toe wrote:

luke86 wrote:
If property prices increase on average by say 6% a year (a low figure), then a $500 000 property will increase in value by $30 000 every year.

I'm not so sure about that.

There are many opinions out there on where the property market is heading, and there always will be. If you think it will keep rising slowly and…[Read more]

Unpaid fees are usually paid by the vendor at settlement- you give the vendors solicitor a cheque and he pays the bank the money they are owed, the strata money they are owed, water rates that are owed etc etc and the vendor keeps what is left. You are in trouble if there is no money left to pay the fees as you may be stuck with the bill. I have…[Read more]

Can we please get a new state government!!!!!

Andrew_A,Could you please also shed some light on these housing indicators?? I have only ever looked at median price before, knowing that they were not the best but it was the best thing I knew.Cheers,Luke

Agree with Nathamillion.If property prices increase on average by say 6% a year (a low figure), then a $500 000 property will increase in value by $30 000 every year. Saving $30 000 per year is pretty tough (unless you are on really good incomes with no dependents), so you would probably be better off getting in sooner rather than waiting, even if…[Read more]

Ring the building managers and ask them- if you own a property then you have a right to know.Luke.

It is your money, so I cant see why it is a problem with the ATO. You can do what you want with it.One thing is with tax deductability of the interest of your loan. I am assuming that the home loan that your are withdrawing money from is the house you currently live in. If you decide to move out after giving your parents the money, the interest on…[Read more]

I believe that the Strata decide on who operates the building management. What probably happened is that before they sold the apartments, the developer decided that they would grant the property management company exclusive rights to the managemnet of the building. They could do this as at that time they owned all of the units and so controlled…[Read more]

Yes, I think the bank meant no available equity for you to access with a Line of Credt.Some banks do allow a Line of Credit with total borrowings up to 90% of the value- but you will be up for LMI (probably about $3000-$4000 in your case).Cheers,Luke

The sale will be CGT free under the '6 year rule' if you are renting a place elsewhere. There are a million posts on the forum about this one, just do a quick search for it.Cheers,Luke

An offset account and redraw are two different things. I think you should do what Catalyst suggested and start putting excess money into an offset account instead of paying extra off the loan.When you redraw money from a loan, it is counted as new borrowings. So if you redraw, say, $50 000 from your loan to purchase a new PPOR and rent out yyour…[Read more]

There sure is a lot of experts with different opinions!! I dont believe everythin I read, but he does have a few good points. I am ot in Melbourne so I do not really know much about that market, but there isnt a huge amount of CBD develpment going on in Sydney so his views on CBD apartments here may be a way off I agree. And seeing as your…[Read more]

I have been reading a lot of Michael Yarneys material lately. I believe he is a bit of a guru in regards to Australian property, and in particular the Melbourne market.He suggests that there is a looming oversupply of inner city apartments in Melbourne and Sydney. More so in Melbourne, there is a large number of proposed developments on the cards…[Read more]

Lol at JacM. I enjoy it when people can laugh at themselves without getting angry and defensive!!!PS. Keep up the good posts JacM and Richard- I love this site and learn a lot!!!!Luke.

I would definitely not offer a set % below the asking price for every property. The asking price could be anywhere compared to the market- it might be high as the vendors want to "try the market" as you put it, or it could be a reasonable price as they really want to sell. I wouldnt just blindly offer a certain percentage below the asking pice- I…[Read more]

Webley and Glendalough are good areas I think. Sure there are a lot of units there, but have you ever been to the inner suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne??? There is still a good demand from tenants in these suburbs (but I havnt been there for a few years so I do not know for sure). They are close to train stations, have good buses, close to the…[Read more]

Geraldton could boom like Karratha- but probably not. From the way that the prediction for Geraldton was written, it seems a hell of a lot like speculating rather than investing.Mandurah is probably a long term prospect. It got really overheated and has come back a long way from the lofty highs and there are bargains to be had, however growth will…[Read more]

It depends if the asking price is fair market price. Often the asking price is more than what the real estate agent thinks he/she can acheive and so they have factored in a certain amount of discounting. And sometimes the asking pice may be a little low as the vendors want a quick sale so the sale price meets or sometimes exceeds the asking price…[Read more]

I was told by CBA that they would refinance my loan with a line of credit taking the toal LVR to 90% and there would be no problems with LMI.Maybe the person at the bank had it wrong, but they told me that it would be very easy to do this. It might also be your credit file that has the LMI provider scared.Luke.

Agree with Scott. Valuers do not set the property prices- they base their valuations on what people are willing to pay for a similar property. So really, it is property buyers that set the values, and the valuers use this sales data to estimate a value.Luke.