[happyjack72Member@happyjack72Join Date: 2005Post Count: 53]

February 5, 2009 - 4:20 pm

Hi guys,

I just found out something today from my mortgage broker that I thought was quite interesting.
Not sure if any of you have heard about it.

I have a couple of fixed loans secured by one property, that I would like to put on the market to off-load.
And the usual story … bank charging exorbitant fixed rate break penalties, using some "secret" formula that they don't disclose to anyone.

When I asked my mortgage broker for options if I decided to sell the property, he said that the fixed loans were "portable".
Meaning they could be "moved" to be secured by another property, as long as there was sufficient equity in the property to carry those loans.
Thankfully these loans are small ($74,100 and $31,600), and I do have one investment property that I have sufficient equity in.
The only down-side is that I'm looking to sell that property soon this year.

That being the case, I may end up securing those fixed rate loans against my PPOR, which currently has a couple of LOCs to the maximum amount of remaining equity.
So, the limit on one of the LOCs would reduce down by $105,000 to accommodate the two small fixed loans.
And, then I can let the loans run their fixed periods until 2010, and then pay them out as soon as they mature.

Anyone heard of fixed loans being "portable" like that?

Peter

[happyjack72Member@happyjack72Join Date: 2005Post Count: 53]

March 29, 2008 - 2:17 am

Thanks Jeff,

I guess I'll probably get some photos done of the items/chattels, etc and get them sent to the quantity surveyor.
I can't see that it's worth it getting him to fly out to the property, esp in Coober!!!!

But, has anyone actually got a schedule done on a dugout?
What sort of depreciation did you get on it?

HJ72

[happyjack72Member@happyjack72Join Date: 2005Post Count: 53]

March 25, 2008 - 1:54 pm

Hi digle,

Thanks very much.
I've emailed you.

HJ72

[happyjack72Member@happyjack72Join Date: 2005Post Count: 53]

February 2, 2008 - 2:29 pm

Hi guys,

Thanks for the tips.

I have contact Stratco. They'll supply a carport pretty cheap, just over $1000. Don't know what condition it'll be in.
But they don't do any installation, council application or anything else.

I haven't thought of Outdoor Direct. I'll give them a ring.

I have contacted two other companies, whose quotes I'm considering.

HJ72

[happyjack72Member@happyjack72Join Date: 2005Post Count: 53]

December 31, 2007 - 5:37 am

Hi "happy little" vegemite,

What are the costs involved with the reports?
And what sort on an area (eg one suburb, one postcode, larger area) does the report cover?

And do they provide a buyers' agent service?

HJ72

[happyjack72Member@happyjack72Join Date: 2005Post Count: 53]

May 5, 2007 - 8:54 am

Hi Simon,

Thanks for that.
Yes, I think having an offset would be a great addition.
Can the offset have a redraw facility?
Or does it depend on the lender?

[happyjack72Member@happyjack72Join Date: 2005Post Count: 53]

May 2, 2007 - 4:22 pm

Hi lilyhutch,

We are currently starting a subdivision process in Brisbane as well. We bought the property with a development permit in place already. The council contributions (water headworks, sewerage headworks, parks, street lighting, etc) should be on the local council website, although the documents can be difficult to read and the calculation formulae confusing. Best to speak to one of the town planners in your local council.

About the cost of the works, you'll need a quote from a surveyor or engineer. We approached the surveyor who did the plan of the initial development application: we spoke to him on the phone a couple of times, had some email correspondence, asked the local council and some of his previous clients about his work. Things seemed reasonable, so we proceeded to ask him to start the subdivision process. He will be co-ordinating it: liaising with council, hiring an engineer, etc. For a fee of course. I'm always prepared to pay money for a good job. If you don't know a surveyor or engineer, you can try asking the council, again the town planning section. They can't really recommend anyone, but they can give usually give you 3-4 names and then you can approach them yourself.

Hope that helps.

[happyjack72Member@happyjack72Join Date: 2005Post Count: 53]

May 2, 2007 - 5:15 am

Hi Marc,

Thank you very much.
I hadn't thought of selling the old house sooner.
I had just thought of getting the profit from the vacant blocks and holding onto the old house.
But the old house doesn't have street frontage, so it won't appreciate in value as much as a new house on one of the street frontage blocks.

Pete

[happyjack72Member@happyjack72Join Date: 2005Post Count: 53]

April 17, 2006 - 1:12 pm

Hi,

I’m new to looking at NZ property. Can anyone tell me any good professionals in Dunedin or Christchurch they have used?

– property managers
– mortgage brokers
– settlement agents
– building inspectors
– pest inspectors

Thanks.

[happyjack72Member@happyjack72Join Date: 2005Post Count: 53]

April 17, 2006 - 1:07 pm

Hi,

I’m new to looking at NZ property. Can anyone tell me any good professionals in Dunedin or Christchurch they have used?

– property managers
– mortgage brokers
– settlement agents
– building inspectors
– pest inspectors

Thanks.

[happyjack72Member@happyjack72Join Date: 2005Post Count: 53]

April 17, 2006 - 1:03 pm

Hi,

While we’re on the topic of bird-dogging, I have a few questions about them. I’m relatively new to property investing and am discussing with a bird-dog a couple of properties they have introduced me to.

– I know there isn’t any “real standard”, but what is a reasonable fee?

– I’m doing by own checks on the properties, and am happy with what I’ve found so far. I am not aware of any of their “qualifications”, but if I do my own checks (checking the numbers I’ve been given, getting the lease agreements, building inspections, council rates searches) are there any other things I should be wary of?

– I have been told that once I sign up with the bird-dog for the property that the sale contract is automatically unconditional. I’m a bit unsure because I haven’t seen the contract of sale and I’m not sure of any encumbrances, etc. Is this common practice, and how do I best protect myself?

Thanks.

[happyjack72Member@happyjack72Join Date: 2005Post Count: 53]

April 10, 2006 - 2:42 am

Thinking more about it, I’m not sure really about all the due diligence I need. I’m still new to this and haven’t got a handle on DD as yet. Can anyone give me any pointers so I don’t miss expensive things? I’m interested in looking at this deal, but I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew.

Thanks

[happyjack72Member@happyjack72Join Date: 2005Post Count: 53]

April 4, 2006 - 12:33 pm

Thanks again.

My mortgage guy suggested that it may be a 75% LVR if I went ahead with it.

The way I see it, a rental guarantee for full occupancy is vital, especially as you are pretty much limited in only leasing it to students, and for the university year (Feb – Nov). The contract shows a rental guarantee for this year, but the agent said a rental guarantee for subsequent years was not possible. What do you think about this? Is this usual? Is there normally a problem in getting full occupancy with these things?

Also, outside the university months (Nov to Feb), apparently the rooms are rented out for holiday accommodation and I was quoted 50% occupancy during this period. As this isn’t guaranteed, I haven’t used this in my calculations, but I was wondering how often do rooms like this do get rented out for holiday accommodation in this manner?

HappyJack72

[happyjack72Member@happyjack72Join Date: 2005Post Count: 53]

April 4, 2006 - 9:39 am

Thanks Fast Lane,

What sort of financing issues or other issues are real concerns? I’ve definitely heard of a lot of dodgy deals happening in Qld over the years. I’m sorting out my own finance, and getting independent legal and valuation opinions before proceeding.

Is one concern the fact that I can probably only on-sell them to other investors, thereby making disposal of the property a bit problematic? Or that not really an issue, because many of these do increase in value with the market and are readily picked up by other people?

HappyJack72

[happyjack72Member@happyjack72Join Date: 2005Post Count: 53]

June 14, 2005 - 5:23 am

Okay, thanks for clearing that up. It did sound too good to be true, but I didn’t know the legal implications of it. If we simply charged them market rent, which our property manager says is $180/wk, and declared the full amount as rental income (paying management rates and income tax from that amount), and then gave them back $100/wk out of post-tax dollars privately — is that similarly illegal and fraudulent?

HJ72

Originally posted by surreyhughes19905:

Hi,
The simple answer to this is: No it isn’t legal. It would fall under the same heading as getting money through deception aka fraud. Especially if you fiddle the numbers so you aren’t paying extra tax on the rent earned (even though you are giving a kick back). Stick to market rent and disclose that the current tenents are your family and they are effectively paying $80/week rent. If you don’t do these things and you sell to a canny investor who discovers what’s doing on you might find yourself being chased for damages or worse: criminal proceding (fraud) ACK! (not to mention A Current Affair hounding you).

Actually you ask why others don’t do it? Well they do. If you’ve every found a place advertised with a “rent guarentee” you’ve probably seen a unit with an inflated rent.
eg: actual value $100k $100/week
rent guarentee: $150/week for 12 months
asking price: $150k
So the seller gets $50k more than they should and only have to pay $50/week ($2,600) which = $47,400 extra they’ve milked from the buyer. Can be legal, but shady. Often done with off-the-plan units.

If you like you could talk to a solicitor about selling with a rent guarentee to up your sale price, but… In this case “seller beware” [buz2]