[MasihParticipant@masihJoin Date: 2007Post Count: 42]

November 13, 2007 - 2:29 am

Yes I've bought OFT and I sell them too. I can give you a positive story. I bought one at Parramatta around March this year and paid $380k for a 2bed with settlement end of next year. At first prices seemed abit high for everyone but looking at it now, it feels like I got a bargain price. The amount of money being spent on Parramatta is phenominal and it's really pushing up the property values higher. So if you select the right area then you got alot to gain and little to lose.

I just had a look at byron bay at homepriceguide. Units have gone up by 3% over the last 6months and 10% over the last 10years. Houses have dropped by -15% over last 6months but over last 10years have gone up by 15.1%.

[MasihParticipant@masihJoin Date: 2007Post Count: 42]

November 12, 2007 - 4:44 am

AUSTRALIA'S chronic housing shortage will continue for at least another two years because of record low affordability, a survey says.

The Housing Industry Association's (HIA) National Outlook shows a shortfall between the number of new dwellings being built this financial year and the "underlying requirement'' of almost 20,000 dwellings.

Over 2004/2005 to 2009/2010, demand will have exceeded supply by 77,600 dwellings. This is roughly half a year's worth of new dwellings – 1,016,000 required dwellings versus 938,400 actual.

http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,23636,22744122-462,00.html

[MasihParticipant@masihJoin Date: 2007Post Count: 42]

November 11, 2007 - 8:59 am

Quote:

My memory's not as sharp as it used to be.

Also, my memory's not as sharp as it used to be.

Quote:

These days about half the stuff in my shopping cart says, "For fast relief."

HAHAHAHAHAH!!! Wata Ripper!

[MasihParticipant@masihJoin Date: 2007Post Count: 42]

November 11, 2007 - 8:53 am

L.A Aussie wrote:

True story (but funny).
Driving in my car the other day with my 5.5 year old son. He says, out of the blue; "Dad, when I see girls, or think about girls, I get a tingle in my willy".
I, of course, kept a straight face and informed him that this was perfectly normal (but is it?)
Lock up your daughters?

Ohh yeahh that's nothing. My cousins 2.5 year old son was here from USA. He was lying on my bed and all of a sudden he took off his pants and says "hey look, my willy has gone up". Man I was speechless. I just shook my head and laughed.

[MasihParticipant@masihJoin Date: 2007Post Count: 42]

November 11, 2007 - 8:41 am

 that was an absolute classic!!!

[MasihParticipant@masihJoin Date: 2007Post Count: 42]

November 11, 2007 - 8:02 am

As long as I remember I have always returned someone's money or property if I found it or saw them dropping it. Maybe except for one time when I was a kid. I was buying a packet of biscuits. When I paid for it; the shopkeeper gave me my own money back and also gave me extra change on top of it. I didnt realise it at first but after going away from the shop when I noticed the error…greed inslaved me and didnt return the money 

But now I wouldnt even think of doing something like that. I would feel guilty for the rest of my life.

[MasihParticipant@masihJoin Date: 2007Post Count: 42]

November 11, 2007 - 7:37 am

I havent red Steve's email but judging from Nigel's post and the opinion of quite a few people here that almost everyone is looking at one side of the coin.

THEHEATH said that by increasing rates there will be an over supply of properties as people cant afford to hold on to their properties. Now that's assuming that owner occupiers are the only ones who buy and sell properties. No one is really taking investors into acount.

Over the past few decades the property market has been controlled by the owner occupiers. But now as more and more people are becoming educated about property and becoming more investment concious; the wheel has been turning of sorts. This is based on my personal opinion but if we keep going at this pace then one day the whole property market could be controlled by investors.

The rate rises wont really hurt investors as much as rental demand will go up since not many people will be able to afford to buy a home and giving the investors the upper hand which leads to higher rents. So really the higher rents are offseting the high interest rates.

Another thing that could offset the over supply of properties are investors looking for bargains and population growth. So the over supply, if there is one, might not last for too long. Add in all those factors Bardon talked about and things are not looking that bad from an investor point of you.

If we stop relying too much on the "interest rates affecting property values" and "land appreciates, house depreciates" type of theories and look more at the broader picture by analysing all the major economic factors affecting property values rather than one or two smaller factors then we can go along way with our investments rather than buying a peice of land here and there.  

[MasihParticipant@masihJoin Date: 2007Post Count: 42]

November 11, 2007 - 6:11 am

DraconisV wrote:

Hye Masih,
Well, i'm not ready to buy into the market yet, I am just finishing my first year of 3 at university and my gf is doing a long tafe course, we are saving like mad and at the completion of my degree(end of 2009) we should be able to jump in at properties around 200-250, but i'm worrying that I won't be able to get anything good for that price(like close, i might have to move further west of sydney), I live in blacktown and prices here at the moment would be nice for that, but i'm looking at buying my IP in north paramatta but prices there are a bit more steep.

I could buy my 1st IP here in blacktown, then after 12 months or so, with increased earnings of both of us and maybe some capital appreciation, i could buy another IP but this time in a better area(more cap growth).

Chris.

Hi Chris,
If you've saved up some deposit and you think prices might be too high by the time you finish uni, why dont you look for something Off-The Plan with long completion date…say 2 or 3 years? That way you can get in early in the market and dont have to worry about paying off a mortgage while still studying. Parramatta is a great area though I'm not sure if you can get anything in your price range for OTP. You'll be looking at 340k+ I guess.

[MasihParticipant@masihJoin Date: 2007Post Count: 42]

November 10, 2007 - 2:16 am

Michael4 wrote:

I suggest for you to look at houses that are old but with a sizeable land 650sqm+ at least as you will be able to mayble later subdivide, renovate and claim more deductions etc. Land appreciates in value where house, unit etc depreciates in value!

I said in one my posts in another forum; given there is demand, even a rathole can increase in value. While you can claim depreciation on the structure of a building such as a unit or a house, it doesnt necesarily mean it will depreciate in price too.

You can buy 10 acres of land in Whitehead NSW for maybe $20,000. That is alot of land….heaps! Yet it stil costs a fraction of a price of maybe a 1 bedroom Sydney apartment. Why? Because there is no demand for land in that area. To give you an example, according to Australian Property Monitors, Avalon which is on Sydney's northern beaches; the median price for units went up by 90+% in just 6 months. Everyone wants a peice of it. That's why prices have skyrocketed.

Don't get sucked in to this whole "Land appreciates, house depreciates" theory. It's an ancient theory that has long lost its credibility. If you understand the Law of Supply & Demand then you will go much further than those who solely rely on this old belief.

But you are right on target regarding Sydney's studio units

[MasihParticipant@masihJoin Date: 2007Post Count: 42]

November 10, 2007 - 1:56 am

audwinsw wrote:

Thanks Masih,
Do you know who can help to submit the plan to council?

Is it an architect or a surveyor?

I think it's best if you contact the council or just give them a visit. Most of the time they're not doing anything anyways. They will explain everything you need to do.

[MasihParticipant@masihJoin Date: 2007Post Count: 42]

November 9, 2007 - 2:21 pm

DraconisV wrote:

I will be getting into the market for the first time around the end of 2009(start of 2010) and I want to see rates go up and up and up, coz I know that rents will go up balancing the rate rises, and will stop prices going up between now and when I am ready to buy some property.

I wouldnt bet on property prices stalling between now and 2010. Even though with all these recent rate rises we had, property market has been performing very well (Refer to chart below). You should buy when your financialy ready. Usualy it's not the TIMING of the market that matters but TIME IN the market that's most important. The longer you are in the market the more money you can potentialy make.

So if you're ready then go for it now.

[MasihParticipant@masihJoin Date: 2007Post Count: 42]

November 9, 2007 - 1:18 pm

Michael4 wrote:

i will almost always recommend to buy a crap house on a big block in those areas so you will attrack the tanants quicker, you can renovate and make more appreciation in the long term and subdivide in the near future!

Michael I think you're giving abit of a risky advice here. First of all the house is crap….who wants to live in a crap house? Second it has a big land….double whammy! That means all their time spent mowing the lawn. Not attractive to tenants at all.

While that kind of property would be good for future subdivision or redevelopment if it's bought with the purpose of doing that….doing a reno for a first time investor is a hard task. It's not always as easy as some TV shows make it look like. Budgeting and planning must be precise. Then you need to find the right people to do the reno. If you're gonna do it yourself then you need to have a fair idea of building. Alot can go wrong if not done properly.

By the way I was at Parra today. We were inspecting some new projects. Not such a good day to be walking around Parra without an umbrella

[MasihParticipant@masihJoin Date: 2007Post Count: 42]

November 8, 2007 - 1:53 pm

I think property is the ideal choice given your current situation and future goals. If your decision is to only invest then you should look more in to eastern states as I dont think Perth has much to offer for investors now….maybe except some individual areas which could be hard to find. So you might be faced with a dilema of either invest or buy a property and use it as PPOR to get the FHBG and free stamp duty then rent it out after a short time. The problem with the second strategy is that if you guys buy in the wrong area, at the wrong time then it could take quite a while before you see some capital growth which could slow down your wealth creation process.

Sometimes you have to let go off the smaller fish to catch the BIG ONE.

[MasihParticipant@masihJoin Date: 2007Post Count: 42]

November 8, 2007 - 1:42 pm

Investor Newby wrote:

Hi All,

I am interested in purchasing an IP in Kellyville Ridge. I was wondering how much the Rouse Hill Town Centre will impact capital growth in the area. Is now a good time to buy? I have seen some off-plan units being advertised for approx. $345000 (2 bedroom) with settlement in approx 10 – 12 months.  Do these seem overpriced?  Would a unit be a good investment in the area in the current market?  Particularly because there appear to be very few Unit blocks in the area – therefore demand is likely to remain high- encouraging capital growth?? 

This is my first IP – so any advice/suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

Those kind of areas are for families….big families usually who wanna live in big houses. I dont think units would be such a good idea. The prices are abit over the top. You can get brand new apartments in that price range or maybe abit more in Parramatta City.

[MasihParticipant@masihJoin Date: 2007Post Count: 42]

November 8, 2007 - 1:29 pm

How much have you had in capital growth over the past 6 years? The rates wont be rising forever but the property prices will be. Especialy in Mosman. Whatever weekly repayments you've had over the past 6 six years, total them up and compare them against the capital growth you've had over these years. That way you will know how much profit you've made so far.

I would say it would be a good idea to hold on to your property as capital growth always outstrips the repayments for well located properties.

Besides, the more rate rises, the higher the rentals as most people wont be able to afford to a buy a house. So demand for rental properties will definitly go up.

[MasihParticipant@masihJoin Date: 2007Post Count: 42]

November 8, 2007 - 1:11 pm

Just get a valuation done. It will cost you a few hundred bucks but could save you thousands. Peace of mind.

[MasihParticipant@masihJoin Date: 2007Post Count: 42]

November 8, 2007 - 1:08 pm

If you're going to rent it as short term rental such as holiday rentals then you will need to furnish it without doubt. Also for holidays rentals I dont think you can get Landlord's insurance.

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November 8, 2007 - 1:02 pm

If you can join his bandwagon then go for it. If you're gonna do it all by yourself without any prior experience then you could be in trouble. Renos are not as easy as some TV shows make it look like. You need to do alot of planning and budgeting, finding the right property, right material to fix it, right people to help you. If you get it all wrong then you just wasted all your time and money for nothing.

[MasihParticipant@masihJoin Date: 2007Post Count: 42]

November 8, 2007 - 12:56 pm

When you're first starting out then Capital Growth is the way to go. You wanna build up equity in a hurry to build up your portfolio quicker. When you're more settled in the future then you can look at +cashflow properties to balance things out abit.

[MasihParticipant@masihJoin Date: 2007Post Count: 42]

November 8, 2007 - 12:48 pm

Hmmm…it's a tricky one. I'm not sure if you'll actually be allowed to invest because of your age. In some states like QLD I believe minors (under 18) are not allowed to own a property. Plus I dont think you can get a loan either.

I hope I'm wrong.