I put the rent up on all my stuff $10 per year just to keep up with rising bills (water, council, insurance…).  The floor coverings would need to be really trashed, or likely to cause someone to trip and result in a lawsuit to warrant forking out for new floor coverings and only charging an extra $10 per week.

Torrens title way better.  Who wants to get into a strata title situation and have to have a meeting for trivial things like tiling the balcony or painting the fence.  Not me!

Haha!!  I am of the opinion there should be a meeting of the key players on pi.com.  It shall be conducted like a celebrity heads style game.  Yes.

The vacancy rate in the Hoppers Crossing and Tarneit areas is HUGE.  Lots of empty investment properties.

Checks.  Yes.  They're right up there with faxes. Both archaic!

What is it that you are hoping the council will do? 

Remember that you do not have to allow the installer to source the aircon for you.  If you buy it yourself you can have them hold it at the store and arrange for the installer to pick it up from there if need be.  There are often money-back deals available.  I bought a 5.3kw Kelvinator last year…. ticket price was $1100 but it came with a $300…[Read more]

Brilliant.  Brilliant!

You are thinking more clearly now Joe, that's a relief .  Just because someone is your friend is not a reason in its own right to liquidate your assets and hope they don't mess up your investing plan. 

Excellent!  Remember to check back in periodically and let everyone know how your story panned out    In a few years your story will be able to act as a guide for others that are just starting out as you are today.

The population of Melbourne is growing, and people either move where they want to live or where they can afford.  Either way, traffic congestion is increasing in all directions.

Everyone will of course have their opinions.  As for me, I wouldn't bother for the following reasons:

1. Your current property is a proven performer, and is already cashflow positive.  You can hang onto it and use its income and/or its equity to leverage into additional properties if you wish.  Richard Taylor (userid Qlds007) or Jamie M on these…[Read more]

Yep gotta say I was also scratching my head wondering why you were saying those areas have not boomed.  They most certainly have boomed.

Kristina in order to remain living in the area you like (ie Richmond) you could consider the option of being a tenant yourself, and spending your money on Investment Properties rather than your home residence. …[Read more]

Hi Leon

If you buy well (ie negotiate a great discount) and then make some improvements to the property (ideally with borrowed money) you can increase the rent.  The end result is a higher rental yield than you would have gotten if you just rented out as is (presuming you've played your cards correctly).  So at this point you get the bank to…[Read more]

They can block it, but you can still take it to a higher power.  In Victoria you can apply to VCAT who can overturn local council's decision in a court-hearing-style format.  Not sure of the name of the equivalent body in QLD.

Nice one, thanks for sharing!

Hi there, give Consumer Affairs a call and they will explain the process to you, which starts with a letter/email directly to the manager/director of the Caravan Park clearly outlining the situation, what you are owed, how it can be paid to you, and that it must be paid within 14 days or you will proceed with escalating the issue through Consumer…[Read more]

Get in touch with Jamie who has already responded to your question.  He's a very knowledgeable broker held in high regard on these forums.  Ditch the Mortgage Choice person and bring Jamie on board.

Perhaps it will say "The tenant has the right to decide whether they feel like paying the rent or not, and that is their right.  The mortgage holder, aka the landlord, will simply have to find some other way of paying the mortgage"

By the way, if you are particular interested in keeping track of a thread, you go to the first post of the thread and you click on "You are not watching this post, click to start watching" and you will get emails each time there is an update.  It also gets saved into your Watched Posts.  Go into your profile to see it.