The easy one is to ask a REA. They have access to council databases listing the owners.

Doing this you obviously have to pay their fee and also may be ask to pay a higher price.

If they get the bin out every week, I would suggest that you either try to be around when the bin goes out, or I stick a letter on top of the bin.

I would even…[Read more]

Talk to the Office of Consumer and Business Affairs as well.

They have brochures for tenants with their rights and obligations as well as one for landlords.

I would go to great length to get them out as quickly as possible. Do not be afraid that they might not pay any more rent. They use this as a carrot. I believe that is one disadvantage of…[Read more]

That is probably correct.

I have not looked into the mining towns yet, as I am wary of the tenants.

– Lots of single blokes with nothing to do after hours and plenty of money for booze => damaged property
– Many mining jobs are very well paid but often boring and repetitive. Coupled with lack of females this can lead to frustration and anger =>…[Read more]

I believe you have to be part of the RESULTS program for that. And there are non available right now.

Does anybody know if CGT applies if you sublet two rooms in your PPoR?

I think you will be amazed how much info you get out of the council planners if you ask them nicely. They normally also have development maps stating the different areas. However they may not be a lot of help to you. It is not just a case of in this zone you can do this, etc.

Also if you see a property, you can just ask the REA about the…[Read more]

I have not heard of this good faith payment before, but I am sure it forms part of your purchase price.

I normally staple a $1,000 cheque to my offer with a clause stating that banking of the cheque constitutes as acceptance of my offer. You should never lose your deposit if no contract gets signed.

Offering the cheque is used as a carrot to…[Read more]

Other fees to consider:

-Letting Fee (normally charged on top of the management fee)
-PM often also charge extra for postage, advertising, inspections, etc.
-Emergency Service Levy
-Vacancy Rate (allow 2-6 weeks per year)
– Rise in interest costs (consider the effect of 2% rate increases)

In regards to the tax Steve warns to include that in…[Read more]

Jonno

welcome to the forum.

Another point to consider.

Don’t look in the bottom 20% in whatever market you are looking.

Because it is often all that people can afford for their first property, there is more competition and often less value for money.

You will often also attract more difficult tenants.

There are several considerations…[Read more]

Hi Rory,

welcome to the forum.

There are a lot of questions and very little information. How much income do you have? Do you have any savings? Are you looking for an investment property or for a PPoR? Just because the market rises is not a good enough reason to sell. What is your thinking/strategy?

Here are some general recommendations:
-…[Read more]

Hi Shiny,

welcome to the forum. Hopefully we can help you.

Generally you seem to have the right approach to things.

To answer your questions:
1. When you look for a place, you can probably select houses that other ‘reno’ people would shy away from because of the cost. I am especially thinking places with salt damp. Your father being a…[Read more]

If you need the place rendered, definetly go professional. How bad is it? You may be able to get away by using texture paint. That is a lot easier to apply and you could probably do it yourself. You will need to get some professional advise.

Next time you plan a reno before you put in an offer I strongly recommend that you pick up the yellow…[Read more]

Agree with all the above comments.

Elaborating on Richards comment. Talk to a good accountant as well as to a good MB.

And do not forget that 100% loan does not mean you do not need any money. You still have to come up with the closing costs of about 5-6%.

Hi Stuart and Pete,

I believe that Pete is correct that the bank hardly ever loses. For a start they normally only have 80% of the house value mortgaged (anything above is handled by the MI).

But I am pretty sure that they cannot make a profit on the sale. In other words if they receive more money from the sale than was owed to them, they have…[Read more]

Unsure about the perceived value. Once the roof is painted, lots of people will not notice the asbestos roof anymore. As long as the roof is not obviously rusty, most people do not have a clue what material it is or what condition it is in.

However everybody that gets a building inspection done will probably know about it.

As you said that you…[Read more]

or use it for further IP if you are lucky enough not to have a home loan

Marc

can you please let me know where you have heard/read off the 6 year rule.

I cannot find anything about it on the ATO website. My understanding it that you have to prorata the rental time.

Great reply Neil and Kate.

One further point on your initial post SK.

Many people think that 100% loans mean that they do no need any deposit. That is wrong. You still have to come up with the closing costs (about 5-6%) which include stamp duty on purchase and loan, loan application fee, building inspection, building valuation (normally paid…[Read more]

Reading through your threat, I had a couple general observation.

– I believe the mining industry will be the fastest growing industry for the next 1-2 decades, so the prices may not settle in a hurry.

– While the market is probably not moving up a lot in the near future, I think you want to have a clearer reason to sell than just to be debt free…[Read more]

I believe yield is mainly used by REA to dassle newbies.

It does not really say much. It may help to settle on a general area to investigate further.

I like to do a whole set of numbers to determine if the property makes me a profit. But I also love to crunch numbers. I also know of people who have done very well doing some basic figures on…[Read more]