Viewing 20 posts - 101 through 120 (of 127 total)
  • Profile photo of KtkiwiKtkiwi
    Member
    @ktkiwi
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 18

    Further to my earlier comments re Tokoroa…
    If it’s such a great place to invest (and some of the new millionaire property investors in NZ seem to think so…) then why is there a mortgagee sale of 14 Tokoroa properties next week!
    If it’s so hot why can’t these properties be sold on the open market? Simple, it’s because there are tons of properties for sale there (many vacant)!

    And another word on Huntly… There is a mortgagee sale (via tender) of 53 (YES! FIFTY THREE) houses there at the moment…

    Some may think its a good investment but Huntly will not become an outer suburb of Auckland in the next 20 years at least (Theres a lot of land between Auckland and Huntly!)

    “Make sure you can survive the downside, and the upside will take care of itself!” Donald Trump

    Profile photo of tbarretttbarrett
    Member
    @tbarrett
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 7

    Sorry about the last post – just getting used to how to email these forums.

    Ive spent the last few hours reading right through all the comments on NZ – the insight is terrific.

    Im heading over to NZ late next week to do a bit of on the ground research! A few days in Auckland and surrounds and a quick trip to Wellington and surrounds.

    Would love to hear your opinions of Paraparaumu and the Kapiti coast.

    Regards,
    Tim Barrett[8D]

    Profile photo of MiniMogulMiniMogul
    Participant
    @minimogul
    Join Date: 2002
    Post Count: 1,414

    hi there-
    I think Paraparaumu and Kapiti are going to be huge, and in fact have been going up heaps lately I hear. Coastal, commuting distance from Wellington, on the trainline, cute cafes, new apts going up at Kapiti, blah blah

    There are still +ve cashflow properties in the Wellington suburbs such as Naenae (there was an apartment block of 8 returning about 12-15 percent for sale there at the beginning of the year for 500K) as well as 3 bdr type houses on a decent sized section that fit the 11 sec solution in Naenae and Wainuiomata. Petone is another hot suburb, beachside, used to be run-down and semi-industrial but is very up and coming these days

    cheers-
    Mini

    http://www.vocalbureau.com

    Profile photo of karenhkarenh
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    @karenh
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 3

    To Mini Mogul and other NZer’s, your posts to the forum have been a great help,the local knowledge is invaluable in making the right decision.We’ve found a couple of +cashflow properties in the Rotorua area.We are looking for long term rental at the moment.Do you see Rotorua as a good option? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.:)

    Profile photo of muppetmuppet
    Member
    @muppet
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 900

    Hi Guys

    Found a new property web site dealing with property in NZ. It is http://www.propertytalk.co.nz.
    One needs to register with a nickname and password etc.
    I am sure there will be something of interest to prospective Aussie investors.

    Hi Karenh

    Rotorua is dependent on tourists and forestry. It is a smelly place of the sulphurous variety being an active geothermal area.
    Rotorua was hit fairly hard with the SARS problem suffering a drop in tourist numbers. However things seem to be improving and prices are starting to go up again.

    A worrying trend for the area is the increasing pollution of the lakes. Someone has stated that Lake Rotoiti could be “dead” by the end of the year. Swimming in it has been discouraged because of an algae bloom problem. The Govt is coming to the party in providing money and expertise to try and solve the problem. I don’t think there is a quick fix for the lake.

    It gets very cold in the winter and you need to check to see that any houses you buy are insulated.

    Check the http://www.minhousing.govt.nz site and then find tenancy services, for average rents over the last 6 months. Or get hold of the KPI Magazine that also lists ave rent prices.

    Lotto numbers in last night’s biggy were 6,13,14,19,26,30 and the Powerball number was 2. Nobody won the $19,000,000 however 14 tickets shared the money with them getting about $1.3m each.

    Regards

    Profile photo of MiniMogulMiniMogul
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    @minimogul
    Join Date: 2002
    Post Count: 1,414

    hi Karen

    I think Rotorua is a fabulous place, it’s one of the top tourist destinations, it has a lot of beautiful lakes all over the place i.e. a lot of waterfront properties!! – and about a year ago it was a hot place to buy because it had capital gain as well as +ve cashflow. (think maybe cap gain has flattened a bit lately ???) Yes it smells of sulphur but when you bend down and feel the ground and it’s hot, see some geysers and boiling mud pools, take a bath in a natural mineral pool or check out how many houses use the natural thermal activity to have hot spas for free – not to mention use the geothermal energy for water and home heating, it all makes sense!! Also you don’t smell the smell any more after a while. And it’s a therapeutic kind of smell, honest it is….I adore it!! I love driving in to Rotorua and being hit by it!
    Didn’t know about that other stuff but it makes sense.

    Profile photo of davo70davo70
    Member
    @davo70
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 56

    Mini I have a quick question. As an Aussie buying in NZ there are two things I only just thought of. Do they have landlords insurance in the same format they do here (I assume they do but am not sure).

    Secondly the risk of Earthquake is much higher in NZ than Australia. What are the risks with home insurance in that regard. If my house is flatten by a big quake will it be rebuilt, will I get lost rent etc.

    I know these seem like silly questions but I a little panic attack last night.

    Thanks
    David

    Profile photo of MiniMogulMiniMogul
    Participant
    @minimogul
    Join Date: 2002
    Post Count: 1,414

    Hi Davo,

    I don’t actually know about landlord’s insurance specifically – what that means.
    I think an insurance broker would definitely help.

    When insuring my houses (which were worth 25-35K) my mortgage broker gave me two prices, one based on total replacement (1200 p,a,) versus around $290 P.a. (up to a dollar amount.) The basis of that was that if you house say burned down and you’d have to rebuild, it would cost 5 times more than what you paid for the house. I went for the lower premium, figuring that worst case if my 27K house burns down I get 40K back (what I insured it for) and can sell the land as a section and then buy a new house and land with the proceeds. Interestingly enough, even this cheap premium covered me for damage that happened when i had a fire recently (though only up to 6K ‘per event’ – more than enough) as well as loss of rent in that time.

    I am not sure if I would be covered for malicious damage, though….the way I figure it is that I think choosing a rental manager who only puts good tenants in there is more likely to ‘insure you’ it doesn’t happen than ‘damage insurance’ after the fact! Insurance claims are a pain and take ages and really I’d rather not have to ever claim, though i am happy to pay an insurance premium so I can sleep at night.!

    >Secondly the risk of Earthquake is much higher in NZ than >Australia.

    I’m from Wellington, which is on a fault line, as is most of the Hutt valley. I haven’t ever been in a big scary one where things flew off shelves and you had to get under the table or doors, though. So I guess the locals are almost blase about it –
    just the earth’s way of letting off tension. On fault-lines wooden houses are a lot more common, or, if they’re made of concrete or brick, it’s reinforced. Wooden houses are usually fine in an earthquake, even quite a big one. Most of the time earthquakes just feel like a big truck drove past your place and the cupboards rattled a bit.

    However Napier had a huge earthquake in the 20’s and the whole town fell down. And was rebuilt deco-style which has made it the tourist destination it is today. I guess there is a risk, moreso than Australia, but again just check your policy.

    >If my house is flatten by a big quake will it be rebuilt, will I get >lost rent etc.

    Like I said before ‘rebuilt’ insurance costs a lot more than ‘dollar value’ insurance and in the areas I’ve been buying I haven’t worried about total replacement insurance because I figure I can just buy another house instead.

    >I know these seem like silly questions but I a little panic attack >last night.

    not at all i totally get where you’re coming from. There’s more of a fear factor investing in unknown territory

    cheers-
    Mini

    http://www.vocalbureau.com

    Profile photo of RentMasterRentMaster
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    @rentmaster
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 85

    The risk of earthquake depends on where you buy.

    Draw a reasonable straight line from Rotorua down through Wellington and down the middle of the entire south island where all the muntains are and that is where the fault line runs. Close to fault line = increased risk. They built our capital city in an earthquake zone – who’s idea was that?

    We actually dont get that many earthquakes. There was a deep down one a few weeks ago somewhere in the south island but that is the last one I have heard of for a while. The last major one was in Edgecombe (near Rotorua) about 15 or 20 years ago me thinks. The NZ goverment has set up the earthquake commission which pays out for any damage resulting from earthquakes or wars (yeah right). You probably have more risk from bad tenants than earthquakes.

    Auckland is safe – except for the volcanoes. But we dont have poisonous snakes and spiders!

    Andrew
    http://www.rentmaster.co.nz
    Software for Landlords

    Profile photo of nugennugen
    Member
    @nugen
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 58

    Just a couple of quick questions about investing in NZ…Can you claim interest paid on the loan?
    Are there any extra charges from the NZ banks for being over here.

    Nu Gen

    Profile photo of muppetmuppet
    Member
    @muppet
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 900

    Hi Guys

    Mini
    Napier’s earthquake was in early February 1931. It killed about 251 people. Alot of land rose up and half of Napier is now built on it. I’ve got three properties built on the land.
    Prices have gone sky high in Napier. I had one of my properties valued last month at $173000. I found out yesterday that the house across the road from mine sold for $265000 also last month.

    Rentmaster
    Good point made about the snakes but there are a few spiders imported from Australia that can give a nasty bite.
    The last earthquake to actually kill anyone was the Inangahua quake in about 1967 which killed three people mainly by rocks falling off hills.

    To Aussie investors
    Here is a quote from Dolf de Roos’s book Real Estate Riches p/157
    “Imagine I told you that there was a Western country where there was no capital gains tax, no estate duties or death duties, no wealth tax, no transfer tax or stamp duty, unlimitied deductibilty of losses(paper or real) in one enterprise against profits in another, no limit to the amount of mortgage interest you can deduct against income, and generous depreciation rates based on purchase price and not written-down book values as passed on from owner to owner.
    What if I went on to say that capital growth in this country had averaged 10% per annum for the last 100yrs, that there was a stable political environment, and that the country in question was an extremely desirable place to live. Would you think of going there to invest?
    Such a country exists! It is New Zealand.”

    Well there you have it. He doesn’t mention the fact that NZ is one of the more windier countries in the world. The fact that it can get very cold. The fact that we have very good skiing and the best trout fishing in the world. And that we do have earthquakes. Too bad.
    However the author lives in the USA but he will be in NZ to run a seminar in the near future.

    Regards

    ps Gee Min my posts are getting as nearly as long as yours.

    Profile photo of Diamond2Diamond2
    Member
    @diamond2
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 24

    Hi everyone,
    Yes i know i have been a bit quite lately, haven`t had a chance to get on the forum. Just want to add my bit on the earthquake scenario. My cousin is a geo-physicist & i was talking to him about the north island in particular around lower north to wards wellington. He said the fault line that runs through there is as big as the one that runs under california.!! Is that going to stop me buying in any of the areas already mentioned? No way. I`m just going to make sure that my insurance has some kind of coverage for it. MINI- I like your idea of the insurance you use. By the way , i learnt ” Hello World” today, loved it!!
    MUPPETT- I`m going to ring you this week to chat about our get together. Thanks for booking us all in. Hows the ski season going other there?
    See ya, Cheers
    Diamond

    Profile photo of muppetmuppet
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    @muppet
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 900

    Hi Diamond

    Good to hear from you. I’ll keep a time slot from 10:30pm to 11:00pm clear for you to get through. That is NZ time so probably about 8:30 to 9:00 for you.
    Skiing is excellent. The surface last week was just perfect.

    Regards

    Ha a chanceless hundred postings. Now for the next 100.

    Profile photo of Diamond2Diamond2
    Member
    @diamond2
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 24

    Hi Muppett,
    I`m so sorry i didn`t ring last night. I went to bed without rechecking for replys. Just got your message then. Will aim to ring you tomorrow night between 8 & 9 pm your time. Can`t wait to get on those white slopes.
    See ya real soon
    Diamond

    Profile photo of ImstillhungryImstillhungry
    Member
    @imstillhungry
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 17

    Firstly, a big thankyou to all the contributors on this forum over the last year or so. You’ve inspired and motivated me to take the big first step and buy my first IP…well, actually, I haven’t bought it yet[:I]. I’ve been on the hunt now for three weeks. Each time I’ve found one that fits my criteria others have always beaten me to it or have come in over the top with a conditionless offer!(it is tough buying from Japan[B)]) So my questions are:

    What do most people on the forum do when it comes to making an offer? Do you always make a conditional offer or is it not unusual to make unconditional offers in this current NZ market?

    I’ve also heard people saying they make 30 or 40 offers for every one that is accepted. Does that mean that you actually make multiple offers or do you have to wait to hear a yes or no from your previous offer before you can move on to another house/offer???

    Thanks to any replies in advance
    Still Hungry![:D]

    Profile photo of MiniMogulMiniMogul
    Participant
    @minimogul
    Join Date: 2002
    Post Count: 1,414

    hi there hungry,

    sorry to hear you’ve missed out so far but keep making offers and you’ll get one eventually. I have been hearing that there are properties on the net still that have already been sold though, but I am expecting that we’re coming in to the season where more houses are put on the market, i think spring is a time for movement. The rental agents tell me that too.

    “it is tough buying from Japan”

    no tougher than buying from Aus and hey it worked for me!
    the only problems are due diligence on the area, street, property from distance – basically I wouldn’t buy sight unseen without a builder’s report and a lot of phone calls to anyone I can think of who can give me any clues about the property and the area (competing rental agents for example)

    >What do most people on the forum do when it comes to >making an offer?
    I put in offers subject to due diligence such as builder’s report, title, tenant documents, LIM report (if you don’t know what that is touch base with a NZ lawyer you will be using and ask. You will need a lawyer lined up anyway when you make the offer.)

    >Do you always make a formal conditional offer
    yep – mostly the RE agents want your offer in writing, they take the details over the phone, write it up on the standard NZ real estate form which all agents must use, fax it to you, you sign, and then it gets presented to the vendor and you’ll get accepted, rejected, or the counter offers begin. In one area of NZ in a small town the RE agent said ‘The way we do it here is negotiate it before we write it up’ so I went along with that as he’d known the vendor very well for 100 years and the vendor owned 74 properties in the area!!! – and I bought two houses that way, which were negotiated and agreed before the offer was written up. Still had all the conditions etc i wanted, it was just the price which was haggled before things got written up. I am in contact with my lawyer at all stages of the negotiation process, too.

    “Is it not unusual to make unconditional offers in this current NZ market? “

    I have heard that there is a lot of competition in some hot areas
    (NZ is the new Tasmania???!!!) and I guess it depends where you’re buying. Personally I don’t think I’d ever risk making an unconditional offer on a house that i hadn’t had building inspected, especially if I hadn’t seen it myself!
    I think though that if you are able to make cash offers not subject to finance you can get a better price, are taken more seriously, and they tend to not mind about the other clauses so much – because finance falling through is the most common reason deals fall over.

    >I’ve also heard people saying they make 30 or 40 offers for >every one that is accepted.

    ‘lowballing’. I haven’t resorted to that myself and hopefully never will. I make 3-4 offers per property on the way to arriving at the final agreed price. I know that’s not what you meant though. Once I had two offers going on two houses that I knew I could only get one of. It didn’t make me feel that comfortable even though I could have got out of one by saying that the house was not ‘satisfactory’ after inspection. I am not attracted to that strategy really. However if you want to buy several at a time it would be par for the course that you would have multiple offers going.

    >Does that mean that you actually make multiple offers or do >you have to wait to hear a yes or no from your previous >offer before you can move on to another house/offer???
    depends on if you have conditions in your offer that mean you can get out if say all 40 were accepted.

    stay hungry

    cheers-
    Mini

    PS Muppet!! We are coming to see you some time in the second week of November! Me and another Certain Special Person off this forum!!!!

    Profile photo of ImstillhungryImstillhungry
    Member
    @imstillhungry
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 17

    A big thanks to you Mini[:D], I’ve noticed over the months that you are very generous with your time…really appreciated.

    You’ve cleared my mind considerably. That is no mean feat [xx(]!!!

    Just one question:

    I have made contact with a solicitor in the north. Can I use this guy with any property transaction in NZ, or is it more convenient to use a local person from the area you are buying in? I’m thinking stick with one!?

    Thanks again,
    Still Hungry![:D]

    Profile photo of MiniMogulMiniMogul
    Participant
    @minimogul
    Join Date: 2002
    Post Count: 1,414

    Hungry,
    you are so welcome.

    >You’ve cleared my mind considerably. That is no mean feat !!!
    well I’ve been clearing my own too so to speak for the last year or more!!

    >I have made contact with a solicitor in the north. Can I use >this guy with any property transaction in NZ, or is it more >convenient to use a local person from the area you are >buying in? I’m thinking stick with one!?

    yeah I reckon. I picked a lawyer initially near where I was first buying. He had knowledge of the area which was good. However I ended up buying elsewhere and am still using him.
    And will continue to do so! nowadays I don’t necessarily need my lawyer to advise on an area or have local knowledge, i get that from other sources, it’s just basic conveyancing.

    cheers-
    Mini

    http://www.vocalbureau.com

    Profile photo of muppetmuppet
    Member
    @muppet
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 900

    Hi Guys

    For those who are interested……
    There was an article in the Tauranga newspaper which can be read on http://www.mytown.co.nz listing the areas in the Bay of Plenty which is expected to have a doubling of population by 2050.

    I hear a NZ timber company is relocating to Quirindi in NSW and will have 90 staff.
    Anyway, how big is Quirindi?

    And talking of earthquakes a local person in Japan on Monday predicted the big one Tokyo had yesterday.

    Regards

    Profile photo of Nelson4uNelson4u
    Member
    @nelson4u
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 3

    Hey you fellows sure know how to pick the rotten places to invest. what is the point of buying in a town that is almost dead. Sure the price is cheap but then there has to be a reason why. Just use your head. there is absolutely no point in buying in a place that has no capital gain. buy in a city that has high population growth and high capital gains. If you have trouble finding a good tenant in a bad area then often you have to compromise by taking a dodgy tenant then you can quickly eat up your imagined profits.
    Buy in Nelson and get me to manage your property.
    Glenn

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