I went to one about 18 months ago before I began investing, it basically went through the book (which I bought later), and after reading it I realised that it was pretty much word for word, including the jokes.

He is an interesting speaker and the $60 I spent was not wasted.

If you do go, and if it has the same format as the last one, then at…[Read more]

For all of our 3 properties we have added a clause to the contract to get access to the property once the contract went unconditional – meaning that it had to proceed and we had to buy the property. Getting access before the contract is unconditional is risky, because if you do work on the property and the contract falls over, then you have to…[Read more]

We had a chemical treatment done in the last couple of months on our PPOR, cost us $4000 with an annual visit ($300) to come and re-do the chemicals. We did not have termites, however next door did as did the house 4 doors down – their treatments were $7000+ each.

The chemicals that they use under the slab these days lasts an initial 5 years, and…[Read more]

You can download the calculator from the Office of State Revenue.

http://www.osr.qld.gov.au

Is one of them at Hendra?

You would want to avoid any of the houses that are close to the main road that goes from Sandgate Road out to the Airport, probably would get a bit of traffic noise. Ones on the other side of the complex should have the noise muffled.

It is not such a bad location, close to Toombul Shopping Centre and a reasonable run…[Read more]

They are well established in Queensland (Brisbane). They buy a large tract of land and then build a mix of housing onto the land – detatched houses and townhouses (2 to 3 bedrooms) and generally include some recreational facilities ranging from BBQ area, pool and tennis court. The complex tends to come with an on-site manager. The detatched houses…[Read more]

About $1.8M, but includes $250K for PPOR though.

Hi Benson,

The review is quite scathing, however irrespective of this, it was in reading his books, and those of other authors, that my wife and I began contemplating investing in real estate.

I suspect this is the same for most people getting started. Without them I doubt we would have had the impetus to begin.

Regards,
Stephen

Hi There!

We have 1 PPOR, 3 IPs and 1 vacant block of land to build IP#4 on.

We started 16 months ago with our first property, signing the contract within 2 hours of seeing the property – mind you we had been looking for a few months so were on top of things when we saw the opportunity. It is a 4 B/R house in Windsor, about 5 Kms to Brisbane…[Read more]

Most agents these days would list on either:

http://www.realestate.com.au or
http://www.property.com.au

You will still have agents with their own websites, so look at the for-sale signs in the area you are looking at to if they mention a site.

For the rents, you can use the same sites, as they will also list places for rent, so you can easily see what is…[Read more]

Sorry, typo …

Total expenses: $D + $E = $Y

Hi hwd007,

You will also need to be careful about what you are claiming as a repair, as it may actually be classed as an improvement and would have to be depreciated rather than be completly deductible. Check with the ATO or your accountant.

With my simplistic view I see it as basically the following:

Gross Salary = $A
Total Rent from IP#1 =…[Read more]

Just following on from Leigh’s comment, put all the little extras that they say are included into the contract, otherwise they have no legal obligation to leave them even if they verbally said so. Had this happen to us recently where it was not explicit in the contract and things they said were included were not left behind.

Well worth it.

We use Wilde and Woollard (also National I believe), and it costs us $385.

Hi there!

My name is Stephen, 33 and married to my lovely wife Linda. We have 3 children – Kathryn who is almost 4, Christopher who is almost 2 and Timothy who is 4 months. I am an IT professional, these days managing a Technical Support Centre that services Asia Pacific and Japan. My wife is a Research Scientist with a really flexible work…[Read more]

Hi hwd007,

As a side note, as long as your intent is to purchase the vacant block of land and build a rental property on it, you can claim the interest paid as a tax deduction from the start. If your intention changes, then you can no longer claim the deduction. You should also be able to claim the public liability insurance that you take out on…[Read more]

Hey Tas Investor,

I also use EBM’s Rent Cover Plus, looks pretty good to me when I compared them with other insurance covers.

I too would be interested in any negatives people have had with them.

Suburb/Postcode is also a big factor as I have similar priced properties in various suburbs with the same insurer and they vary a bit in the price. Maybe some of the insurance companies are “exposed” in this suburb.

If you are -ve gearing then you can also complete a 221D form to submit to the tax office to reduce the amount of tax taken out of your pay each period. I believe you basically project what your expenses and income are likely to be and based on this you get the new tax rate. A letter is sent to your employer for them to make the adjustment in each…[Read more]

Heard on ABC News Radio tonight that Biz Schapnel (sp?) is still indicating that while property prices are slowing down, they are still predicting up to a 36% growth in Brisbane over the next 3 years. Sounds promising for the short to medium term.