Hi mate

When increasing your property portfolio it is vital that you have created a buffer zone.  For whatever reason be it injury, illness downturn in the market.  Remember if you only loose real money when you are forced to actually sell the property, so if you have created a big enough buffer to withstand a market drop you should be fine in the long run.  Its great to hear someone who is so keen to start expanding their Property Investing.  Best of luck

Cheers

Banjo Smyth

PS.  It would definitely be a good idea to take out some income protection.  A basic plan should only cost you somewhere around $500 per year.  Better to be safe than sorry.

Best of Luck

I would definitely recommend that you get a professional builder to give you a quote on fixing all structural damage.  Whatever their quote is add on an extra 20-50% and see if you still think the property is a good buy. 
eg. 
house valued at $250k
builders quote $30k plus an extra $15k just in case something goes terribly wrong
asking price $190k
In this scenario you would be making a saving of around $15k –

If your happy with this then i do see any major problems

My main concern would be doing a renovation from interstate.  Could get a bit messy.
and secondly you may be able to find another property that doesn't need any renovating where you could save even more money!
If you use some common sense and always look at the figures you can't go wrong.

Cheers Banjo Smyth

Hi J

Just the other day i posted an article on my blog about this exact question.  Ive posted it below if your interested

CHAPTER 8.  LEASING YOUR PROPERTY

When you are leasing out your property you will be faced with two main options. You can either employ a real estate agent and let them do all the work for you – or you can rent it out yourself. There is no right of wrong answer; it simply depends on your situation.

The Positives of using a Real Estate Agent when leasing out your property.

– You will be able to completely forget about your investment property and concentrate on new and more exciting things (like figuring out how you can buy your second investment property

– Real Estate agents know what to look for in tenants and ‘should’ be able to pick a high quality tenant.

– If something goes wrong they will be there to fix it. If you live a very busy life the last thing you want to have to do is fix a leaking tap after work.

– They will handle all the paper work and rental agreements.

The Negatives of using a Real Estate Agent when leasing out your property.

– The most obvious negative is the cost. Most real estate agents will charge you a management fee of 7.7% of all rent, plus a set up fee of 5.5% of the annual rent.

– Therefore if your tenants were to move on every 2^nd year you would pay 10.4% (on average) of your annual rent to your Real Estate agent.

– So if you were renting your house for 300 per week you would pay the real estate agent $1622 per year out of your annual rental income of $15,600.

The Positives of leasing out your property yourself.

– You will save money.

– You will be able to oversee all maintenance and problems which will probably mean that you will be able to save some money on repairs (especially if you are a bit of a handy man/woman).

– You can personally choose the tenant and find someone that you think will suit the property. Don’t underestimate the ‘good’ feeling that you will get when you make somebody very happy by giving them the opportunity to live in a great house.

The Negatives of leasing out your property yourself.

– The main negative is the ‘time’ factor. If you live a very busy lifestyle it can be annoying if you are constantly getting phone calls from your tenants.

– You will need to organize your own rental agreement and lodge a bond. This is much easier than it sounds and all the relevant information is readily available on the internet.

The Answer?

It really comes down to deciding what is more important, your money or your time?

If you do lease out your property yourself I think the best way to look at it is to think that you are employing yourself. If we use the above example you would basically being paid $1622 per year to be your own real estate agent. If that sounds like a pretty good deal then I would have no hesitation in recommending that you lease out your property yourself. Best of luck.

Hey mate

Rendering looks very even and perfect where as bagging has more of a rough nature look.  If you were to paint it a different colour this would change but depending on the location of the house i like the rustic look.  I have never rendered a property but i think it would take much more skill and precision where are with bagging you just 'get the stuff on' however you can.  Some people use a brush some people use their hands.

Hi sjbeave

Sounds like a great idea especially if you both have different skills and knowledge that you can use. 
The most important thing you do is talk about your long term plans for the property and how you would react in different situations.  For instance if one of you moved overseas, or stopped working and wanted to sell the house.  I would highly recommend that you get some legal advice and write up a basic 'set of rules'.  This way there can be no confusion, and the last thing you want to do is to ruin a good friendship.  Best of luck mate!

Cheers Banjo Smyth

Hi Kenzel

Where have you heard about this scheme?  Normally http://www.sro.vic.gov.au it the place to go for that sort of information (first home owners etc) but i couldn't find anything?

Best of luck

Cheers Banjo

Hi nucopia

I recently renovated one of my properties and rather than replacing the tiles in the kitchen and bathroom i used 'White Knight' tile paint.  I did the whole bathroom in White and the Kitchen in a nice red.  Looks great!  The only thing i would worry about is the longevity? but if you prepare the surface properly i think it is pretty long lasting.  When people came and saw the property they all assumed that i had put in new tiles.   It will definitely save you some money. 

Best of luck

Banjo Smyth

Thanks for your common sense Jon.  I also believe you would be crazy to sell – especially considering you income is relativity high.  Hold on to the properties and enjoy the rewards in the future!

Cheers Banjo

Hi Terrance

You need to think about why you want to buy the Investment property? 

Generally the properties that are more likely to be positively geared aren't likely to increase in value as much
as a negatively geared property.  Like Chis said, you may be able to find a positively geared property in a rural/mining town – but in 10 years time the property might be worth even less than when you bought it. 

So obviously positively geared properties in Australia are great for your short term cash flow but not so great for your long term capital gains.  Obviously this isn't always the case – but its generally true

Good luck

Hi Maree

Rick Otton is the main person in Australia who deals with that sort of thing.  I think there is some info at the below website but if not just Google his name and I'm sure you will find heaps of info!

Cheers and good luck

Banjo