1) Not sure about victoria, however your floor plan should indicate the extent of your premises. I have seen the odd unit with the balcony, courtyard or garage being common property (as it is external to your four walls) however you have got exclusive use rights. In other cases, garages may appear under a separate lot number eg: Unit 2 & Garage…[Read more]

On the downside, IO in a falling market will mean that you may soon owe more than you have borrowed or that you will be unable to refinance as you no longer meet the criteria without mortgage insurance.This is highlighted by margin calls on shares and the issues many people are having trying to refinance from higher fixed loans to lower rates.IO…[Read more]

A few things – building costs are starting to come down (price of steel is dropping), lack of work for builders is following & property  prices are depressed.If you buy, build & hold, then it can be profitable ie buy & develop whilst it is cheap. If you are looking to buy, build and sell then you will be selling in a market which is still…[Read more]

Look at it this way, you gave them 'nothing', you should expect 'nothing' in return ie read the make good clause in the lease, any clause which relates to transfer of ownership and obligations with regards to incentives paid (eg fitout may transfer to lessee at some point in time however all depreciation has been claimed by the lessor).Strictly…[Read more]

Overheard in a discussion between the builder, project mgr & architect when discussing termite damage: "Just paint it blue & ignore it….". Needless to say the PM cracked up, the architect didn't know where to look

Time is money (a quick settlement means less interest charges for the developer)

If you are keen on 2, hit them with a lowball offer say $330-340, offer decent settlement (must be something in it for the vendor to settle quickly), submit a signed contract with a deposit and submit your letter noting that it is open to acceptance for ?? days.

As the property is in your name, you cannot technically sublease the property yourself (it extinguishes the lease). If the property is held by a trust or a company or any other entity, that entity can lease it to whoever it likes as the ownership is not the same person as the occupant.

ajayayyar wrote:
Scott No Mates, so the answer is – basically even if I engage an agent, the rental is not guaranteed? To me, it seems that the ONLY way to receive guaranteed property rent is to either sign a lease-back agreement, OR get involved in DHA properties. Is that correct?CheersAjay

You've got it – the only guarantee you have is the…[Read more]

Consider $ rent, proximity to services/station. 3 bed + study is probably more practical however you do share a common wall with a neighbour. Neither will affect resale value (other than losing greater depreciation on the new property).

It doesn't seem to be a problem around the inner city (Waterloo/Sydney Park area). Generally it will be heritage listed so there is no chance of the chimney being knocked down. The area will probably be set aside for recreation so you will be close to the park.

There's nothing like a direct approach. I wouldn't submit a DA before making contact as council will send them a letter notifying of the proposal. If the neighbour is old and they don't want to move, you could take an option out over the property (exerciseable upon their move into a nursing home/death) or allow them to stay in the house for X…[Read more]

Does he have a website (googled it without results)? Does he have a real estate agent's licence & operate a trust account? Is he a licensed financial advisor?

A property is only strata titled if an application has been made, strata plans lodged and approved and separate titles given to each lot. Otherwise the property would remain on the lot(s) which were developed. A separate DA needs to be lodged for approval to strata.The benefit of owning all of the units – total control, no need for a strata…[Read more]

Ajay, the property manager is your agent ie they have all your responsibilities but not the final say. Can you guarantee a return on your own property? Othewise, look into buying DHA, a developer's show house/property with a rental guarantee or buy into a property syndicate.

More so a case of over commitment & keeping up with the Jonses.

C2 wrote:
Sydneyme,Not necessarily irrational but more like frustration at seeing love ones and friends kicked out of their homes from greedy banks..  Put yourself in their shoes.  Maybe if investors stop trying to pick up these type of repossessions from banks then the banks might not be so eager to repossess and kick people out of their h…[Read more]

At present all we're seeing is spin doctoring & BS from KRudd & nothing in the way of support from the states (NSW is an exception, it is broke and Qld isn't far behind). Regards your comment with Foolwatch, is was a political stunt (sounded good at the time to those who aren't in small business or understand economic theory). Yes it might be…[Read more]

The answer is yes, no and maybe. Refer to your industry association.

If you are insulated from it, as Dan notes, you won't feel the brunt of it. However, if you lose your job, fall behind in the mortgage, take maternity leave & can't get back into your old job you'll say it is the worst it has ever been.