These country towns can be deceptive in a lot of ways. An old trick is to get a tenant in for a short term at a high rent to make the place look a better proposition and enhance the sale. However, if the accomodation has the extras then it may well deserve the extra rent. Three bedrooms better than two, dishwasher etc. but check it out first.…[Read more]

Dear Dave78,
You don’t give us a lot to go on! I have a couple of small town IPs that are doing OK. I bought these some time ago and did a lot of reno. They rent well and it is surprising how tenants seem to appear out of ‘thin air’. I wonder about your 11% on properties so overpriced. Are you sure?
More help with a bit more detail but obviously…[Read more]

Whoops! There may a big error in this line of thinking. The ‘Boomers’ are going to fund their retirement and nursing home life with these funds.
If you are waiting for an inheritance,don’t hold your breath, you had best try to tap into the funds directly. Buy a nursing home or life style properties. You may also find a willingness to rent…[Read more]

A list of very good points that contributed to our recent property boom. The last 60 years have also been dominated by the Baby Boomer ‘surge’ influence. The next and ,probably the last, will be their selling of assets and downsizing. I get the impression that this last boom was also subscribed to by many ‘BB’ investors who will now want to sell…[Read more]

Wait at least 3 months, research the area to determine the ‘Current’ value, make an offer based on your research. My guess is that there will be many more good buys available in 2005.

It would be interesting to hear the research that puts the next boom at 2010 or thereabouts! There are many factors to the contrary; baby boomers retiring, birth rate low, shifting world economy, migration factor and Australian’s very low retirement savings. The NSW govt has placed a land tax on property other than a PPOR and we are all aware of…[Read more]

It appears to me that it is your labour that will add value during the renos. If you buy a place to renovate make sure it is the sort of work you can handle in a short period so that you can get the property back on the rental market. Major work will delay things and may introduce outside ‘labour’ which will cost! I look for properties built after…[Read more]

Apparently most Australians retire with no more than $90,000 in super, according to Money Magazine Dec2004. The Institute of Chartered Accountants estimate that at age 65, the average retiree will need 125% of their pre-retirement income for the first 5 years and 75% thereafter until admission to a care facility. As a male expected to live to 81…[Read more]

Some baby boomers are preparing for retirement and, in some cases, actually taking early retirement now. It is apparent in the market that preparation is being made by those with the funds and foresight to be ‘set up’ for their retirement.
Try buying on the coast or in prime rural areas and you will see the effect of this preparation.
In 2006…[Read more]

Thanks Michael, I would like to think that you are right. We have to factor in the concept that BBs are a global phenomenon and that there will considerable competition for migrants by other countries. I do not suggest that our cities will become ghost towns, rather my thinking is that property prices will, at least, be affected for the next 10 to…[Read more]

I hear a hint that the Genx people are suspecting a babyboomer problem. People born between 1946 & 1965 are starting their retirements now. Over the next 10 years this will grow in intensity. I personally have always been just ahead of the boomers and they made property investing easy for me. I have the feeling that we are going to see the…[Read more]

Dear ‘princess
I guess I don’t understand the point you are trying to make. These retirement villages are surely trying to take advantage of the people about to retire and want to enjoy the comfort of this sort of living. My guess is they may sell their family home now that the family have moved out and retire to a retirement village or some…[Read more]

There is a lot of evidence to suggest that property prices have dropped or at least ‘reached a plateau’. Activety in real estate appears to be low. Combine these things with the Baby Boomer event we will soon experience and I feel we have to consider real estate to be, at the very least, an investment for the long term. Rentals are down, yield is…[Read more]

I expect my investments to return a certain “yield”. As far as property is concerned, the easiest way to adjust this yield for unexpected changes is to adjust rents. I expect all my properties to experience an increase in rents.
Having a few years experience has taught me to never accumulate too many things, including property, so that it can be…[Read more]

This land tax really gives me the…… Just wait for the new valuations to be developed by the “valuer general”. When more money is needed the govt will only need to adjust valuations a percentage point or two. The perception is that only people with money will be affected & not the so called battler. Raise rents so that the cost is passed on to…[Read more]

While I have few inner city IPs, I plan to generally increase rents on the anniversary of my rentals. So far no tenants have moved or complained. Most of my IPs are “middle of the road” type so we avoid the low wage earners etc.

This doesn’t answer the original question but perhaps others will say what their plans are and we may be able to form a…[Read more]

The trend, as Rogue originally pointed out, is definitely down. My guess is that it is more than a “price correction” and we will see prices drop considerably more. I also see a trend towards higher rents but these increases seem to be incrimental and will only really have an impact over a few years.
My guess is that we are starting to feel the…[Read more]

Dear Rogue,

Nope, not a dig. I was just saying it would be nice to get back to operating in our own backyard. I was also hinting (or hoping ) that rents would get better and property prices a bit more in line with rentals.

My response to the original query suggested that the concern had to do with the baby boomers retiring and selling to fund…[Read more]

Dear Rogue,

I try to avoid using a cliche’ unless it is appropriate. I checked my last post and I am unable to see that I had.

I have properties in 4 different countries and I feel I was sensible when I bought these.

I prefer to operate in familiar teritory for obvious reasons. I also try very hard not to lose money. I guess I don’t understand…[Read more]

I know a young couple who bought a house that was very affordable and eventually used the equity that developed to buy somthing better. More equity came out of the new house so they thought an IP would be the answer. It was “all happening” and there was a lot of encouragement to move ahead.
They had a tenant who paid on time and things looked…[Read more]