Freind of mine used to keep an old clapped out car worth about $200, still with plates, in the driveway and always left a low powered light on some where in the house. Never got robbed when he wasn’t there.

People choose residential because everyone has to find one to live in. The more purpose-built, the more “niche”, the bigger the risk.

I would want 3×3 leases at least, with a recovery time of 5 years max.

How’s this for prices gone mad. In South Frankston I was rung by an agent in March and offered a two unit site for $180,000. Story of my life, I waited a week and then it had already sold.

It’s back on the market unchanged but with permit for two units at $450,000 to $480,000.

This can’t go on!

I love to see real, on-the-ground evidence of one sort or another. My observations are that in southern and bayside Melbourne, fewer and fewer people are turning up to “opens”. I always get there at the end of the time because you can see the agent’s clipboard as he/she takes your name and phone number. Well a year ago you would see a dozen or…[Read more]

It might be naive to ask, but, what the heck is this “gang” thing? If it’s what it seems, why the heck doesn’t it get attention and eliminated?

There are State as well as Federal laws on this but I know of one Aussie who bought in Colorado with no fuss at all, all done by phone and letter.

Also, they have some innovative financing, eg, you can buy property like we gear shares, where the lender holds title but you have beneficial ownership, which means you get all the rent and capital…[Read more]

This is a regular question. My approach is I use an accountant to fill in forms but never take their advice on property. They are extremely conservative and even low-risk averse. Their mindset is one of “safety” at all costs. Hence their career.

You must be the expert on when and where to buy, what to do with it when bought and when to sell.…[Read more]

I think there’s a second sander you use after the rotary, that gets right up to the wall, the rotary leaves a bit of an un-sanded edge.

Bunnings warehouses are good, just take a look in the carpark and you see tradesmen buying there so the prices are probably OK. And, yes, there staff are good but like you and me, they aren’t infallible. their…[Read more]

Monique Wakelin does stints on Melbourne radio and does write for API magazine. She’s one of the few who can say in a nutshell what to look for and is always consistent.

Job or no job, if you sell within 12 months you pay CGT on the total net gain, after 12 months the CGT is paid on only half the total net gain.

You wouldn’t want to sell after 10 or 11 months would you?

As to affordability, when I first bought in 1973 at 8% interest wouldn’t I have loved 6.0% instead. It then rapidly rose to 12% and we face maybe .25% to .5% rise, but not soon!

As the 70’s progressed and rates went up a lot, there was NO crash. Prices just went up and up. I know this was infation-led but the point is, no-one sold off their…[Read more]

The issue of property mangement is one of the most vexed I’ve come across. There’s a huge opportunity for one of the Franchis e real estate chains to offer a genuine VIP service and, of course, charge a bit more for it.

One Industry that never seems to modernise its methods is real estate. Look at it this way, they get their stock for free and…[Read more]

Best of luck!

So, is there a way of knowing a good managing agent before you find out they are incompetent? It’s not the sort of thing that isn’t worth spending a bit of time on. Who knows how to tell in advance?

By “Regional” you probably mean coastal, but I might be wrong. How about a few specific suggestions?

I agree, slumlord, (love the alias). I’ve just heard from Consumer Affairs and in Victoria at least, this practice will be illegal from Feb 1st. All price data will have to be totally transparent from that day on, both for auctions and private sales.

They tell me that Ballarat is the worst, (Huge complaint numbers) and I bet prices will tumble…[Read more]

I am new to this Forum but find it useful, informative and practical: and, hey, it’s free. What more can be said.

Buy “Australian Property Investor” magazine which is bi-monthly and in newsagents. Lots of research services advertise in this but they charge a fee. For Victoria, Stae valuer general puts out a very extensive annual on prices by smallish areas and is very useful.

In NSW and Queensland you can get actual address history but in Victoria privacy…[Read more]

Golden investing rule no. 1: The higher the return, the higher the risk. Seems trite, yes. But I have seen it proven true a dozen times over the years.

Consider this: $20,000 of your money as deposit on a small $100,000 unit with capital growth at the 100 year long term Australian average annual growth of 8%pa.

After two years it’s worth…[Read more]

The best thing I ever did was marry one! The second best thing is to educate yourself so you don’t need one as an advisor. If you need tax advice and the like, use one, but do your own research and become the expert in your niche. If you can’t do this it’s better to hand your funds over to someone else.

Investment advisors have agendas of…[Read more]