Forum Replies Created
no one?
Thank you, Matt. The 2 websites you posted are great. I have been doing some research on buying a property in the US and these websites have a lot of useful info.
Other websites I have been searching for properties include: trulia.com, ziprealty.com, zilpy.com and of course realtor.com
Thanks, splade and Xenia, for your replies. Xenia, I will send you an email.
No reply. Bump! Anyone?
I used to check out this forum and was annoyed that I could not see the posts without opening them so I gave up. But, now I see this enhancement – which is great! So, I will visit this forum more often.
Oh! this is a very interesting wager. I shall keep a close eye on it for the next 4 years. Good luck, gentlemen!
Thanks, Admin, for your reply. It is good to know that the RESULTS forum will be migrated to a different platform so we don’t have to scroll through posts that we cannot read.
Also, is it possible to hover the mouse over the heading of each post to see what it is about before having to open each one to find out. The somersoft forum has this good feature. Thanks.
Agree. I have lost some interest in the new forum format as well.
I noticed that the technical people of this forum have not replied to your post. Am not sure if these people actually read these posts.
I am in exact situation like you and I agree with your view, sb, on having to scroll down a long way to the other forum topics. It is very annoying for forumites like us who are not members of the RESULTS group.
Can someone please suggest how we can collapse the posts of RESULTS if we are not members???
I belonged to a professional union (you can call it a white collar union). I had not like the blue collar unions because of their militant attitude. However, having been part of the union movements I can see why the new IR laws are bad and unfair – particularly for blue collar workers. These workers have got no hope of negotiating with their employers for better terms and conditions. How can they read a contract and know that it is reasonable to them. A CEO or executive manager has a team of legal eagles to comb through their employment contract – and this legal expense is probably paid for by the company. This is why we see a CEO not performing can walk away with a large package unashamedly. Who is going to read the employment contract for the low paid workers? I do feel for these workers with a less (or no) bargaing power. They have no voice, except through some kind of collective bargaining such as the unions. The employment contract which the employer offers these workers will just contain the basic bare bones. With the unions the terms and conditions are transparent. Companies have made it a big deal about keeping the contracts “confidential” (secret!). Just look at the secret contracts signed by big companies to the CEO and top management! – virtually to the detrimental costs to shareholders. Only if the terms and conditions therein were avail to the low paid workers. I hope for a change of government at the next election.
I have had similar stories to share. We bought an IP 4 years ago and rented it out for $410 a week. After 18 months tenants moved out and we had problems finding tenants as the market was down then (high vacancy rates), so we dropped rent to $390 a week. A few months ago we found out the identical place next door was rented for $440 a week (with same agent) so I phoned agent to ask them to do a rental review. They gave me the usual spiel about how good tenants were and how much it would cost me to if tenants moved out etc. I told them increased rent would get them increased commission. Then tenants agreed to pay $410 a week (we were back to rent 4 years ago!). Last month tenants moved out and a new manager (from same agency) took over. She told me she advertised and increased rent to $420 a week (and we should be happy). I said no, advertise it at $440 a week. She did that and got tenants to move in this week at $440 a week. So, the bottom line is tell the agent what you want rent to be and if no tenants then you can reduce the rent. It is hard to increase rent rather than to reduce it to meet the market.
Another story was that on another IP we had 3 different agents providing rental appraisal – ranging from $510 a week to $540 a week (when we were looking to buy they all told us that the place would rent for $550 a week!). After settlement we told the selected agent to advertise for $550 a week. They were much against this. However, tenants were found and will pay $550 a week.
Sometimes I think agents think they are working for the tenants instead of landlords. Don’t get me wrong we are very reasonable landlords and always do the right things by tenants and we do care about maintaining our properties for the enjoyment of tenants.
Thanks, Wasp. It would have been a preferred optional feature if it is available – making browsing through the topics a bit faster and more efficient.
Just bump this topic up again to see if anyone has any view(s) on my questions. Thanks.
Thanks, Gatsby, for your additional comments and affirmed view on Glen Waverley. I checked the net for the train lines in Melbourne, and you are right Glen Waverley is at the end of the line! I will focus on Glen Waverley and be phoning a few agents to get on their books for new listings etc.
Thank you, Trish, so much for your very helpful advice and great comment on Mt Waverley and Glen Waverley. I did notice that there are a lot of real estate agents in Glen Waverley, and very few in Mt Waverley.
I have a few related questions to this topic.
When an ad listed the price as $500k plus. Does this mean the vendor wants minimum $500k and will not accept offers below this? If I make an offer in writing below $500K, is the selling agent obliged to present my offer to the vendor?
A question regarding the offer: Can I stipulate in the written offer that it is subject to finance and building inspection?
So, it is OK to approach the vendor directly about the offer to make sure he/she receives it? I thought that all offers must go through the selling agent. I understand that if the vendor accepts the offer, the selling agent still gets the commission.
I think one way to find out the name and address of the vendor is to ask the selling agent for a copy of the contract. Does everyone agree?
Thanks for all your replies and some good advices. I’ll know what to do when I find the next lot of properties – particularly now I have secured finance in place. The thing I was most annoyed about was that the agent kept pushing one set of particular properties (been on the market for months) to get me interested and I told her I had no interest in them whatsoever. Yet, she said things like if she had the money she would buy these instead of the ones I missed out on!
Just with your comments below:
“The brief answer to this is that when the property becomes net positive cash flow in the future, the trust will then borrow the funds to re-purchase the units from the one who owns them (this person will pay out his loan with the bank).”
I read that in Trust Magic as well and was trying to work out how it would work operationally. The way I see it, you would need to approach the bank (or another) to re-finance and will probably be hit with discharge fees and new mortgage duties to replace me as borrower with the trust. Is this how you see it too?
Hi adsf
Sorry I don’t really know the answer to your question because we have not crossed that bridge yet. We have set up a HDT a few years ago and understood the concepts broadly. When the time comes hopefully our accountant will advise us the procedures.1. In relation to distribution of income, I can understand that for the purpose of claiming deduction on interest of the loan you must have used that loan for income producing purposes. However, in light of HDT is it still possible to distribute some income to other benefeciaries other than the member who borrows from the bank? Can anyone comment on that? – I don’t think it is possible for the trust to distribute some income to other beneficiaries other than the one who borrows and purchases all the units in the trust. All trust income (after expenses) must go to the one who owns all the units in the trust.
2. On buying a brand new property, where the building depreciations and deductions are large in the first years and say outstripping the rental income. The trust will end up with a loss (even without interest payments). Can you still pass on this loss to the person who took the loan as further tax deductions? or must this loss be rolled over to the following years? – Only trust income should be distributed. All trust losses are quarantined in the trust to be offset against future income, ie rolled over to the following year(s).
3. Where the loan in interest only loan; and say the answer to Question 1 is that the rental income must be 100% be offloaded to the person who took the loan for it to be a genuine tax deduction. Many many years later when the property genuinely becomes positive gearing as rental income increases, how can you distribute the income to other beneficiaries whilst still claiming tax deductions on interest only loan repayments? – The brief answer to this is that when the property becomes net positive cash flow in the future, the trust will then borrow the funds to re-purchase the units from the one who owns them (this person will pay out his loan with the bank). The trust will now have a loan, but after all expenses, there will be a net positive cash flow. This net cash flow can then be distributed to whomever the trustee chooses (this is where it becomes discretionary) – that is, to the low income earner, instead of the high income earner. You will need to check with your accountant when that time comes.
I went to a free talk by Steve, organised by people in the Sydney Group in the somersoft forum at the beginning of this year (I think) and then attended his course (cost around $170) this month. The contents of the both are the same, but with the course I got copies of the slides and a free financial check / assessment (after the course) with Steve and one of his staff. So, if you don’t want to pay and there is another free course somewhere then I would recommend you to it. If you go to the somersoft forum and do a search on Steve Navra you will find some useful debates on his strategy there – his managed fund, cash bond, rental reality etc.
