If the government did something as substantial as removing the ability to receive tax breaks for depreciation schedules, or negative gearing as a whole, private investors would be less interested in investing.  Then providing housing for all those people who rent would be a problem for the government to solve.  Don't see it happening.  Ignore it. …

Further to what Jamie said, he is referring to a depreciation schedule.  A quantity surveyor can do this for you.  I use BMT.  You give their report to your accountant who uses it to reduce your taxable income on  your tax return for the next 10 years or so.

Hi Sunny

I mean no disrespect at all in saying this, but you have very little knowledge about investing and this is very obvious.  The issue with this is it will be very obvious to a salesman and you will get ripped off big time.

Promise us you will spend lots of time reading these forums and some books before you do anything at all?  It would…[Read more]

jenny111 wrote:
I heard that these tenants liked to take just about every things to court. When they were at the property, every little things that were slightly not to their satisfaction, they threatened to take my friend to the tribunal.

yes but that has nothing to do with these bills. Your friend needs to stay focussed on the issue of…[Read more]

You don't have to subdivide if you plan to keep them all anyhow.

That said, check with council what they will allow on the block.  They might not allow what you are intending.

Ring Consumer Affairs, explain your issue and and ask them to explain the process you need to follow.  Basically you need to send an email or letter to the principal clearly explaining the course of events and how much you are owed and that they have 2 weeks to pay it into your account or the matter will be escalated through Consumer Affairs. …[Read more]

I absolutely demand that if I have a rental that is to be offered for rent, it be on http://www.realestate.com.au/rent right away, with pictures, and that there be open for inspections twice weekly – once on a Saturday and once on a weeknight at a timeslot people can actually attend (ie 5pm or later).  I have no patience for agents that open property…[Read more]

If the Ombudsman has told your friend what she needs to do, what is the problem?  Just follow the instructions and hand over the tenant details.

Setting this aside though, I don't get it.  How can the utility company set up an account without a name?  It makes no sense.  I'd chat to Consumer Affairs about it also.

Hi Sunny

I think maybe it is unwise to start your investment plan by saying "I will buy in a mining town".  Maybe it would be a good idea to first determine:

1. What are you trying to achieve?  Starting to assemble investments to live off in retirement, or to leave your job early?

2. How much spare money do you have each month that you could…[Read more]

Melbournite

Hi Sunny

Welcome!

What is your question?

JacM

I've invested there and have a fair bit of knowledge about the suburb.  Feel free to drop me a PM with questions.

As more people are getting interested in SMSFs, I'll bump this.

This thread is relevant to Death + Total & Permanant Disability (TPD) insurance, which you need to take out in your smsf once you've bailed out of all your other super funds, as you'll be left without this kind of insurance.

I ended up using a broker called XLife, and the policy was…[Read more]

Very interesting thread.  I am really interested to understand how much of the yield gets eroded due to paying a slightly higher PM & tradie fee due to being a remote owner that cannot just swing by to check on things

Jamie M wrote:
Another option to consider is extracting equity in your current property to kickstart your investing.

With those numbers, you potentially have $30k that you can extract – which could be enough to cover the deposit/costs for your first IP purchase.

Hi Jamie, are you thinking to extract the equity by means of selling or refinancing?

Indeed, thanks for posting Richard.  This SMSF business is such a growing market, the number of people wanting to be in the know is growing!

I'm sniffing a business opportunity here.  Loaning out kids to people who are about to apply for finance.  Such entrepreneurship!

Wow this is a bit cart before the horse. 

It is unfortunate that someone else is in financial strife, but you need to work out whether it makes sense to purchase these investments.

Where are they located, and what does the suburb have going for it?  Is there a big demand for rentals?

I like to keep an amount in the bank that is equivalent to 3 months worth of rental roll.  If I was not working to cover my own living expenses, I'd want my cash reserves to be higher.

If I struggle to sleep at night with this kind of cash reserve, my comfort level would dictate that I would need to beef my cash reserves up a bit.

ps if you do rent your house out, get a depreciation schedule done on it.  Grovedale is a relatively new area so there'd be some good tax writeoffs.  I used a company called BMT (quantity surveyors) for this and was very happy.