G’day Amni23,

Hmmmm – how about making a “Reality List” as well as a “Wish List”, compare the two, then meet in the middle…..

But I think that you know what I mean.

Or, alternatively, you could just move to somewhere near Port Douglas in QLD, and lie on the beach for a while. It’s very nice up there…

Either way, I’m sure you’ll have fun !

[8D]
BDM

G’day all from BDM,

In real life, my name is Matt. I’m almost 34 and my wife Robyn and I have 1.7 children – a beautiful little 2 1/2 yo daughter Kathleen, and another ( currently known as B2 ) due in August.

We own our ppor in Mt Waverley, Melbourne, and 2 IPs – both in Melb. We plan to buy at least one IP every even numbered year for the next 4 years, then at least one every year for the following 6 years. Like MiniMogul, the slow / steady / low risk buy and hold option suits us in our current family situation.

When I grew up I was going to be a wealthy rock star, however I discovered just before the children began to arrive that global domination through property acquisition might be a little easier. I am fortunate in that I have two excellent financial role models – my father and my uncle – who have achieved financial success and now spend much of their time in France or Italy drinking red wine and eating cheese with their friends. Do you hear that creaking sound ? That is my older relatives arteries hardening as they consume alcohol and dairy products….

Even with “only” 3 properties, I am beginning to see that the income that 2 of these properties produce is already starting to give us more options for our future. Our goal of “providing options” for both us and our children is the driving force behind our investing in property. While I work at a large bank as an IT type computer person, the option of not working is very appealing. Our 12 year plan is to create enough income through our buy and hold property strategy to then begin hardening my own arteries like my parents before me….

BDM ( Big Daddy Matt )

G’day Bruce,

I have to agree with Mmmay1, in that there is currently a feel and a reality of “oversupply” of brand new inner city CBD (including the Docklands area) apartments here in Melbourne. I would recommend that while you do not totally write off the idea, it would well be worth proceeding with extreme caution before making a final decision.

I guess it also depends on what your goals are – if you are purely after capital gains/growth, then you might want to check out some inner suburbs such as Richmond, Carlton, St Kilda, Clifton Hill, rather than the CBD ( and most notably the new Docklands developments) itself. Please note that these and most inner suburbs while showing excellent capital growth, will be very negative from a cash flow point of view.

Some hand links that you might like to explore :
( Sooshie – if you read this, please feel free to add them to your “list” if they aren’t already there )

For Aution results in Melbourne (and around Australia)
http://www.domain.com.au/UserServices/searchAPM.aspx?mode=auct

For median prices, and recent growth rates
http://www.homepriceguide.com.au/snapshot/price/index.cfm?action=view

For “where on earth is that ? “
http://www.whereis.com.au

I hope this helps,

BDM

G’day Andrew,

Bummer about the “eviction notice” – it makes life suddenly a bit complicated…

However, it has obviously got you thinking about the future, so that may well be a blessing in disguise.

Based on the info you have provided, I would suggest a little of option 1 and a little of option 2.

50 days is, in my humble opinion, not really enough time to decide on life goals, move the family to a new residence, investigate suburbs for potential, inspect houses, crunch the numbers ( due diligence ), let alone find the dream home, buy it and settle, etc.

I would suggest you rent another place local to where you are now, but make a very firm and very strong commitment to buy a principal place of residence within the next 12 months – whether this is a “house and land” package or not is up to you.

I would also suggest that you make a commitment to decide with your family what your long term goals are – be that a humble home owner, or have 5 investment properties in 15 years time, or 50 IPs in 5 years time, or some form of world domination through property aquisition….

Once your goals are in place, and you have a “place of your own” you will most probably find all kinds of doors open up for you.

Good luck with what ever you decide !!

Thanks,

BDM

G’day,

How about :

1. ” Rich is in the eye of the beholder “
or ” Wealth is in the eye of the beholder “

2. ” Wealthy ? It’s Easy ! “

3. ” Get up and get wealthy “

4. ” Retire Sooner and Wealthier- With Positive Cashflow Property “

5. ” Think Positive Thoughts “

Thanks,

BDM

G’day,

Like Brett, I also work in an IT role with one of the “big 4” banks. Part of my role includes the IT support of the network of Financial Planners attached to the bank.

The “plans” produced by the software ( used by these Finacial Planners ) is also mostly “templates” as Brett mentioned. However, the software takes this concept one step further. Based on the results of some simple “risk analysis” questions ( about 10 questions ), the software also selects the pre-determined funds to invest in !! Also, the way it calculates the amount of “available” cash you have, is based purely on the amount of equity you have in your PPOR ( principle place of residence ).

End of story. No individual tailoring, no assesing whether you can actually afford the repayments – purely pre-programmed outcomes. Frightening.

Having said that, there are a handful of Financial Planners attached to the bank who actually do go out of their way to genuinely create a real plan for their clients, but this would literally be less than 5% of the entire financial planning staff. There are very helpful planners out there – but they are rare.

Like Brett, I too have had some very interesting discussions about money and planning, investing for the futer in both shares and property etc. But it is scary to think that of the BILLIONS of dollars that these planners have under management, most is there because “the computer said so”.

If you do see a planner – ask heaps and heaps of questions before giving them your money !!

BDM

G’day

Matt – good idea about the “testimonials” in theory.

In practice, my wife and I sold our PPOR about 2 years ago, and we were impressed with the testimonials that the agent we eventually went with showed us before we signed up for his services.

Once the house had sold ( and in the agents defence, he did get us a good price ) I was very surprised when he actually asked us to write a testimonial for him. When we suggested that surely these should be unsolicited, he wrote one himself, and then asked us to sign it for him !!

Just sharing an experience – I fully agree with your other suggestions for Young Gun. I don’t mean to rain on your parade, so please don’t take offence

Thanks,

BDM

G’day Rob,

My simple suggestion is to replace all the power points and light switches with new ones.

You don’t have to buy fancy ones – just cheapies at the local hardware shop is enough.

A coat of paint and new power points and light swtiches can make an old place look so much better very quickly and cheaply – thus increasing both desirablilty and rental income.

I hope this helps,

BDM

Hi there,

I think what I enjoy and gain encouragement from is the positive attitude ( no pun intended! ) and enthusiasm from the participants of this forum.

Mind you, there is nothing like the subjects of politics, religion or money to start up a lively discussion.

Tails277 and Kirby319 have raised some issues that are obviously of concern to them. And fair enough. Roofarmer, Steve, Dan260 and AD have tried to suggest ways to make null and void those concerns. Also fair enough.

I am a firm believer in the power of the investment vehicle known as property. Other people I know are into shares, or managed funds, or fixed interest, or superannuation, and some others I know still believe that the government will provide for them so they don’t feel they need to invest at all……

The point that I’m trying to make is – each to their own. As with politics, religion and money, people in each camp will have a million reasons why they are right and everyone else is wrong.

Tails277 has mentioned several reasons against investing in property – war, increasing interest rates, tenants from hell, etc. Personally, I think that while George W Bush is president of USA, Australian residential property is about the safest investment there is in the world ( although probably residential property in New Zealand as well ), for exactly the same reasons Tails227 thinks it may not be.

What I find interesting is on another post is the story to Tails227’s Uncle, and on this post the brief mention of Tails227’s father. I am also in the fortunate position where both my father and my uncle retired in their mid-late 40’s with similar incomes/investment portfolios to Tails227’s family, and thus I, like Tails227, have got two excellent role models in my immediate family.

My only suggestion at this point to Tails227 and Kirby319, is that there is much more to property investment than the 11 second rule, which seems to be the subject of much discussion across this entire forum. The 11 second rule is a great place to start, but it is not the only thing to consider when potentially purchasing a property.

Once again, each to their own. Dan260 says it best with his comments about life being risky. However, with risk comes reward. No-one is going to hand big piles of cash to us on a silver platter, so therefore if we want the reward we have to work for it and take some risk. The trick is to minimise the risk, and maximise the reward. That is also what I enjoy about this forun – sharing hints and tips on minimising the risk and maximising the reward. I too, like Dan260, have realised that if I don’t do something now, then the future looks scary.

Tails227 – if you get the chance, I’d love to hear the story of your father. Your uncles story has certainly inspired me !

BDM

G’day MJ,

There is a school of thought, here in Melbourne anyway ( and as far as I am aware in Sydney also ), that suggests ground floor units/flats have a lower value than those on upper floors. This is mainly because ground floor units are easier to break into from a crime point of view.

Whether this is true or not is another story, but perception is a powerful thing.

Topnotch is also correct with the “eye of the beholder” concept.

Each to their own – if your investigations suggest that crime is not an issue, nor is the “no view” idea, and you can’t find any other negatives, then see what you can negotiate !

Thanks,

BDM