Hi,

I've had a look and can't find my spreadsheet but it may be on the old computer so I'll have a look.

Basically what I did was to put the various companies at the top and then features in the left hand column. The way I built it was to go through the first PDS and list all the features it offered. I then repeated for the second PDS, adding any additional features as I went. After the first two or three PDSs I had a pretty good view of the full gamut of features offered.

I've got a day off tomorrow so I'll have a look through the old computer. If I can't find it I'll see if I can't knock one up on Excel and then post a link to an uploaded version of it if anyone's interested.

In fact, that's an interesting idea. I'm sure there are tons of us out there that have various homemade spreadsheets and miscellaneous templates for IP-related stuff (I've certainly got a few). I wonder if we could convince the powers that be to work out how to store this kind of stuff linked to the forum so it can become part of the community resources here. I'll post in the suggestions section and we'll see what happens.

Cheers,
Art

No worries Frohike,

While it's true that properties like this may have sat for a long time because they're duds, it may also be true that they sit for a long time because people can't be bothered finding a worthwhile angle for them. I'm not saying that this particular property is going to be a winner for you, just that it's often worth having a poke around to see if you can't find some lusture under the dirt.

All the best,
Art

Hey Blogs,

You say the paperwork has been sent out but have you signed anything? Has any money changed hands? If your broker told you one thing and the paperwork says another do you have anything in writing from your broker stating the original terms and conditions?

I guess what I'm angling at is that your broker may have a legal case to answer.

Art

Hiyya Nats,

What a drag! There was a good feature on fences in the API mag a couple issues back. I think I've got a copy I could scan and email to you if you're interested. Send me a PM if you want me to.
 
Cheers,
Art

Hi Daryl,

I'm a bit unclear on what you're asking here. Do you mean cashflow aside from the rental income from the existing house?

Once you have the DA approval for subdivision you generally have 5 years in which to execute the plans…you don't have to subdivide straight away. You can get your approval and then sit on your plans, earning rent on the large single property, until you want to push the 'go' button and execute your plans.

In the meantime are there any simple cosmetic renos you could knock off to increase the rent? We have a property similiar to yours (though it's in Newcastle) and while waiting for DA subdivision approval we did a few simple renos on the exisiting place which increased the rent by $60pw. Here's the link to a rundown of what we did: https://www.propertyinvesting.com/forums/property-investing/value-adding/25663?highlight=artaud

Cheers,
Art

Hiyya Dan,

Geez, you don't mess around dropping the big bomb questions do you?

I guess the question for you is: What do you want from an investment property? Getting your head around this question will help you to begin to focus on how to go about looking for and buying one. For instance, for our first IP we wanted a property that could be subdivided and developed down the track and this helped us frame not only our searches and research but also our approaches to brokers and our accountant as well.

Personally I would have a think with your partner about what it is you want from an IP and why you want it and then have a look around the forum for some archived posts (use the search feature) or ask some more specific questions. This will help you to focus the questions you could then take to your financial team (broker, accountant etc).

Now, specifically addressing your question above here are my thoughts (and feel free any other forum members to add your thoughts here) …

1) A Broker will generally help you to find the best loan product for your circumstances (including drawing equity from your unit). They will also help you to work out how much a lender will be prepared to lend you (this will help to focus your IP search in terms of cost). They are generally pretty good at helping you to understand the loan market and the jargon and may very well be a good first port of call providing their services are obligation and cost free (most brokers get their fee from the lender once your loan has been approved so it costs you nothing from your pocket).

2) Your Accountant is an invaluable resource when figuring out how investments fit into your financial/tax structure. They will help you to understand what tax implications your investments have and how best to organise yourself in these terms. I'm no expert but I would think that unless you're nearing retirement your accountant would most likely say 'An investment property? Go for it. Just make sure you set yourself up like this…' Personally we have a sit down (or an email conversation) with our accountant before every significant financial decision just to make sure we're not walking into a minefield.

3) Generally speaking Financial Advisers are stock market oriented and are great to talk to if you're looking for a managed fund or the like but not so useful when looking for an IP. We have only ever consulted a financial adviser when looking to buy stocks.

Dan, I encourage you to do lots of research and ask lots of questions. This forum is a great place to do that because there are lots of people with good experience here and you can ask any questions without feeling as though you're asking something 'dumb' (after all, it's probably something we've all wondered at some stage) but always, always consult professionals before making any big moves.

Best of luck,
Art

Hey noclue,

One thing to watch when you're asking around for a quote in NSW is that you make very clear (as you have done in this post) that you want a price per SQUARE METRE and not a price per SQUARE (which is, from memory, 10 square feet).

Cheers,
Art

Hello Nathan,

NSW real estate law bites. I'm no expert but from conversations I myself have had with the Office of Fair Trading it sounds to me as though the seller is entirely in their rights (legally, not necessarily morally).

By all means follow up with REINSW and the Office of Fair Trading and also check out this NSW Office of Fair Trading info page: http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/realestaterenting/buyingselling/buying.html

Best of luck,
Art

No worries. I haven’t used Residex personally but from what I can tell they have a pretty strong reputation. I’ve heard their CEO, John Edwards, speak a couple times (and interpret data) and I have to say that if I was looking to narrow down suburbs within a certain State I would give serious consideration to purchasing their data. I think a State profile is around $150 or so and that’s a small (tax deductible) price to pay if you ask me.

The thing about the realestate.com.au data and the data tables like the one I’ve scanned for you is that they only give you raw figures with little or no interpretation. Unless you have a couple other tools up your sleeve (like historical data, council planning data and the like) these figures can’t give you the whole story. The money you pay to the experts (be they online or not) is going towards the time spent interpreting and decoding the data for easier investor digestion.

On the other hand, if you are still debating dipping your investing toes into the real estate world I can sympathize with being wary of dropping cash on research based purely on spec.

I would suggest looking through the forum archives (painfully slow though the server might be) and then asking a couple, more specific questions of the forum.

Here’s a previous Residex-related thread: https://www.propertyinvesting.com/forum/topic/17371.html
And an older one on researching: https://www.propertyinvesting.com/forum/topic/12780.html

Cheers,
Art

‘Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.’ – Albert Einstein