[Matt_ArnoldParticipant@matt_arnoldJoin Date: 2006Post Count: 142]

July 7, 2010 - 9:48 am

Hey James

Welcome to the forum mate…

Being a property investment forum, you are going to get told about 101 different ways of making money through property.

At your age mate, best advice is to attend a few seminars (there are heaps available for either no charge or under $100) on both property, shares and business. Read a few books on each of the above subjects, talk to a bunch of people (eg. Forums, family friends, etc) and you will hopefully find that one attracts you more than the others.

Once that takes place, attend a bunch more minimal cost seminars (maybe even do a short tafe / other course), read a whole heap more books, talk to a bunch more people in your chosen field  and try and get a really good understanding of your chosen investment model.

Don't be in too much of a rush to invest your money, the road to wealth is a journey that is best enjoyed over time.

Matt

[Matt_ArnoldParticipant@matt_arnoldJoin Date: 2006Post Count: 142]

July 7, 2010 - 9:37 am

Hi vinaysalia

Have a look at the following link;

http://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/CA256EB5000644CE/page/Buying+and+selling+property-Buying+property-Buying+property+at+auction?OpenDocument&1=50-Buying+and+selling+property~&2=020-Buying+property~&3=020-Buying+property+at+auction~

Should provide some good information on auctions for you.

Most important thing with auctions…    write down your final price on a piece of paper before the bidding starts, and if it exceeds your figure, walk away !

Best of luck.

Matt 

[Matt_ArnoldParticipant@matt_arnoldJoin Date: 2006Post Count: 142]

July 2, 2010 - 7:41 am

MrsC wrote:

The thing im actually peeved about is we told our sales agent that we had a couple of lights that have never worked since we moved in and all he said was 'oh you will just have to get those fixed'

We could have written those into contract as not working!!

Other option, if you were not prepared to 'just get those fixed'  the agent could have informed the potential buyer that they were not working, and the property is to be sold with those faults in place…

Then, when contracts are exchanged, the agent simply gets the buyer to sign a 1 pager stating they are aware of the fact that the lights are not working…    this would protect you as the vendor, and also the agent. Eg. Written eveidence that the agent disclosed all known facts that could influence the sale price of the property. 

[Matt_ArnoldParticipant@matt_arnoldJoin Date: 2006Post Count: 142]

July 2, 2010 - 7:10 am

goldies wrote:

The thing that bothers me is that the agent is probably lying about the offer to make me submit an offer of $182k or so when they probably havent got an offer of $170k.

In NSW, if the agent in question cannot prove that he recieved a genuine offer for $180k, then it would be considered false advertising and illegal.

[Matt_ArnoldParticipant@matt_arnoldJoin Date: 2006Post Count: 142]

July 1, 2010 - 5:30 am

Hi Mayban

In concept, your strategy would work…    only word of caution would be living in a house under renovations for 6 months could be a rough experience at times.

Other comment would be in six months time, rather than selling your property and paying all the associated exit costs, simply re-finance and use the equity to go again…

[Matt_ArnoldParticipant@matt_arnoldJoin Date: 2006Post Count: 142]

June 29, 2010 - 11:23 pm

Un-ethical – Yes.    illegal – Not sure.

As long as they have had a genuine offer made, then the marketing campain is based on fact.

Until the property has exchanged, they are legally obliged to submit all offers the vendor.
(Nobody likes being gazumped, but it is legal).

The other thing to consider is that the offer may have not been accepted by the vendor, the agent / agency in question may just be using this as a way to 'stir up an emotional response' to extract a higher offer which will be accepted by the vendor.

Either way, i can't see it producing a 'long-term, high level of respect' within the local community.

[Matt_ArnoldParticipant@matt_arnoldJoin Date: 2006Post Count: 142]

June 25, 2010 - 11:10 am

Mate.

I don't think there is any hard and fast rule to calculate what rent to charge…    properties in the CBD will provide a vastly different rental return when compared to properties in mining towns.  

If you intend to buy a property, either ask the agent for a rental valuation (if the sales agent gives you a verbal, knock off a few bucks as they tend to pitch at the high end of what is achievable) or get one of the property managers to prepare a written evaluation for you.

Otherwise, do a search on domain or realestate.com and look for comparable properties.

When your calculating your actual cash in pocket each week, remember to deduct your expenses (strata if unit / townhouse, agent management fees, land rates etc).  

[Matt_ArnoldParticipant@matt_arnoldJoin Date: 2006Post Count: 142]

June 24, 2010 - 2:00 am

Mate'

http://www.somersoft.com.au/

The Somersoft PIA software is great for both CF+ and CF- property.

Also has all the formulas required for NRAS housing etc if that is of interest.
 

[Matt_ArnoldParticipant@matt_arnoldJoin Date: 2006Post Count: 142]

June 22, 2010 - 5:50 am

Hi Cellphone

Residex offer a report a Best Rent Report which lists 100 suburbs with a predicted return of at least 10% p.a.   5% rental return and 5% capital growth.

http://www.residex.com.au/index.php?content=positive&from=lhsmenu

[Matt_ArnoldParticipant@matt_arnoldJoin Date: 2006Post Count: 142]

June 22, 2010 - 3:10 am

Hi Wealth4Life

To clarify some of my questions…   i understand the current rules and regualtions around SMSF.

My questions were more so based around the concept of 'what if as property investors we could write the rules ?'

What would we propose differently to what is currently in place, and what effect (good or bad) would that have on the econcomy as a whole as well as on specific indivuals.

[Matt_ArnoldParticipant@matt_arnoldJoin Date: 2006Post Count: 142]

June 22, 2010 - 1:39 am

So, a couple open questions;

1) What would be the effect if the rules were changed to allow people to buy their PPOR using their super fund ?

2) To allow the above to occur, would we need to allow people to borrow 80 or 90% LVR as opposed to the current 50% ?

3) Should the available limit for a PPOR purchased through super be capped at say $500 K. This would mean that the people that benefit would be the low to middle income earners who generally struggle the most to buy a PPOR and also have the least amount of super at retirement ?

4) Should we simply allow people to withdraw a portion of their super to be used as a deposit on a PPOR purchased outside of their super funds ?

[Matt_ArnoldParticipant@matt_arnoldJoin Date: 2006Post Count: 142]

June 22, 2010 - 12:28 am

Although i do agree that there are a number of problems with the proposed idea, rather than shooting the idea down point blank, in the interest of a healthy forum discussion why don't we entertain the idea ??

Personally, i think it is kind of nice to have a topic running that isn't the classic, i have my PPOR with X amount and want to buy an IP for Y amount,  type question.

[Matt_ArnoldParticipant@matt_arnoldJoin Date: 2006Post Count: 142]

June 19, 2010 - 10:58 am

Hi Darivo

To get the loan on the Investment Property you would need to have some form of deposit. Usually 5 – 10 % deposit with Loan Mortgage Insurance or 20 % deposit to avoid Loan Mortgage insurance.

Unless you have the cash available from the sale of shares etc you can use some of the available equity from your PPOR loan as the deposit for your investment loan.

So in effect, even though as you say you are robbing Peter to pay Paul, the way the banks see it, when the transaction is finalised they want to see that a) you have the capacity to service both loans and b) there is some equity in both loans. 

A good accountant / broker can advise on how to structure both loans so that the maximum tax benefits / interest savings etc can be achieved.

[Matt_ArnoldParticipant@matt_arnoldJoin Date: 2006Post Count: 142]

June 16, 2010 - 10:50 pm

Hi Yuvaraj

Straight up, i havn't seen any specific numbers on Blacktown, but i did have a look at a few places with my brother early this year. (He was simply looking for a PPOR around $250K…)

My overall thoughts are that the 'stigma' once attached to Blacktown is beginning to fade.

There has been some very nice unit blocks built that are well priced (anything that is reasonably modern, well kept and around the $250K mark in Sydney is cheap !!!). Add to this the fact that they are easy walking distance to a major train station and close to potential employment Eg. Norwest Business Park makes me think that Blacktown will do well.

[Matt_ArnoldParticipant@matt_arnoldJoin Date: 2006Post Count: 142]

June 16, 2010 - 6:19 am

This is one strategy that Michael Yardney makes a lot of references to…

As referenced by Terry, the 'concept' may be a lot easier than the 'application'.

[Matt_ArnoldParticipant@matt_arnoldJoin Date: 2006Post Count: 142]

June 5, 2010 - 11:19 am

Hi Wannabe

In regards to your situation, i did the share housing thing for about 10 years and by the end of it, was ready to do just about anything to get a place on my own, so i can understand where your at…  

Living in Western Sydney, if you were willing to downscale your accommodation, you can rent a one bed granny flat for maybe $180 p/w.

In regards to renting out your current PPOR, i threw some very quick figures through the Somerset PIA software. (7% I/O loan, $53K Annual income, $340 p/w rent, standard NSW depreciation scales etc) and it estimated after tax deductions, you would be out of pocket $98 per week.

Agreed, you will need to find some extra bucks each week to pay both the rent and the mortgage short fall, but hey, its an option that would allow your to keep your house and to also taken some time out living on your own for a while…   

Like DWolfe said, you do what you have to do to get to where you want to go.

## Disclaimer – this is general advice only and should not be used for financial decisions. PLEASE seek specific advice from a qualified financial planner / accountant as to what would be the best financial decision. ## 

[Matt_ArnoldParticipant@matt_arnoldJoin Date: 2006Post Count: 142]

June 5, 2010 - 10:36 am

Hi Jimmy J

Does it really matter if they are receiving 'kickbacks' ( i prefer the term financial remuneration) for providing a service ?

Eg. A) Intellectual Property – they are proving a short list / recommended list of qualified tradesman who can complete the required work.
 
Project Management – They are responsible for overseeing the work and ensuring that it is completed to an acceptable standard.

My only concern would be if the person they were recommending and contracting to do the work turned out to be the licensees nephew who hasn't even finished the 1st year of his apprenticeship, or alternatively, the person who was willing to 'pay them the most'.

As long as the people they recommended were qualified and reliable, then i would be in full support of having them facilitate the required works…

[Matt_ArnoldParticipant@matt_arnoldJoin Date: 2006Post Count: 142]

June 3, 2010 - 5:13 am

There is basically four ways to make it to the top of the corperate ladder;

1) Work your way there over twenty or thirty years. (Possible for yesterday's generation, but not so much today).

2) Spend X number of years at uni getting a piece of paper…   and then spend a bunch more years working your way up the chain.
3) Start the company from scratch and build it.       (My preferred option)

4) Buy an established company and make yourself the MD / CEO.

[Matt_ArnoldParticipant@matt_arnoldJoin Date: 2006Post Count: 142]

June 1, 2010 - 4:09 am

Hi Romeop

Until the cooling off period expires, you haven't actually bought the property…   what you have, is a contractual 'option to purchase' the property.

As such, you can make a financially revised offer which will allow for the repairs to be completed, or alternatively, request that the required work be completed prior to settlement.

You will upset both the agent and the vendor by doing so, but you are well within your rights to make the above requests…    i guess, just understand that the vendor is also under no legal obligation to accept your offer. Should the vendor stay firm and refuse to lower the asking price or complete the required works, and you decide to not proceed all that will happen is that you will lose your 0.025% deposit (i presume this is the only deposit that you have paid) and the property will go back on the market.

 

[Matt_ArnoldParticipant@matt_arnoldJoin Date: 2006Post Count: 142]

June 1, 2010 - 12:09 am

JacM wrote:

Hi Eddie,

Is it an option for you to live in it for a while in order to qualify for the First Home Owner Grant?  I believe you'd also get stamp duty exemption which would be a help.

Hi JacM

I think this is a great option for a lot of people to get started…  (certainly how i purchased my first place).

Around Sydney, i would also consider the Central Coast and Wollongong…   personal opinion, but i still think that Mt Druitt / St Marys have a bit of a bad reputation, although i do acknowledge in ten years time, they could well be 'affluent areas'.