I/O loans work on the theory that property markets always rise causing your equity to increase – many have now learned that this is not the case. Basically you pay interest for the term of the loan and the amount that you 'save' by not paying back principle can be used for other purposes.These loans work well in rising markets but can leave you…[Read more]

Depending upon how much you need, you could consider 180 day (or longer) bank bills. A little bit of a pain as you have to roll them over (refinance) every 6 months, fixed rate of interest, refinancing rate is the prevailing rate (advertised rate + margin/risk), interest is paid upfront however they are quite effective. You may need to get the…[Read more]

As you are already an investor, persuing another property is not out of the realms of what you already do so even though there is no property which has been purchased you most likely can either capitalise these costs (of failure) against the next property that you purchase or call them part of your costs of doing business. How you go about it…[Read more]

Nitro, the catch is item a) THE TENANT AND THE LESSOR AGREE IN WRITING.That is, you may be lucky and the owner will agree to terminate however it would be more likely that they will agree when you to pay all costs up to an including a new tenant taking possession (includes lease prep, adverts, inspections and agent commission etc).

SHales wrote:
I also have a personal dislike for anything which does not include freehold.s

Shales, strata title, community title and stratum titles are all forms of freehold (crown guarantees the title). However you have closer living quarters & shared rights over the freehold.Old System is also freehold title without the crown guarantee.

They are also on the survey. Plus they have their own research and the benefit of many, many asset managers & valuers.

I pay more attention to those published by the Australian Property Institute from their quarterly surveys. Survey results are based on responses from property mgrs, valuers, asset managers, developers etc.April survey shows each state & category are still on the way down with a long way to go before any sign of recovery. So buy, buy, buy (for at…[Read more]

Geez I'm glad that I don't go to these things. Thanks for the commentary and I'm glad that you got something very important out of it (a few cups of coffee, a sore backside and a very important lesson learned).

Which state and which version of the RTA and what is the rest of the clause?But generally, if you are currently under lease then you have obligations for the term of the lease (until such time that you are able to get a new tenant, if there is a shortfall in rent, you pick that up).

Levi, you've almost answered your own question with regards to moving – it will knock your savings around & set you back by about 20 months of the additional savings (ie you will need to stay in the new/cheaper rental for 20 months to benefit from the lower cost as well as taking out 2 months of your current savings).Many on this site (as well as…[Read more]

I know that the victorians are a little bit victorian with their systems but I didn't think that you could bring a property to the market without having a contract in play ie the vendor has to stump up with a contact with full disclosure (title details, sewer diagram, S149 certificate etc). How do you know what you are buying until you have a…[Read more]

What are the chances of you moving into a rental and renting out your house? It gets him off your back as you are no longer in the house, you have a renter in the house ie not his ppor or anything else as there is a lease in place to confirm that he doesn't live there and you have someone contributing to the mortgage & your tax deductions.

It depends upon how much you use the car – keep an ATO approved logbook for 3-6 months (recording every trip, odo readings & purpose), record all costs (rego, servicing, fuel, oil, tolls etc). Split costs according to what your accountant then recommends.

1) Depreciation – new units have a developer's margin (profit) as well as GST recovery built into the price, they don't give them away. You would have to be extremely lucky to find a unit at the start of a boom/end of a downturn and hold for short time to make a profit.2) This type of unit is hard to sell – it is the managers who make the money…[Read more]

Well some of us have missed a recession (ha ha) and others just deny it. NSW

CAn you be more specific  sweeper? What type of investment & what structure (if any)?

No, you have a partnership return prepared and the income is split in accordance with the partnership agreeement/%. This income/loss is then distributed to your personal income tax return.As for including personal debts into a partnership – the partnership is its own entity (although there is unlimited liability), so personal debts do not come…[Read more]

Being a sceptic of median house prices, get hold of a copy of the SMH or other median price guide for 2009. Look for suburbs which had massive rises in median unit prices eg Greenwich. This is not generally indicative of huge cap growth but of recent sales of new units which have skewed the results – 2009 will show a drop in median prices (unless…[Read more]

If you could insure it (I don't think the insurer would question whether it had been approved or not) then, if it burnt down you could lodge a legit DA and get it approved.

Don't know of any houses in Balmain, Camperdown or Chatswood for that price range, do you mean units? (Even then you'd struggle for anything more than a decent/modern one bedder except at the top end of the price bracket).