Scamp wrote:

mpertile wrote:
And the price of oil (and petrol) is so high, why?  Because there's a shortage on the world market…

Wrong. There's plenty of oil. Speculation drove oil prices up , not 'shortage'. Basically, the exact same thing that happened to housing. Speculation drove those prices up also, not shortage. There's no shortage o…[Read more]

By the way, i think interest rates will go down, but whether or not the banks pass that on might be a different story.  At least if the RBA lowers interest rates, and if the banks don't pass that on, then they're very unlikely to go up any futher, unless the banks want a full – scale riot!  Can you picture that, RBA lowers interest rates, ban…[Read more]

Don't forget that the USA is fighting a war they can't afford to fight (averaging about $90 billion per year for the last 6 years, with an estimated flow on $2 trillion cost to the US economy), so there are other factors at play other than interest rates with the economy in the US.  Australia's govt is using it's money more wisely, hence we are…[Read more]

Do they have this in QLD – can't seem to find any info on the net about this being offered in QLD, so I am assuming not, but thought it wouldn't hurt to ask

I was looking at this option in buying a PPOR, but it's no worth it unless the trust is making money aside from your PPOR, as you can't negatively gear in a trust.  If the trust is making money, then it's probably from other assets and as mentioned before in this topic, you don't have the asset separation – you could pay rent to the trust to cove…[Read more]

http://www.yourestate.com.au/

JL – I see your point, let's say we added to this example a method of having the the $7k FHOG means tested,  so that in an example like yours the initial assistance is there in extreme cases, but as yarpos said, the bulk of people are in the middle, and allowing them to tax deduct their interest would be much more financially beneficial than $7…[Read more]

Hmmm….that's a good point in regards to the rich taking advantage of this, but I don't see how it's a worse deal than present for those on low incomes?  Please elaborate….

all quetions answered here:http://www.firsthome.gov.au/

Don't forget that wages are alot higher in the UK also. A job that you're paid $50k here would have a wage of about ?50k over there (of course this is not always the rule, but pretty close).  The Aus dollar is worth about 48pence at the moment, making salaries in the UK about double what they are here.  That being the case, you would have to l…[Read more]

How, 200k equity on a 440k property ain't bad.  Sounds like good advice – but make sure you DO NOT NEGATIVELY GEAR!  You may be sold the benefits of "saving tax", but remember you only save tax when you lose money!  (for example you spend $100 on interest and you get $40 of that back in tax – you're still $60 behind).  Do your numbers and buy a s…[Read more]

Scamp, your kind of input doesn't help anybody, maybe except for yourself.Do you feel better about yourself now that you've put someone else down?

I asked the commonwealth bank about how much expected rental income they take into consideration when calculating serviceability, they said 80%, does this vary from bank to bank?This is pretty standard, unless you want to pay mortgage insurance, but remember, this is 80% LVR of your PPOR and your investment property put together…I just reread…[Read more]

How much does it cost to have my property valued, I understand that a bank can appoint one on there behalf or I could get a private valuer, is this correct?Speaking from personal experience, all I have to do is tell my bank I am looking to buy another property and that I want to use my current property as security and they'll go out and value it…[Read more]

If I was to find a Really good deal on an investment property would the banks be more inclined to approve finance? Eg. I found a foreclosure for 250k worth 500kThe bank will only take into account the purchase price on the contract as marked price, no matter how much the 'real' market price is.  You really need to try to get yourself into a…[Read more]

Try a Joint Venture agreement, which basically sets him up as a partner to the investment and you can then nominate whether it's a 50-50 split, 60-40 split of profits and costs etc.  Talk to a solicitor who knows this sort of stuff and they could draft an agreement for you.  As far as the titles office and your lender is conerned, the title wil…[Read more]

I agree fully with Mick.  If the seller won't negotiate and you don't think the property is worth what you are paying – walk away

My advice is to buy property that you know is a good deal and a good investment in today's market, not based on what might happen if there happened to be a boom, especially in today's market.  You make money on a property when you buy, not when you sell.

I guess check with your solicior and see if they can demand that you not advertise it, if they can, then unfortunately you have to cop it.  If not, stand your ground and keep the ads running, it's not like they can pull out of the sale!

Tugger,This is their property until settlement and you have to repect their decision, whether you agree with it or not, early access is their decision to make. As far as the advertising goes, I'm sure if you advertised it saying that it's not available until after the date of settlement, then there shouldn't be a problem, you can just make up a…[Read more]