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January 31, 2004 - 8:12 am

I heard about this………after I bought an IP there!.
It could have some kind of impact for sure, I would guess it won`t be minimal, also when you consider this kind of boost leads to other positives and so on.
I always find any kind of news exciting when I have a house in the area[:o)], in fact I feel like it`s christmas.
That`s why I`m PI nut, I feel like I`m at the races, Rocky is last but I`m getting goosebumps cause he`s got good position, a determined glint in his eye and he`s starting to come on in the home stretch!!!!.

Roooocky, Roooocky, Rooocky!.[][][][]

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January 31, 2004 - 7:20 am

Kay there is a cooling off period in Qld, I think it was only bought in a couple of years ago.
As far as inspections why would you want to pay out for them and then find someone else has signed a contract?.
I would not blame a vendor for selling to someone else if there was no contract and no deposit.
What reason could you possibly have for not putting down a hundred dollars to keep everything in it`s rightful order?.[]

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January 31, 2004 - 12:16 am

It depends on the circumstances.
But you should NEVER spend a cent on inspections till they have signed your contract!, they have every right to sell the house to someone else at any time until they sign your contract offer.
On the subject of negotiating price after inspection etc, I sold a property for a good price to some investors from Sydney, I accepted thier offer straight away as I needed to sell the house in order to buy a block of land I was signed up on.
It was subject too etc but they came back with minor faults like louvres missing etc and wanted a $5000 discount!, I was annoyed as heck at the time and stressed and very nearly told them to go jump…seriously!.
Finally I relented and gave them a deduction of around $2000 which I was not happy at all about, they were being SMART, anyways the house sold for $143,000 which was a good profit for me and allowed me to get the land I wanted but now a few months down the track the house is worth $200,000, which I knew would be the case.
Moral of the story, it all depends on your circumstances and the extent of problems with the house.
If I were you I`d sign the written offer and put down $100 deposit, they will not entertain anything till you do that you might appear to be an opportunist.

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January 30, 2004 - 11:45 pm

I`m going up there on Monday to deliver a new stove(actually two, one to Bundy also) to my tenants, I might even look to buy another house while I`m there!, but only if they meet my one second rule!.[]

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January 30, 2004 - 10:25 pm

The big answer is stay within what`s comfortable for you right now, when the market took off there were many stories about people make millions by leveraging to the hilt, but those days are over, you really need to think on your feet and the only real way to do that is by having many years experience. There are too many factors to consider for someone to read a book or do a seminar and become an instant Einstein of PI.

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January 30, 2004 - 4:38 am

CF+ houses are great imo, but they must be in a good location, you don`t just go out and buy due to price and the fact the house currently has a tenant.
Consider if you had 100 CF+ houses, now say for instance you buy these 100 homes and get a cash flow of whatever amount, it`s most likely not going to be a heck of a lot if you were not rich to begin with, you must consider that if a decent % of your houses on average are vacant for two weeks (not to mention 2 months or longer)in the year you may have no cash flow at all, then you can`t sell or find tenants, and the place needs work, what do you do now?.
You have 100 houses in poor condition in bad areas and all of a sudden they are not generating any profit worth squat, or even worse they begin costing you money.[V][V]
You could end up in the poor house quick smart.
You have to consider this is entirely possible, it could in fact turn out much worse, given even that you made money with the market rise you could still end up in trouble due to costs etc.

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January 29, 2004 - 10:55 pm

I recently found out some banks do not do a valuation at all, others do a drive by while others work on the rental income, so if you get refused by one bank due to valuation, it feels like a dead end, when it is only a hump in the road.[8D]
I bought a house for $75,000 a yr ago, which came in with a lower valuation, so I had to scrape to put in more money(credit cards lol), I was fuming at the time, 4 months later the agent then told me the home was worth $125,000 tops, (a top agent in Qld) I sold it next day for $145,000, another matter of months worth $200,000. My advise take no-ones word on anything, use your own judgement.[8D]

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January 29, 2004 - 10:36 pm

I had two houses with a lot of equity which I sold and in hindsight could have waited a little longer and made better profit, but I remember the Gold Coast boom and bust of the 80`s, so I got out with huge gains and purchased a ten acre block of land in an area I wanted to live which has shown very little to this point as far as growth compared to other areas of brisbane.
Traditionally areas not hit by the boom tend to go up after the boom, this area has gone up maybe 50% in three years, whereas everywhere else has gone up 150%.
I also bought to +CF regional houses very cheaply in great locations.
I expect interest rates to slowly but surely climb and areas in Melbourne/Sydney to be hit biggest by the bust, this is no surprise but I believe many investors who bought in the last 6 months in these areas could be in for a hit if they don`t have the cash flow.[8D]

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January 29, 2004 - 9:28 am

Blackmail?, I`m no lawyer but this is not blackmail, yes you would I suppose have to be careful how you word the letter, but there is no intention for you to defraud anyone, or even get the full amount you deserve by law.[]

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January 28, 2004 - 10:38 pm

Young.learner sounds like you aren`t approaching it with the right frame of mind, are you being blinded by science?.
There are no rules as to a high yield property not giving you great CG, it`s just that generally they don`t, over the last couple of years I can think of many high yeild dumps in bad areas delivering huge capitol gains as good as anywhere.
Take every house as you find it, weigh everything up and don`t go in blinkered to what you will and will not do, yeilds and CG are pure guesswork and right now is probably not the time to get carried away with either.
Right now for anyone starting out 1 or 2 CF+ properties in decent areas and a clear head is about the best bet imo.[8D]

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January 28, 2004 - 8:52 pm

Scruffy one question, did all these townfolk you meet all kinda look the same?.[8][]
Seriously, I`d be a bit wary, should the tenant move on are there many prospective tenants in the town?.
If so go for it!, but these kinds of properties main worry is type of tenant and the fact that should they leave it may remain vacant for some time, it only takes a few weeks before your house is CF-, and a few more before it becomes a bad investment.[8D]

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January 28, 2004 - 8:16 pm

Kay buy a business and buy stuff for it, computer, fax machine, cars, stationary, food whatever and claim it all[^]. Preferrably a business where you have to travel to exotic locations to drum up business!.
Or buy properties in other countries states where you want to holiday and claim it all as expenses.[:o)]
I may sound like a pennypincher but the fact is I have properties in Rocky and Bundy and have gone there numerous times only to forget to keep reciepts and not claim a cent of what I`m entitled to!.
I really don`t have a head for business and I`m sure there are many ways I could have saved on tax in the past but haven`t.
Think laterally, what do you spend your after tax dollars on and find a way to claim some/all of it, whether it be expensive clothes/dining out whatever, I`m sure that`s how Packer swings it.
You can also prepay interest on property investments but make sure your lender gives you a discount for doing it or it is seen as tax avoidance, I know this is fact but can`t explain it further as I haven`t fully looked into it yet.

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January 26, 2004 - 1:34 pm

It`s one of my fav areas and would expect it to be one of the most expensive areas in Qld down the track, problem is it`s probably getting there already, it`s definately boomed, but like a lot of Qld, it`s possible there`s a lot left in some areas.
Certain areas are becoming almost unbuyable and Hope Island could definately become that way.

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January 26, 2004 - 1:17 pm

Have they agreed to that?, if not I wouldn`t waste time as they may feel they have gotten away with it and may sense that you don`t want a drawn out legal fight.
Good luck, but still, I would get my solicitor to write the letter asap and salvage whatever possible right away, also legally, surely there is a way you could stop them buying another house until the matter is settled.

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January 26, 2004 - 7:04 am

I`ve found similar type properties which are going for a steal but what to do with them?, I mean if they just sit there they will send you broke.
I found a house and industrial shed which could rent for $300 a week and I could still probably get it for $65,000, but I`m not too sure it would rent, if I had spare cash I would take the chance.
It`s easy to come up with ideas etc but at the end of the day you have to dive in or forget it.
There`s a lot of things I could do myself to make this church look great but would it sell, or even rent?, it can be a big problem when you don`t know the area your buying in.

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January 25, 2004 - 12:00 am

I live in West Brisbane.
Chandler is a good spot but only 15 mins to CBD, do you know this for a fact?, good spot though.
Different to where I live, Tarzan would be completely at home swingin` in the trees in my backyard.
Ya kin almos ear the banjos in dem dar hills!.[][]

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January 23, 2004 - 10:37 pm

Where I live is rural and not sub dividable at present as it`s hilly with a lot of creeks and waterways, but this also has many positives (views, privacy and no traffic for miles). We even have lyre birds living in our driveway!(private road).
There have been whispers around this year the council may allow subdivision, although I have no intention whatsoever of cutting up my block for any price!, but as they say it`s “all good”. (touch wood).[8D]
Bottom line for me, lifestyle and equity mate equity!.[^]

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January 23, 2004 - 2:06 pm

Nothing beats hitting the road!, best advise I can give is make sure you take the basics, mobile phone, a few pens, a notebook and a map, I know this sounds lame but when you are out on the road it`s easy to forget numbers etc and who was selling what at what price.
Write everything down as soon as you see it and even a camera for photos to check out later.[]
Also get the phone number of the local council so you can phone them and even drop in usually they will answer zoning questions and just about anything about development or problems in the town/city etc no problems.

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January 23, 2004 - 9:24 am

Are you guys serious?, I`m blown away, the reason I ask is I own ten acres approx 25 mins from Brisbane CBD and those prices you quote just confirm for me the obvious, I always felt it is way undervalued, the boom hasn`t affected the prices the way it has in the suburbs.
My thinking has always been that it will get up near Sydney/Melb prices eventually and as I am where I want to be I don`t really care too much how long it takes.
If it was worth even half the prices you pay in Sydney I would be an instant millionaire!!, happy, happy days![^].

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January 22, 2004 - 9:35 pm

I would not expect many properties to come even close.
I have one which was spot on the 11 sec calc but I would think this would be near impossible in the cities.
Why not just think ok price is 100k, 200k whatever and rent must be double per week, that`s my one sec rule!.
For instance a 100k property would need to rent for 200 per week and so on.
Seems this would be more realistic and even more simplified.
This is generally the way I always did it.
But of course position and potential play too a big part on buying a home to get carried away with set guidelines.