[TracyDMember@tracydJoin Date: 2005Post Count: 85]

June 7, 2011 - 8:07 am

“If you do what you’ve always done, you will get what you’ve always gotten”

This is a good reminder for when people keep doing the same thing and expect a different result.

[TracyDMember@tracydJoin Date: 2005Post Count: 85]

December 21, 2009 - 4:28 am

Yes and on Moura, the Belvedere mine that has just been approved will need to employ 500 staff (so the feasability study says). At the moment there are only 34 homes available to rent!. So there will be a fight over the rentals and that will shoot the rent up.
However it is very quiet there at the moment, you may be able to get some great deals on buying while it is quiet before the storm!

[TracyDMember@tracydJoin Date: 2005Post Count: 85]

December 13, 2009 - 5:17 am

Hey kelleyhutcho,
I too have a property in Moura – bought it last year, and also have it Managed with Amanda from Moura Real Estate. Not as happy as you are with the service though…errors on the managers part has lead me to no tenant for the past 4 mths! Our tenant (corporate) was accidently sent out a 6 mths lease renewal instead of 12 mths, which they signed. I picked up on this and told the manager, who called the tenant, but no, the tenant was happy to keep it at 6 mths, hence they vacated at the end of the 6 mths lease leaving me with no tenant right at the quiet time! not very happy, BUT having said that, it is all picking up now and am as optomistic as you are with the new projects and amount of housing needed for the 500+ employed people that will be coming in from out of town!

Definately will see a boom there over the next couple of years, then I think i will sell up
The real estate industry there could do with a bit of a kick up the bum in the mean time thats all!!
Tracy

[TracyDMember@tracydJoin Date: 2005Post Count: 85]

September 16, 2008 - 12:55 am

in my opinion, and generally speaking bank valuers UNDERestimate and RE Agents OVER estimate.
BUT, the value of a property has many factors – the main factor being – what will someone be willing to pay for it at the time it is sold?
Also, sometimes an area can become HOT just after a news article or development approvals for shopping centres etc…this can sometimes increase the value of a property by $50k overnight (see newbie2)
Get the third opinion and make a decision – be careful of RE Agents values too.
Tracy

[TracyDMember@tracydJoin Date: 2005Post Count: 85]

September 14, 2008 - 4:05 am

Yes it is definately illegal to live in your own unit while claiming someone else is renting it from you!! But I like your thinking, hmmmm – how to get away with it???? I think you could get away with it if you are smart – the only thing is if you happen to get audited and the ATO finds out, then they would do more than just disallow deductions. I think you could be charged $$$$ for misconception (the disclaimer you sign at the end of your tax return for example). So you need to weigh up the risk vs reward and work out whether it is worth it!
Good luck
Tracy

[TracyDMember@tracydJoin Date: 2005Post Count: 85]

September 14, 2008 - 3:56 am

In Vic – the tenant pays the water usage only – the water company will send them a separate bill for it. You pay the service fee and any other annual service fee.

[TracyDMember@tracydJoin Date: 2005Post Count: 85]

September 11, 2008 - 1:59 am

Hi there,
Your special levy will be tax deductable as maintenance and repairs. It sounds like  a lot of work – but split between 15 units, it may not work out to be too much.
As far as your withholding variation goes – firstly you need to have a depreciation schedule done – go to http://www.bmtqs.com.au to find out more. They can do a schedule for the next 20 years and the fee is tax deductable.
Other items you can estimate are: management fee, water, rates etc…
I like to under estimate slightly so that I dont get caught out.
If you go to the ato website, you can download the form and have a look at the info you need. http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.asp?doc=/content/00136083.htm&pc=001/002/043/001/007&mnu=1141&mfp=001/002&st=&cy=1

cheers
Tracy

[TracyDMember@tracydJoin Date: 2005Post Count: 85]

September 10, 2008 - 3:12 am

Call the Real estate institute in the state you are buying the property. i think there may be differences in each state?

[TracyDMember@tracydJoin Date: 2005Post Count: 85]

August 31, 2008 - 3:11 am

Hi Martin,
If you go through Margarets books again you will find that her strategy is buy and hold, to provide you an income in the future. She doesnt really recommend selling unless neccessary.
Tracy

[TracyDMember@tracydJoin Date: 2005Post Count: 85]

August 1, 2008 - 10:56 pm

Hi Lisa,
I changed my agent over to Ray White in DBay about 6 mths ago. I couldnt be happier as the previous agent was terrible. As soon as i changed I got new tenants with a rent increase of $50 per week. The previous agents were not pro active and had seriously undervalued the rent!
Ray White have been very helpful.
Good luck with it
Tracy

[TracyDMember@tracydJoin Date: 2005Post Count: 85]

July 14, 2008 - 2:01 am

There are no stupid questions!
You can get an idea when a suburb has a huge spike in value and then stagnates for a while ( sales drop off and houses sit on the market longer, meaning the buyers think it has become over priced). Keep in mind that this doesnt give you any idea how long prices will sit flat , because there can be many factors that may increase the value of the market in that area again.
What suburb are you questioning? It may be a good idea to post a topic on the suburb to see what the forumites can offer,
Cheers,
Tracy

[TracyDMember@tracydJoin Date: 2005Post Count: 85]

July 3, 2008 - 11:03 pm

As the vendors own the property until settlement date, they can say yes or no to allowing you to show potential tenants through.  They are only obliged to let you through to have your final inspection just before settlement.
Most vendors though are happy to let potential tenants through? There must be a reason why they are not willing to let you do this? Maybe the agent didnt clear it with them first before putting images on the internet for rental? Would this be the case?

[TracyDMember@tracydJoin Date: 2005Post Count: 85]

July 3, 2008 - 10:58 pm

sorry, yes it is income because the tenants dissapeared and have not been found for over 6 mths so the money has been returned to me. I will call the ATO anyway, thanks for your help

[TracyDMember@tracydJoin Date: 2005Post Count: 85]

June 20, 2008 - 12:12 am

We bought in Dbay in Feb 2006. 3 bedder highset, dumpy looking place, 600 metres from beach for $180k.
I looked at the developement in the area, large franchises going up, roadworks and also rental vacancies were 0%.
Just had the place valued last month at $299k! But more importantly, Dbay was known as a dodgy area and we had dodgy tenants that came with the house. We recently got new tenants who are nice and clean and pay an extra $50 per week rent, so i think the demographic is changing for the positive.  I would still buy there as the predictions for increase in prices around Brisbane is supposed to average 22% up to 2011 (BIS schrapnel report)
When you think about it , it is a beach location only 25 minutes drive from Major city!

[TracyDMember@tracydJoin Date: 2005Post Count: 85]

June 16, 2008 - 12:59 am

Thanks for that , yes I thought as much.  I do my own tax, so will probably call the ATO still , but it makes so much sense to put in as rental income. yes I have the cleaning costs to offset it.
cheers

[TracyDMember@tracydJoin Date: 2005Post Count: 85]

June 15, 2008 - 11:45 pm

Thinkruss,
NO, i dont believe so, there is a massive shortage of housing in Australia. The next few years will present some excellent buying opportunities with rents rising due to shortage of rentals available.
Some areas will 'soften" but I dont believe there will be any sort of Crash as per USA.
cheers

[TracyDMember@tracydJoin Date: 2005Post Count: 85]

May 28, 2008 - 1:34 am

Low Capital growth.
Also the bank wont usually lend more than about %70 towards these properties

[TracyDMember@tracydJoin Date: 2005Post Count: 85]

February 28, 2008 - 12:04 am

Hi Matt, Congratulations to you and your friend for making the purchase! Good luck with it, I believe the gold coast will be a good investment – hang on to it for the long term. I only wish i had made more than just a home purchase at your age!!
As far as plants go – speak to the council for the area. They will be able to provide you with a list of plants that are native to the area and hopefully even have a community nursery where you can pick up seedlings for next to nothing. The best thing about this is that you know that any plant native to an area with thrive well under the local conditions.  I have done this recently in my own garden with great success. Another point is to look down your street and around the area for plants you like that seem to be growing well, take some photos (if the owners dont mind) and then take to your local nursery so they can identify them. If you can get chatting to some local retirees with nice gardens, you will find they are most happy to help you and have a lifetime of knowledge about garden.
You might also find more info under the value adding forum if you do a search.
cheers
Tracy

[TracyDMember@tracydJoin Date: 2005Post Count: 85]

February 7, 2008 - 1:33 am

One of the bigger companies claim you would get back what you paid for your schedule in the first year. I think it might be depreciator.com? Anyway, as Terry suggested, give them a call and have all of the details ready, what building its made of, any recent improvements etc… It will also make a big difference if it is wither a 4 bed house compared to a 1 bedroom apartment.
Tracy
PS I use BMT and assoc by the way and have always found them thorough. http://www.bmtqs.com.au

[TracyDMember@tracydJoin Date: 2005Post Count: 85]

February 7, 2008 - 1:23 am

I dont see the problem, I am a long term investor. My rents are higher than they have ever been and are starting to create some cash flow, why sell? the rents wont be going down.
Only if you have bought in an area that is turning undesirable, population dropping etc..would I be taking the extreme measure of saying the prices will drop dramatically and it would be time to sell.