Hi thereIf you do a search for "serviced apartment" on this forum you will see lots of posts explaining why there has been little or no capital growth in your unit.If it isn't going to go up in value, you really have two choices.  Firstly, sell it and put your money into something that will grow in value.  Or hang onto it for cash flow.  While th…[Read more]

Hi VictoriaTerryw and Qlds007  are very knowledgeable chaps.  If you do a search of all other posts they've made on the forum you'll be overwhelmed with a wealth of knowledge.  Listen to these two carefully.  They know their stuff.Best of luck!

Hey lila where are you based?

Aaron_C wrote:
Speak to as many people as possible. You don't have to follow the advice of every single person but by talking to people you get a better idea of what you are comfortable with and how you should go about your own business.

  Great advice!  Some people will have some ideas you like and some you don't.  Pick and choose from ev…[Read more]

I posted a bit of an explanation as to why use an offset account in this thread;https://www.propertyinvesting.com/forums/property-investing/help-needed/4343894?#comment-258117Hope it helps….

Everybody is looking out for their own interests, and their own bank account balance.  It is important to remember that.  Very few people remain in the world that are happy to be honest about how an investment will impact you – even if it means they lose out on a sale.  It is for this reason you need to be sure in your mind of what you are do…[Read more]

It's an account you put money into, and the balance of it is treated as though you'd paid it off the mortgage (so you pay no interest on your mortgage as per however much is in the offset account).  So let's say your mortgage owings are $300k and your offset account contains $40k.  Your mortgage will be charged interest only on $260k.The d…[Read more]

It would be a worthwhile exercise comparing the council rates and such.  I recently had the opportunity to see the council rates, body corporate fees and such for a new "house" for 2011 and also 2009.  I was able to see how rapidly the bills had risen and it was disturbing.  Basically what had occurred is that a developer had bought the street, an…[Read more]

Just a suggestion…If you have $600k in cash, there are a lot of suburbs you can buy in without a finance clause.  A means of muscling out the competition.  You could buy a place for cash, and then apply a financier to finance it after the fact, thereby getting most of your cash back.  And repeat.  Might mean you get a low offer accepted in exc…[Read more]

Not being funny, but what can they do if you choose not to pay these fines?  You are not an American citizen, so what is their plan?  Extradition?  Hehhee

Because people are stupid.  They'll spend more time deciding which clothes washing liquid is the best buy this week than they will researching a property purchase that will cost them a couple of hundred thousand dollars.  They see a low-cost unit and think it is a bargain, but don't realise there are other factors.

Charge more rent (say $15-$20 per week) and get them to sign a pet clause, acknowledging they'll be liable for any damage the pet causes.  Also have on the clause that they have to steam clean the carpets and curtains every six months and show the property manager the receipts.  I've got someone renting a one-bedder from me that happily agreed t…[Read more]

Hi FF430Why not grab a copy of the Australian Property Investor magazine and study the rear pages (statistics).  Look for suburbs that have good historical capital growth (at least 8% listed in the 10 year annual capital growth column), above 6% rental yield, and below 3% vacancy rate.  Better still if there is new infrastructure coming to the s…[Read more]

Loving this thread Engelo.  Keep the story rolling! 

If you are negative gearing, you are making a loss.  You will be able to get a portion of this loss back by claiming it against your tax return, but make no mistake, you will not get all of it back.  So overall you still make a loss.Either way, in order to negative gear, you need an income to claim the loss against.  What if you lose your jo…[Read more]

I live and invest in VIC.  Richard (who posted in this thread) is a broker based in QLD and he is my broker.  You can arrange all that sort of thing via email, fax and phone these days.  You do not need a local broker.  You simply need a good one.  Doesn't matter if he/she is on the other side of the country.

Check that your loan offer from the bank allows a 90 day settlement. 

As Richard says, the $6k stamp duty and fees is not realistic.  I just did a smsf purchase with St George as the financier… Richard organised the mortgage (thanks Richard! ).  To give you an idea of the costs you'll be up against, even after the smsf is set up:Bare Trust : $800Bank fees: $2300 (seriously – they charge $1500 just to read your 4…[Read more]

You've got your solicitor involved, yes?

Any idea what time at the Mitcham hotel, and if it is necessary to book?