yeah the house's yard got mildly flooded during last yr's feb flood but it wasnt too bad.  my dad ran the disaster relief centres so it was great having him on call for when we were looking to buy.   the house as it currently sits didnt get affected tho cos its quite high off the ground already.  with building in underneith we werent too wo…[Read more]

yep we know.  but we arent in the position to live in mky just yet.  rather buy earlier than expected and take advantage of capital gains … but we just are picky and take our time buying if we buy again some time over the next 18 months the house we would get would cost about $400k (we've seen a few ideal houses of this price lately).  if we bu…[Read more]

basically we are unsure if we want to keep this house long enough now that our future plans are unexpectedly changing.current situation:  one income and living in a company house in a mining town.  the original plan was for us to move back to mackay in 1 year and live in the house we bought in June.  because i would have been returning to the wo…[Read more]

HiI live in Moranbah but invest in Mackay.  I come into Mackay once or twice a month but I always have both my young kids and never a babysitter.  So its impossible to catch up.  But there is another guy on here from Mackay and I think his username is Ash.  So if he doesnt reply to this thread maybe look him up on here and send him a mes…[Read more]

not much to add, but definitely tell centrelink because we just purchased again in June and the rent return pushed us over the limit of what FTBs we recieve.  we have gone from $5k a yr to nothing.  we dont really mind though because it was bound to happen with us wanting to continue purchasing.  so tell them straight away so you dont owe money ba…[Read more]

i know someone but i gotta wait til Sunday to get his number.  There is a guy at my church who is a builder out here. But I only know his first name and cant remember his business name.  So cant look him up.  Ill grab his details and pass them on then.

wow.  isnt that trespassing?

I live in Moranbah, ill ask around for u.  although this time of yr the town clears out a fair bit.  best to get it done before it gets even closer to christmas / new yrs.  basically the whole town closes over that period.  What exactly is the problem with the gate?

Hi AshI would love to catch up for coffee, however every time I come into town I have my two kids aged 2 and 4 with me … so an adult conversation such as this is impossible ha.My husband and I are just starting out too, we have two properties.  But hoping to add to that a property every two yrs.  Slow and steady at the moment due to family d…[Read more]

Hey Ash.  I invest in Mackay, but live in Moranbah.  I dont know anything about Mt Isa markets so cant say anything there.Our financial planner is Mike Browne from Browne and Bird (in Victoria St Mackay) and awhile back they presented us all the information about Dalrymple Bay and the stuff happening out there.  This will be influencing the ho…[Read more]

there is an article on this in the latest API (well, i think its the latest one – i just read it the other day).  the whole article is about billbords.  might be worth grabbing a copy from the newsagency.

I admit hubby's job is single industry area – as we live in Moranbah, a mining town.  The situation you described above is more likely to hit Moranbah, not Mackay.  Hence why we chose not to invest in Moranbah.  But Mackay is thriving.  Its got lots of industries like the sugar cane, tourism for the whitsundays etc etc.  We arent concerned one…[Read more]

terry – what is ur worst case scenario with rates?  am i ok just putting it at 8%.  If it goes to 10% that would be scarey.  but itd still only be $270 a week out of pocket expenses.(also, my comments above dont include tax returns, just normal annual expenses)

thanks for the points duckster.  we have loss of rent cover with our landlords insurance – which reminds me i was going to double check my policies and see if it was adequate.  plus would have leftover equity we could redraw.ive worked out that if i take our current 2 mortgages and add a 3rd mortgage (including stamp duty and all buying costs), t…[Read more]

Oh and let me clarify that I told him my concerns and his reply was that he doesnt advise people to try to get rich quick, but rather to get rich slowly by reducing risk and not playing with a "house of cards that can come tumbling down at any time".  But with CF+ homes in a market that really isnt going to go down (Mackay, Central QLD), I dont…[Read more]

yeah im stuck with them for another 2 yrs so i can avoid early exit fees.  then im refinancing elsewhere.but seeing as its harder to refinance on fixed ill leave it variable cos i wanna get access to the funds in 6 months or so.thanks for the advice.

thanks Richard.  i had actually already passed on your details to her saying that we had intended to use your services for our next purchase …. that was of course until i found out we were expecting another baby so we put a hold on everything until the baby is out and we know our money doesnt need to be saved for medical expenses she had spoken…[Read more]

welcome   and congrats on getting a PPOR!  only the interest segment of your mortgage payments for your IP are tax deductable.  so its best to have that loan as an interest only payments and just pay your minimum amount.make sure your PPOR loan has an offset facility.  Which means that while you are paying only the minimum repayments onto your loa…[Read more]

i havent gotten building and pest reports done yet cos i only found out on friday at 4:30pm that the house may soon go back on the market.  i thought i should wait until the vendor comes back to say yes or no to a backup contract before I organise those.  but i didnt even think about the REA giving them to me.  i have my normal guy that does my in…[Read more]

no idea.  they did a fair bit.  to the outside they did was did a minor cleanup of the carport.  put up that patio.  and pulled out those hideous trees.  new external doors.the inside is paint, air conditioners, polished floorboards, window coverings, fans, lights, new kitchen and bathroom (both are small), new laundry.i guess it all depends on i…[Read more]