Well, I am now officially out of the investment property scene, for the time being.

Our first purchase, off the plan in 03 (!), was a complete disaster and after several dips , we finally sold the unit for a $65k capital loss.

Not the end of the world, but our life savings up to that point. Holding costs were going to go through the roof next year after the fixed mortgage resets to the SVR. With the market as it is, I estimate it would take at least another 5 years for the unit value to get back to where we paid for it in 03 – who said property doubles every 7 years!!

We can now go onto the next chapter in our lives without this millstone around our necks, for the first time in 5 years I now see some light.

Good luck to all those who are still in the game, no doubt the majority are doing OK.

Will be back on the forums for advice the next time we buy, though I have learnt so much since the purchase which will put us in good stead for the future.

Thanks Simon – not sure re his posting, will confirm with the agent. Not knowing a lot about the typical movements of a seaman, though I do have a friend who has a friend..and they get shipped off and about all the time, and I guess in todays environment, the chances are high. I’m not sure if the “move” would be e.g a 6 month posting e.g. to the middle east, or a base move etc…I’ll see if I can get the answers.

you know what?? forget about it…I’ll see an accountant, I’m confusing myself too much!!

Hi – I have the standard building insurance, which is included in the strata fees – do I need landlords insurance on top of that?

Derek – thanks for the advice re depreciation etc…I’m sure it makes sense to an accountant.. As we have been in the unit for approximately 6 months, do we claim 50% of the year 1 depreciation, even if it is rented out only for e.g. 1 month of the financial year (if we get someone in for e.g. start of june 06)??

yes – thats why I’m probably forced to stick with current lender – my banker said they wouldnt need a new valuation if I changed products…so I may have no choice…though I need to decide which of their products I would choose if I did change. I do think rates are on the up, maybe just 0.5% over the next 18 months, and from the valuation of the unit, we would be renting for at least 3 years to get any sort of value back, so thats why I’m thinking fix for 3? I/O?

Bad news – we would have to pay duty on the portion transfered.

Just confirmed with the OSR, NSW. No such thing as a love and affection exemption between spouses on a PPOR transfer.

Give me a break! Anyway, thats a big blow to renting out the unit, as the tax breaks would effectively half.

Back to the drawing board.

Hi – well, I feel a little overwhelmed! Thanks for all the feedback, I will get back to each and everyone who has requested details from me, it may take time but I’ll get there (this week is the week from hell at work, and my home PC has gone caput..typical..).

One note: We did get an independent valuation prior to signing the dotted line (although we were already commited)..as we were thinking then it may be better off walking away from the deal and losing the deposit. The valuation came in at 500K (6 months ago)…so we thought we’d go ahead, and not face any legal battles etc. I’m suprised the house has dropped so much in value in just 6 months. The estate agent who valued the property has good knowledge on the value as they have sold about 15 of the units recently, though I really believe its worth more.

One thing I will do (and please let me know if this is a no-no) is to ask our neighbours what they paid (the units to the left and right of us)..they have slightly larger units but it should give us a good indicator?

Thanks Derek, I will take you up on that – I am trying to work out the total cost of renting i.e. what it will cost per month after all deuctions etc..though I need guidance on depreciation / building allowance / other deductions.

Hope you dont mind if I call you sometime next week? Cheers.