Make sure you have Landlord's insurance as well. You should be able to get a cover note over the phone today.If you don't have an insurance broker, try CGU, or Property One; your Bank may even provide it.

Doesn't sound that great a deal. This is a business transaction, and emotion should not be a factor, and if the deal doesn't stack up FOR YOU you shouldn't do it.If he needs to sell as you say, you are giving him a win by buying it at all. You could always tell him it is only worth $260k and offer him $250k (assuming he needs the cash as you…[Read more]

Can't help you with trusts.I guess if there is a pre-tax profit this would be a benefit as you can disribute the profits amonst the beneficiaries, and there may be some asset protection through one.Maybe Richard or Terry could comment on that for you? Over to you, boys!

Did that Petrol Station Boycott thing really ever happen? I've never ever heard anyone actually talk about it anywhere – except in the emails I received about it.Sounds like an urban myth to me. As for the credit card thing; we have one, pay for every thing with it, then write a cheque at the end of the month. Lots of lovely frequent flyer…[Read more]

devo76 wrote:
I have made a good profit off muscle cars recently but i believe they are reaching there peak. If i see prices stall i will put my car on the market quick as at just under going rate to move it quickly. Then ill invest the money in either my PPOR or another IP,depending on the market

Just don't wait too long.Warren Buffet said; "I…[Read more]

We have properties interstate that I've never seen, and up until now we have simply let the P.M get quotes and get the work done, then deduct the payment from the rent.Works for me.Something larger like that is different I guess, but maybe it can still be handled the same way.Talk to your P.M and ask them if they have had any experience with other…[Read more]

Im 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 (more than you have already).$100k + $20,500 = $120,500. You have already paid $48,500 in tax, the tax on the…[Read more]

Congratulations!The answers to these questions really should be known as much as possible before you buy; especially about how much rent to ask for after a reno.The information is relatively easy to find; call or visit all the local agents and ask them what they have for rent in properties the same as the one you have. You will be able to get an…[Read more]

What…. you mean you haven't been trying to keep up with the Jones, Simple?Don't forget; property investors are the minority, so most people you see are just blowin' it all.

You can't compare the interest on a bank account deposit to a property investment. There are many more factors with property investment that can increase your returns exponentially.$120k @ 7% is $8,400 per year profit invested in a cash account.With a bank  (or online) account, you are being paid interest on cash. The cash is eroded each year by…[Read more]

Kenzel,Your nett useable income after the rent has been considered (and not the cap growth as this is not useable income), loan repayments as a percentage of your after tax income is quite high, which for me is a concern.A good rule of thumb is to allow 20% of the rent to be swallowed up by holding costs (other than loan interest), and also…[Read more]

$1 million for a first home? And 5 bedrooms on a 500sq/m block? Sounds like a McMansion.I hope you have lots of kids. If not, why the bedrooms; is it going to be used as an I.P where you rent out the rooms?This whole equation scares me. If you want a good investment you can do it by spending FAR less than this, or spend the same money over a…[Read more]

Newspapers are usually late to the party. You need to dig deeper and harder yourself, trawl the r/e websites, drive around and look for clues.However, Residex have good reports on what you are looking for.You can buy a report for predictions for a specific area and it will include many suburbs.Then you need to do some in-depth research on that…[Read more]

Mystery wrote:
Hmmmm … scored 734, this would give us enough income to survive on current combined income for 2 years. I imagine the score will improve greatly over the next couple of years as we have added another 4 IP's to our portfolio since April this year and in 2-3 years we should see some good capital growth in the areas invested in…[Read more]

I am very fortunate to have a CF+ house in Quinns rocks but i was lucky as i bought it in 2002 with the FHOG and now owe $90K with $310K Equity I need to find my own apartment to live in as i am living at my parents place It's the cheapest rent you'll ever find, but as you know; it comes at a high emotional cost. Of course; we love our parents…[Read more]

I got 454, but there was no provision for the rental income, or did I miss it, and our PPoR is now also an I.P, so how does that work?

Another quick calc for you to go by;allow 20% of the rent to be eaten up by all holding costs (except loan interest) such as repairs, management, insurances and rates etc. This also includes 4 weeks vacancy, (and you probably won't use that bit).This is a slight over estimate, but if the numbers look good after this, you know you are going to be ok.

$600 for both my wife and I and the I.P's.

An I.P offer differs from a PPoR offer I reckon.To me; the numbers are important in an I.P selection. I work out what I'm prepared to pay, make that offer, if it's accepted good; if it's not, I move on – no emotion. I never counter-offer on I.P's.With a PPoR, you have an emotional attachment, so your offer could go higher if you really want the…[Read more]

Why would you offer them a reference after that treatment?