Banks will usually follow this criteria with lending against your equity:

They will let you borrow up to 80% of the house’s value, less any existing loans. Some will let you borrow more than 80%, but they make you pay Mortgage Insurance. This is a one-off fee, but is still a considerable cost and eats into your I.P returns.

MY personal view is…[Read more]

I think everyone is hanging back waiting for someone to answer.

My 2c worth;

I looked at the site and I get nervous when I see a house advertised for $280 purchase price with a $580 per week rent. If it was that good why don’t they buy it themselves?

These sort of crowds are good for people who are:
a) time poor (too busy)
b) too lazy to do the…[Read more]

This is a common dilemma for people and comes up on this forum quite often.

My 2c worth;

Interest on a PPoR (Principal Place of Residence) is not tax deductible. Interest on an I.P (Investment Property) is tax deductible, along with all the costs associated with holding the I.P. You can also claim depreciation on the building and fixtures in…[Read more]

I once read an article which was an interview with John D. Rockefeller jnr about his life.

He said that he and his brothers were all given an allowance at around aged 6 by their father J.D.Rockefeller snr (had a few bob under the mattress).

J.D jnr said that the boys had to give their dad a financial report every month on what they did with…[Read more]

Originally posted by The Contrarian:
I’ve got a story…

What about the little Aussie battler…?

Living off compo payments and government disabilities pension
whilst working as a brickies labourer and earning cashies….

His centrelink benefits are geared to pay of his “rent-to-own” property and he sells beer and ciggarettes to underage kids…[Read more]

Yes, I agree with Terry.

We had a tenant do a runner and owed rent, left some minor damage and rubbish.

We went through the normal process with the agent of applying for the bond money, going to tribunal and then putting in claim for damage/lost rent etc after this.

Whole process took a couple of months to get the money. Not a big problem…[Read more]

Originally posted by maylene:
http://www.maylene.zoomshare.com <<<<<<<<<< cheap but brand new properties for only $40/week to invest

THIS IS PROBABLY A TWO-TIER MARKETING SCAM FOR OVER-PRICED PROPERTIES.

ASK IF YOU CAN PROVIDE INDEPENDENT LEGAL, FINANCIAL AND VALUATIONS.

Cheers,
Marc.
erardent@hotmail.com

“we get sent lemons; it’s up to us to make…[Read more]

Notwithstanding the F.H.O.G, buying a cheaper property may be better for a few reasons;
1. Cheaper properties quite often give better rent returns. The rents don’t necessarily increase with the price of the properties. Better rent returns helps with further purchases as the serviceability on the loan is better from the Bank’s point of view.
2.…[Read more]

You can turn any property into a cashfIow positive one simply by putting down enough cash as a deposit. The problem is most people don’t have enough ready cash to use for this.

The less you borrow, the more chance you have of the rent covering all holding costs, thus a +cashflow.

Selling your PPoR and using enough of the excess cash as deposits…[Read more]

You can turn any property into a cashfIow positive one simply by putting down enough cash as a deposit. The problem is most people don’t have enough ready cash to use for this.

The less you borrow, the more chance you have of the rent covering all holding costs, thus a +cashflow.

Selling your PPoR and using enough of the excess cash as deposits…[Read more]

Never take an agent’s word for anything. Do your own checking when doing a due diligence on a property to find out the facts.

Ask at the local council about how often the floods occur, when the last one was, whether the property in question was affected etc.

Certainly the prospect of a possible flood will put off a lot of buyers for your newly…[Read more]

When the media talk of the markets crashing or correcting etc, they are usually quoting across the board, median and average prices.

The problem with these stats is that a sudden spike in sales of properties, or decline is sales of properties either side of the median and average affects the figure, giving a distorted result.

For example, the…[Read more]

This question comes up on the forum about oh; every 2 days.

My answer; keep the existing property and access the available equity to use towards more properties.

As Simon says, by selling your existing place, then buying another place, you may have more available cash, or equity initially, but after you pay selling and purchasing costs, you end…[Read more]

This is an old real estate agent’s trick.

What is actually going on with these $xxx+ offers is the real estate agent has initially quoted the Vendor a too high sale price to ‘buy’ the listing, then cons the Vendor into advertising the property this way, telling the Vendor this sales strategy works (and it does – for the agent).

This is so that…[Read more]

Originally posted by wealth4life.com:
Thanks simple …

I would love to see how many people on this site are under 20 so we could do some stats …

This site has been going for quite a while now is there 42,000 members still or are those people who origionally joined gone and non active …

I read one of Michael Yardneys news letters and he…[Read more]

Sounds good. Could be the next boom suburb that no-one has discovered yet! You’ll be on the ground floor.

If you know the area, the values and trust your judgement, then go for it!

How are the rent returns and the rent demand? Is there subdivision possibilities for the blocks?

If the answers are yes! then I can’t see much of a…[Read more]

They missed one character though – the down and outer that has had the tough life, followed by the recent family tragedy who needs the home make-over. That usually pulls on the heart strings and pulls in the ratings. [grrr]

Or, how about the boring old middle aged guy who plods along, investing when he can, getting quietly rich without busting a…[Read more]

Both types of properties can be good.

Some factors to consider for maximising your investment returns;

1. Land content – townhouses usually have more of this than units.
2. Townhouses seem to be the more popular trend for families and even singles as they seem to want their own separate space, but without the work of huge yards, and the…[Read more]

Originally posted by UnknownSoldier:
hi ppl
just wondering peoples opinion of this suburb for IP’s ??
now this is far from bias but i have lived here since i was a little kid 16 years ago still with parents. This town when we moved here was very nice, then it turned into an absolute drug hole but that’s all been booted and now its trendying up. I…[Read more]

I don’t know anyone who actually retired at 30 and gave up work.

I know several people who were wealthy enough to do it, but they have businesses they love to run and keep working for the action, fun and making more money.

Look at Bill Gates – has a few bob under the mattress, but is busier than ever.

These sort of people are driven, usually…[Read more]