My suggestion…

Borrow a couple of good novels from the library to pass the time for the next 3 months.  Borrowing books from the library is free.  At the same time, it will give you something to do so you don't go out on the town and spend money.  Save save save.  In 3 months time, look at buying something that is actually worth…

Is a 3 month wait really that bad? 

Wilko – three words.  Terry's your man. 

Agreed – AAMI is great.  They won't insure all kinds of properties, but I use them for anything that they will insure.

Gotta say I absolutely hate it when the insurance companies ask me how much it would cost to rebuild.  Those not regularly in the business of building things would not know.  I'd rather them keep a spreadsheet guiding them on the latest rebuild costs and advise me accordingly.  It's also very easy to forget things like the cost of replacing…[Read more]

Exactly .. you have to demolish (which requires a permit which costs, and the demolition contractors which also costs).  Also permits for the rebuild are needed.

Watching this thread with great interest!  Sammy remember to get onto insurance as well.  Try GIO if you get stuck for options.

The 4-pack was and still is all the one title… it settled 2 years ago.  Not sure if CBA has changed their offerings since then.

Hi Ross

What kind of property is it?  eg freestanding 3br house

I've got a 4-pack (units) financed with CBA under a residential loan. With CBA, 4 or less is resi, 5 or more is commercial.

I guess technically they do not add conditions to the contract… technically they probably do it like this:

Print contract of sale document and my page of conditions
Scan it all in
Email to me
I show it to my lawyer before signing

I've done three this way, there has never been an issue…  My special conditions are always on an independant…[Read more]

That's exactly what I'm saying, yes.

Normally it goes like this:

Make an offer, whether it be verbal, via email, or written on a piece of paper and handed to the agent.

If offer accepted, get the agent to insert your special conditions into the contract and give you a copy (a scanned and emailed copy is fine).  One such condition can be "A…[Read more]

Plou wrote:
The ATO has a HECS benefit scheme for graduates in maths, science, education and nursing. It can be claimed every year for a maximum of 260 weeks and the benefit is roughly $1,635.75 – $1,7000 per year towards reducing your HECS debt.

Patty 

Wow, wish I had known about that when I completed my degree!

Excellent – we'll look forward to hearing about how you get on

No you do not have to sign a contract of sale to make an offer.  Even when someone gets to the stage of signing a contract of sale, they'd pay a holding deposit of maybe $100 or $500 or something, certainly not a deposit the size of something like 10% of the sale price.  Be very careful.  Choose a good property lawyer that can respond to reading…[Read more]

Cool thread.  What sort of capital growth have you guys observed in the past 5-10 years in the Townsville area?  I do fancy a QLD holiday, a bit of a tour of Townsville might be in order!

I'd be slightly cautious about hedging my bets on a suburb due to proximity to water, if this is not accompanied by sufficient employment to bring more people to the area, and increased wages to enable driving up of the property prices.    Just a thought.

Hi Andolate

Best advice I can give you is as follows:

No need to be fond of your bank… be fond of whoever is offering you the best deal at any given moment.  This will change from year to year.  Be fickle.

Don't restrict yourself by your own ideas.  Plenty of clever folks on here that have generated gobsmacking wealth for themselves and their…[Read more]

Unless your mum is minted from property investing, probably best to set her advice aside and seek to copy what people are doing who are indeed in the game in a successful manner

On the surface, sounds like you could get into another loan.  Get in touch with one of the gun mortgage brokers on these forums to discuss specifics.  Terry is a solicitor and tax advisor as well which would be particularly handy if you have legal or tax dilemmas to sort through while you are at it.

Richard Taylor …[Read more]