Awesome – thanks British Buyer.  Who is this agent you speak of?

Hi DiTake a look at the vacancy rate pages of the last few editions of Australian Property Investor magazine.  Talk to several agents to understand how much demand there is, and for what type of properties.  Also keep a keen eye on the rentals on realestate.com and see how long they take to get snapped up.

Has anyone out used a buyers agent (or whatever the U.S. equivalent is) to purchase U.S. property?  I suspect it would be more cost efficient for me to pay for such a service than to fork out for airfares, time hunting for property etc myself.  I'd love to hear if anyone has some feedback!

$200k? who told you that??

I think the best idea is to buy a place and live in it.  Renovate when you can, and then if you should happen to sell, it will be CGT free.  Remember though that when you sell property, you've effectively flushed money down the toilet that was spent on stamp duty… because you simply have to pay stamp duty again to reinvest elsewhere.  Better to…[Read more]

How old is this kid?  If under 18, the property cannot be in the kids name.  You could set up a family trust and name the kid as a beneficiary though…

Sounds to me like you know full well you'll have your backs to the wall if you go with the "all eggs in one basket" strategy (the 1.2mill property).Remember that negative gearing still involves making a loss.  It shouldn't be your reason for purchasing.Why not get 2 x $400k properties right away?Have you looked into starting a SMSF (self managed…[Read more]

It depends on the situation.  For eg :What suburb? What property size? (eg 1bedder versus 4 bedder).  What target market? (eg young professionals?  Growing families?)What price bracket? If it were an established home, would you consider extending the property to add rooms?

The rental return figure is also misleading.  The return will depend on the location of the grannyflat.

Would it be cheaper to simply extend and renovate the existing dwelling?

Infrastructure is good.  If the government is going to make it easier for residents of a township to get to work and so on more efficiently with major roads and train lines, that is good.  Of course, you don't want your property bang next to the freeway listening to loud trucks all the time.The only time people get upset about new roads is when t…[Read more]

Um…. I think it is not going to be that easy.  You might be better off employing a buyers agent that specialises, for example in "Melbourne South Eastern Suburbs".  They will have a good idea of which suburbs are more likely to boom soon, and where the "good streets" are.  Either that or choose a few suburbs and work it out for yourself [Read more]

Keep in mind that let's say you have to give the existing tenant 60 days notice, there might be little point in showing new tenants through that early.  Ask some local agents how quickly tenants in the area are aiming to move in.  If it is "I have to be able to move in within 3 weeks…." then showing people through 60 days in advance might be p…[Read more]

Very very interesting.  Hey was your accountant OK with you posting his privately-commissioned advice on a public forum?

refer here: https://www.propertyinvesting.com/forums/property-investing/help-needed/4334296

Hi MarioHere are some things to start with:Get your hands on a copy of Australian Property Investor magazine and become familiar with the tables on the back pages that show capital growth, rental yield, and vacancy rates.  These are important statistics and will help you choose a suburb to focus on.  It is also said that if you find a suburb t…[Read more]

Hi AlohaI hope you don't refinance your house to buy a car again!  Cars depreciate!

If it were me:I would book an appointment to enter the property myself to investigate where the rustling is coming from – and of course ask the tenant lots of questions about it to help me determine it.  It could be anything – a mouse or two – birds having gotten into your roof to make a home in there (in which case the birds would need removal…[Read more]

are these people going to demand assistance to change a lightbulb?  really and truly… a mousetrap is like a dollar or something at the local supermarket.

Where are the rustling noises coming from?  Presuming it is mice, why not try some mousetraps and/or ratsack poison?