figure down onthe back page and sign it. It was basically a "Dont sign anything" demo. Most of them did sign it, but they all missed a bit in the document in large bold writing that said "The first person to come to the front of the room will get $100". Not sure what that was about but no-one read it.

That was basically it.

It was OK. I will watch it next week cause I think from the previews that it will get alot more interesting, one bloke is selling his house and it looks like he has a bit of a altercation with a RE agent who wants to charge him thousands of $ upfront for advertising.

I'll keep everyone up tp date.

[bespokeParticipant@bespokeJoin Date: 2008Post Count: 30]

January 5, 2009 - 4:55 am

I grew up in the Newcastle/Lake Macquarie area. Belmont is a nice area, sandwiched between Lake Macquarie and the ocean. Have a look at the Lake Macquarie councils web site. When I was at uni a couple of years back we based an assignment at a site in Belmont (architecture degree) and from memory, the council had Belmont ear marked as a future "City Centre" where they were going to allow high rise developments and higher density development in certain areas of Belmont. I don't know if that is still the case but its worth checking it out.

[bespokeParticipant@bespokeJoin Date: 2008Post Count: 30]

December 5, 2008 - 12:20 am

I was just thinking about this topic and thought I'd give people some idea about what is happening around my way, (newcastle & Port Stephens area).

Whilst I think there is a price correction going on, I think to say that across the board there will be a 50% drop is far too general.

My experiences around this area are that the top of the market was about 2004. Prices have already come down from then (way before the Global Financial Crisis). For example, I was looking around at real estate where I live in 2006(half way between Newcastle and Port Stephens) and there was a house for sale, 3 bed, 2 living areas, 2 car garage and I think it only had 1 bath but cant remember, but the owners wanted $360 K for it. The agent begged us to look at it so she could give the owner feed back that they wanted too much, her words were "they want what they may have gotten 2 years ago and its not worth that now and no one will even look at it.  That house 6 months ago was still on the market and now down to $295. From what I've seen it is probably worth around $280. A far cry from $360 4 years ago.

I recently bought a town house (settled 1 month ago) for $225. It sold 2 years ago for $260. Off the top of my head thats a 17% reduction?

Another example is a REA I know told me his in laws bought an IP in a Newcastle suburb 5 years ago, highly negatively geared, and sold it 4 months ago for less than they paid for it. ouch!!!!

So alot of correction around here seems to have already happened and contrary to the 50% price drop doomsayers I think it won't go much further.

But, as I live only 20 mins from Nelson Bay area (which for those that don't know the area is a "sea change" location, holiday place, lots of holiday homes owned by Sydney based owners), I have e-mails sent to me from a local REA. The prices there in the past have been absolutely rediculous and out of control in my opinion. The prices there are  sliding backwards fast. I think alot of people who have holiday homes there have had huge margin calls. Here is a cut and paste from a recent e-mail I got and there are heaps with the same price reductions and more.

NOW REDUCED – 37 IRAMBANG STREET, NELSON BAY 

Located directly Bagnall Beach this entertainers delights must be sold. Asking price is over $100,000 less than his purchase price. Featuring 4 spacious bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 3 massive living areas, entertaining deck, low maintenance yards and lots more on offer. Your inspection is a must…

Must admit I havn't looked at the listing. and I'm not a REA or have any interest in this property at all, its just a real life example.

I totally agree with harbs post of Nov 18.

 

I'll also add that for alot of the market in NSW, the prices havn't risen in 4 or 5 years and some are priced less than 5 years ago. Markets that have had recent rises like Perth will probably suffer right now alot worse than the NSW that has been in limbo for a long time.

Any way, just my 2 cents worth

[bespokeParticipant@bespokeJoin Date: 2008Post Count: 30]

November 27, 2008 - 4:28 am

Hi chrisb57,

The short answer in my opinion is pay off your owner occupied home, then go looking for an investment property with the deposit from what is left over (if any) or by using the equity in your home for the minimum deposit on the investment.

The loan on your owner occupied home is paid from after tax dollars and the out of pocket expenses on an investment property is paid for from before tax dollars. Can make a big difference especially if you are in the highest tax bracket. Any positive return from your investment will be taxed. So think of it like this: you'll be paying x amount off your home loan after already having paid tax on that amount, and then paying the tax on the positive return from the investment. Double whammy. Depending on what the figures are it could be a big difference.

Not sure if I've explained it well enough but if you need a more detailed explanation I'd suggest you get a few books on property investment, or maybe see a reputable advisor who specialises in property, but make sure you thoroughly check them out first if this is the way you go. There are alot of "property investment advisor" companies whos real business is selling you their or an associate companys over priced property.

Maybe you could get a few recommendations on this forum if thats what you want to do?

[bespokeParticipant@bespokeJoin Date: 2008Post Count: 30]

November 19, 2008 - 12:06 am

I really think you need independant financial and most importantly legal advice.

You need to be aware of what will happen to your assets if something happens to you if you have you assets mixed up with your partners. As you have a child and I'm sure would want him/her to be provided for if something happens I'd strongly suggest you seek legal advice. I have heard of children missing out on their remarried mothers/fathers estate because of inadequate wills etc. Ask about an enduring will (I think thats what they are called). Too complicated to go in to here to explain but a good solicitor should be able to advise you of this. You should also think about a power of attourney as well (if you are incapacitated in any way, someone needs to make financial decisions on your behalf that benefit you and your child).

I don't mean to sound all doom and gloom (and I'm not casting any doubts on your relationship) but if you have a child (and assets) you really need to have all bases covered for their sake.

Cheers

[bespokeParticipant@bespokeJoin Date: 2008Post Count: 30]

November 18, 2008 - 11:06 pm

Try your local council or the council for the area you are refering to. The council website should have details there (although I find most council sites confusing and hard to find info) or the best thing is to phisically go to council and have a chat with the duty town planner. Be aware though if you do go to have a chat that you may have to make an appointment or find out when they have their counter open as some councils only do enquiries for these departments in the mornings or on certain days.

You'd be amazed what a friendly local Town Planner can tell you, especially if you get on the right side of them.

Hope this helps

[bespokeParticipant@bespokeJoin Date: 2008Post Count: 30]

November 18, 2008 - 10:57 pm

Thanks for that.

I will be checking the ATO website and speaking to my accountant too I suppose.

Now I just have to work out if it is worth doing this, financially speaking as ulimatly I’m just shuffling paperwork and moving money around.

Just off the top of my head if the properties are positively geared it reduces the amount of positive income and tax payable, but then your still paying tax on the other side anyway (on income form performing the services). Not sure if its worth it in a negatively geared situation as your really only reducing the income of the property(s) and thus increasing the out of pocket expenses.

Hmmm ……..now I’ve confused myself.

Does any one do this and if so (if not) why?

Thanks in advance

[bespokeParticipant@bespokeJoin Date: 2008Post Count: 30]

November 6, 2008 - 3:17 am

Here here EricH,
Ask anyone over 40 what they had to do to get into their first property.

My grandparents lived with my grandmas sister and family  till my mother was 7 (4 adults, 3 kids in the house, 2 bed with a closed in verandah acting as another bedroom). My grandfather spent a few years of that time building their very modest 2 bed house on weekends. About 12 years later they added a 3^rd bedroom.

My own parents first home was a one bedroom fixer upper, bathroom unfinished, outside toilet, on the outskirts of town. For the first 2 years they had to use an esky because they couldn’t afford a fridge.

To get my first home I lived on base (was in the airforce for 13 years). For about $70 p/f, you got a room about the size of a bedroom (no lounge room or any other personal space), shared bathroom facilities with about 20 other people, all meals at the mess and having to do a big clean up every Monday night. I lived like that for 8 years and was able to save up for a deposit on a 2 bed cottage with a kitchen made out of packing crates, a bathroom on its last legs, an outside toilet (thankfully not a septic) and carpet that stank to high heaven. It cost me $79 K in 1999 which was about 2.5 times my wage then. I lived with no carpet for 4 years (couldn’t stand the smell so I ripped it up), an outside toilet for 3 years and the sorry excuse for a kitchen for 6 years. I spent about 40k in 2005/6 painting, new plasterboard, rewiring, new bathroom, new kitchen, deck, knocking down some walls, polishing floor boards and reluctantly sold in Feb 2006 for $235K. This was then about 4.5 times my wage, but it was a much better house.

My point is I did the hard yards to get into my own home and I did it when I was single. When I sold I only owed $5K.

I do think that now people starting out do want everything now and are less willing to do the hard yards like generations before them. There are so many more “essentials”  that we “need” now. Ie mobile phones, computers, ipods, take away meals etc etc. Our grandparents didn’t have these things to have to factor in to their budgets though.

Still from the original post, What your money buys you here is a much bigger house than you would get in the UK for a similar location and the wages are higher (my husband is English and can compare his wage here to what he was earning there) but the cost of living is generally much higher there. My in laws and husband friends who have visited think we live in a massive house and by my standards it is only average.

Getting into your first home has never been easy. You have to make some sacrifices and I do think a lot of people forget that.

[bespokeParticipant@bespokeJoin Date: 2008Post Count: 30]

October 20, 2008 - 1:51 am

harb wrote:

Yes Scamp, house prices only go up and they double every 7 years. Too bad you missed out buying now, by the time you are going to arrive in Australia prices will have gone up by at least 20%. Not to worry Scamp, I can rent you one of my fibro shacks in Wilcannia for $12K a year until you can save enough to buy your own shack. If you make nice with the locals they will respect you and won't touch your valuables or your car.

Quote:

Australia's housing crash is going to be worse than America's crash. If you have a mortgage, chances are big you will go bankrupt. Your capital gains over the last 3 years are officially gone already, and the crash hasn't even happened.

Wow, I have a mortgage and now you are really starting to get me worried about that bankruptcy thing .  I'm worried that if all the migrants they let in these days are loonies like you my  taxes will have to treble and will still not be enough to build all the required mental facilities. Your lot could send the country bankrupt.

he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he
Thanks Harb,  I needed a good laugh today. I laughed so much I nearly p %&#$%  myself!

[bespokeParticipant@bespokeJoin Date: 2008Post Count: 30]

October 20, 2008 - 1:07 am

I would check your contact carefully if I were you.

I have just bought 2 properties and both contracts had a "death" clause in them that if either paty dies or becomes incapacitated, the contact is voided.   Never come accross it before so it may be the latest thing to put in a contract but just check first. I was going to do just that but as one of the places I am purchasing belongs to a 92 year old man who is not in the best of health, I opted to wait instead of risking $20K on a reno and have the benefactors of his estate reap the benefits of my hard work if the worst happens.

Maybe this is the reason why the vendors won't give you access to the property?

Regards

[bespokeParticipant@bespokeJoin Date: 2008Post Count: 30]

October 9, 2008 - 6:39 am

Ohricey,

Before you make a decision based on weather or not to rush into buying a property, I’d check on what you are entitled to in regards to the FHO grant. I’m assuming your 6 month time frame is because you are getting married and you think you won’t be entitled to the grant then because your fiancé is only a resident? 

My husband emigrated here from the UK in 2003 (before I met him) and received the FHO grant to buy a block of land 6 months after arriving. He was only a Permanent Resident at the time, so you and your fiancé may very well be eligible. 

Don’t rush in to the first thing you can afford. Make sure you look at lots of properties in the area /range so you know when you are looking at a bargain or something over priced. I have just bought 2 town houses at 17% under what they were going for 18 months ago. One of them started advertising at $260 and was down to $240 when I viewed it. I eventually got it for $225. My point is, at the moment in most areas, there are 2 sorts of sellers, those that have to sell (and eventually have to take what they can get) and those that are oblivious to the market and want what they would have got 2 years ago. If you don’t research and view lots of properties you may pay too much. 

Another tip I can give you is to get a good buy, don’t want it too much. Be willing to walk away if the numbers don’t stack up. Work out what your maximum amount you are willing to pay for a particular property (don’t disclose this to the agent) and make your first offer lower than that. You can always make a higher offer if it isn’t accepted. And there will always be another “bargain”, “once in a life time opportunity” etc etc. Have lots of options so you can go to the next best property if your first choice is overpriced and the vendor won’t come down. Don’t be surprised if you have to offer on 4 or 5 properties before you have a reasonable offer accepted. 

When viewing a property always ask these questions.

1. How long has this property been listed? (if it has been listed for longer than say 3 months, if the price hasn’t come down in that time, it is probably overpriced)
2. Have there been any offers? ( if there has been offers the agent will probably tell you what they were and you will gauge what your offer has to be to secure the place. Sometimes you will get told the vendor will only accept full asking price and you can cross that property off your list straight away and not waste your time if you don’t want to offer full asking price. Sometimes they will just plain lie and tell you a made up offer to get you to offer over that price)
3. Why are they selling? (how motivated are they, are they just testing the market and can hold out for a top price or have they moved or paying 2 mortgages and need to sell now)
4. Who set the asking price? (if the vendor has, they may be asking for an unrealistic price)

 I’m sure there are many others that other forum members could add. Don’t be too enthusiastic about the property in front of the agent. 

Also, you must understand the selling process. Make sure you research clauses to insist on being in the contract of sale before you offer. For example, I would never enter into a contract without a “ 14 day subject to finance clause”. Others you could get are “10 day cooling off period”, 5 % deposit. I am in NSW so these may only be relevant for this state. It may be a good idea to ring a conveyancer in your area to ask them about the process and what clauses would be good for you. Be aware that once you enter into a contract of sale and the cooling off period is up, you will forfeit your deposit if you pull out of the contract , hence a good idea to have the finance clause. 

Get your finances in place before you look. You don’t have to know what property you are buying, just a max amount the bank will lend you. Have lots of paper work to give to the bank.. For the loans I have just gotten, I had to supply far more paperwork than I have ever had to supply, even from 12 months ago. Have 6 months worth of bank statements, credit card statements, birth certificates, marriage certificate, any other bills paid etc etc. Find out what you need before offering on a property so you are ready to go straight away.  

When you have done the property research, know about clauses, have finance in place and feel pretty good about a property, make a confident offer subject to your contract clauses. You must sound confident to a REA cause if they think you are a push over you will probably pay more. Just remember, a REA is NOT your best friend and is working for the vendor not you. You probably should get a book about buying real estate to give you some ideas. 

Bit long winded this post, sorry.

 Hope this helps you.

[bespokeParticipant@bespokeJoin Date: 2008Post Count: 30]

September 16, 2008 - 10:54 pm

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

We have decided not to procede with the purchase as the valuation is the nail in the coffin for this buy.

The problems are:
1. It has a right of way down the side of the terrace that we were told was on the title, (old dunny man lane) but we cannot get a straight answer as to weather we can fence it off and use past the next doors neighbours access gate. The current reasonably new fence is not where we were told is the boundary. Why would you not fence your land to the full extent and leave a "no mans land" when no one needs to use it for access.

2. The current owners signed up their tenants to a 12 month lease till May next year at $245 p/w. Our rental appraisal came in at $275 – $285 p/w. The contract was also drawn up in May this year. Why would anyone sign up tennants that far under market rates for 12 months when you are about to sell? I'm not willing to loose out on $1000 + on rent AND pay above valuation because of the current owners being nice to tennants.

3. I have been told by my finance broker that the lender will only lend 80% of the valuers report so that means I will have to dip $15k more into my equity than I originally thought.

We are the third people to start the buying process on this house so maybe the others had the same valuation problem.

So back to the search for a decent investment I suppose.

Thanks

[bespokeParticipant@bespokeJoin Date: 2008Post Count: 30]

September 15, 2008 - 11:43 pm

Thanks for the feed back.

I'm getting an opinion hopefully this morning from the rental agency I have selected about the true value. They have a few contacts and have promised to ask around for me.

I am seriously thinking of pulling out of the sale. I know it isn't a bargain, I think the price we have agreed to pay is top dollar so maybe I should look around a bit more.  My husband has left the decision up to me……..great…. no pressure!!!!!!!!!!

More opinions gratefully accepted.

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August 11, 2008 - 7:05 am

My first post so be kind all your doomsayers!

I myself am about to buy a couple of rentals. I don’t think there will be a bust at all. I’ve been reading a lot in the last 2 weeks in property investor magazines and watching industry experts on TV, notably “Your money, Your call” on Foxtel and doing a fair bit of research, mainly in my local area (Newcastle /Port Stephens). The general consensus is that interest rates will start to come down Nov/Dec 2008 or early 2009. The NSW, particularly the Sydney market has been stagnate or seen a price reduction and this has started to reduce the prices back to a more reasonable level (I know I’ll get shot down in flames for that one). I even spoke to a specialist property accountant (from a very reputable well known firm) last week who said in their research the NSW market is at the bottom of the cycle.

I don’t subscribe to the thought that property values will decrease by maybe 40%. I know the local RE agent quite well and to get a rental in our small area, they have a waiting list with about 15 families. As there are two RE agents in our small suburb, I can assume the other agent has a similar list or maybe just the same people on their list. We live in a small village? 30 minutes north of Newcastle which achieved a 10 year average growth of 11% per year. Last financial year some Newcastle suburbs had a -10% growth, ours was I think from memory -2.3%. Newcastle has recently had a <1% rental vacancy, there has even been “auctions” for rental properties with people bidding for how much they are willing to pay for rent and not in your most salubrious areas either.

So using an example, if my own home was a rental and was devalued by 40%, (currently worth $360 K) it would then be worth $216K. I know a lot of people who would go out and buy their own home tomorrow if that were the case, therefore pushing prices back up again.

Maybe things are going back to what they were before the BBs generation where more people rented and didn’t even consider buying. My husbands grandparents rented the same 2 up 2 down terrace in Liverpool UK for 50 years and never considered buying it, mores the pity.

My own parents first house they bought was a one bedroom fixer upper which they bought whilst having a small baby. My mother takes great delight in telling me how they didn’t even have a fridge for 3 years, they just used an esky cooler. They only had one old car and never ate out so they could get a foot on the property ladder. There were a lot of their generation who lived with their parents for a few years after they got married to save for a deposit (I don’t think I could do that).

I agree that things are maybe a bit difficult for gen Y to get into property  but maybe some who complain have got their priorities wrong, new cars, holidays, excessive consumer spending. I have nieces who are in their late teens/early twenties who want it all now. They’d rather blow all their money and rent a “nice” house in the happening suburb in town than do the hard yards now to secure their financial future. There’s a lot to be said for delayed gratification.

Anyway, I only take advice from people who are current property investors, who have done their research and are respected in the industry, in fact I’m going to a seminar soon by Michael Yardney about where he thinks the markets are heading. Personally I think any one with the capacity to buy an investment property(s) now and not considering it will be kicking themselves in a few years time. Do your research, educate yourself, make an informed decision and don’t listen to anyone who isn’t a property investor.