[Tracey BParticipant@tracey-bJoin Date: 2009Post Count: 158]

September 14, 2014 - 10:01 am

Hi Richard
How did you advertise the open homes when you sold them yourself?
Thanks,
Tracey

[Tracey BParticipant@tracey-bJoin Date: 2009Post Count: 158]

June 2, 2014 - 9:59 pm

Love hearing what everyone’s done this year :-) In the last 12 months we’ve bought 5 and sold 3.

Currently renovating a commercial property, waiting for house to be removed on the adjoining property. Just signed up tenants for the property that settled last Friday while we obtain council approvals for townhouse development.

Whilst we’ve missed our goal on 9th May we have moved in the right direction. Need to re-set our deadline – thinking end of this year….

[Tracey BParticipant@tracey-bJoin Date: 2009Post Count: 158]

April 28, 2013 - 8:57 pm

If you are really serious about buying a particular property/street II totally agree with Freckle re the personal approach.  Letter-boxing may yield you something but I've had much better response through knocking on the door.

As JacM says – expect that awkward moment at first while you assure them of who you are and what you seek. The other option would be to drop a letter in their mailbox and follow-up a week later with a knock on the door.

Let us know what you choose to do and how it goes!

Cheers,

Tracey

[Tracey BParticipant@tracey-bJoin Date: 2009Post Count: 158]

April 11, 2013 - 8:56 am

Hi Oscar

Great to hear everything is running to plan with your build.  Just wondering whether you're doing something particular to achieve that sort of rent?  It appears 4 bedders in Epping are asking $800+ rent so I'm guessing maybe you're furnishing them or something else?

Cheers,

Tracey

[Tracey BParticipant@tracey-bJoin Date: 2009Post Count: 158]

February 13, 2013 - 5:13 am

Hi Evfred,

I have often wondered whether the ongoing fees are higher than your normal rental due to compliance etc.  Ares the fees you mention the ongoing fees or other hidden set up fees?

Thanks,

[Tracey BParticipant@tracey-bJoin Date: 2009Post Count: 158]

February 12, 2013 - 11:51 am

Well done Dianna, awesome work.

I love that it looks lived in rather than staged because of the items you've chosen for this property – ie. linen – not the usual beige or pale blue.

Just a few days on the market before going under contract is terrific.  Out of interest, do you know what are current days on the market in that area?

[Tracey BParticipant@tracey-bJoin Date: 2009Post Count: 158]

October 10, 2012 - 12:29 am

Definitely tiles for durability.  We've also put good quality vinyl in and that looks good and wears well.  Check out the pics on the main photo on this site – whilst that floor looks like timber it's actually vinyl: http://turnersbeachapartments.yolasite.com/

If the kitchen is a bit scruffy I would definitely replace it as you want your property to attract the best tenants.  

As mentioned by ScottnoMates I agree that it's also worth putting a new vanity in for the sake of a few hundred dollars if the old one is tired.

[Tracey BParticipant@tracey-bJoin Date: 2009Post Count: 158]

October 8, 2012 - 8:43 pm

In addition to the property being CF+ I would include buying undervalue to the equation so that if you need to exit the property for any reason in the future, some capital growth has been locked in at the start.

[Tracey BParticipant@tracey-bJoin Date: 2009Post Count: 158]

October 4, 2012 - 12:48 am

It is also a standard requirement in with our local council – in Tasmania.  

There is a possibility to get around it – If we have a traffic report prepared which costs around $700 and that states that the level of traffic does not warrant the requirement.

[Tracey BParticipant@tracey-bJoin Date: 2009Post Count: 158]

July 27, 2012 - 12:00 pm

No need to be sorry – it was my own fault for not doing enough due diligence – it just meant the profit was about $15 – $20K less.

The $3,000 seems alot compared to what they do it for in Tassie.

[Tracey BParticipant@tracey-bJoin Date: 2009Post Count: 158]

July 27, 2012 - 11:09 am

Hi James,

If you are not permitted to do it yourself and have to pay someone – in addition to shopping around for what they’ll charge, make sure you find one who will actually do a cost effective design. We chose the wrong one (not even the cheapest one) and it cost us dearly due to his choice of design – please learn from our mistake.

One way to find a good one is track down people who are doing developments like yours in the area and ask them who they used and if they would use them again. If you’re struggling to find those doing developments look on the local council website for details of planning approvals in the area.

Good luck,
Tracey

[Tracey BParticipant@tracey-bJoin Date: 2009Post Count: 158]

July 26, 2012 - 7:53 pm

I'm not a solicitor but it sounds to me like you need the sale to go ahead, rather than pull out.  Does the purchaser have any 'escape' clauses in the contract? If not, I'd be asking for settlement ASAP.

I agree with JacM, your solicitor should be able to sort out a solution to this.

[Tracey BParticipant@tracey-bJoin Date: 2009Post Count: 158]

July 26, 2012 - 8:29 am

Mattsta – I’d be interested to know who you use if you’d also pm me?

[Tracey BParticipant@tracey-bJoin Date: 2009Post Count: 158]

July 25, 2012 - 10:38 am

Hi Blessingz,
The one we sold wasn't actually on the market.  A purchaser came to view the renovated one which we advertised in the local paper and when they discovered they knew the tenant in the adjoining unit they made on offer on that one.
If you want to view what these are like to compare with your purchase turn on receiving messages in your contact details and I'll email you a link.
Also, re the timber-look vinyl – we've used that at another property and the good quality one was just as expensive as carpet but was non-slip and looked fantastic. 
Cheers, Tracey

[Tracey BParticipant@tracey-bJoin Date: 2009Post Count: 158]

July 24, 2012 - 11:23 am

Not sure that $10 per week is enough to warrant the cost of replacing the carpet – depends how bad the existing carpet is. We replaced carpet, painted throughout and increased the rent by $25 per week…for us that was an adequate return given the carpet was thread-bare and needed replacing so really had no choice.

To give you something to compare re the yield on purchase price plus renovation….we have a 2 bedroom unit for sale for $139K, new carpet and paint, rented for $195 per week with long term (Dec 2013) lease. We recently sold an unrenovated unit for $130K which rented @ $175 per week. This showed me that everyone is attracted to an investment for different reasons. Whilst we can all give you our opinion only you know what fits with your strategy.

Hope that helps!

[Tracey BParticipant@tracey-bJoin Date: 2009Post Count: 158]

June 21, 2012 - 4:40 am

Thanks to Nathan and Daniel for a great presentation earlier this month!

It was also interesting and useful to be reminded about landlord insurance which is an area I probably haven't given enough consideration nor scrutiny.

Cheers,
Tracey

[Tracey BParticipant@tracey-bJoin Date: 2009Post Count: 158]

June 19, 2012 - 5:27 am

The next meeting is tonight and Nathan Birch is the guest speaker….. http://www.propertymeeting.com.au

[Tracey BParticipant@tracey-bJoin Date: 2009Post Count: 158]

June 18, 2012 - 10:58 am

Ah, beautiful ranch wall!  Can definitely be painted over – check out the photo in the bottom right hand corner of our web site where the wall with the heater has been painted: http://turnersbeachapartments.yolasite.com/ 

Just light sand, correct undercoat and paint as normal – we don't worry about filling in the grooves/joins, just make sure they are properly covered in the painting process.

Private message me if you want any more photos of some others that we've done.

Cheers, Tracey

[Tracey BParticipant@tracey-bJoin Date: 2009Post Count: 158]

June 12, 2012 - 9:49 pm

Hi,
What sort of yield are you seeking in these areas? There are some terrific buys in the market right now in quite good areas, depending on the yields you are looking for.
Cheers, Tracey

[Tracey BParticipant@tracey-bJoin Date: 2009Post Count: 158]

June 12, 2012 - 6:59 am

Interesting thread with you mortage guys battling it out on the technical bits.  The banks will do what they do, as per the agreement and it's unfortunate if you feel you've been mislead.  I'd be looking at what the break cost is, compared to what I can now borrow the money for ie. if the penalty is 1% and I can now borrow from another lender @ 1.5% less, then I'd be in front (depending on other costs). 

I guess too, it depends whether you think interest rates are going down further, up or staying the same.  If you think they're going down further it might be better to break sooner rather than later so the interest penalty is less…..lots of variables which is always the challenge when deciding to fix or not to fix.

If it's any consolation – the only time we fixed it was at 8+% years ago for our first property purchase and then interest rates went down and then we sold so had a break fee The upside for fixing: it gave us peace of mind, knowing that our payments were going to be managable for the first few years in our first home.