I think there are some key winners in the infrastructure stakes for Brisbane <10k CBD, follow the tunnels and busways, there's a few of them to watch these days.

Also check the density ratios (strata property as a % of total housing stock), it's very high around some of the activity hubs in the town plan, I like stepping one suburb further out…[Read more]

It's a big area, lots of different categories and markets. Excellent distressed buying, also yields are starting to look attractive, things like brick homes a few years old being sold at 7%+ in good areas as the builder has gone bankrupt, lots more like that.  Still a lot of negativity around, probably likely to continue for some time, though it…[Read more]

That's an excellent gift and great family member you have

Probably a good idea to cast the net wide to begin with in terms of looking for ideas for you strategy as there's many ways to start climbing the ladder.

Interested to see how it all works out, will help rents push up if they have any success in cracking down on all the scenarios, the up/down house rental where d/stairs is not legal height would comprise a lot of examples in greater Brisbane.

That's a strong equity base to start with, also the cashflow wouldn't be shabby either! I would suggest trying to work out the end points, where do you want to go and what do you want to achieve with your investing? Then it's easier to find a strategy that will suit your goals.

It's a trendy area these days, I'm always meeting people at Nundah Village as it has a good range of coffee shops and restaurants. I quite like 'C Word' and the Coffee Club there as the owners always looking to talk about property Also if you would like a good laugh have a read of the online reviews for 'Jam cafe'. Impressive how  Nundah has…[Read more]

It does happen when you are dealing with expensive investments and the risk associated with them. Development especially so.

Trying to put things in a different perspective might help, if it's only money then that's bad but it wasn't something like an injury or worse while someone was working on site etc.

Good luck resolving the issue and the…[Read more]

Saw a 1 bed about that size advertised for 199k in a nice Brisbane suburb recently, creative use of space and it still had a shared laundry, 2 beds in 24m2 sounds a little tardis like!

I'm doing research into the new possibilities as well, they are going to shift a lot of values and the market will take some time to catch up, there's massive opportunity for the early movers I believe.

Otherwise there is some excellent commentary about the potential capital growth issues. One bedders by themselves can be excellent and there's some powerful demography pointing that they could be strong performers in our future, the issue is really the scarcity factor (or lack of in large complexes where they are all the same product), supply and…[Read more]

Perhaps it's a funny thing about yields but a 10% gross yield on a lower priced property might not be as impressive as lower gross yields on higher priced property as the fixed costs (rates, strata etc) take up a much larger percentage of the gross income. 

The future.. pretty much like the past, opportunity mixed with difficulty! To quote Jim Rohn

For some punditry who has time to do anything else than defer to someone more intelligent, and with considerably more time to read the tea leaves, than themselves when it comes to Global Macro? Of all the commentary I've ever read on that score I can't…[Read more]

Yes it's money well invested in the B&P report as it's a drop in the bucket compared with the growth or lack of from the asset you eventually buy.

I'm open to the idea of NRAS, would love to see an example of one that I'd consider suggesting to an investor in Brisbane yet though.

Don't settle for anything less than fully documented and verified information about their compensation, then you can compare the sales person's conviction with some reality. 'Free' can be a very expensive option in some cases!

Birds of a feather marketeering companies; but very generally you are looking at 25-40k margins on top of the developers…[Read more]

I'm quite excited about the new town plan. Change = opportunity! and there's some crackers coming in I believe, will be a while before the best opportunities are widely known and exploited as well.

Regarding Brisbane in general it's hardly surprising that I would be positive about it's prospects but I'm really looking forward to 2013, should be a…[Read more]

Excellent article Jane, I particularly like the referral method for trades people, if they've done good work for other investors then that carries a lot of weight.

Good advice. it's more than buying at a 'cheap' price, it's actually making sure there's enough fat between your total project cost and the projected end value having done your research well. 

I regularly notice property that sells to a renovator because it presents as a cheap price for an area, they renovate and place it back on the market in a…[Read more]

A growing and quite large market segment unfortunately, people in their 40's early 50's usually and recently divorced and looking to rebuild wealth.

Of little consolation I'm sure but to move forward it's probably best to focus on what has been retained. In this case it's a good salary and flexible time and also a motivation to rebuild, combine…[Read more]

I note that Steve mentioned in the book that he was never able to make share trading work and I would add my vote to removing it completely from anything related to income enhancement or extra cash on the side, for a few hours a week, the kind of dream most people making money from selling the dream (rather than actually trading) would have you…[Read more]

Finding a good networking group can help with the education process, we have an excellent one in Brisbane that meets once per month where real investors are sharing the deals they are doing in the current market place. Important to make sure that the group is actually focused around education and networking as opposed to selling you property as…[Read more]