Can't say I've heard of the college (though I know it exists). Certificate of registration for real estate usually takes 3 days (intensive). There is no curriculum listed on the ICM website (though they have associations with MCU) and the end result is you will qualify for a real estate licence.There is an advert which is run often in the Sydney…[Read more]

You'd be best served reviewing your strata by-laws and council zoning to confirm that you can use the property for short-term rentals before sticking your hand into your pocket for what will end up as a furnished flat.

dr house wrote:
Unless of course, you find a licensed agent who can list you there, but allows you the freedom of a private sale.

That is why there are companies which assist you to sell your own house (provide all the marketing back of house, signage etc).

Go for the double whammy, buy something off the plan or a house/land package – it will delay your costs, comply with the requirements, may get any additional state govt bonus $ etc.

Terry, there are many statutory requirements for the preparation of a contract for sale of land. These include consumer protection requirements (like the 5 day cooling off/S66W waiver), provision of sewer diagram/full property description/description of inclusions/period for completion of the contract etc – the back of an envelope simply won't do…[Read more]

Plenty of options out there: POSH, Property Manager Pro (both from Mannacom and available from Harvey Norman/Officeworks/Online). I wasn't too impressed by POSH as it could not handle multiple owners ie wasn't suitable for my purposes, PMP I used for several years and was very easy to use & create reports. I currently use Rentmaster…[Read more]

crj wrote:
If the property is not available for rent in the peak season the ATO will not necessarily regard availability as an appropriate apportionment method but might consider actual period rent was received for as a more appropriate apportionment method.  The issue being whether the characterisation of the house is as a means of earning i…[Read more]

How many people/households on the average income buy a median priced property?

newbi2 wrote:
… I once had 2 properties with the same agent, a vacent block comission $2300 and a house comission $17600. When I asked if there was any difference in the work (ie will you work the same to sell the cheaper one) the answer was, "we work the same on all listings"……..SO…….Why then do you charge so much extra for the same…[Read more]

dr house wrote:
….One of the difficulties we have, is not being able to list on the realestate.com.au web site privately.I think this is extremely anti competitive and have  wondered if this can be reported as such to ASIC….

How can it be anti-competitive? Competition exists between real estate businesses which advertise on the site. This…[Read more]

I use OP's. That is, if I am dealing with an agent, they want the sale and will provide me with a 12-24 month printout of all (or selected) sales in a given radius of the property selected. If the agent isn't obliging, they're not going to get my $$.

Eddie, multi-listing shouldn't be the only option considered, the use of a lead agent and one or two other agents working in conjunction can be much more effective (marketing in unified, there is more strategy in the sales process etc).As PS points out, there is no way of coralling all expenses before turning the first sod of earth. The best that…[Read more]

I'd recommend getting someone to regrind & polish it – it is all the rage (just like polished concrete).

1 – the trust is a separate entity to yourself. There is nothing stopping you leasing a property from a different entity however you cannot rent from yourself, so a trust with a corporate trustee can lease to you as a person without any issues.2 – Maree, no-one mentioned the word 'super' but a smsf can purchase any type of property however…[Read more]

Consider the other side of the coin, if you pay cash & don't include the expense in your cost base, then you will be up for the cgt on the value of the work, it will come out of your pocket at some stage. (Just like the owner-builder who does a heap of work on their own house, which they have not lived in. When it comes to the sale, there is all…[Read more]

2 trains of thought – if you are not pushed for a sale ie not currently looking at selling (and not fussed either way if you do or don't sell), then a premium of 10% ie $50k may be worthwhile as a trade off for not selling to anyone for the option period. The risk is that they don't exercise the option (no great loss if you don't need to sell & an…[Read more]

Thanks for that, see your mail.SNM

Investment in commercial property is not everyone's cup of tea. Firstly, vacancy periods are generally much longer than with residential property (ie can be 12-18 months) as it varies with the economy rather than other factors, so you must be able to cope with repayments over these periods. Banks will only lend 60-70% unlike residential (but they…[Read more]

He might be a buyers agent but I dare say this time he is working for the vendor.

You should be able to progress the issue with the Strata Manager who deals directly with the Executive of the Body Corporate. If nothing else, they are engaged/paid by the BC (which is all of the owners) and should be able to provide the answers that you need.