[scottMember@scottJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 110]

June 30, 2003 - 11:50 am

Hey Alex,
Congratulations, the frist step is the hardest![8D]
Odds are nothing will go to plan and there will be times when you wonder if it’s all worth while. Believe me it is![]
My advice is when something goes wrong, get pro active and make it work! Don’t take no for an answer![}]

Good luck!
Scott S

P.S. Get a good solicitor this will make everything so much easier!(I learnt the hard way [])

“Aim for the stars and you’ll shoot the top of the telegraph pole. Aim for the top of the telegraph pole and you’ll shoot yourself in the foot!”
-anon

[scottMember@scottJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 110]

June 30, 2003 - 11:42 am

I’m in a simmilar situation, ie don’t own an IP yet but have spent large amounts on seminars, travel and accomodation, learning about and finding the IPs I’m currently purchasing. The amounts are not tax deductable from income as such, but I’ll definatly check out adding them to the cost base of the properties we’re buying to reduce the effects of CGT. Thanks David!

Cheers,
Scott S

“Aim for the stars and you’ll shoot the top of the telegraph pole. Aim for the top of the telegraph pole and you’ll shoot yourself in the foot!”
-anon

[scottMember@scottJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 110]

June 30, 2003 - 11:30 am

G’day Justin,
I jumped in with both feet and haven’t regretted a minute of it! (well maybe one or two[])
I purchased 2 IPs and am yet to settle but its been a valuable learing tool.
I don’t think buying 2 has made me learn any faster but I’m twice as far ahead for it.
If you can afford the worst case senario (probably paying back two vacant houses), dive in!
If you can cover the costs while learning about the development/subdivision side why miss out on a good deal.[] If the due dilligence checks out, why not!
Maybe I’m a bit too eager but only time will tell, I’ve already got too many “what if I had..”s to lament over, so I’m not going to let fear slow my progress.[8D]

Best wishes,
Scott S

“Aim for the stars and you’ll shoot the top of the telegraph pole. Aim for the top of the telegraph pole and you’ll shoot yourself in the foot!”
-anon

[scottMember@scottJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 110]

June 30, 2003 - 11:07 am

Making my own lunches is saving me about $335 a month, that allows for the cost of the food that I take from home.
I also agree totally with Stephanie shopping just before close is a beauty, there are many bargains to be had.[]

Cheers,
Scott S

“Aim for the stars and you’ll shoot the top of the telegraph pole. Aim for the top of the telegraph pole and you’ll shoot yourself in the foot!”
-anon

[scottMember@scottJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 110]

June 30, 2003 - 10:56 am

Gday,
It’s not mentioned in this article but servicability is becoming a problem among borrowers in Australia because most of this debt is being used to fund lifestyle rather than wealth building assets.
I too had fallen into this trap, but fortunatly woke up before it was too late![]
Now one of my goals is to reduce my personal debt by at least $250 per week, regardless of other needs or wants. So far so good, I usually pay more off.
Another thing that I do now is only use my credit card when purchasing by phone etc, and only spend an amount that I can pay straight off.
I’ve also created a strict budget that I follow rigidly it includes saving 10% of my wages. Hopefully all these things will teach me better finacial habits.[8D]

Cheers,
Scott S

“Aim for the stars and you’ll shoot the top of the telegraph pole. Aim for the top of the telegraph pole and you’ll shoot yourself in the foot!”
-anon

[scottMember@scottJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 110]

June 29, 2003 - 9:14 am

Hi guys,
No probs with insurance Dave,both my places were insured no worries as soon as I signed the contracts. I actually checked out insurance on a place that I know does get wet, and they would still insure it (although at a slightly higher rate).
It’s not so much secrecy Essykay, but I found that half the learning was in finding the places that I thought had good growth potential, while giving positive casflow. As you say R it’s a more wortwhile experience when you do it yourself, rather than being spoonfed.
I made some really good friends amongst the agents up there, and I think it was all to do with the way that I treated them, I didn’t find any hicks amongst them.

Cheers,
Scott S

“Aim for the stars and you’ll shoot the top of the telegraph pole. Aim for the top of the telegraph pole and you’ll shoot yourself in the foot!”
-anon

[scottMember@scottJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 110]

June 28, 2003 - 10:51 am

Hi Guys,
Gavalynn, just come here for honest advice we’re not all experts (especially me[]) But theres a lot to be learnt here, no need to be a financial member, I don’t think there is such an animal.
Buy some of Steve’s stuff if you want a bit more education “Property secrets revealed” is actually the notes and a recording of one of his seminars I think, its pretty good.
Stu, I agree with you on the buying an IP to learn thing. Man what an education![] It has to be the steepest learning curve you could find.
I personally wouldn’t wait untill I had 10 properties to go out and get educated, once I knew it was for me I went and did a seminar and got heaps out of it. Make sure though that you know roughly what type of strategy you want to follow first, because that affects the type of seminar that you would attend.
One thing though Gavalynn. Don’t be discouraged when everything goes wrong, fight your way through it and you’ll be alot smarter next time (Trust me, I stuffed just about everything up, because I didn’t know any better! I know now!!!)
It all seems to be working out now![8D]

Good luck,
Scott S

P.S. Just do it! Once you’ve jumped in it’s too late to go back![]

“Aim for the stars and you’ll shoot the top of the telegraph pole. Aim for the top of the telegraph pole and you’ll shoot yourself in the foot!”
-anon

[scottMember@scottJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 110]

June 28, 2003 - 9:32 am

P.S. I added heaps of terms and conditions as a trade off to paying the full price. They included, 3 month settlement, $500 deposit, rental records to my satisfaction, and acess to renovate before settlement. these were on top of the standard clauses, finance, building and pest etc.

“Aim for the stars and you’ll shoot the top of the telegraph pole. Aim for the top of the telegraph pole and you’ll shoot yourself in the foot!”
-anon

[scottMember@scottJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 110]

June 28, 2003 - 9:24 am

Hi Lizzie,
When I put in the offer on one of the places that I am buying, I went in 10K below the asking price(it needed 10K’s worth of work), the vendor refused the offer, saying that he had allowed for that in the price and wanted his full asking price, I paid it because doing the sums it still added up. Don’t miss out on a good deal over pride, but don’t buy at a price where the numbers don’t stack up.
Look at your strategy if it fits buy, if it doesn’t find one that does!
Try and treat the property as a financial transaction nothing more, I know it’s hard, no nearly impossible, but at least if you go into it with that in mind, your more likely to buy with your head than your heart.

Good luck,
Scott S

“Aim for the stars and you’ll shoot the top of the telegraph pole. Aim for the top of the telegraph pole and you’ll shoot yourself in the foot!”
-anon

[scottMember@scottJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 110]

June 28, 2003 - 9:07 am

G’day R
I had that same feeling, I actually wish i was there about 8 months ago, nothing was happening and things that go for 80 – 100K pretty much straight away, were going for 50 – 60K and sitting around on agents books. I’m just glad I got in when I did.
As soon as the two I’m buying now settle I’ll be back up there to buy a couple more! (finance permitting Stu[]) If you’d like to email me to compare notes at any time I’d be more than happy![8D]

Cheers
Scott S

[email protected]

“Aim for the stars and you’ll shoot the top of the telegraph pole. Aim for the top of the telegraph pole and you’ll shoot yourself in the foot!”
-anon

[scottMember@scottJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 110]

June 28, 2003 - 8:55 am

Hi Kooringal,
I’m from the north side of brizzy too.
I’m in a simmilar situation to you where none of my friends are into property and all I ever want to talk about is property, so if you ever want a chat I’d be more than happy to get together sometime. I think AD is in the process of organising something official, for all the locals as well.

Cheers,

Scott S

P.S. my email is [email protected]

“Aim for the stars and you’ll shoot the top of the telegraph pole. Aim for the top of the telegraph pole and you’ll shoot yourself in the foot!”
-anon

[scottMember@scottJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 110]

June 28, 2003 - 6:25 am

G’day richmond,
I too have bought in QLD and have heard many of the same stories about “The Southerners”
The city that I’ve bought in has had the same internet buying rush. I think that agents actually appreciated me giving them the courtesy of letting them show me through properties, most were up for a good chat and were an invaluable source of info. As you say you can tell the good from the bad pretty easily in person.
I agree fully that you need to look at around 50 properties before you buy I actually looked at 67. It was a mission, but I knew exactly what I was buying and how it compared to everything else around, when I finally did buy.
Good on you for getting right into it too. I only bought 2 properties 4 is excellent, way to go!

Cheers
Scott S

“Aim for the stars and you’ll shoot the top of the telegraph pole. Aim for the top of the telegraph pole and you’ll shoot yourself in the foot!”
-anon

[scottMember@scottJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 110]

June 28, 2003 - 6:07 am

Sorry Jars, I hope I wasn’t too confusing![]

Hi Fullout no they are in central QLD and interstate investors are just pushing the prices up at a stupid rate, I just hope that there are more deals like this in the place before it settles down. I do think that these prices are a little inflated by the demand, but demand still seems strong when all signs would to me now say stay away!

Cheers
Scott S
P.S. i’m sure nobody’s got any thing against black ducks![]

“Aim for the stars and you’ll shoot the top of the telegraph pole. Aim for the top of the telegraph pole and you’ll shoot yourself in the foot!”
-anon

[scottMember@scottJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 110]

June 27, 2003 - 10:17 am

Hi guys
just thought I’d throw this topic back up front for doug.
I’ve also done the due dilligence, and they are a good prospect, especially for someone in SA.
Thye are tempory accom for contractors new to the town, and as there is a shortage of housing in the area they are always tennanted, usually young families.
They come with a list of contractors in the area, who are a source of tennants.
I just can’t finance this one at the moment and Doug really wants to sell.
If anyone is interested email him at [email protected].

Cheers
Scott

“Aim for the stars and you’ll shoot the top of the telegraph pole. Aim for the top of the telegraph pole and you’ll shoot yourself in the foot!”
-anon

[scottMember@scottJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 110]

June 27, 2003 - 9:17 am

If the house is removable give sell it (or even give it away), on the condition that cleanup of the block is carried out by the purchaser.
I know of people who have done this sucessfully, the only drawback is the extra time that may be involved.

Cheers,
Scott S

“Aim for the stars and you’ll shoot the top of the telegraph pole. Aim for the top of the telegraph pole and you’ll shoot yourself in the foot!”
-anon

[scottMember@scottJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 110]

June 27, 2003 - 9:09 am

G’day Brad,
You’ll have no trouble getting what you want within 15 mins from the CBD.
hwd007 old queenslanders (or character home as they are affectionately called), are the hot ticket around Brizzy especially to reno and resell, or hang onto and use as an equity base.

Any area 5 – 10 ks maybe a little further, of the GPO thats going for 240K needing work will see good CGs, but be careful about the usual things, ie not on a busy road, near shops and schools, bigger land is better, views etc, the list could go on for ages.
Just be sure the house is sound!
If you really wanted specific areas I could go through some with you, but that would only be my opinion, you’d be better off getting on realestate.com or simmilar and doing a search within your guidelines.

Cheers
Scott S

“Aim for the stars and you’ll shoot the top of the telegraph pole. Aim for the top of the telegraph pole and you’ll shoot yourself in the foot!”
-anon

[scottMember@scottJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 110]

June 27, 2003 - 8:52 am

Hi Fullout,
It’s never the best time to buy, in my opinion, but anytime is a good time! Did that make sense!!!

If you cannot fund a deposit try getting creative with your purchases. Ask the vendor to finance your deposit ( I was suprised that a vendor of a IP I was looking at was more than happy to do this).
but make sure your not over committing yourself as far as repayments and outgoings goes.
If you keep them positive cashflow you should have no problem with this. Just make sure the income exceeds the expenses and you’ll be right!

Ultimately it will be your ability to get the finance that will tell you when to stop! As long as you buy smart you’ll be right.[]

Best wishes,
Scott S

“Aim for the stars and you’ll shoot the top of the telegraph pole. Aim for the top of the telegraph pole and you’ll shoot yourself in the foot!”
-anon

[scottMember@scottJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 110]

June 26, 2003 - 9:35 am

Howz this sound,
“I have a business that creates the opportunity for people to purchase their own home, where they normally could not”
Or something like that.[]

Cheers

Scott S

“Aim for the stars and you’ll shoot the top of the telegraph pole. Aim for the top of the telegraph pole and you’ll shoot yourself in the foot!”
-anon

[scottMember@scottJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 110]

June 26, 2003 - 9:19 am

Hi Trying,
I might seem overly simplistic here, but why not buy properties that will increase your serviceability rather than decrease it[?]
I’ve just mentioned it in another post, but here goes again, this time I’ll be more specific.
Ive recently bought(well they’re under contract) 2 positive cash flow IPs that have seen nearly 50% growth in the 8 weeks since I signed the contracts.
Specfics:
* 2 Queenslanders divided into 2 flats each.
* Purchase price 73K & 86K respectively (the cheaper one needs 10K spent on it)
* Situated in a major rural centre
* Value estimated by agent yesterday 115 -125K [8D] each(after spending money on cheaper IP)
* Return 210/week each (ie 110 & 100 per flat)

These properties will increase our income thus increasing our serviceability, allowing us to buy more IPs, and use up our equity as deposits.

My point is not to brag but to show the deals exist, and that the capital gains are definately there! I personally never expected much more than growth equal to CPI on either of these IPs. How good it is to be wrong![]

Maybe I’m thinking too simply, and I’m the one missing the point![] I sure hope not!

Cheers

Scott S

“Aim for the stars and you’ll shoot the top of the telegraph pole. Aim for the top of the telegraph pole and you’ll shoot yourself in the foot!”
-anon

[scottMember@scottJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 110]

June 26, 2003 - 8:49 am

Hi Jars,
sounds like a plan! Just be careful not to confuse cashflow positive with positively geared.
I personally feel that you will need to mix both from what you are saying.
Positively geared (ie you loose money on the property to reduce tax, ending up with a higher after tax income), to reduce your tax bill and positive cashflow to provide more income, thus prevent you from maxing out you credit, also there will come a point where pos geared properties alone will reduce your after tax income (unless you want to eat your equity, not a good idea!) thus reducing your serviceability and lifestyle.
Don’t be put off positive cashflow properties by people who say that they get lower cap gains, because to get one you have to buy in hicksville towns that are going nowhere. Because it’s not true, I’m fighting to save one of the two deals that I’ve got going at the moment, because the vendor wants to pull out, because in the 8 weeks since signing the contract the property value has increased by about 50%. Even though the area has had a major industry collapse, in the last month.
Goes to show high cap gains aren’t just for the capital cities.

Sorry got off the topic a bit, my point was mix up your portfilio a bit to maxamise your ability to grow it.

Good luck,

Scott S

“Aim for the stars and you’ll shoot the top of the telegraph pole. Aim for the top of the telegraph pole and you’ll shoot yourself in the foot!”
-anon