Having bought five properties in three years, I can strongly recommend BellMac Settlements.  Fantastic service and very competitive price-wise.  And their receptionist Rose is lovely too!  Contact number is (08) 9407 9226. 

For our properties we've used a company called Australian Tax Depreciation Services. They're a national company with offices in every state. They're very competitively priced and the service is excellent.  They give you a couple of differently priced options, one includes a site visit (which we've always gone for) and the other doesn't require a s…[Read more]

Sorry, I should've said I used water to soak the wallpaper!  Whoops.

I've removed wallpaper before by using a big sponge and just really soaking the paper – it just peeled off.  Although your situation may be different, as it's in the bathroom – a special glue may have been used to ensure it stayed on, as it's a high moisture environment.

We did things a bit differently to shanematt's process. When we bought our home, we borrowed up to the absolute maximum we could.  It was in late 2006, when the Perth property market was still booming like there was no tomorrow.  We knew that if we didn't buy a house at that point, that we'd probably miss the boat altogether.  Anyhow, due to a co…[Read more]

The husband and I have a mix of skills that makes it pretty easy to self manage.  In my work I deal with legislative process, so I find interpreting the Residential Tenancies' Act straightforward.  The other part of my job is resolving grievances, so I'm used to dealing with all kinds of different people and resolving problems.  Hubby is the ul…[Read more]

TIPAlways look up when you're viewing a property.  Inside, this can reveal things like sagging ceilings and bad peeling in places like the bathroom; outside, it will tell you if the gutters etc look like they need work (whether this is repainting or replacement).TIPFeel the fear and do it anyway.  Most people are naysayers, and out of the g…[Read more]

We've used Australian Tax Depreciation Services for all our properties, all of which were pre-1985.  For a full depreciation report, including site visit, it cost us $495.  They have offices across Australia.  I think their customer service is excellent, we've been very happy with their work, and I'd recommend them to anyone. NB: no, I'm in no wa…[Read more]

Hi Ajay,There are disadvantages, certainly.  Off the top of my head, they include:decreased capital growth compared to houses;regular strata fees (normally every quarter);the occasional 'special levy' when the common areas need to be improved (eg. repainting gutters);generally higher tenant turnover;other tenant-related issues, such as noise from…[Read more]

We just rented out our unit in Glendalough, WA.  One of the things on our application for tenancy form is where did the applicant hear of the unit.  We advertise using a number of options, including an ad in The West Australian on Wednesdays and Saturdays.  Anyhow, all our applicants ticked Gumtree.

jamie2006 wrote:
You can also save money be pulling up your old carpet yourself before the new floor is done.

Not sure if the OP has gone ahead with the vinyl or not, but thought I'd post this anyhow for others who may be looking at doing the same thing…As well as ripping up your old carpet yourself, you can polish the boards yourself too -…[Read more]

We've always used Rick Hart Seconds – not sure if Rick Hart is a national franchise or not though!  We paid something like $800 for an oven/cooktop/rangehood combo, three months ago.  We couldn't find anywhere that came close to matching it.Basically, anywhere that sell seconds is a great place to start.  Good luck!!

There are pros and cons for both.  However I prefer to stick to units which are close to the capital city, for the following reasons:1.  They're easy to tenant – there's always a lot of people who want to live close to town for work;2.  The strata looks after all the gardens, which removes one area of concern when renting a place;3.  Units are eas…[Read more]