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February 10, 2012 - 7:07 am

While these US cities are poised for greatness, I've just read in recent news that US new-home sales overall were the worst last year.

"The industry slump has kept builders from building, so that the stock of new houses on the market has also fallen to just 157,000 units"

I guess it shows that you should do research on specific US cities, as not all areas are in demand

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February 8, 2012 - 8:33 am

Hey Liz,

I'd also prefer to buy the PPOR, rather than rent.
Then, like mentioned above, use the PPOR as the stepping stone for an IP. This is what I'm actually doing at the moment.

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February 8, 2012 - 8:31 am

it seems that many of the previous posters really dislike the LOE apprach.

I wonder though if anyone in this forum, or anyone you know, actually lives via the LOE approach successfully?
It may be an exceptional case, but it would be interesting to hear of it to see whether it actually is possible.

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February 8, 2012 - 8:26 am

Jamie M wrote:

Nathan Birch is your man  – https://www.propertyinvesting.com/forums/property-investing/general-property/4343429

Cheers

Jamie

I alos suggest checking out one of Nathan Birch's youtube vids which I recently watched. In it, you see the before and after pics of a burnt house that he totally transforms. I was totally amazed watching it actually

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February 8, 2012 - 8:24 am

hey oceans,

welcome to the forum!
I'm also thinking of going west sydney for cheaper properties too.

i'm also keen on +ve cash flow properties, and this may help you too for increasing your income

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February 5, 2012 - 11:10 am

NHG wrote:

Hey,

Have you read the book "The 4-Hour Workweek" by Timothy Ferriss?
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/
Gives some interesting insight on what you can do once you have achieved sufficient cashflow.

The concept of mini-retirements as opposed to what I thought before of getting to the end and THEN concentrating all my effort on what I really want to work on.

NHG

I agree with this. I've read the book and am actually living what was espoused. I currently live in another country, and hav ebeen doing so for a few months. Will head back to Australia next in a couple more weeks

Here are some actualy tips for planning I'd suggest as well:

1) Do planning for both personal goals AND professional goals
2) Plan to create an emergency fund, if you dont already have one – which is equivalent to a lump sum of 3-6 months of your monthly living expenses. If your business plans fails, your job ends, or an emergency arrives, you can have more confidence that you'll be ok
3) Plan for creating PASSIVE income streams. This will enable you to be financially free and able to travel the world or whatever you want to do

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February 3, 2012 - 9:31 am

Weh it comes to TDs, i like to use a laddered approach. This means that rather than putting all my money in one TD as a big lump sum, I break down the amounts, and create  TD every month or so. So that TDs finish up their term in laddered periods of time – which means that I will be able to access some of that money at various times if needed

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February 3, 2012 - 9:28 am

For me, I also use website search engines and look for properties that fit my criteria. I think that it's a quick and convenient way for me to get an idea of a range of undervalued properties

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February 2, 2012 - 8:47 am

I also agree that they won't have any effect. Seems to be alot of media hype about it, but when and if they do come, I think they're going to still have a hard time competing with the Aussie banks

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February 2, 2012 - 8:41 am

regarding the expenses, I would think that you can claim it if you conduct investment properties as a business (well that's how I can claim it in my experience). I'm self employed so it's easier for me to claim it as such. I'm unsure for people who hold a regular 9-5 job whether they'd be able to.

Talking to an accountant is a good idea for knowing the facts about that though

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February 2, 2012 - 8:39 am

2012 has started, and we're already in Feb!
 To be honest, the last couple of days I was feeling a little lost with my own goals – fuzzy and not really reflecting what I want as the overall outcome.

The missus and I talked about our goals today actually, and I'm feeling alot better.

We even managed our time today with a schedule etc so that we can achieve the goals. I truly affrm the improtance of planning and knowing what you want!

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February 2, 2012 - 8:36 am

For me I prefer resi property investing. But that's my personal opinion, and I'm more comfortable and knowledgeable with it.

I'd suggest learning about commercial property before you jump into it

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January 30, 2012 - 9:42 am

hey Anthony B,

Thanks for the tip. I guess sometimes property investors in Australia seem to get confused or overlook the fact of certain tax advantages and strategies they have with their overseas properties.

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January 30, 2012 - 9:40 am

Freckle, I recently read that the Chinese have already poured millions of investing dollars into Australia, prefering to invest here than China. I agree with you and I think that it is set to continue over the next year

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January 27, 2012 - 10:18 am

I was speaking to a mate of mine who is an experienced property investor. He suggested to invest in Gosford, and he's got a number of properties there.

For me personally, I'm sticking with researching and investing in Sydney's West. This area seemed to have good growth in 2011.

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January 27, 2012 - 10:11 am

fWord wrote:

Von Krumm wrote:

This is what has me worried. With all the bears in the market at the moment I am not sure what to start investing in?

I have finally finished uni and got a decent salary but not sure if I should go back and get  an Economics degree just to decipher all the information in the current volatile climate.

Australia’s house prices are ridiculous, 7x average personal income. Now I know there's no reason why they can't climb further but surely it would be easier investing in other markets…

I understand there is money to be made in a falling market but it seems even more unlikely for a first time buyer. How are we supposed to compete?

Don't get me wrong. The period of acquisition is over for me because I am FULLY invested, NOT because I'm staying away from property as a form of investment. They're two different things altogether.

Yes, Australia might seem expensive when using simple calculations, but I've seen far worse in other countries.

First home buyers CAN compete. They should look to buy a house in an area that is currently not so trendy. The house should be solid but older and without the mod cons, with the potential to comfortably live in immediately and to add value over time. The biggest mistake is for a FHB to think he/ she can keep up with all the Joneses and buy a property so expensive that the loan repayments cause severe stress and make it impossible to pay off any principle. The first home does not have to be the LAST. But it provides a substantial platform to step up to a higher quality property down the track.

Of course, you could also decide to rent and direct savings towards other forms of investment, such shares or commodities. That requires discipline however. A home loan forces a person to save, to pay their loan before paying themselves. For some people, the natural inclination is to spend all their savings if they don't already have some big commitments in place. In this way, I have benefited much from property investment. I'm extremely tempted to buy a new car and would have done so if not for my loan repayments. And we all know that a car will be worth less in 10 years time, whereas property is likely to have increased in value over that time, even above and over your interest payments or any other expenditures on the house, if you have bought well.

Hey fWord, Good advice and insights.

Nonetheless, Von Krumm, I can totally relate to your frustrations. The housing prices are totally ridiculous, most likely caused by an undesupply and many reports are suggesting that it may lead to a housing disaster, especially in NSW and QLD!

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January 26, 2012 - 11:16 am

yeah i would personally use term deposits myself to hold onto the money.. i'm actually doing that right now myself

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January 26, 2012 - 11:14 am

since you said you had a low income, if I was in your position, I woudl prefer to get positive cash flow properties to increase your income – and hence your ability to invest in even more properties later on – but that's just my personal opinion

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January 25, 2012 - 1:45 pm

Hey Nigel, interesting insights there.
"around 80% of retirees or around 20% of the projected population will be living on under $12,000 per year." – yikes that's scary and SO LOW! you wouldn't be able to live off that, especially with the high prices in Australia

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January 25, 2012 - 1:43 pm

yeah i reckon that some of them would be the same price or similar to regular sellers, although I tihnk that generally there is a trend for many of them to want to sell quickly..

I also saw NMDdata and was curious about it. Anyone used it before? Reviews?