I saw a renovated weatherboard house on the weekend on the beachside in Parkdale a surburb of Melbourne for around $520k. Parkdale is about 22kms from the city on the beach. The place was 2 mins walk to station and shops. About 5 mins walk to beach and walking distance to great schools.

For an extra $70k, I tell you what I would choose. And…[Read more]

Let me recount my experience. It was back in 1999, well before I had heard of Jenman, Spann, McKnight etc. I had only heard of Somers and read a few property investor mags at that stage.

Our PPOR was a little 2 bed unit on Beach Rd in Parkdale accross the road from the beach. We had just come back from a year working in the US and needed to…[Read more]

Looks good. Why you got two agents selling? How far from Perth is Dongara? It looks like one of the cheapest in the area. What rent can you expect?

Is this a result of people loosing interest in the property market?

I invest in the bayside surburbs of Melbourne.

I am pro South Frankston. Frankston is on the Bay and has not taken full advantage of its position. Its the gateway to the Peninsula and only about a 1 hr train trip to the city.

There are many developments in the pipeline. There is a cad (central activities district) which will allow high rise…[Read more]

My aim one day is to go to Qld every year to coincide with a property investment expo/show and claim some of it on my tax.

Its important to keep abreast of the latest in property investing.

I have also used Norman to do a deprn schedule for me for a property in Frankston.

He was busy at the time and must be busy. I was happy with the work he did for me.

I always use archi-centre. They are usually retired architects. Phone number in the Phone Book. They do all surburbs. They find an arch-cente rep in each area.

She has already been added to the rental database by the property manager.

I want to get a judgement so it can be recorded against her credit record so if down the track she decides she wants to get a home loan or personal loan her credit reference will not be good.

Anyway she is now in Qld – so she is probably renting someones ve+ property.…[Read more]

Me – I dont worry about deposits.

I borrow as much as the bank will lend me and only the amt I am comfortable in making repayments on.

eg. if bank says you can borrow $550k but I only feel comfortable borrowing $450k – then I only borrow $450k.

I always borrow $110% of the invest property as I take my deposit from the equity in prop A…[Read more]

There is no doubt in my mind. Payout credit card debt. Put the rest into PPOR loan that is not tax deductible or onto investment loans if your PPOR is paid off.

Then see what money I can borrow from the bank and invest accordingly.

What part of Melbourne???????

<<<<<< got a free copy of Your mortgage mag yesterday at the Expo too (glad you enjoyed the Expo too, Marty!) Seems like it is becoming VERY similar to API mag. I mean, how many times can you just discuss different types of mortgages over and over each month?>>>>>>

Good point. Then I would class you as a reasonably experienced property investor.…[Read more]

Even if I did all my research, I would still like to see what the place looked like.

I would like to see
1. surrounding properties – bad neighbours can effect your ability to rent for a good price
2. condition of property. I would want more than photos. When does it need repaining? Are there any major holes or water damage or stains in carpet.…[Read more]

I totally agree. This is my main worry and thats the main reason I would not touch anything in remote or country areas.

In the future these people will be disillusioned and realise the effort/hassle is not worth the return.

And all these people expowsing ‘Sight unseen’ is ok if the figures add up. Not in my view.

Good to hear from a property…[Read more]

For the builder to aell at a price below valuation – he must have been a motivated seller. ie. really needed the cash flow to proceed with the project. If he had proper finance and capital behind him, then why sell for $50k below valuation.

I find the case studies are the best. I get inspiration from them and can see that I am on a similar track to them. They have actually done it and you can see that the average person can also succeed like them.

You can tell they are not Rhode Scholars on huge incomes. They all have had a few glitches along the way and many have raised families…[Read more]

<<<Must admit though, if I was selling my home, I wouldn’t cancel insurance when an offer is accepted, I’d wait until settlement had occurred. Would play it safe both ways.>>>

So would I.

I would say so.

No. Unless the vendor is a very motivated Seller. ie. they MUST sell NOW.