Hi all…
I was silly with my last post ha ha i just realised how many people had written the same thing however now i am more interested in the moethods of research to find these so called diamonds in the rough…. i have spent hours on end at well MAJOR property listing sites and found that none meet the 11 second calculation, however this is just making me more eager to find even one property.I am stabbing at every country town to see if i strike however i would like to learn how to refine my search so i can strike oil more constantly. hope you could all understand what i was typing…
regards…
Josh..P.S Steve, how about a chat room? even on mirc or something or have i not seen it yet ha ha ….[
][][][]Gday Josh,
although this place is called a forum, it is pretty much like a chatroom as there are so many members (around 20,000 i think) that your question is usually answered within an hour of writing it.
thats what i love about this site everyone is just out to help everyone else. its great!!
Powmow[
]i meant 2,000 members.
Whoops!
Powmow[
]
P.S Steve, how about a chat room? even on mirc or something or have i not seen it yet ha ha ….[][][][]I think this forum is a very important tool – because you can search back through it.
Even so, I think I’d enjoy (and get a lot of value out of) a real-time forum like IRC.
Anyone can do it – so I’ll try it first – point your IRC client at irc.perthwireless.net and join the channel #investing
Or if you’re a Windows user, try clicking <a href=”irc://irc.perthwireless.net/investing”>irc.perthwireless.net/investing</a>.
I’ll be in there to say hello – so come on down!
Cheers, Jason
Joshwaly,
That Junee Austion on Friday might be of interest – put on your running shoes, grab your money and go – research/due dilligence first. Great to get a post like xyzzy’s with such info.
Anna
Or look a bit further afield. I just found something selling for less than $100k (advertised price), apparently rented out for $220 a week. And it’s not in a country town, but a city.
Haven’t spoken to agent to confirm if the ad is true yet (it’s after hours), but could be promising.Hi,
This worries me a little, when I read people like Josh write:
i have spent hours on end at well MAJOR property listing sites and found that none meet the 11 second calculation, however this is just making me more eager to find even one property.I am stabbing at every country town to see if i strikePlease note:
Steve has never bought a property in a *rural* country town! And I wouldn’t recommend you do either unless you know the place really well and do a lot of research before buying.
Steve only buys in *major* regional areas. How does he do it:
1) He has the ****TIME**** (and now that he is famous I have no doubt that people come to him when they have a good deal.)
2) He walks the streets. (Don’t quote me on this one, but I am pretty sure I remember him saying this.) You will never find the good deals on the net. In fact all the best deals NEVER hit the paper nor the interenet. However I must say that I have found PLENTY (or should I say my business partner) of properties that are +ve geared on the net but I wouldn’t buy any of them. Next time I come across them I will let you know where they are.
So what do you do? Well maybe we should leave this question for Steve…
Pin
please! – no chat room –
“hi PPL how is everyone tonight”
“good, How R U? grin smily”*grimace!*
blecccch!!
I agree, the main benefit of a forum is it’s ‘stored energy’.
Hi all
When you say “Walk the streets” what do you mean.
Is it knocking on doors and asking if people want to sell.
looking for signs that have been put up by agents.
Where do you find them pinit2000 if its not in the papers or the net. In major regional it is tough.
regards
alfHI alf,
“Walk the streets” means, you first have to go to the place you want to buy in, and stay there at least a week.
Once you arrive there this is what you do.
1) Go to the council and have a chat with the town planning people.
2) Go and see every single real estate agent in town, and have a chat. (*tact* when dealing with them is VERY important.)
3) Talk to as many builders as you can. Where do you find them? On the job!
4) Literally walk the streets and get a feel for things. Talk to people (again “tact” is important.)
– Talk to people watering their lawn
– Talk to shop keepers
– Talk to the Police
– Talk to cashiers
– everyone that can talk… talk to!If you do all of this I am sure you will find a good deal, because one of the people you will talk to will say: “Hey, my brother (aunt, cousin, mate …) is selling a property blablabla…” All you have to do is follow up on it. They may say, this is a really bad place … If this is comnfirmed, get out of there!
OK I have said it in nearly every post, but I will say it again. The thing you need most, is not “money” BUT ****TIME****.
I think this is something that is not stressed enough here.
Pin
Excellent points Pin!
For my last purchase, I probably did as much talking as you, but did so on the phone before I left home (which explains my latest $300 phone bill!).
In the week or two before departure, I called the following:
1. Local council building dept to ask about natural hazards in area (flooding, wind, earthquakes), preferred building style, new roads/railway lines, major projects in town and more.
2. Water dept to enquire about sewered and unsewered areas
3. Local tourist bureau to send me material on local attractions, a town map and public transport routes.
4. Local property managers to find out which areas and type of properties rent out best and what the best tenants want.
5. Local building and pest inspectors
6. Finally phoned agents to ask what was available (they multilist, so all had pretty much the same).
Almost all of the advice tallied up.
(before all that I looked at economic development info, population trends, prices and yields, to satisfy myself that the place was suitable for my money)
So when I got there I looked around the agents and made up a shortlist from places I’d seen on the web.
My filter of acceptable returns and fair quality property eliminated about 90% of the listings. In contravention of De Roos, I went inside only two and bought one (the one that was my preferred choice before I got there). The decision was made very quickly.
I spent about 7 more days there and did a lot of talking to locals. I find it’s easier to fall into conversation with people in the country than in the city. Or maybe the frame of mind is different and you’re more open when travelling???
Locals often ask why you’re here, and so the topic gets onto property. In my case all discussions confirmed my choice of suburb, and when brought up, that the purchase price was reasonable.
In my case talking to locals did not lead me to other deals, tenants (though I already had one) or me to regret my decision.
People walking along the long path along the beach seemed most easy to strike up conversations with. And yes, I got some evangelising as well from two JWs who I bumped into!
However I did a lot of walking around town and suburbs, counting vacant shops (not many), seeing what were regarded as ‘bad’ areas and looking at other advertised properties.
When an area is being sought after by investors (as this place was starting to when I was there) you can bump into them at the tourist bureau. The tourist bureau staff sometimes mention – ‘oh you’re the third investor to come in today’, so add these people onto your ‘to talk’ list.
I’ve also found managers at the backpackers I was staying at also knew what’s happening and what brings people to town.
The local library was good. Not only did it have lots of PI books, but I also met a lady who had bought a lot of property (mostly land though). Also the library was giving away 12 year old local papers, so looked at prices and rents in them (confirmed info I already had about negligible price and rent growth since then).
Peter
Hi Pete,
Great stuff!
I think something that would really help is knowing what questions to ask, and how to strike a conversation and get the info you need!
Yes, spending ***TIME*** on the phone and *** TIME *** on the internet is a MUST. (Hey I can’t write everything in one post!). Find the area you want target first, and do as much research from home, … and then go. Have I already mentioned that all this takes time?
OK so here are the questions:
Hmmm actually there are a heap of them and they all have different roles… OK let’s say you first meet someone:
– I am new to this area, and am looking at buying a property, is there any suburbs you would recommend?
– which suburb has the best reputation?
– Are there a lot of people investing here? (I prefer it when there aren’t too many.)
– Where do people go to work?
etc…
Another tip, don’t be arrogant and act slightly naive (should I say slightly stupid?). People will always want to help you out. (I love this aproach, occasionally you will even get someone that tries to teach you how to invest … [
])Maybe you can add a few more questions and we will try and keep the ball rolling…
Pin
hi all
pinit2000…peterp
Excellent responses with specifics and how to. This is the sort of information that makes life easier having a bit of a road map to work with….
cheers
regards
alfWOW
After reading this thread it has helped me realise I am on the right track. I have given up searching on the net, and talking to agents on the phone. About 2 weeks ago I bought myself an 89 ford laser on gas that was pulled apart by a young guy and couldn’t put it back together. So far I have to put another $1000 into it shouldn’t cost me much more, then I will be selling my Fairmont
petrol guzzler and hitting the road. That is my plan and goal, the laser will be much slower especially on gas but it will get me there on a very low budget. Hopefully it will be ready to roll next week and then im off. I have found many positive geared properties thus far if I had a cash deposit but found with out a cash deposit they just don’t work for me. So I realised it was time for me to get out there and show my face. Maybe even get some cards printed and leave them with agents I meet as well as locals, and offer a small spotters fee to the locals.I hope this helps somewhat Josh
Regards Bear
Hi All
Well yes it is great if people have time to walk the streets but not everyone is in that position.
What i think would be of great help to all users would be like a template of steps.
eg. See a property in widget town. Ok I dont know where it is next step
what website can i access to see the location.
Then the population and all those relevant things that one needs. This could also mean contacting the agent.I just get a feeling that some users are looking to be able to do a search from there own home on the net. Then if it all looks ok perhaps take the plunge and visit the place.
Just my thoughts when you got people struggling to find one then someone pops up i just bought 5/10/or 20 etc the other day sounds just a bit cocky.
Instead of saying these are the steps i took without giving away there area or state. No one expects that and is understandable.
Just my thoughts
regards
alfHi all
My husband and I have done the “hit the road” hard yards. Instead of travelling in the bigger car we have travelled in his tiny work vehicle. We have found deals on the net but have found that nothing beats eye contact and a shake of the hand. Agents have been soooo helpful.
We acquired a great deal thorugh an agent with integrity. Whilst in the process of paper work another buyer offered more and then more but both the agent and vendor had given their word to us and did not bend to the greater offer. We now own a property which has gone up in value by about $30,000 since commencing the deal and we have not settled yet.
We do a lot of chatting with people in general. When we find an agent who cottons on to our ideas we have found that they can come up with a good suggestion and one of our purchases occured this way. Block of 4 units meeting the 11 sec solution.
The opportunities are there. Go get ’em.
BlossomBear
… and offer a small spotters fee to the locals.I wouldn’t do this. I think it gives the wrong impression to people. Just get as much info from them and leave it at that.
Leaving your card with agents is a good one, but I have found that agents will call you for anything and everything, so make sure they know exactly what you are after, and ONLY call you when they have found it.
************
alf,
Well yes it is great if people have time to walk the streets but not everyone is in that position ….Just my thoughts when you got people struggling to find one then someone pops up i just bought 5/10/or 20 etc the other day sounds just a bit cocky.The reason for this is either lack of TIME or DETERMINATION. (But for most people it would be TIME.) They are out there, you just need time to find them.
OK to make this even more clear. You need at least 8 hours a week to spare.
So what do you do if you do not have the time?
– Get some one to look for you. (I don’t recommed this though, but can work.)
– Give up your job. (How determined are you?) (Thi s is NOT a recommendation either.)
– Aks Steve, he might know of an easy solution.I fully understand your frustration, because it is not as easy as some peole would like you to believe, especially when you are first starting out. It does get easier with experience…
What i think would be of great help to all users would be like a template of steps.Please don’t get me wrong, this is a reality check. If you have the steps but no time, what use would they be to you?
This is the only ONE thing (i.e. time) that is not emphasised enough on this forum…. and I hope people won’t shoot me down because I bring this to your attention.
Pin
pinit 2000
and peterpAGREE.. with all your points and love the advice found on this site. Time is a luxury a lot of us don’t have.. but you “reap what you sow” as they say and you have to put the effort in
Did a search on Steve’s original areas, ballarat and west wendouree (?at work-don’t have the info at my fingertips) and Steve?Dave must be doing well… nice prices in those areas now, guess it’s true “he who hesitates is lost”
And was interesting to note they were “not” country towns !! as i know them anyway, i think in the book Ballarats population was at 80 000+ wasn’t it??
I’ve looked at some country towns in WA, some nice areas and some oppurunities residential,commercal and industrial.. though the safer route is the one with a larger poulation and therefore tenant base.
Interesting story from a friend with a free standing unit in Osborne Park W.A, she’s heving trouble renting her place and the agents are telling her what with the property boom plus first home owners, low rates etc the pool of tenants is in decline.. my advice to her was to drop the rent $5-10, better to be rented than vacant..you ever notice how quickly the property looks run down when its vacant..
Redwing
“The man that thinks at 5o as he did when he was 20 has wasted 30 years of his life”
For PI, the ideal job is one where you can take
2-4 weeks off several times during the year.I got close to this situation when I worked 4 years straight and took no annual leave. With heaps of leave, it was suggested I take some. This I did 12 months ago when I took 4 weeks off.
My leave balance was still huge so subsequent 3 week holidays were had in March/April and August/September. This provided time for interstate IP trips!
I want to take enough leave to keep administrators happy but not eliminate it totally; if I leave the job the payout would be a great starter for another deposit, extra loan repayment or capital improvements!
I’d only buy one property per break, but the more experienced would no doubt by several during each trip.
For people with families no doubt it could be made into a great holiday as well (you will already have relevant tourist info from the tourist bureau as part of your DD)!
Peter
I forgot to mention that though the above approach guarantees time to get SOME property, unless you’re lucky you probably won’t get the best deals around.
For instance recently I saw a place in a distant interstate country town going for $40k. The large block had two dwellings and a rental income of $150pw.
But with a job you can’t just get up and go, so you lose the deal unless you’re willing to buy sight unseen.
We have:
1. People with full-time jobs who can’t get time off at the drop of a hat, but who can get credit easily.
2. People, either self-employed, students or casual workers, who have more time flexibility, but who have problems getting credit.
Partnerships have various risks, and some of us prefer to go it alone. But people who can make them work would get the best of both 1 and 2, and indeed achieve more than twice what each on their own would achieve.
Peter
][
]
petrol guzzler and hitting the road. That is my plan and goal, the laser will be much slower especially on gas but it will get me there on a very low budget. Hopefully it will be ready to roll next week and then im off. I have found many positive geared properties thus far if I had a cash deposit but found with out a cash deposit they just don’t work for me. So I realised it was time for me to get out there and show my face. Maybe even get some cards printed and leave them with agents I meet as well as locals, and offer a small spotters fee to the locals.
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