I have bought 2 properties without looking at them. Actually, I have seen them in photos which I requested from the agent as part of my ‘subject to’ clauses.
I did extensive research on the area via internet and phone calls to the local agents and council before-hand to become familiar with the area, rents, values, most rentable properties, best…[Read more]

my 2 cents worth – it’s a bit like mezzanine finance where the shortfall that the banks won’t lend are made up with the funds you are looking at providing. Good returns, but if the s*** hits the fan you will be 2nd, 3rd in line to get paid. If you can afford to speculate $25k then that’s fine.
Very dicey.

Cheers,
Marc.
erardent@hotmail.com

Originally posted by ScottyTav:
We have to spend 4-500,000. We need to buy a place to live in near the city for a while unfortunately…

sorry, I mis-understood. I thought the unit you were looking to buy was an I.P.
Even so, it must be very good to spend that much on it. That’s a lot of money for anyone to spend on their first property -…[Read more]

further to Dr.X’s comment, I would say that other than ‘now is the right time to buy’, it actually is a good time to buy now, or soon, as the markets are mostly flat and/or experiencing a ‘correction’. Some isolated areas are experiencing booms (Perth, Darwin), but generally, get into it if you can.

Cheers,
Marc.
erardent@hotmail.com

Not much you can do right now. You are still in good shape having a property.
Time for a lot of debt reduction and waiting around until the property goes up in value I think.

Cheers,
Marc.
erardent@hotmail.com

Originally posted by vyaw2003:
I have only ever bought sales through offers not auction.
How does it work do i need to go around on Saturdays with a $40k cheque to bid?
How can i bid if i dont know that the bank will give me the money for the house?
obviously i would have to be preapproved.
Can someone just run over what i need to do in order to…[Read more]

Originally posted by Bez:
Thanks for the reply Marc

Another thing i keep on thinking is…
Say u have a propery that after loan payments you make a positive $10 a week…
You put down $10,000 deposit on the property to begin with, wouldnt it take you 20years just to get your deposit back befor you “realy” start making any money on it…

I need…[Read more]

For your first property It may be best to look at a ‘standard’ purchase that you may be able to add value to and improve your returns.
A good quality, existing house in a good location, and bought at the right price is the SAFEST way to go. It will go up in value over the mid-long term.
This would probably be negatively geared, but a property…[Read more]

Originally posted by crashy:
Ive had similar responses lately. Put in offers & flat no without counter-offer. I find it rude. If they are not prepared to negotiate I walk away. If they were smart they would counter offer $1k below asking price.

http://www.posigear.8k.com
Positive Geared Share Investing

I think a flat ‘no’ is the counter-offer. Now…[Read more]

I think if you have limited experience in buying a property a buyer’s agent could be worth the money – especially at auctions. If you are buying something cheap they may not be good value for what they may save.
Check out the ‘Morrell and Koren’ website as well. They are well known in the Melbourne market.

Cheers,
Marc.
erardent@hotmail.com

Try the St.George Portfolio LOC. Good product. I’ve had it for a few years now.
My deal is 1/2 % under stand.var loan for the life of the loan.
Current stand.var is 8.07%.
I pay 7.57%.
I think that is about the going rate around the traps.
From experience I’ve found that the cheaper the loan is, the more restrictive it is. You seem to get what…[Read more]

Originally posted by Bez:
Hey guys, im looking to start investing in property soon and im just trying to learn as much as I can first..
I have a few general questions which should be pretty easy for you guys to answer..
#1 – Is the idea to buy a property that brings in enough money from weekly rent to pay off the loan ?

#2 – Do people with say 20…[Read more]

Originally posted by vyaw2003:
We all seem to be aiming for the same goals here.
What banks have people found to be the best and the cheapest.
I think BOQ is pretty pathetic, they lost my deed during a transfer to a different lender.
Colonial- not too bad, they dont give enough statements and dont notify when you fall behind until you are WAY…[Read more]

Originally posted by ALBennett:
Thanks for the comments. My wife and I are looking into our first IP early next year. We still rent at the moment, but in five or so years we would like to be in a position to have our own home, as well as atleast two IPs.

Yesterday I went out and bought Steve McKnight’s book ‘ from 0 to 130 properties in 3.5…[Read more]

I’m not familiar with these areas, but the questions apply to any area that you are looking to invest in. Now comes the ‘due diligence’ to find out those answers.
A good place to start is look at the local council website or maybe a tourism website for the town/city. Most towns have one or both these days and you can get some good info…[Read more]

Originally posted by wealth4life.com:
Hi GMH,

I think you are right in predicting that there is worse to come for the out west in SYD, my sister in Cambeltown is packing it big time as they have a house today worth $300k (was $400k) and now there debt is $325k.

Hi Foundation,

Yes lets see what people do this year at xmas to their little Aussie…[Read more]

can’t wait.

I agree with Richard; ask them if you can supply your own valuer and see what they say.
Beware.

Cheers,
Marc.
erardent@hotmail.com

Originally posted by yessy:

hi everyone
i just bought my first IP, and am considering using my FHOG to buy my own place to live in for 6 months before renting it out. just wondering in general, how long did you guys wait before buying your second IP? at the moment i’m still learning as well, so i dont want to rush into buying the second IP. and…[Read more]

This is totally a guess as I have never bought/sold a house at xmas. I suspect that everyone is too busy getting ready for the big day and/or holiday trips, so there probably aren’t a lot of buyers or sellers around. If there are sellers, they are mayber either desperate to sell or just leaving the property on the market to see what happens.…[Read more]