You're right J;I was talking about the home page actually; where it shows just the latest active/hot topics. I noticed when I went into the separate forums it still allowed me to do that.This is one extra click – I'm too lazy.

Hi Renabelz,first, can I ask you why you intend to sell in 5 years?Selling costs and capital gains tax eats into the profits, and you lose out on a lifetime of capital gain that you would get if youkeep the property.If you are going to sell, the property would be better off in your name as you will be earning very little income compared to your…[Read more]

I preferred the function where you could run the cursor over the original post of the thread and the little box opened up to show you what the content was.It would be good to have that back.Also, as a suggestion Steve; renew the news and ads for the different products and seminars etc more frequently. it starts to look a bit stale when the news is…[Read more]

Is that Barramundi or Barracuda?I don't think you could really go wrong within an hour – hour and a half from any main living area right now. Eventually the sprawl will catch up to those areas to a degree and send the prices up.Trouble is, it won't be a quiet little hideaway then.It seems the whole world is moving to QLD; a bit like L.A.How about…[Read more]

Jase and Flic wrote:
Hiwe just bought a reno house- our first of this type. Very excited. The full story is on the Adding Value forum.

Hi guys,would be willing to put some projected numbers/budgets/time-frames etc on the thread for us to read. We may be able to help cut a few expensive corners on the new project for you.I love this stuff.

Thanks Ming; here to help and/or annoy people.Don't know which one I'm better at.

One of the I.P's I own was spotted in an area that no-one seemed to have noticed. It looked good to me, but because there was not a lot of interest I kept thinking "what is wrong with the place?". It was classic second-guessing.I ended up buying it anyway and was very nervous about it; wondering if I had made the right decision.It turned out that…[Read more]

Most people have to work hard, save, sacrifice and do without to get their FIRST property, whether it is a PPoR or an I.P.You have no kids and two incomes. If you knuckle down and be patient you will buy your first one soon enough – year or two.Most lenders will lend up to around 90% with LMI these days, so you won't have to save too much to get a…[Read more]

The 11 sec rule is:multiply weekly rent by 52 (weeks),then multiply the total by 100.The result is the purchase price for the property you should pay.This is a rent return of 10%, and in most cases would result in a pos cashflow; but not always.There are more factors to consider such as the outgoings from the property and the loan interest, but…[Read more]

First of all, can you spell "enough" correctly?The English language is like, being eroded away at a frightening like, rate as it is, without these Americanised text-style spelling mutations, like.This is not a cell phone.AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Hey Anita,good to hear you have an automatic tenant.Be careful that when fixing the rate on your loan you won't be incurring any fees to change it back should you wish to, otherwise fix it for the term you mentioned and let it go the distance.Living off the equity is something we do ourselves – not totally though, as I am a bit of a conservative…[Read more]

I agree F;if we can advise people of the potential dangers as well as the way to success then we should do it; telling others of the not so good news may save a few financial disasters along the way.The outlook may  be gloomy, but you can be prepared. It's like looking outside and seeing a gloomy sky; you take an umbrella.

I've owned units and houses that have done well. I think a generalisation will be very inaccurate as it depends where the property is, what size, condition, rental or resale demand etc.One thing is for sure though; the cheaper priced units will always be easier to resell and rent as there are far more renters and buyers at the lower end of the…[Read more]

I think it will only have a neg impact on that house Ming.

If you are reasonably happy where you are now, there is no reason why you need to move in straight away; why not turn the house into an I.P for a while until you get yourself financial more secure?You can rent out your home for up to 6 years without incurring any cap gains tax when or if you ever sell. The requirement is that you would need to…[Read more]

It's a bit of a "six is half a dozen of the other" situation, and the good news is that both directions are good; pay down your personal debt quickly, or invest the money in another asset. Either way you win.Ideally, you should look to purchase a cashflow positive property that you can use the pos cashflow to also help pay down the debt on the…[Read more]

This is the big dilemma for everyone; think with the head or the heart?The head says keep the cashcow block of flats and never sell them, and use the excess cashflow to pay down the debt on the PPoR. Have 2 properties gaining in value instead of one.The heart says "own your own home", be debt free.Because I am not personally involved and have no…[Read more]

Based on those figures you are going to be out of pocket $500 per month on your rent versus mortgage, and that is GROSS rent. You need to factor in around 20% of the rent to be swallowed up in holding costs. This means you will be out of pocket around $700 per month (approx $162 p/w x 4.3 weeks), and you will have another loan amount on your new…[Read more]

"I have a $500,000 equity loan ready and plan to use this to gain further finance to fund the the whole thing, no money down. There should be enough in the Equity loan to repay the mortgage for 2 yrs with about $100,000 left over."Good financial position to be in Anita;This sentence is a bit confusing though; it sounds as though you are planning…[Read more]

Nothing since Aug 2005; in debt reduction mode until Aug this year when we have to settle on a block of land we bought on a 2 year settlement.After this the cheque book comes out to buy up a post boom bargain. Time to go shopping.Looking to buy a post 1987 dwelling in need of a reno, on a subdividable lot, in a high rent demand area, with strong…[Read more]