Hi Kennedy,
Welcome aboard the good ship PI.com. You have come to a good place :)

I wish I had been as driven as you at the age of 20. I didn’t find out about this stuff until I was in my 40’s !! I had an inkling, but I didn’t chase it back then. You’ll be sweet, because you are starting early.

I like @knightm‘s ideas – main thing I would add is that many of those books are likely to be available in a Library (i.e. no cost!!). And you can always buy your own copy if the book appeals, and you want to make notes all through it.

When meetings are logged on the forum, do make an effort to go attend – you see, it is when mixing with others who have already done what you wish to do that you will learn heaps, and get a shot-in-the-arm from their comments (and even some “how-to” hints from them). For now though, read, read, and read…..

Maybe start with this one (DO follow all of the links) and soak it all up:-
https://www.propertyinvesting.com/topic/4410491-the-big-picture-for-new-readers-especially/

Benny

Hi Moggy,
I found some of the story a bit difficult to conceptualise. In particular, this bit :-

The other half decided to bridge between the two in the hope that the first property would sell in one year.

That “bridge between the two” comment means exactly what?

See, straight off from your words, I thought the other half had taken out a bridging loan (i.e. probably higher interest, and a personal loan rather than against a property, but usually only for short periods – weeks, not a year). That later comment of bridging between the two sounds more like cross-collateralisation – but that would make little sense if wanting to sell one….. ???

What IS really happening? Can you add more words around the actual structure?

It may be better to seek out a Broker or Financial Adviser who can go into it chapter and verse with you.
Benny

Hi Azalia,
I am sure the learning that has already happened will pay back dividends as you go on. Good to hear that this is not a bad purchase…. Just one comment of yours has me scratching my head a bit :-

I am actually happy to go through with it, improve it and sell it in the near future

It might all come down to your definition of “near future” – but my thoughts went like this :-
1. You are wanting to get in a tenant – OK
2. But you are also wanting to “do it up” (improve it) and sell again soon.

Based on those two, why would you not renovate it first, THEN put a tenant in at a HIGHER rent, keep it for a year to cut any CGT in half, and then sell it? Just a thought !!

Benny

Hi MattH,

What are your thoughts on Logan? such suburbs as slacks creek, Woodridge, marsden. There seems to be some movement happening recently and still some really good cash flow properties.

As per BuyersAgent’s post above, look for the area that DOESN’T have lots of land nearby that is able to be developed. e.g. North and West of Woodridge have land available, but it also has the train line going right thru that North Western portion, so that is a positive offsetting any negative.
Slacks Creek is somewhat land-locked with just a few small pockets of land still available (e.g. Paradise Road).
Kingston has some land to the East, locked to North and South, and little to the West (but with Industrial operations taking hold further West – so, jobs??). Large lots within “settled” Kingston are being sold off to build units once again (like in the early 1990’s).
Marsden is a worry in that, land that was under water in the 1974 floods remained as large rural lots until about 10 years ago. Suddenly, these lots are being built on – so Marsden has quite a lot of land suddenly “available” for development. Just watch WHERE you buy though, especially in the low-lying 2nd and 3rd Avenue areas.
Crestmead is one that has been heavily developed more recently – and with huge acreage to the SOUTH (Park Ridge), I wouldn’t be expecting much growth in values for some time there.

In all of those cases, it depends WHERE within the suburb that you look/buy – location is still key, and the above generic comments would not apply to all of each suburb mentioned. Certainly, these parts of Logan are more likely to provide +ve cashflow.

Benny

Hi Kev,

So what am i missing here . I am not happy that this bank now has 3 of our proprieties under hold but more so that all the extra collateral is tide up in there .

Any help or suggestions would be good . We are currently asking the bank to revalue correctly but again some stupid policy saying we don’t do within 12 months but we may wave this . We are awaiting a response to this.

Unfortunately, much of what you have written seems to me to be “the way Banks work”. i.e. Banks will RARELY value a property at an amount higher than the contract price, no matter what its true value.

It sounds like you have finalised on what seems to be a really good buy – congratulations.

Re what can you do? I’m sure our resident MB’s will come through with some ideas soon enough…. but in my view, I’d be looking at the option (with a Mortgage Broker’s help) of taking out new loans with ANOTHER Bank. They will be looking to get your business rather than keeping your Equity locked up because of their “rules”.

Of course, there are lots of things to consider in doing that – and that is where the MB will be necessary. Doing that without checking for any consequences would not be a good idea.

Then again, maybe just the THREAT of going to another Bank might have this bank decide to “waive their 12 month rule”….

Well done, and good luck,
Benny

Hi Liana,

Are there any other things I should be considering?

Hey, it is a good start – the rent return sounds good, but why is it above average? Are the figures “fudged”? What is the vacancy rate for the area (your RE agent should provide that info)? Maybe 4bd 2ba 2g homes are at a premium there (?) and can command a higher than average rent return….

Is the vendor “motivated”? i.e. have they bought elsewhere and MUST now sell this to be able to settle on the new place? Or is there another (hidden?) reason for the lower price. And no, that doesn’t have to be sinister – but it helps to be as sure as you can be. Oce you have bought it, it becomes yours, warts and all – good to find out about any warts right upfront.

e.g. Houses next to a school, or on a busy road (with restricted driveway entry/exit), or with a bus stop right outside, or next to shops, or….. (insert other “Eww” thoughts re houses) can see their prices lower than usual. Maybe nothing wrong with the house itself – just its location? Anyway, answers to those questions help you to KNOW why a price is lower than expected. If any “problems” are no big deal to you, then this might be a good buy.

Due diligence is all about “finding out stuff that may be glossed over, or not mentioned” that could affect your decision to buy if you knew it (e.g. was someone murdered in the house?). Hehe – I sound a bit morbid there, but hey, it happens. Would YOU buy a house that had such a history? It is an open question – no answer required.

I am not trying to put you off this place – it COULD be “a good little renter”. But that has yet to be determined….

Regards,
Benny

Hi Mohib,

Welcome to you and your wife – I hope being a member here, reading and contributing, will ease your path into property investing. Certainly there is a wealth of experience to draw upon, and none better than Steve himself. Are you in a position to take in either of his (very rare) seminars n Sydney and Melbourne this month? If you are, I would highly recommend making the effort. More than most others, I find Steve has a very entertaining yet thorough teaching style (much like his books – no big words, no fluff, just good ol’ commonsense!). He recently did an update where he touched on “which areas he saw will do better than others (at this time)”. I don’t know, but I imagine he will fit in a bit on that somewhere in the two days.

Also, do read this thread – https://www.propertyinvesting.com/topic/4410491-the-big-picture-for-new-readers-especially/ – and look near the end of the second page for a post re “Is now a good time to buy property?”

I can’t help you with Spring Financial Group, as I don’t know the name.

But, with ANYONE (or any group) “guiding” you toward buying property, use this checklist:-
If they cold-called you, they have checked that you have lots of equity in your own home, are marketing only new property, they have their own band of merry men that they point you towards (solicitors, financiers, valuers, etc) and they offer to fly you somewhere to check out the properties….. RUN A MILE !!

Any group that keeps you from checking values of properties against other sources, push you to “sign up today or your children will never get to college”, and don’t want to let you leave without a signature, BEWARE !!!

Don’t become a victim of any group like that,
Benny

Hi Harry,

And welcome aboard the good ship PI.com :)

As there really aren’t too many simple answers to your questions, I though I might share a thread that could well hold worthwhile knowledge for you :-
https://www.propertyinvesting.com/topic/4410491-the-big-picture-for-new-readers-especially/

I think I know what your friend is suggesting, and that is certainly one way that can work – but then, there are MANY ways that work. The MAIN thing is to choose the right one FOR YOU and your situation, and your aspirations. The thread linked to above talks to some of the “risks” that could be an issue, so do read all of the threads linked within that thread – it will provide a good cross-section of subjects that you will need to become aware of.

It always helps too, if you give us a clue about WHERE you might be looking to buy. With friends and family saying “wait a bit longer”, they could be right – but in some suburbs they could be quite wrong. Share it with us, and let’s see what the thoughts are that come from the members,

Benny

Kev,
Richard just made a VERY important point that those dealing with finance daily (like Richard and several others on here) confront on a regular basis. Read this bit again (many times) as it is THAT important:-

Applying to a number of credit unions willy nilly is likely to FRY YOUR CREDIT FILE and could result in a total decline of any potential loan restructure.

Go talk to someone BEFORE taking action – perhaps PM or phone Richard, or another Mortgage Broker on here, to get some background information before you do something counter-productive that could slow you down for some years !!!

It IS that important, truly.

Benny