I think it varies from state to state. I'm based in Victoria & I remember discussing this issue with our owners corporation management, they said that in extreme cases the owners corporation can take the non-paying owner to court if need be. If a non-paying owners sells and there are arrears on the owners corporation fees, the owners corporation…[Read more]

Hi Propertymistro,Choosing between the two will depend on some specific aspects of your property, such as the orientation of the building (which side faces north, and how much space there is on the roof) and whether anything will block direct sunlight at any time of the year to that aspect of the roof. If you get quotes from companies for possible…[Read more]

Hi Alex,When we started investing, my wife wasn't too interested in it and most of the work was down to me. That wasn't a problem for me because I enjoy the crunching the numbers and learning how to invest, whether it be property, shares or whatever.Around three years ago, in the run-up to my wife's birthday, I asked her what she wanted; she told…[Read more]

Hi Number 8,Don't worry too much about being controversial, if everyone were the same life would be very boring, wouldn't it?Regarding your views on financial planners, I generally agree with what you say. Most financial planners are generally misnamed, they're financial salespeople. They have products to sell, and they'll try and sell you one.…[Read more]

Hi Intrigue,Good decision to stick around, I think. You'll learn a lot by looking at the postings of some of the people who write on here.Reading your post, it sounds like you're just starting the journey into investment. If I may say so, you've already made a good start by asking yourself some of the fundamental questions all investors should…[Read more]

the cost was (from the top of my head) approx $2,500. This was for a 2 bedroom unit, and included Staged Homes delivering and setting up the furniture, and collecting it after the auction.As for the auction itself, things didn't go well for various reasons that were unconnected with the Staged Homes setup. It's very, very, complicated…………

Just found this information from the NSW Land & Property Management Authority;Community titles The community titles legislation was designed to fill the vacuum between conventional methods of subdivision and strata subdivision to enable shared property to be created within conventional subdivisions. The Registrar General's Directions for…[Read more]

We recently used Staged Homes, and were very happy with their service. Katrina Maes, the lady in charge, did a great job of selecting furniture and the layout to complement the best aspects of the property we were selling.We specifically asked the RE agent doing the open inspections to keep an ear open for any comments on the layout, and he only…[Read more]

Whilst we're on the subject of bank horror stories…….We were supposed to complete on the sale of a property last Friday. Our solicitors received a call from our bank (one of the big four, begins with A) 24 hours before completion to tell us that they can't find the title deed, therefore the title cannot be transferred, and completion cannot go…[Read more]

Hi Jess,we considered doing some renos from afar, but found that the main problem we had was being able to work out how much the renovation would cost before making an offer on a place. Normally, we take the reno cost into account before making an offer and this includes quite detailed pricing to try and avoid (or at least minimise) any cost…[Read more]

I've got an earlier version, the Renovation Toolbox (bought a couple of years ago, before the 'Complete' bit came out). If I understand correctly, what I bought makes up part of the 'Complete' system, and my part is very comprehensive!  It's a series of spreadsheets that allows you to cost your renovation, and it covers everything you could…[Read more]

Yeah, looks like you hit a rock!I suspect it's the credit card enquiries, that many enquiries makes it look like someone's shuffling thier debt from one card to another to take advantage of the low interest periods on newly transferred debt. However, knowing this now this doesn't help you out of this particular hole…..As someone's already…[Read more]

Hi Marcus,Thanks for sharing that tip. We're thinking of self-managing and was looking at exactly the same hurdle (i.e how to find your tenant).

Hi Steve,Lots of interesting points in a well thought-out pice. A couple of extra facts to add into the mix;1. You mention that they spent more than they earned (from taxes and revenue) and this alludes to one of the major points differentiating the Greece situation with other countries. Greece has a chronic tax evasion and corruption problem.…[Read more]

fitzydarling,A great piece of advice. The reason my wife and I got our investing strategies together and pulled our fingers out was because a couple of close friends died way too young (both in their mid-30s/early 40-s) in 2008 and It made us look at what we were doing with our lives. As I've heard repeatedly, look for the 'why' in doing what…[Read more]

Interesting to read all the comments, both positive & not so positive…..A few thoughts;The Tax Liens were, I thought, pretty well explained. Most of the issues bought up by Magbof were covered in either the keynote or workshop. If fact, they emphasised that the purpose was not to get to own the property, and to select liens that you would expect…[Read more]

I'd noticed the amended page too, and emailled Emy at PI to ask about the ticket numbers. She said not to worry, just turn up at the registration and they'll issue everything to you there.

There's a few postings from people with conference tickets spare, have a look around. I know that some people pull out at the last minute and Steve's people may be able to get buyers and sellers together (that's how I got my first conference ticket, if memory serves). It may be worth giving them a call, but be patient with them: They're going to…[Read more]

The conference has some 'keynote' speakers who speak to the whole conference, with three or four workshops per day on different subjects (some of the workshops are repeated so if you can't make one session you'll have another chance later).As to the number of people attending, it's in the hundreds! I'm not sure exactly, but the last couple of…[Read more]

Wow, glad to hear that there's going to be so many people heading to Melbourne for the conference. I live in Melbourne and this'll be the third conference in a row I've been to. Steve has promised that he'll be taking it around the country (Sydney was last year, and I think that Brisbane / Adelaide will be next year, but don't quote me on that).…[Read more]