All Topics / General Property / TRAPPED BY NEGATIVE GEARING

Viewing 17 posts - 41 through 57 (of 57 total)
  • Profile photo of James62James62
    Member
    @james62
    Join Date: 2004
    Post Count: 23

    Hi All,

    It is now 1.5yrs since my original post.

    Since 2006 we have had a number of significant changes to our financial position;

    > We sold one of our 3 investment properties 8 months ago for $355k which just covered the H&L purchase price + expenses.
    > We used the equity / surplus of $50k to purchase a start up franchise business (commenced Sept 07)
    > I resigned from my PAYE full time job (which was our primary source of income) to work in this new business.

    Our current asset / liability position is;
    1. PPOR $320k  –  Debt $40k
    2. INV 1  $370k  – Debt $360k loan fixed @6.44% to 11/2008 (H&L purchased 2003 $330k + costs $30k)
    3. INV2  $370k  – Debt $360k loan fixed @6.84% to 10/2009 (H&L purcahsed 2003 $330k + costs $30k)

    Total ppty $1.06mill  v  Debt $760k

    Gross rent: $ 33k p/yr

    Our wage income is approx. $25k less than 2yrs ago because of commencing & building up the new business so our negative gearing addbacks are significantly less.
    We are now currently paying $300 per week ($15k p/annum)  to just maintain this position which is all our surplus funds.

    In Nov 2008 one of our loans will come off its fixed rate & increase by at least 2% adding a further $140 per week to our loan repayments ($22k p/annum). We are uncertain if our income will increase in the next 6 months to meet this commitment.

    In Oct 2009 our second fixed rate loan expires.

    Our main delema is whether to sell another inv ppty now before we may or may not incur cash flow problems in early 2009.
    Is it worth holding ppty in the current economic climate?????

    Our existing 2 investment properties have only increased by approx. 12% over the past 4-5 yrs ($8k per year on average)……so much for doubling in 7-10 years!!!

    On top of this there was an article in todays Melb Herald-Sun suggesting a possible 30% drop in property prices;
    http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23566323-2862,00.html

     We are very disappointed with our investment returns over the past 5 years & are still confused on what we should do now.

    I would appreciate any comments or recommendations which may assist us in making a decision.

    James

    Profile photo of suavemechanicsuavemechanic
    Participant
    @suavemechanic
    Join Date: 2004
    Post Count: 106

    congratulations on the business , hope it works well for you
    my wife and i are having a different strategy ,looking for opportunity to add value
    after our conversation we bought another fibro and weather board around the corner
    it was really scruffy and poorly marketed.we think we added about 40 g by buying cheap and ripping up the carpet !
    we are just in the process of going again ,this time we bought well under market value for a well presented house in this area
    stump grinding ,chinese kitchen, lots of paint,white picket fence out front etc
    we have done a deal our old ppor (which had all the equity)
    this will slam our mortgage and all the debt will be on the latest place
    till then i am paying a lot more than $300 a week !
    just like shares ,it is the area you invest in (and the timing ) that is important
    steves later books mention changing strategy to suit the market
    ( i used to buy flats in perth and wait……)
    i am not trying to brag here , just illustrate how i was offered a similar deal and went a different direction due to all the fees and charges,and my belief that outer suburb land is not as scarce or desirable as inner suburbs with all the infastructure and entertainment ( i grew up in both !)
    im really sorry that you didnt get a bit of growth
    good luck with your decision

    Profile photo of ducksterduckster
    Participant
    @duckster
    Join Date: 2004
    Post Count: 1,674

    It all depends on how long you want to wait. I purchased a house in 1995 in Cranbourne $76,000 it is worth approx $170,000 today. I purchased another one in Cranbourne in 2000 for $100,000 and sold it in 2004 for $170,000 but the market was really hot then. Both started out negative geared. one of the properties is positively geared and the other was sold as I had a period of 6 years without income due to two infants and a university degree. So I worked out I could not afford the $100,000 loan and paid it out via sale and reduced the debt on the lower loan.
    Once the growth suburb fills with more houses the price will slowly increase over time. But one thing to think about is East Link changing the infrastructure of the area as the traffic at the moment is really heavy into Cranbourne and the S.E. growth suburbs.The problem is that while similar new houses are created in the suburb you have to compete with the new houses. Scarcity creates the price increase. In 1995 the honey moon rate was 7.6% and my interest rate went to 10.5% in 1996 and I couldn't increase the rent. Only recently has the rent increased by 69% compared with what I could rent it at in 1996.
    What I have noticed is the property values roughly grow at 7% p.a. Now what happens is the price flattens out for 3 to 4 years and then the price rises in year 5, year 6 & year 7 by more than 7% to rates of 33% in some suburbs. But it averages out over ten years to the rate average of 7% p/a.
    .So when the market is hot the rates of growth are amazing but when it slows like it has at the moment the growth looks non existent over the short term 0- 4 years.
    So your third property is worth 40,000 more than the debt so if you sold it you would make at least $20,000 depends on selling cost / commission then if owed more than 12 months you 1/2 the gain taxable so $10,000 will be taxed so $4000 lost in tax based on 40% marginal tax rate.
    So you have $16,000 that you could use to drop the debt on the first loan plus an additional $120 a week to put in as an extra payment on the first loan or to put in an offset account linked to the first loan due to you no longer having to fund the third negative property. Plus some breathing space.

    When you have a low growth environment a debt reducing strategy is prudent with the goal of getting the debt down to a level where you create a cash flow neutral or cash flow positive investment. Then the positively gear property helps you pay for the negatively geared property and the equity helps secure a future loan when the market changes. (this technique is in Steve's book called Pin wheeling)

    While you have a high growth environment & low interest environment you can use a high debt, interest only & high negative gearing strategy more effectively.

    Profile photo of units4meunits4me
    Member
    @units4me
    Join Date: 2005
    Post Count: 90

    Dont forget possibly the strongest factor in determining house prices.
    The strength of the economy.
    The low prices of the early 90s coincided with high unemployment, recession etc.

    1996, change of Govt to one of strong reforms/not afraid to do the hard decisions and the economy continues till recently a very strong steady run.

    Now a new govt who seems too eager to please minority groups an I think not prepared to make the hard decisions needed to keep the economy strong.

    A good economy can keep house prices at high levels, but a backwards economy?

    Well there's a helluva long way prices can fall.

    Profile photo of hleunghleung
    Participant
    @hleung
    Join Date: 2007
    Post Count: 141

    Yes, this happened to me as well.  I had a property that did not go up in value for over 5 years so had to fund a reasonable shortfall during this time.  In fact, my rents also went down during that period so was stressed out constantly during that time.  I tried to sell but would have got $10,000 less than what I paid.  I decided to hang in by cutting back expenses and increasing my income.   It paid off and now after 15 years it has gone up by 250%. 

    If you sell now you are going to incur a lot of fees.  Eventually the property cycle will turn, so if you can somehow hang in, it's going to be worth it. 

    Profile photo of gmh454gmh454
    Member
    @gmh454
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 537
    simple wrote:
    . Economy cycle up and down every 7-10 years.

    Cycle crunches from memory 73, 83, 91, 2008 +
    shortest was around 8 years longest is 17 and climbing cause we have not seen bottom yet.

    Know the 7-10 years has become “fact” but would not bet on it.

    Profile photo of suavemechanicsuavemechanic
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    @suavemechanic
    Join Date: 2004
    Post Count: 106

    hey any chance you can increase the rent ?
    that could ease the pressure a bit

    Profile photo of James62James62
    Member
    @james62
    Join Date: 2004
    Post Count: 23

    Thanks suavemechanic,

    We have just increased the rents by $10 p/week on each inv ppty increasing our annual income by $1000.

    We could have asked for another $10-$20 but I did not want to lose the tenants as this could have caused more cash flow problems.

    Apart from trying to stabalize our new business business income at a breakeven point (now just starting to get there) in Nov08 the interest rate on one of our inv loans ($360k) will increase from 6.44% to approx. 8.75%+. This will cost us an additional $8200 p/a ($160 p/week) in interest which we currently dont have. Further increasing the rent by $20 (x2) will only generate $2000 p/a.

    In Oct09 our second inv loan ($360k) will come off its fixed rate of  6.85% to ?……………what then?

    I dont see much light at the end of the tunnel. Looks like we will have to sell one ppty to keep our heads above water & hope we dont incur a capital loss!

    Over the last 5 years I feel we have put everything into buying & holding investment properties (using negative gearing) but are getting nowhere fast as we are not financially better off. It is very disheartening.

    I am still amazed by stories of investors who manage to grow a portfolio of more than a few quality inv properties using negative gearing methods due to inevitable cash flow shortfalls.

    James

     
     

    Profile photo of units4meunits4me
    Member
    @units4me
    Join Date: 2005
    Post Count: 90

    Sounds like your'e headed for big trouble. I would suggest you get rid of one or all before the market slumps.
    You can always buy back cheaper in a few years if we hit another recession.

    Profile photo of gmh454gmh454
    Member
    @gmh454
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 537
    James62 wrote:
    />I am still amazed by stories of investors who manage to grow a portfolio of more than a few quality inv properties using negative gearing methods due to inevitable cash flow shortfalls.

    James

     
     

    James don’t feel too bad, this a forum board, like most others and the inevitable pissing contest develops between the “boys” (and girls). Most people in your situation are not that honest – with others or themselves.

    Got to agree with others you need to organise an exit strategy, and write it off to a steep learning curve.

    A lot of us here would be much better off financially if we only had the financial knowelge we do now, when we were much younger.

    Good luck, and sounds dumb but it is only money and there is a lot more to life than that.

    Profile photo of kum yin laukum yin lau
    Member
    @kum-yin-lau
    Join Date: 2006
    Post Count: 342

    Hi, James, look at Dazzling's dazzling analysis. Wonderful application of numbers.

    However, your 2003 purchase should have gone up 30% already. If you're worried sick, maybe sell one.

    The numbers you quote [around $5000] per property are VERY NORMAL. Even way back in 1998, I needed about $4ooo to support each house until the last one I bought, the cheapest, that's slightly +ve gearing.

    No growth in 2003-2008 means the original purchase was not fantastic. BUT MOST OF US MAKE HORRIBLE 1st purchases.
    I myself am living walking proof of that. We learn & improve.

    Good luck,
    KY

    Profile photo of bardonbardon
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    @bardon
    Join Date: 2004
    Post Count: 557
    James62 wrote:
    Hi All,

     We are very disappointed with our investment returns over the past 5 years & are still confused on what we should do now.

    I would appreciate any comments or recommendations which may assist us in making a decision.

    James

    You only need to wait another 2 years and the price will have doubled.

    Profile photo of michellebellemichellebelle
    Member
    @michellebelle
    Join Date: 2008
    Post Count: 9

    Hi James, this is the first time ive replied and i guess that we have had similar feelings over the last 23 yrs we started buying in 1985 for 34,000 and kept house and moved in 1989 bought land for 26,000 built house for 102,000 sold 34,000 first place for 86,000 [kicking ourselves now "the imagine if we still had it, its worth now 250+] though at the time int rates were 15% at that time and we coulnt hold both and then sold new house and land in 1993 for 187,000 purchased land for 60,000 built house for 145,000 bought another house in 1995 for 36,000[ rent 165 ] sold new house and land in1997 for 284,000 and with 40,000 deposit purchased 180,000 10 ac block built a shed that is now our characteristic house for 15,000 its now worth 650,000 and we sold 36,000 home for 84,000 to buy 2 properties both cost 165,000 each to renovate  well one we spent 110,000 and the other 40,000 we sold ithe expensive reno in 2006 as it was costing us 9,500pa to hold as market was in decline we sold for 304,000 and made only 20,000 so then i looked for a better deal found house for 195,000 spent 8,000 [155rent]and was asked by people who i met while looking for this property could i buy house for them to rent and this was a commercial lease so knew of property that might siute paid 380,000 and rent 560pw on 3×3 lease now at this point we pay 200 pw to keep 3 ip's [950,000 value] and own our own property so we do have a loan maturing soon and we will do what we have always instinctivly done when needed needless to say we do regret selling but we always keep persisting to buy later when we can and hold as long as possible in our journey to wealth and knowledge

    Profile photo of foundationfoundation
    Member
    @foundation
    Join Date: 2005
    Post Count: 1,153

    full-stop Full-stop FULL-STOP full-stop Full-stop FULL-STOP full-stop Full-stop FULL-STOP full-stop Full-stop FULL-STOP full-stop Full-stop FULL-STOP full-stop Full-stop FULL-STOP full-stop Full-stop FULL-STOP full-stop Full-stop FULL-STOP full-stop Full-stop FULL-STOP full-stop Full-stop FULL-STOP full-stop Full-stop FULL-STOP full-stop Full-stop FULL-STOP full-stop Full-stop FULL-STOP full-stop Full-stop FULL-STOP full-stop Full-stop FULL-STOP full-stop Full-stop FULL-STOP full-stop Full-stop FULL-STOP full-stop Full-stop FULL-STOP full-stop Full-stop FULL-STOP full-stop Full-stop FULL-STOP full-stop Full-stop FULL-STOP full-stop Full-stop FULL-STOP full-stop Full-stop FULL-STOP full-stop Full-stop FULL-STOP full-stop Full-stop FULL-STOP full-stop Full-stop FULL-STOP full-stop Full-stop FULL-STOP full-stop Full-stop FULL-STOP full-stop Full-stop FULL-STOP full-stop Full-stop FULL-STOP full-stop Full-stop FULL-STOP?

    Profile photo of michellebellemichellebelle
    Member
    @michellebelle
    Join Date: 2008
    Post Count: 9

    sooo well im first timer and ill try a full stop some where. in.the.future.thanks. for.the.encouragement…

    Profile photo of foundationfoundation
    Member
    @foundation
    Join Date: 2005
    Post Count: 1,153

    You're welcome! It looks like you're getting the gist of it already – must be a fast learner, eh? [wink]

    Let me know when you're ready to move on to the appropriate use of capitalisation…

    Cheers, F. [cowboy2]

    Profile photo of michellebellemichellebelle
    Member
    @michellebelle
    Join Date: 2008
    Post Count: 9

    The gist has always been purchase for CAPITAL GROWTH {Preferable} and secondary RETURN { yes its one or the other, The trade off } then to find both is okay, Our Ip"s FOUNDATIONS…….SOLID, "Its Totally CAPITOL" [ next time I must pay more attention with my punctuation after Midnight] Hmmmm!!!

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