[sunshineMember@sunshineJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 63]

December 4, 2003 - 10:55 pm

Hi hwd007,

Do you live in/by the same area? If so, go in and see somebody face to face. If the agent is ‘out’, ask to speak to the manager or most senior person. Have you seen the actual lease agreement? Are you sure the lease has been signed and the condition report done? You should by now have a copy of both. Ask to check your tenants references as well. Did the agent give you a copy of your contractual agreement. i.e that they will inspect every three months, that they will issue statements etc etc, if they are in breach of their contract you would be able to terminate (if you stand your ground!)

If they are not meeting their obligations at this early stage it will be much worse later. I would also be concerened that you havnt any paperwork -???at all??? The conflict oif interest is unethical anyway as there is a possibility that the real estate agent has not checked their rental references because they ‘knew’ them. Look into this quick smart before things go more sour and if you can, get yourself out of the agency. You can always check with another agency how this would affect the current lease (if there is one!).

Good luck, be brave and start demanding answers. It is not good enough that your agency is always unavailable to you. Your house, your money!

Sunshine

[sunshineMember@sunshineJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 63]

November 30, 2003 - 12:34 am

Hi.

You dont mention if you have asked the college themselves as they should be aware of any student loan services such as PELS. Failing that ring one of the unis and ask them, or go in and collect their information on student loans – so you know what is available and see if you are eligible for the particular course your daughter wishes to do. Dont forget to check that your daughters course is uni accredited, which may make a difference in the future if she does wish to study at uni.

Education is an investment in it’s own right! Good luck.

[sunshineMember@sunshineJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 63]

November 28, 2003 - 10:06 pm

Hi uncivilised (interesting moniker!)

I bought my property with termites in the tree, PPOR, subject to them finding the nest and treating it, however the nest as Westan says can be 100s metres away. The area I live in is high risk for termites and have had many friends with major problems, all which seemingly get fixed. It has made me less fearful of termites now and now I just keep a vigilant check.

However you could ask for perimeter treatment AS 3660 (around 3 grand), or a termite wash to go under the house and make that part of the contract. A good pest report should have stated the actions that could be taken to prevent termites getting into the house (though nothing is 100% effective). 1 in 5 houses in australia are attacked by termites at some time in their life.

Good luck, sunshine

[sunshineMember@sunshineJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 63]

November 27, 2003 - 10:40 pm

Thanks everyone,
My original intention in buying the property was to hopefully make around $60,000 which would knock the last bit off my home mortgage. It is at that point now, and as I have a ‘capital gains tax loss’ to offset the 50% tax there shouldnt be much if at all to pay out. The area however has just been fully revamped by council to the tune of a new swimming pool, new movie theatre, street scaping and shopping centre. The council has renamed (remarketed) the place as the gateway to the hinterland and it is now the most affordable suburb on the gold coast…so the ‘flavour’ of the place is changing. But as a single mum I do worry about losing my job. I will post what I decide to do when I way everything up so thanks for the fugures, it put things more into perspective for me.

You have a good memory westan! I did work out the painting. Went to a couple of free courses and kept asking everyone. Apparently, its not a good idea to paint on a hot or humid day here as the paint goes off fast and what was happening was the corners were drying before I had even time to roll and blend with the rest. Havnt worked out how to paint any faster, may have to do both simultaneously (!). I guess it would be easier if I had two so will have to rope someone in. On to the next room.

Thanks guys,
sunshine

[sunshineMember@sunshineJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 63]

November 27, 2003 - 11:49 am

Excellent posts Westan, and thankyou. I was interested to hear different thoughts on the subject as I find media manipulation of the market quite fascinating. I have taken your replies on board but would like to know your opinion on one thing. Does your buy and hold strategy also relate to negative geared property (bought well before I ever picked up a finace book, now I’m older and wiser I hope). Some capital gain but still costing $500 per month out of pocket. Better to sell for the capital gain or hold and eventually get positive property to help fund. I can afford to hold for now, but who knows what the future holds job wise. Would appreciate your thoughts. Cheers
Sunshine[]

[sunshineMember@sunshineJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 63]

November 27, 2003 - 4:48 am

Hi. also the whole town seems to be for sale, in which case…who would rent your property?[]

[sunshineMember@sunshineJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 63]

November 22, 2003 - 11:22 am

Hi…I know I am repeating myself yet again but the optimum time for kids (for women) is early twenties and you guys cant do it without us. However in my line of work I come across couples with fertility problems every day and the percentages are rising fast – nearly all these couples are in their thirties so as I have said before, what good is all this finacial gain if the trade off can be difficulty having a family and the huge financial and emotional cost of the infertility game. It is possible to do both and bring up adaptable and happy kids and get your nest eggs going. My (professional) advice is mid to late twenties, mature enough to cope, young enough to catch up financially when the kids are older. Good luck.

[sunshineMember@sunshineJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 63]

November 19, 2003 - 9:41 pm

Hi NkZadar,

I don’t quite understand your question but as soon as our property went unconditional I listed it with the real estate agent, they put it on the net and a couple put down a holding deposit on it of one weeks rent so that they could rent it as soon as possible, and in actual fact they picked up the keys literally 5 minutes after settlement. This particular house was in poor condition, big blue elephants painted on the walls and had been a cattery, but the new tenants wanted it ‘as is’ paid $30 per week more than I had calculated and all because I had said ‘dogs okay’ in the ad. It is almost impossible to find rentals that allow dogs on the gold coast. Anyway, so getting that tenant in there immediately can be done.

cheers, sunshine.

[sunshineMember@sunshineJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 63]

November 18, 2003 - 9:57 pm

Hi. Also check carefully about ‘gifting’ the extra on top of the purchase price. I bought a property off my father – at market price – and we received a letter from the tax department asking us to prove that the property had been sold at the genuine price and that if not, we would be liable to pay tax. Cant remember all the details now as the solicitor handled it, but they were very quick to send it to us!

Cheers. Sunshine

[sunshineMember@sunshineJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 63]

November 16, 2003 - 9:34 pm

Hi Purple Kiss,

I dont actually know the answer but ask him to back up his statements. Who takes the bookings for the holiday rental and ask to see the books.
Ask if there is any paperwork relating to previous bookings.

If christmas is a peak season are there bookings for now, what was last year like, what is the down season, what plan do they have to advertise the down season?

I personally wouldnt gp into holiday homes as it would be too inconsistent for me, but good luck to you.

cheers, sunshine

[sunshineMember@sunshineJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 63]

November 14, 2003 - 9:39 pm

Wow lucky phil,

That was a most fascinating reply!

[]

[sunshineMember@sunshineJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 63]

November 14, 2003 - 12:23 pm

Thankyou thankyou Derynaka,

That sounds as if it could be the problem. i didnt realise the tape was even there until it bubbles up in the bathroom after painting. It makes sense what you are saying.

I did have ask at bunnings and at bristol but mostly they are quite young guys who don’t have a depth of experience at the small problems. They said for the brown stippling I wouldnt need an undercoat and two coats of dulux would be enough, so i didnt use it and had to put on 4 coats, and still get the brown corners.

Thanks so much for the advice.

Sunshine[]

[sunshineMember@sunshineJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 63]

November 12, 2003 - 9:45 pm

Hi.

http://www.australiarealty.com.au

[sunshineMember@sunshineJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 63]

November 12, 2003 - 9:43 pm

Hi. Exactly my point in my previous post (somewhere). Has the rental population increased by 50%? Who is going to rent all these properties? I would be quite hesitant to enter the market on these regional towns for that fact alone…

and no, I dont consider this a negative approach but part of that due diligence. Just hope some of us wont get burnt. I think I plan to take Bill’s advice and stay out of the market for 18 months, not only due to market prices but to see how everyone copes with the changes in demographics of towns by investors.

Sunshine[]

[sunshineMember@sunshineJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 63]

November 12, 2003 - 9:36 pm

Hi. Cant seem to find it right now, but I thought I had read that the 12 months for CGT was taken from the day of exchange of contracts, not settlement. Is this correct??? It makes quite a difference if you have a long settlement if this is the case.

Sunshine[]

ooops, just found it in the tax guide. “Under CGT provisions, if you buy a property, a sale will normally arise at the time of making the contract and not at the time of settlement”.

[sunshineMember@sunshineJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 63]

November 12, 2003 - 9:19 pm

Hi. When looking on the net, make sure you check the ‘sold’ site as well. It was interesting to see relatively cheap properties at Mount Murgon, then I checked the ‘sold’ properties and nearly the whole town must have sold! I would so love to know if all thses properties have been bought by investors because they are cheap, and if so, who is going to rent them in this town. So dont forget the tip about checking the stats for investor owned percentages, for in these regional towns that are getting snapped up by investors, wouldnt we be changing the demographics of the town quite markedly? I would be quite interested to hear views on this, because it is one thing that currently makes me wary of investing in a small regional town.

Sunshine

[sunshineMember@sunshineJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 63]

November 10, 2003 - 9:46 pm

Hi Alf,

You are right about the six year period, but that is only if you elect to keep the property as your main residence. You can move out for up to six years and the property will maintain its CGT exempt status. You can then move back in, establish residency, and then move back out to extend for another six years.

Sunshine

[sunshineMember@sunshineJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 63]

November 9, 2003 - 10:32 pm

Hi C2,

You missed my point re age of parents. Im not referring to the age gap and parenting styles but in view of planning family and investments it is important to look at the fact that putting children off to late thirties,early forties which is common now, you may miss the boat alltogether.

IVF (now very commonplace) costs a small fortune, takes time and I hear everyday couples saying ‘if only we had started earlier’, to many it makes all the income in the world pointless.

So my point was, in planning long term investment strategies that include the time frame of having children, to be aware that one may come at the cost of the other. Negative perhaps, but in fact I think positive if you consider what I said, I believe you can do ANYTHING and have kids at the same time. Cant get more positive than that!

[sunshineMember@sunshineJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 63]

November 9, 2003 - 6:17 am

Hi Bill,

Thanks for the lesson. Think I will make up a file called ‘the bill file’![]

[sunshineMember@sunshineJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 63]

November 8, 2003 - 9:54 pm

Hi Bec and Luke,
There is a good little guide called ‘Taxation pocket guide for Australian investors’ by Jimmy Prince which retails for around $19.99. You can find everything on the ATO site of course but I found this book great for a quick reference, clear and easy and full of tips.

Capital gains will be liable at 100% of gain on property held shorter than 12 months and at 50% on property held longer than 12 months and depends on:
the amount of capital gain you make on disposal
your marginal rate of tax plus medicare levy
the period of time you have owned the property.
A tip here is that the disposal of property is taken from the time of signing the contract and not the time of settlement – something to watch out for.
Cheers, sunshine