Yeah, we were pretty picky.  Having property in provincial QLD towns, we had specific instructions for our PM re the type of tenant that we wanted.  These instructions would conflict the anti discrimination act, if you know what I mean.  My husband just laid our concerns on the table, and the response from the PM was "don't worry, they don't ev…[Read more]

Don't worry, TonyB, we haven't waited for ever and already have a few properties under our belt.  Our trouble at the moment is lots of equity, not enough income to service a negatively geared property loan.  So, we are loooking for something very strongly positively geared but in an area that i know well and feel good about.  We are looking at To…[Read more]

god_of_money wrote:
A lot of people will buy using FHOG Boost money and then live there for 6 months. After that, most of people will rent it out…. (i.e. just to get freebies).. will see how the rental market and property value stack up in 2010

That's an excellent point.  Maybe I'll be waiting longer (I'm always waiting longer and l…

I reckon all those tenant horror stories that you see on the crappy current affair shows in the early evening are always self managed properties or properties managed by small, local, dodgy RE agent offices.  We deliberatley chose one of the largest RE agent firms to manage our property and, touch wood, it is all going well.I could possibly buy…[Read more]

Hi Joe,I concur with everyone elses comments, really.  I would love to buy, if I could find something where the numbers stacked up well enough for me.  But they don't, at least not in the district I am carefully watching.  I can only hope that the govt will choose not to extend the FHOG boost, and that an opportunity will present itself later in…[Read more]

so did you go and look at it and what was it like?S

Hey Karen,I guess no one wants to admit to getting that excited!  As for your duplex, the one unit on top of another thing is a bit of a turn off for me, personally.  It might be different if it was actually designed that way from the start, but I've seen too many that were just closed in high sets, and I imagine two families living on top of o…[Read more]

didn't they work out how to make fake diamonds that can't be distinguished from the real thing?  Thus, plummeting the value of diamonds.It does sound like some sort of illegality. Sure, diamonds are just scattered on the ground everywhere in Africa.  Like quartz here.  Just everywhere, always hurting your foot on the darned things.

PosEnterprises wrote:
I wonder who is in charge of the Country – The Govt or the Banks????It seems that the banks do what they want and when they want!

Well, here is a debate.Where are you HB?Govt deregulated the banking industry some time ago now.  The idea was that less regulation stimulates greater competition, delivering better and cheaper…[Read more]

In the news either yesterday or the day before, I think they said that 700 workers had been laid off at Gladstone.  Might create a buying opportunity. 

Well, how very polite and upfront.  There are other property professional on this website who use an autosignature with their business details.  They contribute valuable posts regulalry and help countless people.  Doubtless some of those people turn into clients.  I don't think anyone here minds this.  Good professionals are as important to the P…[Read more]

Just be careful with Ceduna, to find out where the fly in fly out will go to.  It may not go to the closest town.  If the mines have trouble sourcing labour, because of the small town and limited housing there, fly in fly out may travel to a larger town.All sounds good, so long as you are well researched, well informed, and making a careful, k…[Read more]

Hi Karen,I live in the middle of nowhere too.  I'm a half day west of Townsville.Well done with the Mackay property.  Good timing.  Good luck with the Ceduna property, too.  Sounds ok.Be careful about the advice you get from a FP.  I've heard some pretty dodgy advice bandied around by professionals, and I guess FP's are like any other prof…[Read more]

The suggestion that landlords who take up this service are either stupid or lazy is offensive.  In my case, I am one and a half days drive from one of my IP's.  Why would I sacrifice time away from our own business, where we can be earning $200 an hour to go and deal with a smoke alarm?  I am happy to pay for the service, and know it is done.  It…[Read more]

and when you say positive cash flow, at what LVR and interest rate are you  talking?  Are you talking gross or net positive cash flow?

We had a friend with the uncanny ability to acquire a car, and drive it for a few months or a year and then sell it for a few thousand extra dollars more than he bought it for.  He bought an old Suzuki 4WD short wheel base once and sold it six months later for nearly double what he paid for it after driving it fairly solidly, using it as a…[Read more]

My PM is using a professional service for this.  Can't remember the price, but I remember admiring how enterprising these people were who had set up this business testing and maintaining smoke alarms.  I do remember thinking it was a little dear, but we are a long way from our IP and for the peace of mind, knowing it is done to the legislative r…[Read more]

My Mum and Dad bought a house with termite damage.  They had it professionally inspected, and had a builder quote on the repairs.  Trouble was, no one realised the extent of the damage.  Once they started pulling the gyprock off the walls, it became clear that the gyprock and the termite mud was pretty much all that was holding the second story up…[Read more]

you poor bastard…

Remember, experience has taught me to check your links out.s