Terryw wrote:

Terryw wrote:
Brisbane AndyHope you haven't got assets and a business under the same trust – could be risky.

Hi Andy, sorry just read your post up the top. Your businesses will be run by companies with the shares held by the trust so that should be ok.

Morning Terry,just woke up and read your first reply and had a little…[Read more]

"subject to valuation" is a pretty dangerous clause if that's all it says.  In your case bank values it, the valuation comes in $10k short, but so what since the clause only says a valuation needs to be done, not satisfactory or to contract price or anything.  Unless there is more wording we're missing than this is an empty clause.As for the f…[Read more]

I'll probably be shot by my friends for saying this but a good broker is worth their weight in gold (that is a GOOD broker, a BAD broker will see you want to recreate a scene from American Psycho!).  I was a big bank lender for 3 years and can say that in the branch network where I started there were 16 lenders of which only 8 had ever owned…[Read more]

Dave, totally agree with the others, the easiest way to NOT do something is tell others how excited you are!  $80kpa and your first property under your belt, well IMHO you've already jumped the first and hardest hurdle – you've got an income and a place to live.  Your 2nd property will be a lot easier to get than your first and all going well y…[Read more]

Hi Karen,I used to live in Edens Landing which is a suburb just beside Beenleigh and can give you a little bit of insight (but I warn you I'm a bit of a snob!).  The suburb is half way between Brisbane and the Gold Coast which agents talk up but residents say it just means you're too far from either to be convenient.   Another common joke is B…[Read more]

Great start on the blog and already doubled my knowledge of the US foreclosure market Keep it up!

Would love to come but not able to at the moment, will have to be content with following online.  Post lots and post often!

Well my advice would be to turn around and ask how to make money slowly and consistently with property but that's just my 2c.  Most of the methods available to make money quickly in property unfortunately will also include a high risk of you having even worse credit and even less money!  Although to answer your question my quickest profit was j…[Read more]

I think marina berths can be a lot of fun but that's a personal opinion instead of a professional one In the past I have been involved in two marina purchases; one was bought by a friend who just used a line of credit secured by his PPOR so was 100% leveraged.  The second was a business client who went through with a business loan that the CBA…[Read more]

Hi again Act, further to my comments I have to agree with Tracey and Richards warnings about complexity vs ease of finance.  I should have mentioned I used to be a home and business lender so can push things through my network that might not be an option for most people.The corporate trustee vs personal trustee is an obvious sticking point.  I h…[Read more]

I'm at the same stage Adam and the only advice I can give is be careful as some banks won't allow trusts/trustees to use the normal personal accounts, only business accounts.  I've been looking at BankWest although I still haven't decided and would love some advice as well

Hi Act,I'm literally in the middle of setting up my new structure so am happy to share.  I currently have two properties (PPOR and a +ve cashflow inv) in my own name.  The only reason the IP is in my name is I had to move quick on the settlement and couldn't set up the trust in time.Now though I am setting up a family trust with a pty ltd t…[Read more]

Never heard of them being for sale or as an investment although it sounds logical.  I know I've thought about putting up billboards along the highway of our family farm but haven't investigated it at all.First step I think would be to call some of the advertising companies directly (they all have their names at the bottom of the billboards).  M…[Read more]

Excel(I know, so original!) 

Not sure about specialised agents as I did my property searching a bit differently.  I went looking for uni's that had big growth plans then just did a search for properties available nearby.I've heard mixed reports about unilodge from other investors and students so do your research and this sort of property you need to bargain HARD to make the…[Read more]

G'day TLC,I personally love student accommodation as an investment although it does add an extra thing to research ie the uni/college that the students are attending.  I have one student acc townhouse that I bought for $188k and rent for $620pwk although I pay all outgoings.  Your example above sounds good to me as long as you're not paying t…[Read more]

Warning: my reply is based on generalisations from what I have experienced.  No offence intended to you or other owner-builders!There are many reason that banks avoid them, at least the one I worked for.  In 2.5 years I saw all of the following; builds constantly going over-budget; the construction plans being changed without the banks consent (…[Read more]

Agree wholeheartedly with Kylie's answer although very few people know about the change of entity option and is rarely seen.

I'm sure the other lenders on the forum will have experienced this even more than I have but, without knowing the specifics, this is quite common at the moment.  There are a couple reasons behind this (at least with my former employer), the banks have been getting much tighter on their lending criteria for the last 12 months and one way to…[Read more]

Just my 2c and this is purely a personal POV but I think there is a major distinction between a studio apartment and a 1brm apartment.  It might add a little to the purchase price in getting a separate bedroom but they seem to rent much quicker than studios at least in Brisbane.  (No empirical evidence to back this up and I'd be interest to hear o…[Read more]