Won't be long before you too are wondering how someone could possibly not know what acronyms such as LVR mean.  We have our own language it seems.  Perhaps we are a cult ???!?!?!!

Wow should I post a link across to the thread where some guy was saying how intelligent real estate agents were. 

We can put a man on the moon but we can't figure out a suitable system to prevent us from selling other people's very expensive assets without their say so.  Hmmm.

by the way… you don't need your broker to be based in VIC.  You just need them to be great at what they do.  I am based in Vic, my investments are in Vic, and Richard is my broker, yet based in QLD.  You have the power of phone, internet and, dare I say it, fax.

Generally Mortgage Brokers don't charge fees.  They get paid by the bank if and when the loan is approved and settled. 

Two brokers who are well respected on these forums are Richard Taylor (userid Qlds007) and Jamie M.  Either of them could tell you straight up if your timeline and objectives are achievable and assist as appropriate.

true, close enough for illustration tho. edited for preciseness

I agree with Jamie.  There is no need to discount your product. 

Remember that your rental yield dictates serviceability of subsequent loans (and as such how much you can borrow).  Also, depending on the kind of building it is, the rental yield can dictate valuation and thus equity.

When interest rates were hovering between 6.5 and 7%, the bank…[Read more]

It's student accommodation.  Good luck getting it to grow in value.  You can do better with your money.  Take a look at houses in Ballarat for instance.

You really want to have insurance on the property from the moment the cooling off period is over.  If the vendor does not have insurance, and the house burns down, you are still committed to buying (unless there is some special condition that gets you out of it).

Can't say I would be wanting to gain early access to make improvements on a property…[Read more]

The high fee you are referring to is partially due to the fact they have to read through trust deeds of your super fund to ensure it will not be breaching any SMSF laws.  Lawyers are not cheap.

For sure.  Let's say your mortgage is $400k.  The annual saving will be more than 0.009 x 400000 = $3600.  The saving is more than the annual fee of $375 by far.  And the saving will actually be more than $3600 because interest is calculated daily and is compounding.  But for the purpose of the exercise, $3600 is good enough to demonstrate that…[Read more]

There are plenty of laundries in bathrooms in the 1 bedder market.  I'd compare recent selling prices of similar dwellings to the more modern layouts to be sure I am not offering too high.

Hold the PM liable.  Talk to Consumer Affairs in your state about how to ensure they pay you.  Do everything in writing (email is fine)… you will need it for consumer affairs and insurance. Your insurance might not payout on rental default since the tenant was not issued with notice to vacate immediately.

As a side note, I wouldn't be so quick…[Read more]

It takes such a long time to save cash deposits.  If you have a pile of cash great.  Stash it for just in case.  If you create a couple of giant spreadsheets that compare how much out of pocket you are on a higher LVR loan versus a lower LVF loan the results are astounding.  Borrow as much as you can and keep your cash for the just in case…[Read more]

Depends on the type of 1 bedder.  If you are talking a 1 bedder in a highrise, steer clear.  There are a bunch more just like it that your 1 bedder will always be competing with for buyers or tenants that will result in one thing.  Discounting.  Which is bad when you are the owner.

Some people think 1 bedders are always bad.  In the right…[Read more]

My policy is to not bother with property at auction, unless it can be bought for such a bargain that even after paying out for cleaning up any substantial termite mess and such, you're still in front. 

Wow Richard, who is offering in the 4s?

Educational as always, thanks for sharing Uncle Freckle!

Yep, though in Vic you still have to pay stamp duty I believe

You forgot the legal fees of the selling process, and mortgage discharge fees.  It goes like this:

800000 … sell price
-16000  … agent commission
-1000 ….   selling legal fees
-3000 ….   guestimate at mortgage discharge fees
-700000    original price
-38350      stamp duty
-1000        buying legal fees
-5500        holding…[Read more]

James Hall … might not be viewed as spam if it were not your first post.  It's much better form to provide some useful answers on a bunch of threads before spruiking…