Hey Jon, good to see you back on the 'firing line'.Just have a thick skin buddy and keep on offering that great help. We know you're a good guy; the bad guys can't be bothered giving good advice on forums.On the subject of advertising, I can say from experience (expensive and el cheapo) that a photo in the agent's window, an ad on the internet and…[Read more]

what sort of info do you want?

Make sure you compare the O.T.P to recent sales of similar EXISTING townhouses in the immediate area to verify that you are paying the right price. Look at townhouses around 5 years old or newer to get a good idea.Many O.T.P properties are price-loaded to cover the developer's margin, thus they are over-priced compared to the market.Many people…[Read more]

I keep an eye on the markets that are relevent to my properties – every month or so.I do this so I can keep a ball-park idea of how we are travelling as far as LVR.I look at recent sales of similar properties, say; the last 1-3 months, which is pretty much how the valuers do it anyway.I only get an actual valuation when it's time to buy, and t…[Read more]

Kristine wrote:
no way dont agree  at all you will never pay the house off if you do that ……….just my opinion

I think I.O, with the option to pay down debt as the opportunity arises.This way, you get the benefit of better cashflow now, and I think that everyone should be thinking consciously of regular debt reduction and keeping the LVR n…[Read more]

House prices dropping by 30-40% is a massive generalisation and should be ignored, as there are a million micro-markets which have their own economic and demographic factors driving the prices.The USA disaster we are all hearing about is across the country, but only affects those who were border-line borrowers and those silly enough to over-extend…[Read more]

millions wrote:
So what have you been buying;houses?, units?, subdivs? – neg geared, pos geared?What has happened to those investments in 12 months and what was your plan when you bought them?If they are neg geared, has the cap growth kept pace or outpaced the shortfall?Cheers,Marc.erardent@hotmail.com How have your investments been performing…[Read more]

What did r/e.com turn up?You mentioned Mornington; what about Frankston? This is still a cheap suburb and will boom (already started), with houses with yards for under $200k. Maybe not the best area of Frankston, but your price range limits you a bit.

What's the catch??There has to be one.

I just did a 30 sec search on r/e.com.Here's one I saw in Dandenong, Victoria. It is going to be a growth suburb in the next few years due to price (affordability), proximity to CBD and transport, amenities.http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin/rsearch?a=o&id=104230558&f=30&p=10&t=res&ty=&fmt=&header=&c=63234968&s=vic&tm=1189608252Don't know how…[Read more]

I have had the 'chip on the shoulder' treatment from both sides of the trades – private and the Big Company employed sub-contractor. It makes no difference, sadly.As a footnote, I have had good treatment from tradies and woeful treatment. I always expect good treatment and scratch my head at the bad; why are they being so self-destructive; don't…[Read more]

Drop the rent, and don't dismiss people with bad credit history. They sometimes need a second chance. If you feel nervous about their ability to pay, put them on a month-to-month lease and assess them each month. Let them know that they are under observation; sort of like a probation period, and if they do well then offer them a more permanent…[Read more]

If you can't carry neg cashflow, and still want to invest, you need to look more to cashflow properties first, with cap gains second. There is nothing wrong with that, and if you can maximise the return with 'add-value' and depreciation, and practice regular debt reduction and re-invest the profits (tax returns) into the property, then you can…[Read more]

MasterREL wrote:

L.A Aussie wrote:
Are we back on the customer's attitude AGAIN? I thought we had a gutful of that a few weeks ago with you and crashy. Customer attitude is an external factor and should not have an influence on your professionalism in your job.I worked in retail for 30 years, and if I had let the customers' crappy attitudes…[Read more]

With a $100k cash you can do a few things. It will depend how aggressive you want to be, but given that you have a fair amount of after tax income, being aggressive may not be such a problem or a danger for you, as opposed to someone on less income, family etc.Option1; More aggressive;use the $100k to leverage into as much cap growth property s…[Read more]

This will vary from suburb to suburb, city to city etc.When you do your due diligence you need to research the area you want to invest in and find out what type of properties are in demand for rent.For example; single bed apartments may not be in demand in a suburb 1 hour drive from the city. Most people out there are families in houses who want…[Read more]

Scottybe wrote:
Yeah, that was my post.I am still not quite getting it. Silly i know. I adjusted/changed the figures a bit from what they were.Another silly question, is depreciation income or expense? It could be viewed as either!Another thing i have just thought of ,  how are I/O repayments calculated into the equation?I can follow your…[Read more]

Here's a post I did a couple of days ago about a similar thing. Just substitute the numbers for your scenario:"I'm no accountant, so don't take this as gospel, but from memory it sort of works like this;Say you earn $100k and pay 48.5% tax on it (Yuk!!)Your rent is added to your earned income, which then means you have a new taxable income to pay…[Read more]

Hey Mingling and Corhig, thanks for the support. We are at present in the process of getting a publisher. It isn't as easy as everyone thinks, but now we have an agent so we are one step closer. The website will be good advertising for it. The book is, I believe, a good read and will help anyone who reads it.The book isn't for sale yet, but if you…[Read more]

r1trackday wrote:
I'm with masterREL"If it’s so easy and they make so much money why not become one?"Its so easy to complain. the price is the price…If your angry about how much tradies can change and inturn, how much money they are making….. try the other option and get your self a trade and earn all this money yourself..  The problem is,…[Read more]