NM, if you use an equity L/C for your deposit & expenses as opposed to using your cash, you still have a minimum monthly payment on your equity L/C as well which relates to the property. We have bought properties this way too. Depends on the circumstances and your plan.
Anna

MartinW, be encouraged. We bought a real -ve a few years ago as we thought that was the way to go. And that is after buying and selling places over the years but not really being into “investment” as we now know it. Money out of our pocket each week was a burden and that included after putting in the usual tax form as well. Claiming the interest…[Read more]

Hi Agent007,

We have all our IPs I/O loans because we want more cash flow. Our contract allows us to change to P&I in 5 years andso start paying off the loan if we decide to do that.

We have recently renovated and got new valuations and got a L/C but we always check with our accountant re any tax implications. They are the best to advise on…[Read more]

The location looked great, water on one side, beautiful mountains on the other. I think they did say that the developer has agreed to them staying till after Christmas. Had given them 3 months notice. Anna

Hi Retire2012,
There are still properties in the Newcastle area/surrounds but you need to be really looking and checking with agents. Prices have gone up incredibly even in this year. eg,look at Mayfield where early in the year you could find a house under $200,000, now $50,000 more. We have a few in the Maitland area which has also gone up. Rents…[Read more]

Steve747,
We have done several renos, but it depends what you want to achieve. Are you going to sell the property or are you going to rent it out? If you’re going to sell it you may want to spend a little extra to gain maximum price. For rental you can still do a great job which will attract a good tenant. The Weekly Trading Post is a good…[Read more]

Hi Rally1,

Re the bedsitters. Our daughter has owned one in Sydney for over 5 years, good tenants and never untenanted.

We have a couple of mezzanine units, never untenanted, that is a mezzanine floor upstairs which is the bedroom, including builtins. They are in a large city in Queensland. The sizes are round the 50sm, mezzanine of course,…[Read more]

Allan, my two cents worth.
I haven’t dealth with Cameron Bird but see their marketing in Cairns in the API, new properties, residential houses and units. Depends what you want, what your strategy is and how much you have to spend.

Cairns seems to be going well – have properties there.

Redlynch is a nice suburb, popular it seems, 10-15 mins…[Read more]

Hey Golfchamp,

This time last year I set a goal to have 10 IPs by the end of 2003. At that stage we had 2. The 10th is settling in a couple of weeks, all cfp, houses & units. No problem with finance. We both work part time and retirement is a year or so off.

Set a goal, work out your strategies and go for it. Anna

Hi Redlilia,

We have a 3br, 2bathroom townhouse at Coomera, purchased 3 years ago. It has been rented continually for over 3 years by a couple of lots of good tenants, but has only recently reached a decent valuation and going up. One of those!!!! There is a huge amount of development going on – we visited a few months ago and we were pleased…[Read more]

Quasimodo hi, hope Canada is great. When I see your origin,I remember this time 3 years ago we had a month travelling in one of those awsome motor homes from Seattle where our daughter was through Montana and Idaho and right up to Calgary, met our son and did all the Rockies and back through snowfields, Whistler, etc, Vancouver, all weather too.…[Read more]

Gettingthere Hi,
Ok,my reply is looking in hindsight at what we did and I hope it is helpful.

Several years ago, we purchased a couple of negatively geared properties and obviously were putting in more than we could afford from our pocket. Listened to the negative gear advocates which is ok if that is your strategy/plan.

We sold one. Even…[Read more]

AD and all, now for our latest. Hope it encourages. Purchased a few properties end of last year, all positive cash flow. I kept in touch with one of the agents, who rang us about 6 weeks ago to say that there was a unit we may be interested in. Price was $60,000 and I thought this was right so agreed. The good part is that it is furnished,…[Read more]

Ringo, an addition to my previous. Daughter has a studio in Hornsby, continually rented for the past 6 years at $190pw. I believe there was one in the block recently for $189,000, security block, indoor pool. Hers cost $110,000. Anna

Hi Ringo,
Re the 37sm unit, just for future info, some lenders won’t lend on properties under 50sm. We have found that some will allow inclusion of garage/carport/storage space/balcony as part of the overall sm, others will not. St George are fine with smaller, Westpac would include carspace and balcony, a credit union would not.

We have…[Read more]

Hi Walkernick,
Congratulations in getting into investing. Our daughter bought her first property at age 20, she was on a low income, so both the loan and property was in her and and her father’s name. She lived in the unit. When a couple of years later she rented it, it was OK accountancy wise, for her to claim all for tax purposes, as she was…[Read more]

Steve Hi,
I think it is a great introduction. As most people hear about negative gearing, and that seems to be the idea when you talk to real estate agents and developers, it’s really refreshing to focus on the positive gearing aspect. Our local papers advertise, eg. great investment $220,000, renting for $160 to great tenant who wants to stay.…[Read more]

Hi Sooshie,
Our broker sent us a cheque for $300 after a Westpac loan settled about 15 months ago. He offered it when he was writing the loan and it was a bonus to actually get it.

We have since purchased a few properties through another broker (as the above one couldn’t help through Wpac), no mention of cheque but are looking at two more through…[Read more]

Hi, check out realestate.com on the net and look at north queensland towns/cities. We also have a friend who went up that way for a few days holiday and ended up buying 2 properties. I also heard (from a developer!) that Gladstone is going ahead, lots of infrastructure going in there. I look in the price range first, eg. click on up to X$, then…[Read more]

Hi, for what it is worth, I can’t see that you can get a better return on those higher priced properties. We have purchased several units recently, none over $60,000 and all well inside the 11 second rule giving us great cashflow. A few houses, none over $130,000 are positive too.
Our strategy was for cash flow and some capital gain and we…[Read more]