We polished the floors in two of our houses, one has been tenanted for two years & the tenants are happy with their own rugs. The new tenant in the recently renovated/polished floor house loves it. Previous tenants had a small pet unknown to us & agent which left fleas and when we pulled up the carpet, damp patches on the timber floor. We left…[Read more]

Hi Mosquito, glad you’re getting started. From what I read, eg API magazine, net, forecasts etc. SEQ continues to go up. We have a unit there as well and I think it’s a good area to buy but do your research and get all the info you can. Don’t forget the body corp with the units. Check your prices on the real estate sites and pick up all the real…[Read more]

Have seen on the net motel style accomm.for sale and owing to size, there could be a problem getting finance if you had to. I don’t mean studio units where there can also be a problem with some lenders. Have a look at realestate.com and click on Cairns – could be similiar sales listed. We have a holiday unit which we decided to permanently let,…[Read more]

Our onsite manager in SEQld charges half a week’s rent letting fee when the tenant renews for a further 6 months. I rang Dept Fair Trading Qld, was told it is legal. Seems a bit mean. Our Nth Qld manager does not charge. Our manager here (NSW) does not either.

Yesterday hubby was talking with an acquaintance who has worked in the industry, R/E sales for 30 years. Hadn’t seen her for quite a while, mentioned all our properties and what we we are doing with investing, and she asked ‘why’. He couldn’t believe it. I have found the same response before so like others, I don’t say much. Where I work casual,…[Read more]

Hi Pushpa, Yes, as the previous post , your property manager is the one to advise you on what is happening. Contact them as you said expiry of the two weeks notice is tomorrow. The agent will have to set up the Tribunal hearing, takes 2 weeks in this area, costs you $28 to apply for the hearing, and the cost of the property manager per hour from…[Read more]

Hi again Beetle, what a busy day!! I’m in NSW and bought a unit in Cairns last year, saw it on the net, liked what I saw, did research on realestate.com as to the area, rentals, etc. Offers and paperwork by fax. Rang a few agents. It cost $55,000 fully furnished, rented since for $125pw. Went up before it settled to have a look, bought 2 more. We…[Read more]

Hi Beetle, welcome. As a personal choice, we use I/O loans which we can convert to P & I in the future. The reason for us is that we have more cash flow. We have a couple cross collateralised with our current home, will probably refinance out in time as they are gaining equity and our home will then be free. Also have a L/C against the home…[Read more]

Hi, I think the API is great, and we have subscribed to it for about 2 years. Always interested in the real stories from investors, not journos but take it all in as well. I always read the real estate info in the local papers, what has sold and for what prices and pick up the mags from the agents wherever I go to keep up on prices etc. I keep an…[Read more]

Bit of a late reply, but I would change property managers straight away if you have not been able to sort out some refund. Any work authorised prior to your purchase belongs to the previous owner but seeing they were selling, I would imagine only urgent items would have been done at that owner’s cost The previous rental agreement should have…[Read more]

Hi OO7,I guess it’s your choice whether to buy your own home or an IP. Of course the banks will lend if you have equity in your own home but if you buy now, it could be some time before you gain that equity, depending on whether you wait for prices to rise again or buy and renovate to gain equity then borrow on that for an IP. There are still IPs…[Read more]

Hi Drafty & Co, not being off-putting, but I’d be more inclined to do the first reno yourselves. Then at least you would have learnt a lot, through mistakes or otherwise. If you partner up with friends, you’d want to be able to put equal money and time into the work, and then after CGT, share the profit if you sell.

We don’t do structural work…[Read more]

quote:
Are there +vly geared properties in Runaway Bay? The prices are pretty high there aren’t they? The reson I’m asking is that I need to find a good area to invest close to Ipswich.

Yalata, if you have a copy of API, look at Ipswich postcode of 4305 and you can see the areas surrounding Ipswich. Then do some research on those areas…[Read more]

It might be an idea to ring a couple of the Gold Coast agents and talk to them about prices and possible rentals. I have done this at times and have found them really helpful. Ask if they can send you a copy of say the Gold Coast Property Extra which lists all along the coast, or the fortnightly Bestseller Gold Coast Guide. You can pick these up…[Read more]

And Jessica, do your floors last after all your gyprocking, tiling, painting, lights, cupboard installation etc. otherwise everyone will be walking on newly finished floors with tools, boxes, ladders & whatever. Anna

Hi Jessica, you seem to be doing wonders. Hubby and I also renovate, and and do everything we can ourselves. One son is a builder and will do the tradesman things if we need help, eg. he did the waterproofing in the last bathroom. We are both semiretired so have jobs as well as some spare time. We bought a house last year for $120k, left the…[Read more]

Got to work out your numbers. At least with no kitchen & bathroom you don’t have to spend time stripping, removing tiles, taking away rubbish, etc. Has to be a positive.

We do a cost estimate of everything we think we need to buy (at the right price) and also do most of the work ourselves. Then estimate a selling price for the area, including…[Read more]

Powmow,

At 20 our daughter bought her first property in her name and father’s name – it was easier to get the finance that way. So that may be an option. It has since been refinanced and is now in her name only. She made all the payments etc. Value has doubled.

Last year she bought and we all renovated a unit in Sydney where she lived for 12…[Read more]

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

I work part time in R/E, but we sleep comfortably by choosing to pay our agents to manage our properties. We receive four inspections per year as per the lease agreement and can arrange to be present at an inspection if we wish. We receive a copy of the inspection report and can check on anything we feel needs doing. The agent of course would…[Read more]