I agree with Marc,As a builder I'm used to what's involved with building a new house, and see time and time again clients ripping their hair out over the process of building a new house.  If you do decide to hire a registered builder please keep in mind they are the professionals on site and they're the one that should take the stress and…[Read more]

People it doesn't matter if it's MDF of pine or any other timber, unless you seal it properly (paint it front and back) the material will always react to moisture.

This is a fairly common problem in a house of this age, especially if it has a tiled shower base set into the foundation. By the sounds of it though, if it's been renovated recently, it could have been a handyman job and therefore have no warranty. Depending on what the extent of the damage is and what needs to be replaced you could be looking at…[Read more]

crashy maybe you should list afew steps for selling a property, if people want to try and do it themselves.

I'm from Vic. and I'm pretty sure in most parts if not all of Australia you need permits to build an actual dwelling or change anything structural to an existing dwelling, and to get permits you need council approval. If he refuses to have a building inspector look at it, alarm bells should be ringing. If the council is aware of this property I do…[Read more]

As a builder pre-primed MDF is all we use to fix-out our projects, unless the client specifies diffrently. The good points about MDF are: it doesn't warp or bow like timber, no knots to be patched up and white ants don't eat it.

pyramid, I like your thinking, a bit outside the box, sneaky.  Thanks for your input, and if you must know I don't smoke.

crashy I agree with your reason for the post, but if we didn't need REA's they wouldn't be there.  They are a necessary evil the property market has to have to free up time for developers and investors. Sure their rates could be reviewed like anyone else's. I mean I'd like  $100,000p.a. six weeks holidays and public holidays as well, (at the v…[Read more]

Hi, don't know if you need anymore information, but if you want to get rid of the fake brick cladding and it ends up containing asbestos you can take it to your local landfill without having a license. This is true where I live, so long as it's from your own residence. To check that it has asbestos break a corner off, if it has thick white fibres…[Read more]

emsypoo all these companies you've mentioned are all the same when it comes to building, so make sure you read the fine print on what your paying for, compared to what you need to pay for to get the house finished. What I'm trying to say is with these companies the advertised price is usually the base price for a base product. I know that  most o…[Read more]

Forgive me goldcoast girlIt's just when I seen in your response (52 weeks in a year), HUMAN BEING, and ….if you get my meaning, that you where being condescending towards me. The fact that I'm a builders does mean I know REA and other trades people, but I posted this question to get a different perspective, after all this is an investing…[Read more]

Goldcoast Girl I forgot to mention that I'm a builder and therefore can build an investment property cheaper than what you could.So going by your logic about how much I spend on the IP vs rent, I'm at a disadvantage. My rent would have to be lower than other investors. Wouldn't it?????  (scratching my head)

BaspetSubject: RentDate: July 4, 2007 – 5:23pmThanks alot for your enlightened view on rent. I mean with all your knowledge about IP's you must be a millionaire by now.I thought I put at the top of my forum question- EXCUSE MY IGNORANCE, so forgive me if I got the feeling you where being "smart".As for the individual vs business entity, the entity…[Read more]

I'm sorry to have come across a bit arrogant. I'm a builder and used to seeing many styles and sizes of houses, so I'm able to get an estimation of what a house looks like just by the discription, and when you build enough from scratch you can visualise what the house is going to look like at the foundation stage. Unless it's a luxury house, room…[Read more]

 If your talking about a residents I don't understand why you need the floor size on an ad, when the ad would tell you how many bedrooms, living areas etc. the dwelling has. Isn't that all you need to know?

Devo76,I left school after year 10 to become a builder. I started off like you, spending all my wages on luxuries, bought motorbikes, entertainment systems, etc. I'm now 29, I have a mortgage, new work Ute, near new car, 4 month old baby, fishing boat and wedding debt. Now  to be fair I have made money in the past from building houses, but what I…[Read more]

It sounds like fann is the only one to have read Steve's book and understood the idea behind positive cash flow properties.In his book, Steve said "p.c.f. properties are made not found" (or something like that), so don't get so hung up on this 11 second rule. As individuals investing in property it's your job to gather as much information as you…[Read more]