In the last house I rented, we thought we had possum problems i the roof, so the landlord paid to get someone out to check and deal with it. It turned out it was mice/rats, and the possum guy just put out ratsack and the problem was fixed.

With other pest issues, I have heard it can be put in to the contract that a landlord will do a pest…[Read more]

I guess then, if you enter a period of down-turn or higher interest rates, where it might be more important to reduce your debt levels, then you could always sell and repay some debt, or add in an extra bit to repay some principal.

Kelly

I would look at the gross rental return and see what ballpark figure you want to pay.

Rent per annum X 100 = Gross rental return as a…[Read more]

My dad lives in Collinsville and has also lived in the Bowen area. He is a builder and has said that the towns up there have really taken off in the last 6 months.

One thing to be aware of is that there seem to be few tradesmen in the area, as he is getting calls all the…[Read more]

If you were investing in something that expected no capital gains (ie a carpark or storage space for positive cashflow), would you still go with IO or would you want to reduce the debt?

I think the IO loan with the option of paying extra for the principle is a good option.

Thank you.

how many days/months can I go without working before everything collapses.

I guess, because of this definition of wealth, having income from assets is my priority. It is a bit of a different way of looking at “time-as-richness”.

Kelly

I have been hearing conflicting reports about Brisbane and QLD. Some seem to say it is on the move up and other seem to say it is on the move down….

I don’t live in Brisbane so I do not have the local knowledge to make an informed decision. Maybe the mining boom in some of the regional towns in QLD are having an effect of the numbers. My…[Read more]

Just be aware, that First Home Buyers are not stamp duty exempt in Victoria, as Contrarion suggested.

Good luck! It is an exciting time!

Kelly

I heard about bamboo floorboards just the other day. Apparently they are cheaper, a renewable resource, and very hard (so less scratches and scuffs etc…)

I wonder if bamboo is not popular because it is just new, as I had only heard about it in the last 2 weeks.

I don’t have any experience with bamboo and resale of houses, but…[Read more]

I am a secondary teacher, and the school I currently teach at offers a subject called Personal Finance. It is a compulsory subject for Year 10 students.

After reading this thread I talked to the teacher about the content that is taught. He said that mainly they teach information…[Read more]

There is a book called “The Five Lessons a Millionaire taught me”, but I don’t know who it is by. It is about general wealth creation, easy to read.

Another book I have just finished is by Kim Kiyosaki called “Rich Woman” and it was really good. Told in a story format, generally suited to women who have not been taught…[Read more]

That seems to be the best strategy open to most people for making the most of your Capital Gain.

Kelly

There has seemed to be some debate since 2002 to have a stepped rate of paying CGT, so that the longer you hold an asset, the less you pay of CGT.

There has also been discussion to…[Read more]

Don’t know if your looking for positively geared one or just Capital gains…

Pakenham would also be an interesting one. It’s on the other side of Berwick and Narre Warren, just two suburbs further away from the city. Got a lot of promising things that seem to be happening. Its the next empty space that goes out that way.

There is…[Read more]

I knew that you could do it in the US, and I thought it wasn’t available here in Aus. (Otherwise everyone would know, hey!) But one of my friends said that she knew about some way to do it in Aus, but so far I haven’t found it.

Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) I am not over 50 yet, so any CGT I have would…[Read more]

Do a budget and analyse where all your money goes, so that you can maximise your savings before you move out of home.

A mortgage of $220,000 will cost you around $1500 a month, so start by saving this amount (less any rent or board you need to pay currently). (Or alternatively calculate how much your likely mortgage and resulting…[Read more]

And if house prices in their area are unaffordable, where do they go? They go out… further from the CBD, further from the larger suburbs, and then the infrastructure is built to support all these people moving further out… I guess that’s how cities grow.

I’m not an expert, so I won’t try and predict anything!

You have a granny flat that could sell for 650K?!

It is hard to know about capital gains, because some areas of Aus are going down or sideways with their growth, but others are going up (in mining areas etc…). I imagine it may depend on the area and maybe also whether your property is a median house or the up-end of…[Read more]

Marc makes a good point.

It may be a good idea to analyse where you want to be in 5 or 10 or 20 years, because that may make a difference to your strategy. It is important to acquire some assets that produce income WITHOUT you having to do anything (like building, reno’s etc…).

If you are going to acquire several properties, I…[Read more]

I think it depends firstly on your bank. (I’m sure some the people who specialise in home loan stuff on the forum will be able to answer better that me!) It may be a good idea to ask your own bank and see what they reckon for you own circumstances.

Secondly it depends on how much risk you want, as a higher LVR will increase your debt…[Read more]