If you shout me out for coffee or lunch I'll let you know what I think about the whole thing Xenia……

Sorry Suffragette, but unless it is a pretty special property, this simply means you are paying too much. If you feel the incomplete renevation is the problem, is it possible to extend the contract date, and then get another val done when all the work is finished? Will your friend sell 'as is' now without finsihing the work at the price the val…[Read more]

And the absolute terrifying scenario is for someone who gets sucked into one of these loans, and lets it run for its 25 year term. Just do the sums and you will see what the poor cows will be up for then. I wonder how some banks (and brokers) sleep at night…..

Good on you for planning ahead. However make sure before you sell up you think of the following little sentance – 'Its hard to arrive at your destination unless you know where you are going'.  If that is all taken care of, I don't know about high rise apartments, but good old 'Unzud' does seem to have steady growth, and the biggest advantage of…[Read more]

Baaaaa. yeah, but people still go with them for whatever reason. Could tell you some interesting stories about people refinancing or selling the security properity they have with r r r rams. Glad you got things sorted in the end.

Looks like we all miss this feature, but explain it a bit differently. What do you reckon Steve? Can you give us back that Active Forum search option, with posts since last visit, and show who has posted? Could be perfecto with that done (almost!)

Hi Stayfly. Good on you. Has your ma ever owned a house at all? If not, the first home owners grant will make the whole process easier, if not, so much money is gobbled up in stampduty.  As has already been pointed out, you will have very little chance of getting a competitive loan for a property like you have mentioned. A larger unit, of 45sqm…[Read more]

FHOG is a great provision for first home owners – not investors. (and there are plenty trying to rort the system)  However that said, scanario A – You  must move into your home and live in it for a period 6 consecutive months within the first 12 months of purchase price.  (generally -depends on state – some where 6 mths) Sceanario B If it was an…[Read more]

Xenia – Hey, it must be contagious, as I have gone from around 180 down to 82 or something. I'm guessing there is something built into the software that automatically deletes any posts where the 'postee' has consumed alcohol first (although that would put me down around the 4 mark …seriously, teething probs I imagine.Now – Latinoz, you MUST make…[Read more]

Not a lot at this point. The 'active topics since last visit' option appears to have gone awol, plus I have been 'demoted' to around half of my forum posts.  I bet Terry has had them added onto his………Still, sometimes I don't feel very important anyway …..It is a bit harder to navigate, but I guess we'll see how used to it we get.  Can a…[Read more]

Hi. I would certainly never critizise anyone that wants to take a calculated punt – however reports on Broken Hill range from everything between calling it Busted Hill, to saying it is a great opportunity.  I guess looking at how keen various lenders are to lend for higher loan to value ratios out that way are may give you a better idea. (not v…[Read more]

Hi BazH . As already mentioned you will find it a bit tight going unless you use one of the higher ‘lo doc’ loans, with a higher LVR. I tell you what though, they don’t miss you with stamp duty ‘down there’ in mexico eh? As a first homeowner you are entitled to $10,000, which steps down to $7000 at the end of June this year, so that may be worth…[Read more]

Hi Tass. What is the name of the business/company? It is not often that you would find (due to industry regulation) private people approached by a mainstream lender or broker, and even if so, it would be very unprofessional and misleading to make a blanket generalisation that they could save you money without knowing your loan. Imagine if someone…[Read more]

Hi. Couple of suggestions. If you want to do the bank thing, start off in customer service, and you should be able to work yourself up. If brokering appeals more to you, (which if you are fair dinkum is a much better way to help others achieve their dreams, while getting paid for it…) I would suggest studying for and completing your Certificate…[Read more]

The more I read and hear the worst it sounds. I guess life is a bit of a punt anyway at the best of times. For an interesting excercise, if it is aimed at someone to get the ‘we will live here forever’ type home, why not for an interesting excercise work out how much someone will have to pay back at the end of 25 years if they simply just pay off…[Read more]

Wow – I was going to post exactly what Danniellees said – I concur….and agree with Foundation/LA/Gross, that it will have to be used and chosen very carefully, if at all. I think the majority of people will completely misuse it, and there will probably be plenty of brokers that miss-sell / promote it. (just like has happened with reverse…[Read more]

It is really bad. Kinda reminds me of my old 28.8k dial up modem logging into bullitin boards back in 1994 on the old 486 PC with Windows 3.1. I get nostalgic now everytime I use this site [biggrin] (Not) The best fix is to be doing something else or on another site and come back to this one every now and then to check if the pages have loaded.…[Read more]

Mmmmm. Sounds very high risk. If you have money to burn and don’t need it back for a few decades and it is legit…………but….on the other hand a night in the casino will cost you less [biggrin] .

Hi Scott. Welcome to the forum. And may I congratulate you on making those extra payments on your home. Getting the principal amount down by paying extra is great – you will already have churned a few ‘years’ off your loan term. However with your first investment property, in order to save up some deposit, it may be an idea to step these payments…[Read more]

Hi bloach. WHat state are you in? Some legislation is quite definate now with regard to these types of things. Obviously if a place is a dump it is not expected it be made into a mansion, but things such as you have mentioned need to be rectified very quickly in most cases. A visit to the agent will be better than emails – trust me. It can…[Read more]