[chpropdevParticipant@chpropdevJoin Date: 2005Post Count: 39]

September 6, 2006 - 1:53 pm

I’m from the Uk too and I bloody hate WB. As nice as it looks finished, its a complete b******d to rub down and paint if you do renos like me. Can add weeks to a job, and its normally rotted here there and everywhere, and in Tassie, a 100SQM house will cost you upward of $5k to get a painter in. I like brick – even if Ozzy brick is as ugly as my twin sister. You can render it, paint it or leave it.

However, having said that, if you see a cheap house covered in asbestos brickboard (all the rage in Oz in the 50’s) then the WB’s will generally be superb underneath it, and just by taking the fake brick veneer off will add thousands.

Andy

[chpropdevParticipant@chpropdevJoin Date: 2005Post Count: 39]

September 6, 2006 - 1:42 pm

Hi,

On the CGT issue: I do renos and spec build mainly and incur no CGT. I have an ABN and I am GST registered. I have no other “job”. Basically, any profits made from the renos are treated as income – and not as capital gain. My accountant basically told me that it is all to do with your initial intention. If you buy the property as an investment – say to rent it out – then you will get whacked with CGT. If you buy it to create an income then it comes under the income tax regime.

Your best route is to go and see an accountant who is familiar with property tax – and most aren’t so get a recomendation from another investor.

At the end of the day, it is all going to come down to your personal situation – so buy some advice.

Andy

[chpropdevParticipant@chpropdevJoin Date: 2005Post Count: 39]

September 6, 2006 - 1:10 pm

41! Its not like your 80!

And you have hundreds of thousands of dollars to play with!

You’re a lucky, lucky man!

I was fired from a very well paid job in the US when I was in my late 30’s. Career down the pan, I suddenly realised that we had been living a very consumerist lifestlye – and we had very little apart from our home equity (about $250k) to show for all the years I had slaved for my idiot of a boss (who, by the way, sold his business for US750 million recently and none of the wage slaves got a red cent – and the moral of that story is “work for yourself”) .

So, my wife and I and our four kids have had to make a few adjustments – including emigrating to Oz (which was a very good adjustment!), cutting our spending by 65%, downsizing everything from house to holidays (camper trailers are just superb!), and deciding that working for someone else is a joke.

One of the best things we decided to do was go for broke and start buying and selling properties. We basically buy, renovate and sell but hold the decent returners.

We’ve been in Tassie about 18 months now and we own two houses and are building two more, all of which are just about neutrally geared. And, I’m looking for more as we speak. I also earn about $80k a year from renos and a bit of land speculation and spec building.

As you’re from Tassie, you’ll appreciate that that’s enough to live pretty well off now – and the renters will bear fruit in later years as someone else is paying off our mortgages on four houses! In five years time, we aim to own 10 properties and that will more than assure our retirement. And, in the meantime, I’ll keep flogging the odd reno to keep the cash flow turning over.

So, 41 and 300k! The world’s your oyster mate. Attend some courses, read as many books as you can, ask questions, get familiar with the market, decide on an approach that suits your lifestyle and then dive on in – that water temperature is a bit of a shock at first but crikey its nice when you get used to it!

And as for opportunities in Tassie, I’ve just printed four off the internet today – and they were all in one locality that I know well. You just need to know what to look for. PM me if you want a bit of advice about how I make the Tassie market work for me.

I’m no genius so if I can do it anyone can.

Best of luck

Andy

[chpropdevParticipant@chpropdevJoin Date: 2005Post Count: 39]

June 2, 2006 - 12:51 am

Firstly, thx for the replies.

I am aware of no doc/low doc loans for house purchases. The problem is that I don’t need to purchase a house right now but build three new units from scratch. I couldn’t find a ND/LD lender who was interested in that – mainly because no asset was available to act as security.

However, the good news is that when I revisted the bank, having found someone willing to securitise the loan against their assets, the same manager told me that I didn’t need to securitise it! I was a little taken aback to say the least as he’d only just told me that I did. When he went back and looked at his previous workings he had failed to take into account the potential rental income from the new units if they failed to sell. On the one hand, I was a tad pissed off having wasted 6 weeks finding someone to securitise the loan, but on the other hand, I can get on with it now and I don’t have to pay up for the security.

The moral of the tale here is to keep going. I could have given up but I didn’t and the end result is that there was a solution (even if it had been there all along – idiot bank manager!).

Regards

Andy

[chpropdevParticipant@chpropdevJoin Date: 2005Post Count: 39]

May 29, 2006 - 12:01 pm

I know you’ve started painting but here are my tips:

1) A very neutral light beige for the walls, white for the ceilings, and antique white for the trim. I do this in all my houses.

2) Don’t mess around changing colour schemes in all your “standard” places. It just takes up to much time.

3) Do all walls in old houses flat as a tack matt. Hides all those lumps in the plaster work.

4) Do all the rooms the same colour – bar the bathroom which should always be sparkling white (with a splash of colour in the tiles – I normally use bumpy whites with maybe a beige mosaic trim – very cheap and looks good). Using one colour throughout makes that small house look bigger.

5) Buy your paint in large qunatities from a good trade supplier. It’s cheaper, and “yes” you will use up all the left overs as your next house will be the same colour. Dulux paint is expensive and no better than Solver for example. Trade shops also know what they are talking about and will give good advice. Bunnings do not know their arse from their elbow.

6) Buy one of those edger pads with roller wheels on the side to do the cutting in. They are the dogs and will save you hours.

7) If you rent property, then keep that left over paint. A bit of a touch up here and there is a lot cheaper than starting again when the tenant moves out.

Use lots of masking tape. If you aren’t a pro, you will need it. Nothing looks worse than overpainted windows etc.. Remove the tape within an hour of painting. Also, buy a razor paint shaver to remove drips on windows.

9) If you are sanding floors you can be a bit sloppy where the skirts meet the floor as the sander will remove the paint but don’t be sloppy in the corners as the sander can’t reach! Quad also hides any splashes.

10) If you’re putting down new tile or lino in the wet areas (or indeed carpet anywhere – although I hate carpet as it costs money), paint the skirts beforehand. The new tile or “Bronx marble” will hide your haste.

Hope that helps somebody.

Andy

[chpropdevParticipant@chpropdevJoin Date: 2005Post Count: 39]

May 22, 2006 - 11:08 am

$10k for a kitchen! Unless the house is worth $400k+ then you are way over the top. I reno mainly $200k to $300k houses in TAS adn the most I have ever spent (even when I was doing this in the UK ) was $5k. I do however fit the kitchen myself (it isn’t hard to put the carcasses together – the only problematic bit is the pre formed tops when you get to a corner – but chippies are only $25 a hour at weekends) – or get a “weekender” chippie to do the whole thing for $25 per hour. Also, having seen a fair amount of Ozzie kitchens that are so called custom made, they really are rather poor. Try IKEA. Their kitchens are the dogs bollocks, and super cheap. I use them in semi decent houses. I even have to go to Melbourne for them! In cheaper rentals or in houses for resale in lower income areas, I use Bunnings. I’ll send you a photo of one I did for $1850 including taps, ss sink, extractor and wall units if you want. The thing is they look good and new, and they do the job. Another thing to consider, if you can, is to just change doors, handles and work top (or any of those). Put in some new Bronx Marble (lino) and furnish suitaby and you’ll be amazed! And, don’t go over the top… there is a reason why most new build builders do not offer wall units as standard.

Anyway, that’s my 10 cents worth.

Andy

[chpropdevParticipant@chpropdevJoin Date: 2005Post Count: 39]

April 27, 2006 - 3:28 pm

I know a good divorce lawyer.[biggrin]

.

[chpropdevParticipant@chpropdevJoin Date: 2005Post Count: 39]

December 11, 2005 - 12:20 am

Okay, I’ll speak to the surveyor/council. It’ll make everything a lot easier if I can sell the houses off now.

Best regards and thanks,

Andy