First, it SOUNDS very attractive .. as in melton .. returns of 6-7% are actually possible.

But it falls short in a couple of necessary areas.

One of the main factors for keeping and holding a property is its placement in convenience.

In…[Read more]

The longer term answer will be that the house sits upon a larger area of land and the land in time should increase around the base value of the house.

HOWEVER this may not either be the best way for you to invest nor your best return.…[Read more]

Because of a newspaper headline.

It was 2006 .. and I was earning well .. and reaping my rewards .. and making my investment judgements. I remember it very well because in August 2006 a very well known broadsheet .. not mentioning…[Read more]

How are things going in XXXTOWNXXX (insert burb name here)?

Are the properties flying off the shelf at your level of interest or are they hanging there for a couple of weeks?

You see .. this is where a top Property Manager (you know those guys that NEVER get respect for what they do .. even WHEN they do it right) who is…[Read more]

You should have kept times reasonable so you had cash in hand to work with.

30, 60, 90 days and thats it. You want the money that you get in the current market .. not the next.

And thats your current problem .. in a reasonably safe country where…[Read more]

So you may ask .. with outrageous rates .. lousy infrastructure and a high crime rate .. where do you invest in a tough town?

Well for me .. it was still the same game…[Read more]

And to the idea of the costs being absorbed into a rental increase .. just remember regardless of the…[Read more]

When I worked as a Sales Representative in Melbourne, the interesting thing was seeing the number of people who were basically seeking the value of their place PLUS THE STAMP DUTY AMOUNT as the price they would be trying to settle for.

So in Victoria at least .. the minimal increment of…[Read more]

Firstly, the attraction of the area is really Williamstown more than either Yarraville or Newport. Both Newport and Yarraville are banked up with heavy…[Read more]

Now I know I have a lot of experience in property but as you might guess there are some scenarios I have never seen in my experience.
One of those is a rapid period of higher inflation.
Is there anyone on the forums who is old enough to remember what the 1972 inflation was like .. and how fast it happened?

My gut feeling at the moment…[Read more]

You have reached your ceiling because your existing folio is totally dependant on growth and better rents before it takes off into a situation where your debts are outweighed by your potential to support them.

Thats cool .. thats how longer term property deals hold together. Presumptively on the basis that the markets…[Read more]

For Steve to say the way he worked things, they dont work like that anymore is fine.

Because no matter what ‘framework’ of litigation and banking practise you come across to start with .. it will be moderately different as your investment…[Read more]

In my early days (this is how to date yourself guys .. you use phrases like .. IN MY DAY) I would be ok with taking on any lender at any rate as long as it was cheap and the broker was ‘honest’ (go on .. laugh now). Having had one particular loan company that was…[Read more]

Lets delve into why anyone wouldnt approach leverage.

Lending from the banks is only either warranted or necessary when you cant make the difference by yourself or you want to gear to a level which would provide you with a larger holding or rental income from more…[Read more]

The rules aren’t residential rules .. and my overall suggestion is to own multiples to offset vacancies in a single investment.

The lending criteria is different .. all purchases include GST, the overheads are usually picked up by the tenant .. and the…[Read more]

It requires a minimum quota or thats it.

Now if you are an established agent or an agent with a reasonable level of contacts to start with it can provide a reasonable degree of remuneration.

If you are a starter agent with none of the skills and no real means to acquire them ..…[Read more]

Well .. an apartment has reduced costs on the maintainence front .. due to the fact .. you dont have a garden or surrounds to deal with. It doesnt have the land component for real long term extended growth .. but land growth is not always a given on an investment.

What will work for an apartment…[Read more]

I would swing with Terry’s suggestion of getting a ‘family’ loan of the remainder rather than allowing the banks to take a mortgage over her property on your…[Read more]

.. the answer comes back …

… and its not pleasant.

Cairns .. Port Douglas .. Palm Cove

.. are weighted down with large body corp charges
.. are weighted down with expensive rates proportionate to the property value.
.. are in a zone which suffers from frequent…[Read more]

They serve a larger purpose of making sure that the wealth vehicle is separate from the…[Read more]

If you are earning 35k you can borrow about 200k-ish and get a 300k property of some sort.

If you are earning 65k you can borrow about 350k-ish and get a more substantial property around the 430k mark (stamp duty and transfers starts to get big)

Having been in this scenario with my…[Read more]

You’ve got all excited that you’ll be investing in an area where the NRAS is taking place.

HAVE YOU ASKED WHAT NRAS IS AND HOW IT WILL ACTUALLY AFFECT YOUR PURCHASE?

Yes I resorted to caps. Its National Rental Affordability Scheme and that literally means that its subsidy housing to start with.

To look…[Read more]

This is your working years.
This is the time where you can make the difference in your wealth.
And if you have a job allowing a reasonable degree of leverage .. you should definitely take advantage of it.

Your time is now.

As I keep saying .. a wealth strategy that you can invoke and that works effectively for you is the only one you…[Read more]

Selling/Listing Agent – Can give you ‘presales’ advice that does not check out with reality on the ground. But can also provide realistic details based on experience. Ask how he derives his knowledge and what he bases it upon.…[Read more]

Most of them are things that should have been little that got a lot bigger because they were left alone (poor property management)

The tenant who left and decided not to take his 4 cats with him .. locking them in a cupboard. Decomposing cats anyone? Not…[Read more]

Its a nice way of saying I CANT COUNT AND I AM NOT PREPARED TO COUNT TO VALIDATE MY STATEMENT.

You can graph it you…[Read more]

The issue is that housing is not FAIR to low income tenancies and disadvantaged households.

Yes .. i can tell you from an earlier part of my existance .. when you aint got it .. it sucks paying rent and trying to make ends meet when you only have a pittance left over.

However you have to confront the…[Read more]

OFPs are always statistically dangerous because there is no property to begin with.

If you are genuinely looking for investment from an apartment complex .. buy within the first year of 'exchange'

Typically .. up to 40% of a block of apartments will exchange within the first year due to 'regrets' with the investment choice, financial…[Read more]

You can explain to people a hundred times over that the conditions and the rules for property dont change .. and they'll assume you're talking out your backside.

There are really only three major things you need to worry about in a purchase.

Rarity – Demand – Initial Purchase Price

And three regarding the property…[Read more]

The govt has already spent over a billion to get a new section in town .. revamp a couple of major thoroughfares, the rail station and basically create a new town centre.

If that happens in Geelong … DESPITE the current outflow from the…[Read more]

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17 Knight Street Willaston

UNDER INSTRUCTIONS FROM MORTGAGEE!…[Read more]

Firstly the specs for a retirement unit these days are usually first class anyway .. and you wont end up with a nice package for the amount you ask.

Secondly any retirement unit worth its salt has facilities on-call or standby so that…[Read more]

YOU are going to answer your question.

I'm going to fill you in on what you look for in an investment that is different from what you look at as a consumer. OR IS IT DIFFERENT?

As a purchaser of a unit or house for usage you look for the requirement of facilities of utility value within easy…[Read more]

You have to work with the whole bundle.

There is no point jetting into a burb with no experience and assuming you can rule the roost within a week.

You have to know .. the lay of the land .. the markets and customs of the people .. the laws of the land ..…[Read more]

My incentive has been an orange box. A wooden orange box (try finding one these days .. its harder than you think). I actively sought one out and purchased it as a reminder.

My father came to England…[Read more]

I wouldnt trust Harry Dent with any accuracy let alone what he thinks he is capable of.

The Age Newspaper is notorious for putting articles out on a near weekly basis criticising either the value of housing .. the lack of…[Read more]

(1) Lowballing on a property pre-auction without defining his pricerange accurately. Since most agencies provide a range of interest that is lower than achievable price you have people who STILL lowball that price thinking they can go even lower.

He's got high expectations pre-auction and until he has…[Read more]

As you might guess .. I also had seen the properties going for pennies in the dollar and wondered what it was all about.

How low? At one stage I could have picked up SIX apartments for a little over 130k

At one stage the apartements got as low as 15k

So…[Read more]

When I was a 14yo kid (many years ago) the developers started paying 150k for a 700m2 block in Ormond when we knew it was realisticly only about 110k to market. Yes I know these figures now will seem like the right reason to jump into a DeLorean with timetravel features and zoom back to…[Read more]

You've fallen into the golden trap.

You havent checked out your market thoroughly enough and you've purchased in an area where there are market issues developing due to saturation and overpricing.

And as a result .. it really doesnt matter whether your apartment has silver plated taps or marble lined floors .. its competing in a…[Read more]

You are starting out on the property journey.

You've got the starter blocks for getting stuff going .. you have strategic plusses .. and strategic minuses.

The plusses should come first.
You have a nice little asset base to start with with existing equity from your wife .. and a little movement from you on your existing…[Read more]

Look at the closures that took place in quick succession at Dandenong in the late 80s.

First the Watties factory .. then the Holden factory and finally the South Dandenong Cattleyards.

The area was rendered nearly empty for a period of eight years. At which time…[Read more]

There is another factor you haven't addressed in your question .. and thats the current amount of money coming in the door .. either through your efforts at work or your husbands current occupation. That in turn would affect the situation as to what your capabilities for borrowing more money are.

Another thing .. if you have…[Read more]

You see .. cashflow positive properties are tough to find in a sellers market, easy to find in a slack market .. and near impossible to find in a boom market.

We are at a point where the weekly…[Read more]

I would tend to class this particular property type as geared to neutral with potential.

However it is deadly important to realise you are banking on the stability of those owner expenses for the longer term. People who gear neutral without accomodating movement in any ownership expenses or rates (allow a 2%…[Read more]

I think what most people want are better options. Money and the access to money creating facilities increases these options.

Financial security and FLEXIBILITY produces these options.
You'll always have the bills that…[Read more]

First you have to realise that Detroit pre 67 riots had a series of tensions due to race issues bubbling under the thin veneer of civilisation it put on.

And after the 67 riots there was an intense effort at 'appeasement' by Democrat factions to reduce the 'oppression' felt by blacks in…[Read more]

DEPENDS WHAT YOU GET !!!!!!!!!

If I'm presented with a brand new high quality good finish home with a class A builder, in my money its just as good as having a property that will be there to appreciate in the longer term thats secondhand and might need sprucing up.

If you buy lousy cheddar to start with .. dont expect to make a…[Read more]