I think that Paul makes a good point about r/e agents.
Most r/e agents business bread and butter is their rent-roll. However, it generally seems that they take their clients (landlords) for granted.
Personally I would not leave my assets in the hands of just anyone. I would certainly do my due diligence about quality of staff, cost etc.
Also, take the perspective of your tenant too. If you are OS and something urgent needs doing, then your tenant will not want to wait days while the agent contacts you.
I’d recommend that when you find an agent you like / trust… empower them to make decisions up to a maximum amount… say $500 for any single matter and then deduct it from the rent.
Finally, if the properties are +ve cashflow, I’d also consider paying 100% of the debt so that when you come back in 2 years, you come back to increased cashflow and less money owing.
Regards,
Steve McKnight
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I know for certain that assumable mortgages exist in Alberta, Canada… although the standard way that real estate is transacted remains as it is here.
Still, for creative investors there is a great opportunity.
Take an assumable mortgage and apply it with the wrap technique and you have a very, very potent invetsing tool that provides for massive returns with low risk.
Regards,
Steve McKnight
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I agree that the shipping component is expensive compared to the price of the product, but the reality is that it costs that much to send out the tape given out original production run.
I will investigate the possibility of an mp3 format in the new year.
Regards,
Steve McKnight
P.S. Even with the extra charge for P & H – $30 for a ninety minute tape is still a steal.
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But this is where the chase gets fun. I doubt that what was said to you is hard and fast policy… you just need to look for an angle to negotiate on.
Keep asking questions looking for the right angle that will get the answer you desire.
Otherwise, what I would do is redraw some equity from your other deals, or maybe a temporary overdraft… heck I’d even use my credit card to bring the LVR below the mortgage insurance threshold to save the $7,500.
Which lender are you using, because most of the big banks ‘self-insure’ meaning that you can avoid the monopoly problems.
Cheers,
Steve McKnight
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I just want to bring to your attention a few interesting co-incidences with your post.
1. Theo45 and Anthony J signed up as members sequentially, one after the other right before posting.
2. The IP address (which is recorded on each post) is the same, leading to the conclusion that both posts were made from the same server, perhaps even the same computer.
3. Bearing this in mind, on the information given when signing up, Theo claims to be from Victoria, AnthonyJ from NSW.
Theo45 says:
quote:
I think that reputation is very important when investing one’s hard earned $$s
I agree… which is why i thought I bring this to the forum’s attention and leave it to you to make up your own mind whether or not enough evidence exists for you to smell something fishy.
Regards
Steve McKnight
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The reason why I rent is because in order to get to my goal by the chosen date I need to have my capital working in my investing deals rather than tied up in a home.
E.g.
If I bout a home for $300k on a 80% LVR, then $60k + closing costs is tied up at a 0% Cash on Cash Return (although I may get cap. gains).
However, by using wraps and other strategies I can get >50% returns. Then when I reinvest my profits (as Dave and I do… I live on <$500 per month from my wife!) in order to compound my returns.
Sure, I could retire now and comfortably never work again… but I am not yet at my money goal.
So in the meantime I am trying to work a little less each month while also accelerating my earnings.
Hope this has helped.
Bye
Steve McKnight
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Re: buying contracts… I’d be very careful doing this as IMHO a contract is important, but in reality it’s only used in the worst case scenario (ie. a lose-lose outcome).
Personally I’d be plugging into a system rather than a contract. Using a system will allow you to mitigate risks before they become problems.
There are two such Australian based systems on the market. One produced by me, the other produced by Rick Otton. Both cover the wrap concept in detail, including ideas for properly qualifying leads and limit your investing risk.
I’d just be cautious about buying a contract and then reinventing the wheel and making unnecessary mistakes.
Leveraging your time and money is important if you plan to do multiple deals.
Regards,
Steve McKnight
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Agreed that the LVR is 90% and as such mortgage insurance should be included. I will arrange for the example to reflect an 80% LVR. Check it back tomorrow and it should have changed.
Re: comment about FHOG, again, correct. However it is up to the investor to find / use / qualify a client who can qualify for the grant.
If no grant can be claimed then a larger deposit should be sought.
If there is no grant and no deposit then I’d be using the lease-option technique.
It’s all about applying the right strategy to the right investing problem.
However, this example is common for the many wraps that I have done.
Good pick up.
Regards,
Steve McKnight
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May I suggest that a great place to network with other Melbourne wrapees is at the regular meetings organised by the Wraps & Vendor Finance Association.
Their website is near the top of the weblinks page.
Regards,
Steve McKnight
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The second point I’d like to make is that it is possible to get 95%+ financing on property, but this will involve mortgage insurance and also, in some cases, other security given the loan is so high.
Remember too that the more you borrow the higher the interest cost. High interest (caused by over-gearing) will make it next to impossible to earn a +ve cashflow on deals that only marginally meet the 11 sec. solution.
Thanks for your post and I hope this has cleared things up.
Regards,
Steve McKnight
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I’m in a recording studio tomorrow with my business partner Dave to tak about how we got started in property… without a lot of money and not being able to qualify for bank finance (self-employed).
It will be the entry level product for the new website… stay tuned for more info in the upcoming weeks.
However, in the meantime, the secret to my ability to buy multiple properties in a short period of time has been using wraps and recovering my initial deposit in two ways:
1. Through the receipt of the FHOG
2. Through additional depsoit monies on top of the FHOG
This has allowed us to buy property for low / no money down, thus avoiding the long periods of time it takes to refill the deposit coffers through salary alone.
Thanks for all your recent contributions [] I may not have the time to answer them all, but they are read and appreciated.
Cheers,
Steve McKnight
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At 8:41pm I’m feeling like I’m back working in my accounting career as I busily (with my trusty team of Alister, Brent and Eugene) continue to build the new PropertyInvesting.com website.
Nevertheless, reading your post has provided the inspiration to keep going for a few more hours.
You’re right about the taking action comment. Sadly many particiapnts have already allowed the momentum to pass and are back to trying to turn a profit from share trading, having given up on ever finding a +vely geared property (see the post about the 11 sec. solution).
But not you. Congratulations.
Sincerely,
Steve McKnight
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Thanks for your post and welcome to the PropertyInvesting.com community.
Some comments that I’d make are:
1. Understand the market. Before getting down to business make sure you ring around several r/e firms to gauge what the high and low range is for commissions.
2. Consider the true cost. All agents I know also charge on-costs in addition to commission, either in the form of a marketing levy (for Jenman agents) or specific marketing / advertsing costs (for other agents). Be sure you know what you’re in for b4 you sign.
3. Exclusive listing agreements. You will be asked to sign an exclusive listing agreement that gives the agent sole responsibility for selling the property. I wouldn’t lock in for more than 45 days.
4. Price or service? Personally, I’m happy to pay more for service rather than going for the cheapest option. So what I’d be careful to observe and certainly find out information on is how the various agents plan to market your property. In other words… you want to know who is going set the best strategy to get you the best price.
5. Always Negotiate Everything is negotiable… and while you negotiate observe how your agent reacts / haggles since this is the way that they will act with potential buyers.
I hope this has helped Bruce… pls get back and tell me how you went.
Cheers
Steve McKnight
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