Go to the local pub (or get someone you know to go to the pub) at knock off time have a few beers with the locals and you’ll soon get a start on your contacts – better than any yellow pages in my opinion.

Dazzling, that is a very interesting excercise you completed with your parents and an eye opener for me.

Certainly food for thought. Sometimes you need to questions the status quo and really look into the value of life propositions we take for granted as true.

I know I read your post a couple of times – I hope others do too.

Just remember that if you bail him out he has really learnt nothing from this.

Has he been bailed out all of his life? If he gets bailed out now will he then move on to an even bigger blunder next time because he has not learned his lessons this time?

These are the questions you need to ask yourself when you move forward on what to do…[Read more]

If the vendor has told the agent that they do not want to see any offers below a certain amount then they do not have to submit offers to vendor below that amount – that is my understanding.

If the market in general is buying properties that are at a 5-6% return on average then really there is no reason why the vendor would consider an offer that…[Read more]

It is a possibility that they can lose something – especially in this market and if you have not done this before – I think they are wise to be cautious.

My suggestion is to look for other money partners who would look at the deal carefully and only go with it if they are convinced it is a goer.

Look for cash rich time poor people you know – eg…[Read more]

I read a renovating book ages ago, but from memory it made a big deal about changing the light at the front porch – apparently this makes a great first impression without much outlay.

A soil test will tell you the type of concreate slab you will need to be able to build on it.

This will affect costs. For example, from what I know so far, a class M soil is the best type in that it requires the basic and cheapest slab. The sandier the soil and the more chance of movement in the soil means that there will need more…[Read more]