You could try checking with the body corporate to see if a pest inspection has been carried out lately. As for the building inspection, I would organise one. Remember, the real estate agent is working for the vendor and not you – for that reason, I wouldn't rely soley on his/hers information.
In any case, a building inspection on a unit should be a fair bit cheaper than a house.
If you feel that the property is not performing and the money could be utilised better elsewhere (either a PPOR or an IP) then I'd be tempted to sell it. Where is the property located?
Could you possibly add value to the property? You might be suprised with what a few costmetic renos can acheive.
Because it's an IP, you'll be up for CGT when selling as well as the general costs associated with selling a property.
You'd only have one offset account against one loan. That $100k would offset the balance on ONE loan. If you have a PPOR debt, it would be ideal to have the offset account attached to that loan.
Your welcome. Just noticed my spelling was atrocious.
Denuine = genuine Made = mad
If your thinking about becoming self-employed you're unlikley to get a full-doc loan within the first year or two (assuming your business does well and you can provide evidence of income). This means you'll need a larger deposit compared to a PAYG applicant.
A large $600k PPOR debt will effect your borrowing capacity in the future (as will the $24k car loan).
Instead of buying something "new" – have you thought about purchasing something that you could add value to? You might find something that could do with a few cosmetic reno's that will add some equity. IMO, this would be a safer option then investing o/s in the states or Brazil in the hope of capitalising on some fast growth.
If you haven't already set your home loan (PPOR) up as interest only I'd strongly advise you do so. If you anticipate that this property will become an IP in the future, there's no point in paying down the principle. Instead set-up an offset account attached to an interest only loan and deposit your excess funds in there. When it becomes an IP in the future, you can withdraw the funds and place them in an offset account linked to your new PPOR (this essentially increases your deductable debt).
Depending on your current lender, you could access up to 90% of the value in your PPOR. This will give you around $100k for a deposit and purchasing costs on your next property (however, this is likely to incur some mortgage insurance fees – which won't be tax deductable because the purpose of the funds is to purchase a new PPOR). If you'd prefer to avoid mortgage insurance, you could access up to 80% of the properties value which would give you approximately $60k for your next purchase.
I've never been in a position to need/take advantage of negative gearing. I went for a positive geared property. If you want cash flow go to the mining towns!
No doubt that the yields are greater in mining towns – however, there is a greater element of risk (not saying it's a bad thing though – greater risk, greater reward).
Agree with the guys above. IO with offset account is the way to go. However, it's important that you remain disciplined and continue to make regular deposits into your offset account (ie. don't just make the minimal interest only repayments).
When it does come time to purchase an IP (if this is what you choose to do) it may be best to access some of the equity in your current PPOR to use as a deposit (and purchasing costs) instead of using the cash that's in your offset. When investing, it helps to have some back-up funds tucked away in an offset (good for risk minimisation).
The point of my 'discussion' though is to clarify that 'making your decision' and 'shoving your personal opinion down someone elses throat like they're a bunch of morons' are two completely different things. Whether you think you are right or not, you don't have to be rude about it.
Or just set it-up as a second IO split on the variable product. If it's set-up as a second facility you'll be able to easliy identify the deductable debt from the non-deductable.
If someone is happy to lend based on that then go with it. Good on you Jamie for having a crack, people need to make their own decisions and take responsibility for their own investing.
Sigh, I'm too boring to be published LOL!
D
Cheers D My investing will be a bit boring for the next few years – just about to exchange on my last IP for a while.