Yes have to say, that is three times the council rates on properties I normally buy. 

Ahhh i cannot resist.  "help! want to become a property but don't know where to start?"

Well!  In order to become a property, you would first need to be reincarnated as a building product such as bricks. 

Hi again, just to be clear, it is neither a fantastic deal nor just OK.  It is a terrible deal.

Richard is very correct

There are suburbs out there that are full of people that have no intention of ever buying their own homes for a number of reasons:

– Lack of savings and lack of ability to save
– Unable to get a loan due to employment circumstances not favoured by lenders
– Born into a family-tree of people who simply don't teach their…[Read more]

Hi Milliet

$13k is a ludicrous amount of money to be charged for the sourcing of what is essentially just a normal property.  If it were a fee for sourcing a development site that was expected to spill out a huge profit, perhaps it might be a different story.

If you are talking about Newport VIC, it is within a shortish distance of Melbourne CBD…[Read more]

While the closure is unfortunate, it is not correct to presume the entire existence of Geelong hinges on Ford.  There are well in excess of 80,000 jobs in Geelong, and Ford is responsible for only 600 of them.  That is less than 1%.  Additionally I would imagine that many of the skills used in roles at Ford will be transferrable to roles…[Read more]

Don't you worry JP, Aunty Julia will happily dish out benefits. 

I look at areas with average of 10% per annum capital growth, min 6% rental yield, high demand for tenancy and infrastructure projects in the pipeline.  Metro and Regional.  The bulk of the stock I look at and buy is priced between $200k and $300k.

Argh so tempting – it takes all my restraint to not spill the beans on some of the cracking locations I've been sniffing around lately 

Hi DK

Best thing to do is call City of Whitehorse Council and simply ask.

In my experience however, (and speaking generally, and not specifically about any particular council), you'd struggle to keep the the existing dwelling and subdividing off the rear if the driveway is only 2.5m wide.

What are you trying to achieve by putting it in both names?

Dependants (eg children)

Yeouch. Nothing like a case study to drive the point home.  Nice one for sharing Terry

Good point Richard. I always attend the site so I can see exactly what the property is all about. I can often be found laying in the dirt in the backyard of properties scoping out the integrity of the stumps of houses with my super extremo torch hehehe

Hi Jay

I am unclear why you need to wait for your lawyer before merely making an offer. 

(You would get your lawyer involved in nailing down the exact contract wording before you sign the contract of sale.)

As Jamie says, your offer should be for an exact figure, and should mention any conditions you intend to be applicable.  For instance you…[Read more]

Hi Terry

Yep it is a contribution as you say – though I've watched so many people scratch their heads over what that means that for the purpose of the renovation discussion, the only thing many folks understand is the word donation.  Only when that word is used do they seem to really understand they cannot then get it back out of super.

Hi acurabot

The short answer is no you cannot get profits out of a SMSF before retirement. 

Also a SMSF cannot borrow money to make improvements to a property.  Even if the borrowings come from you yourself.  So if you gave your smsf money to renovate, it'd be just that.  A donation.  And the profits would belong to the SMSF when the property is…

You just have to entertain the possibility that everything they say is a bit untruthful.  Ultimately, you have to think well I don't care what everyone else is up to.  I wish to pay no more than $x for this property.  If someone else wants to pay a bit more they are welcome to do so.  But I am not going to get all hurt and offended about being…[Read more]

Oh yes ain't that the truth.  I had the solicitor of a vendor (a deceased estate…) tell his client that their property was "worth $8k more than my offer, and they should get a certified valuation to prove it".  Poor selling agent was gobsmacked.

Good luck proving they have lied about an offer.  It'd be a messy business, word would get around town, and it would be hard for you to deal with agents in town afterwards.