Miminum stay in the apartment is 3 months but generally it would be 6 months.

thanks Michael.Onthehouse.com.au looks quite good

Thanks Terry.  PI assume you mean Pricipal interest, and IO I assume you mean Interest Only?So just to summarise, you believe the Interest Only loans are best for investment properites?

Scott No Mates, so the answer is – basically even if I engage an agent, the rental is not guaranteed? To me, it seems that the ONLY way to receive guaranteed property rent is to either sign a lease-back agreement, OR get involved in DHA properties. Is that correct?CheersAjay

duckster wrote:
If you want this type of hands off type of property management you might be better off getting a DHA house.check out http://www.invest.dha.gov.au

Hi Duckster – I invested in a DHA property in 2005. Fairly solid to date, however management fees are quite high.

Hi all – out of curiousity, for those who hold 3+ properties, did you find it difficult to get a loan, as it is particularly hard to find positive geared property these days? e.g. if your yearly out-of-pocket expense AFTER tax return (inc depreciation) is roughly $6000 per property, and you can afford to own 3+ properties, will the bank give you a…[Read more]

Hi ten_burner,I agree about the 220 apartment issue, and the fact that this does not make the property as "scarce". That is the only aspect that is bothering me about the investment at the moment. Having said this, if it is a good apartment, it should appreciated long-term, though perhaps not as quickly.Vacancy rates are at around 5%.Regarding the…[Read more]

management fees are not 25%. It is a leaseback arrangement, therefore the management fee vendor has already been deducted from the rent, hence the rent is $440 per week.

NN – rental guarantee is via leaseback from the agent who manages the apartments. The $440 is simply the weekly rent, I assume it is NETT. It is in Sydney CBD, not far from Townhall Station.Strata $3600 per yearCouncil $600 per yearWater $560 per year

Hi Terry – why would financing be harder because the apartment is in the city?Additionally, what is the issue with "serviced apartments"? I have heard people saying this in the past, but I haven't yet heard a good reason for it.

Hi petrona – thanks for the info.Regarding the reduced capital appreciation potential, do you know roughly how much percentage lower than regular house appreciation the growth rate would be?Regards,Ajay

Thanks – where can you get price history? I have heard of this in the past but I have never been able to find it via internet search.Any suggestions?

Thanks Richard. So basically, I assume that the bank believes that the number of square metres will impact how easy it is to resell the property?Cheers

Thanks Courtney – when you mention 7.7% property fees, do you mean this percentage in relation to the weekly rent? e.g. if weekly rent is $400, property fee is 7.7% of this, which is roughly $30.80 p/w?CheersAjay

Good point – thanks Kevin.

Terryw wrote:
The problem with units in general is the high strata fees. CBD units pose additional problems in restrictions on finance. This can limit the number of potential buyers and hurt your borrowing capacity if you have low equity.

Hi Terry – any particular reason banks would apply restrictions in regards to financing a load specifically…[Read more]

Hi all – another quick thing.My previous property purchase was DHA – I like the fact that it is a totally "hands off" investment although the management fees are high.By investing in a "regular" (non-DHA) property, is there some way I can make the investment still "hands off" by engaging someone to look after ongoing maintenance, repairs, l…[Read more]

Hi guys,

I recently purchased a DHA property in Sydney for $475,000 in the suburb of Castle Hill..in around June or so.

To me, it seems like a fairly sensible investment if you are happy to wait 3-4 years..and currently the prices have almost bottomed out IMO so I think it could be a good time to buy.

The main attraction is that it is…[Read more]

Thank you all for your comments, particularly Michael – they were most helpful.

Anyway, I recently purchased a DHA property in Castle Hill for $475k…4 bedroom townhouse..approx 2 yrs old..seemed fairly well priced…i own 50% of the property..the other 50% owned by another family member..

Hoping to generate some return by 2010 or so…which is…[Read more]

by the way, it comes to nowhere near $900 per fortnight.. it is more around the $200 mark..per fortnight..