No worries :)

It seems a little silly to sell it now after this long, with even a hint of improvements in the future – but having made losses each year its a little difficult to swallow.

Yes, it’s tough seeing it drop in price. I was able to ride the Melbourne wave in the mid 2000’s but still hurt when prices stagnated and dropped a bit in s…[Read more]

Hi BM,

Try not to get too dejected. We all make mistakes and the most important thing is that we learn from them. Having a strategy in place and working to that certainly helps matters instead of going in almost blindly. In saying that though, looks like both of your current IP’s were PPOR’s at one stage so that does make things a little dif…[Read more]

Unfortunately there’s no real hard and fast rule or formula as far as that goes as each bank has different policies on how they treat all the variants that contribute to your borrowing capacity.
Some of the main variants are:
Debt – taken at actual repayments or with pre-determined buffer or repayment rate
Rental income – full amount or % of rent…[Read more]

I can’t take credit for this link as it was posted on another forum but I found it good as it gives you a holistic view on how the economy works and then as a result how money and finance works.

http://www.economicprinciples.org/

Good to have an understanding from all levels.

It depends what your risk profile is and long term goals.

As a general rule it’s good to borrow as much as you can to maximise your tax deductions and preserve your cash and keep in an offset account or the like.

It’s always good to borrow money when you don’t necessarily need it as opposed to trying to borrow it when you need it because that’s…[Read more]

Hi Nanny,

Previously all of Cairns’ eggs were in the tourism basket but the council has come to recognise this and the economy is slowly being diversified which will help stabilise the prices. The GFC also hit the area hard and now prices are just starting to recover where they’re coming off a very low base but certain suburbs are showing good…[Read more]

Also, add to the list of coverage with landlord insurance is the liability cover. What is and isn’t covered and for how much.

Sorry, I was being lazy when I was typing – ‘LL Insurance’ is Landlord Insurance so that covers the rental aspect such as rent default and any financial loss connected with it being a rental property. Some cover ‘contents’ but that is generally carpet, blinds, fittings and fixtures, that kind of thing and not the tenant’s property such as their TV…[Read more]

No worries :)

Ha, yes, not the most riveting reading going around! At least they don’t use so much legalese these days which makes the reading a bit more easy going.

Yes, get both.

One thing I have no direct experience with but have read which makes sense is to have both building and LL insurance with the same company. If you were to make a…[Read more]

As boring as it sounds – read the PDS of the different insurance companies and compare. Know what you are and are not covered for.

Some points to consider:
– Accidental vs malicious damage.
– Loss of rent – how many weeks will be covered and how long till payment kicks in?
– Excess for multiple claims – one excess or excess for each claim?
-…[Read more]

Like Corey said – network. Get your name and brand out there. Hold an information night (not a property spruiking night). Have a few SME’s presenting on relevant topics to investing such as a quantity surveyor talking about maximising depreciation, a valuer talking about the market, a broker talking about lending solutions etc etc and have a pack…[Read more]

There are a few variables in this – ie if you already bank with a bank you have a better chance of getting approved for more than if you are a new to bank customer, what loan term you want, sometimes longer isn’t always better, your ability to repay so if you have savings built up already etc

The main issue I see is the purpose. There are a few…[Read more]

Yes, what I was getting at was what would the booking rate/ vacancy, fees etc be like then. Not as generous I bet. Then if you’re even able to let it out on a fixed term lease the rental income would be a lot less. Owner Occupier restrictions?

What happens if Mantra don’t take up the 5 year options?

What sort of area is the rental in? Is it in a low socioeconomic area where the agents get a lot of problem tenants? That may be why they are no longer taking on new rentals as often they’re more trouble than they’re worth to the agent.

Hi Wayne, yes, it was based on you having 2 dependents. Maintenance was not factored in as that is an unknown at the moment as custody of the children has not been arranged. But, in any eventuality your children will always remain as dependents.

If I can second any of the above comments it’s to keep your repayment history clean. Some may suggest…[Read more]

Hi Wayne, I’m sorry to hear about your situation. On face value it looks like you should be able to service a ~$535k loan but there are a few other factors involved as well that may impact things so it’s difficult to give a definite yes or no. Do you have any other debts or credit cards?

I’ve used this website with varying degrees of success –> http://www.propertykeyword.com/aus.html

“PropertyKeyword is a search engine for Australian real estate, allowing you to search for specific property types or features across the biggest Australian real estate sites”

No worries :)

Sometimes there’s the odd gem out there that people put in the too hard basket. But with all the reno shows of late there’s too many weekend warriors wanting to make what they think is a quick and easy dollar and willing to pay top price without doing the proper due diligence.

Few problems with small apartments with the main ones…[Read more]