jmsrachel wrote:
I've actually converted Richard's square meter rate to squares. I hope i've done it right.

Ah very good.  Apologies Joe

Hi Joe

The figure Richard quoted is per square metre – not per square.  

It means you should vote in a manner that boots the Labor Government out of power in the next federal election, which is around September I believe

Which one is the most convenient to commute to Sydney daily (for the stock-standard day job) by train?

I prefer the heritage brick look over painted concrete. Painted concrete gets dirty-looking quite quickly, and is difficult to wash/repaint without scaffolding when you are talking second storey or loft

When I first decided I should give some serious consideration to investing in property, I went to every free seminar going – and the odd seminar that had a small fee attached. My attitude was that at each one I would either learn one piece of info, or reinforce what I already knew, or by the saturation method change my way of thinking until the…[Read more]

Hi Dennis, adding to what others have already covered, read up on land tax and how it is calculated so you can understand what the likely land tax bill if you buy all your property in the one state versus having property in a mixture of states.

Maybe it'll go up, maybe it'll go down.  You need to ask yourself the impact on you if it does go up.  Pick where your happy number is and lock it in so you can sleep at night.

Very refreshing to see that you see mentoring as a two way street Sebastian!  (ie that you are keen to absorb information and even do the gardening for someone!)  Plenty of folks out there stumble onto forums demanding free information in a less than polite fashion.  Good manners and common courtesy will take you far . 

There will be many folks…[Read more]

I'm pretty sure you'd still be classed as self-employed but that the ability to show 2 years of tax returns both for your own self and for your company would make things a lot easier than they were 3 years ago.  One of the brokers will no doubt clarify when they are awake and finished eating Easter Eggs

Absolutely bang-on post from Freckle.  Very very relevant and concise.

Hi Mikal

While you might already be an active investor, you don't yet have an investment "in that area".  Different story if you already had another IP in the same town that you needed to visit for some reason.  Perhaps you need to swing by to check some damage with your own eyes and authorize your Property Manager to arrange tradies to fix it,…[Read more]

Hi Mikal

You'd need to check with your accountant but you might find you cannot claim travel unless you are already an active investor.

E Wolfe wrote:
thankyou Jacqui, I will definitely steer clear as advised (but did you look at it?)
Erin

Hi Erin

Yes for sure I looked at it.  Still wouldn't touch it myself.  If I wouldn't be prepared to put my own cash into a particular property, I wouldn't be encouraging anyone else to do so either. 

Back to square one… defining your…[Read more]

Hi E Wolfe

I cannot stress enough the strong suggestion to steer clear of investing in onsite vans in caravan and holiday parks.

Hi Jess,

You mentioned "End goal is to own a PPOR outright worth about 500k in 5 years.".  On one hand that is the goal but what is the real goal or motivation behind this?  For instance, is there a particular suburb that you just love or where all your family and friends are and thus you want to live there… and the standard price around that…[Read more]

sambarry wrote:
Thanks Terry, I'm gonna call my broker & accountant after the holiday to see what position I would be in. 

Hi Sam, I think you would be better off using one of the knowledgeable brokers that have already responded to you on this thread.  No point praying a service provider can "catch up" with knowledge.  Surround yourself with…[Read more]

Some councils charge separate rates on un-strata'd units (that's right, a set of rates per unit) regardless of whether they are strata'd or not.  Same deal with the Water providers.

Hi E Wolfe

Best not to jump in boots and all unless the investment makes sense.  Not just from a perspective of whether the property is cash flow positive from day 1, but also considering factors of how easily it would rent, resell, survive a drop in demand…  not to mention whether it would go up in value. 

Properties inside caravan parks have…[Read more]

The tenant is on a fixed term lease which does not expire until August.  It's all well and good for tenants to cry poor mid lease, but rest assured they will never call you voluntarily mid lease and say hey you know what, I see on the news interest rates went up, and I feel sorry for you, so I tell you what, I'll pay a higher rent, effective…[Read more]