Hey Be_rich,I've had a bit of luck buying student accommodation in QLD and getting positive cashflow from them.  Last one I bought was a 4brm townhouse for $188k and it's positively geared with a 105% lend (admittedly I locked in a VERY good rate).  Just search online for Sippy Downs and Sunshine Coast Uni.  It's certainly not as glamorous as a to…[Read more]

Thanks Duckster,useful link to have! PS and anyone that's interested, it's 10 years

Don't worry banker, got lender friends coming out of my ears!  Just always feel bad getting them to run loan scenarios whilst I'm standing in front of a property It's been a while since I fit inside the standard criteria anyway and it's just getting more complicated by the day.  Almost feel sorry for my bankers… almost

Thanks guys, the QBE one is the type I was after.Now to get that NSR under 90%

I was thinking the same as rudra_r.I look after holiday properties in QLD and have thought about investigating solar panels for my clients.  Since they pay the power bill anyway and the properties might only be let 30-70% of the year then the excess can just be fed back into the grid.Might not recommend it for permanent lets but certainly for…[Read more]

Hey Grimnar, Let me quickly share my viewpoints on them…Poor capital growth; very true, even negative growth!  But that's great when someone paid $235k for that unit 5-7yrs ago and I just bought it from them for $188k!  Essentially, someone else can wear that expensive lesson and I'll happily take it off their hands.Rented part of the year; a…[Read more]

Hi,I'm in Rainbow Beach (on the coast from Gympie) and know only a little bit about Gympie.  TBH most of what I know has come from small sub-division developers asking me to try and sell their land.  Can't advise on which are the good parts of town unfortunately but interested to hear what others have to say.Good luck,Andy

What's the worst they can say? ummmm…. no!That's not a bad offer, since I know I've offered a hell of a lot less before and been accepted.Best of luck!

When I was with the CBA (over 12mths ago now) it was procedure that you had to apply to Genworth directly, about all we could do was look up their website and give you the phone number!Sorry I can't on whether CBA have a separate agreement with Genworth now though.  Good luck!

Oh God now this is an open ended question!Start here though… http://www.propertybooks.com.au/  or http://www.apimagazine.com.au/ I was told once that the best recommendation this guy received was to buy 2yrs of back issues of Australian Property Investor and read them cover to cover.It's a start

Ditto what Daniel said.  Education defeats fear and ignorance every time, so spend a bit of time and money reading like mad and you'll find that when everyone else is ducking for cover, there will always be a few out there smelling the roses

Saving a house deposit four times and losing them before finally buying a property!1st time – 17yo and had been working and saving for yrs and saw a 4brm QLDer on 1200m2 in my town for $65k and rented for $200pwk!  Worked out even at that age that I could buy through a trust with my folks.  Dads answer… "No, it's obviously too good to be t…[Read more]

I'm in between the "rah rah" crowd and Banker I think.  Being given a copy of Rich Dad, Poor Dad when I was 21 was a turning point for me and I devoured the book in a couple hours.  Between the first three books I can honestly say that there are some fantastic pearls of wisdom there that I use in every business transaction or investment.  Ho…[Read more]

Those rates are quite high I believe, I charge the same as Shane above and would seriously question anything higher.Hope that helps,Andy

Ditto, use the money as a nice big deposit on another place (or two or three!)Whether you target high-growth and low-cashflow, or pos-cashflow and low-growth is another discussion entirely.  I was in the same boat as you though and thanked my lucky stars that I focused on good cashflow property from the beginning.  It just made things so much e…[Read more]

Just wanted to say, nice response Evolve!  Answered a heap of my queries before I even had a chance to post a thread

Hey chellie,I'm actually a property manager at Rainbow Beach in QLD and holiday letting is about 80% of my day.We take 12% +GST but you must also consider that after every stay the cleaners go through (avg $85 per house) and you will also be running water and power all the time so your holding costs do increase.  Having said that the properties…[Read more]

Exactly right Banker, usually I'm buying them after 3 to 7yrs where the owners just can't make the numbers work and these 'great cashflow properties' are costing them still every month.  So far been sticking with larger properties (4 brm) but hoping to have a contract soon on a nice 2brm that I couldn't walk past (assuming the bank will play ball…[Read more]

Common problem on the financing side and I've encountered it with CBA too.  However the reasons Banker was giving about why not to buy them is also the reason I am jumping on as many as I can get.  ie Hard to sell on the secondary market so you can negotiate VERY hard and pick up bargains and (so far) always be positive cashflow.  I just always av…[Read more]

Yep, that's what I thought.