We fixed for 5 years at 5.89% with St George in July last year.

Cheers,
Karen[]

We’ll definately be buying at least one more this year, however this will be a very busy year for us, as we’ve now got an 8 week old baby[:p], and we will be concentrating on running and developing our businesses.

But one more for sure. Don’t know where yet. Depends how much we decide to spend.

Cheers,
Karen[]

We have a 7 week old daughter. We have opened a bank account for her which we are placing money in every week. When she is old enought we will be educating her on how manage this money i.e. some to invest, some to spend, give to charities etc.

I really want my child to have a better understanding of money than I had, and I believe the earlier I…[Read more]

If you really want something, you can generally find a way to do it.

I bought a house with my then husband when I was 22 (got married when young and stupid). got divorced 4 years later, and sold the house for exactly the same price we paid for it. I didn’t have the money (or motivation to find it) at the time to buy him out. I had wasted so…[Read more]

Our 5% is all inclusive, no hidden charges. We found the best way to get a property manager was to select a handful of agents, and make appointments for them to come and view the property, 15mins apart from each other. They basically had to sell themselves to us, and they quite often meet each other as they are coming and going. They really do…[Read more]

I definately wouldn’t be paying over 7%. We pay 7% for one of ours in north west Sydney and 5% for 2 (managed by different agents) in the Eastern Suburbs. Negotiate as much as you can.

Sorry, can’t help out with a PM on the North Shore.

Cheers,
Karen[]

We found a property on realestate.com.au that fits the 11 second rule less than 4 months ago. They are out there.

Cheers,
Karen[]

Actually while we are on the topic of rockhampton… I will need to find a real estate agent to go through for rent in about 5 months time. The best deals I have found so far are around 9% fees, probabley cause I only have 1 property and can’t cut any deals. Has anybody done better that this?

We use Raine and Horne and they charge us 7%.

Cheers,
Karen[]

1. Definately not controlling $1mil of property..

2. Equity of $1mil – yes

3. Earning $1mil pa, definately

And in Aussie dollars. We are, after all, in Australia.

Cheers,
Karen

Hi Westan,

Check out their website – http://www.interestsavers.com.au

Cheers,
Karen[]

Hi David,

Sorry, getting back to your original question. I attended an Ed Burton seminar (free) a couple of years ago. To be honest, I wasn’t that impressed. Nice guy, but didn’t seem very professional. Doesn’t tell you anything you can’t find in books anyway.

I certainly wouldn’t spend any money to see him.

Cheers,
Karen[]

There’s a software package that you can buy. You put in all of your bank statements for the last 4 years, and it picks up all the mistakes in them. e.g. charged too much in interest payments etc. Then you can go and claim it back from your bank. If you don’t find mistakes which add up to more than the software costs, then they give you your…[Read more]

SIS, I’m surprised that you even need to list these deductions or explain how you minimise tax. This is simply how it works. Why on earth would anyone invest in property and not claim everything they are entitled to?

Yes, if I have a property in another state, I am entitled to visit that property to inspect it, and therefore claim this with the…[Read more]

A church which had been converted into residential sold in Sydney recently for $800K. Quite nice, kept lots of original features (stained glass windows etc.) and had been converted warehouse style. Most other houses in that part of the street tend to sell for around $600K, so there definately must be some “originality” appeal for people.

Cheers,
Karen[]

Hey there,

I scored 36 – aggressive investor.

Karen[]

I was never offered any incentives to pay my rent on time (when I was renting), and so far we have never offered any of our tenants anything to pay their rent on time (over a period of 6 years).

If the property has been chosen well then there shouldn’t really be much trouble getting a tenant who pays on time without incentive.

One of our tenants…[Read more]

I wouldn’t be selling anything. Every time we think we can’t borrow any more money, there’s always some sucker out there who’s willing to lend it to us. And if the properties are all performing well, I definately wouldn’t consider selling.

Just my 2c.
Karen[]

Hey Luke,

You’ve gotta have your fun. We’re in the same situation, though a few years older than you. We’d probably have 100 properties if it weren’t for that damn rally car we’ve got! But I can’t imagine not competing in motor sport. Sure – high cost but high fun.

By the way, my 2c would be to buy the beachside property. We bought…[Read more]

Hi Nailwog,

We had an IP in the city which we renovated to create “instant equity”. The market was quite slow at the time. We then leapfrogged into 2 other IP’s in the city. It was very successful.

Due to our circumstances changing (we now have a 4 week old baby, therefore I am no longer working), we have recently bought an IP in a regional…[Read more]

Felicity,

I agree. Definately possible to make big money in bear market and occasionally in a sideways market. Don’t it make you feel good, too!

As for seminars, my husband and I had one IP, but didn’t really know what we were doing or why we had it. We just figured we should. We attended one seminar (a 4 day one), something neither of us…[Read more]