Forum Replies Created
I am based in Bowen now and just opened up the new Century 21 Office in the town.
I have been working and investing in the town the last 4 years and have built quite few house and land packages, villas and have 5 furnished rentals in the town I set up and they are running at 100% occupancy and rented to large resources companies on long term leases.
Yes there are good opportunities in the town and some major announcements have came through the last few days re GVK and ABBOTT POINT.
The large companies and overseas companies are not on short term strategies they are on 5-10- 15 year plans and powering ahead and have sent senior managers in on 2- 3 year leases and job contracts to get things up and going.
From an agents point of view the market is a buyers market, days on market is averaging 80- 130 days, a lot of choice and at the moment a lot of vacancy for the older homes, or homes that do not have good aircond, security screens, kitchen or bathrooms. Tenants from interstate that are paying the good money are looking for quality in their rentals. The smart investors that are taking a little bit of time and effort with their properties are getting very good tenants and long term leases. Tenants are looking for – good aircond, fans, decent window coverings, nice kitchens, security screens, good locations, close to the beach and schools.
I believe and can see a lot of opportunities in Bowen, Prosepine, Cannonvale, Airlie and now it is a buyers market and the prices are reasonable.
Kylie
MMM – I have been an investor, developer and also own 2 agencies as a principal.
Hard to say what the case is here- I have asked in the past a few people to leave my offices and as an owner you do have the right to pick and choose who is in your premises. The only reason I would ever ask a customer to leave would be the following-
– Rude, abusive, swearing, screaming
– Sexual suggestions to my female staff
– Unreasonable and extremely difficult to deal with
From the other side of the coin as an agency owner I can tell you I have had people in that have spoken to me like a slave, sworn, yelled, cried, screamed and threw things when their offers did not get accepted by the sellers, got upset when their property has been vacant for a few weeks if the rental market is slow, or they are not getting the price that they wish for in the market. Had people tell me what to do, how, why and when and speak down to me and not listen to any advice or the market conditions.
Running an agency sometimes you nearly need a degree as a counsellor as we see financial pressure, stress, bankruptcy, divorce, separation, fights over estates, people that lost a lot in superannuation/ shares switching to property and wanting property to fix all their financial pressures in a very short time, and getting very upset if it doesnt. We also see a lot of people getting ripped off at seminars and then getting very upset when the property does not sell or rent for what they have been told.
Your friend must have done something to upset the principal?? maybe as often it doesn't worry a principal if a different managing agent, especially if 3 houses have been bought.
So probably need to look a bit deeper here what has happened or been said ?
You would need to go to more of a specialist- I am not sure where you are but we have a Property specialist advisory company based in Brisbane that does advice, negotiations, project management, renovation/ build management, preparation for sales, research, analysis, feasibility, search, selection, auctions and we can do some things by the hour (Depending on what it is and complexity) or by the project, half day or a brief.
Fees range from $50- 500 per hour depending on what it is
Thanks
Kylie
0408 38 4434Property Global
The main thing to look into before you do any course is why are you doing it?
What time do you really have per week to dedicate to the strategy?
Will you really put in the work or are you expecting to becoem a property millionair overnight and then give up?
Property is a long termprofession, to succeed you must put in effort, time, dedication, and continual commitment to look for deals, learn, read, question, listen to others that know more than yourself.
Start with the Property Investor Magazine, team up and do voluntary work for millionaires/ property gurus that can buddy you so you can listen, learn and be a sponge and soak it all up,
Find the best agents in the area and learn from them, as they know what is going on, where, with whom and where the good deals are
When I started out at 20 I Volunteered every Saturday to help out some great agents, help them put up signs, clean offices, get info packs ready, update their diaries, database and the deal was they had to let me go around with them and look at homes, help out with opens, inspections, auctions and tell me everything they knew and if any good little deals come up I could afford to tell me. Properties I bought between 20- 25 has now doubled and probably made 500- 800k in growth, so I think my tag along helper strategy worked.
Probably buy some cds, books on options and read Rick Otto info and really look at how much time you have to do this weekly
and do you really have the commitment to go thsi strategy or is there another strategy better for you???I would be buying Oxenford, Coomera, Pimpama, Springwood, Loganholme, Rochedale before Forest Lake
Hello
I would suggest always building/ pest report and strata and totally disagree with not doing it. You are putting your neck on the line for loans and hoping to make money. I have bought and sold and renovated units for 18 years and some of the problems I have seena dn found have been amazing. Water and pipe issues, termites concealed, floors not laid correctly and needing to be ripped up as cracking underneath, body corp issues and all landlords about to be hit with a $10k – 20 k maintenance/ repair levy, pending insurance claims and legal claims on strata, Main Roads resumption and owners trying to sell quick before DMR offers them and forces a sale at a figure they wish to pay.
Horrid neighbours in blocks and tenants leaving continuosly, noise issues, domestic violence, break ins
You really need to check it out, ring a few property managers in the area and ask them to do you a rent appraisal and do they know the block, what will it rent for, what sort of tenant will you get? how long to get a good tenant? do tenants stay long in this area?
I have seen one recently for sale all checked out well, and when I had a builder through he realised the balcony was structurally not sound and would cost about 10k to fix, and body corp did not have the funds to fix it and didnt seem to care, so it would have been a long battle and legal fees etc and enforced strata levies to raise funds to fix it- Timeline to do all this- probably about 4 months, and a tenant is not going to want to rent your unit if they cant use the balcony or it is unsafe- so loss of rent there also.
BUYER BEWARE- Do your homework thoroughly!! and read all reports and ask as many questions as you can as too late when you settle and stuck with a problem.
The way I look at it is Im there to look for money and a deal and profit, so I dont care about all the emotional or sexist stuff, or what the agents do or dont do. Property and Success is about crunching the numbers and deals and making it work so we can have more time, lifestyle, holidays, and retire or wind down and have more fun choices!!
Ive been a principal for 18 years and agent in NSW/ QLD and still I get treated like crap sometimes by guys in property- accountants, solicitors, valuers, but I take no notice and this is their issue and I cant be bothered to even think about it. Im there to do business, serious business, make and bank money and either they want to work together and achieve results or Ill find someone else to work with, or buy from. Harden Up Girls your in Business and not the social friendly happy coffee club.
I have great men around me – very smart, switched on, motivated, and you just need to know how to handle them and be a bit more direct and assertive and say this is what I want and need, and when and heres the deadline of you want to do business.Hi Geoff,
I was not talking about your office in Victoria Point, at no point was this comment about this office, as I have never dealt with this office.
It was an outline of an esperience and 1 franchise office on the North Side and also one on the South side where these comments apply to and my experience to date.
Please read my comments in correct context and note that I did not apply these to your Vic Pt Office, I was making a comment of my experience and some of the reasons why sellers should not just only look for the cheapest agents or purely only look at the fee, and they must focus also on the experience of the actual sales agent, time in the profession, training, experience and how good the office is.I am happy to try out your go gecko office as I buy continously for our family and always looking for deals and also do a lot of buyers agency work for clients so happy to try this office as this area is where we are looking for some purchasing of small devt sites or renos, so thanks for the numbers of your principals.
Kylie
Yes GO GECKO do offer a cheap commission but they also offer a very cheaqp sausage factory type of operation, sales agents and negotiators are often very green and fresh and are not experienced in really selling and negotiating your price upwards.
I have just bought 2 homes from a GO GECKO office and every single sales agent int his office was sub standard in service, they did no up sell or negotiation for the seller or the property, they had an open and just stood at the door and did not even get peoples names or phone numbers to follow up and just let them walk in and out and were too busy talking to their friends on their phones.
I put in very low offers and at no point did they try to bring my offers up or discuss my situation or the sellers and try to bring a better deal or contract price together, and they went tot he seller and said this is the best offer out there the market is quiet and we recommend you take it. A good agent and very experienced one would not do this and has to seekt he best possible price for their sellers and work the contract up and follow up all people at the opens correctly.
So I think by worrying about saving 4- 5 k in commission you would be worse for wear as may loose out sometimes 10- 20k or more in negotiations nad correct sales negotiations. Also the GO GECKO office was not at all experienced in contracts and writing them so I wrote clauses in my contracts that would allow an out the whole way through and they didnt bat an eyelid. If i was the selling agent I would never allow the behaviour that I gave to them as a buyer or the contract clauses as I inserted.
So maybe good to buy through them but not good to sell through them.
When selecting an agent you should also look at their experience, time in industry, training and what support and marketing plan they are going to do for your home.
Kylie
Commission is regulated in Qld but it is also negotiable. But Agents will only negotiate if they know your price is right, presentation and they can move your stock quickly.
Give me a call Monday after 10am as we have an agency in Brisbane we own that could assist and were happy to look at the property and give you a truthful and accurate market update, appraisal and will look at the commission if it is a saleable product.
Regards
Kylie
0408 38 4434
07 3340 5117Hello
I am located on Gold Coast but I do projects in different places. I could build furnished villas etc, or mini homes as have people down there that would do gardens and upkeep as required, and I would manage the bookings. By trade Im a licensed principal and owner of an agency as well. I am working out whether I do a few more furnished homes on Gold Coast as have a few and they average about $1000- 1200 per week return before interest, cleaning fees, rates, water- but I bought the land at the right price, whereas now a basic block of land has gone to $230- 250 per block and build costs have jumped up also so it may be interesting to also look at other areas.
I am looking for a parcel to subdivide, maybe an old stone house to reno and furnish or a block I can put a D/ A on to do 4- 6 villas.
What are you looking to do? and where are you based? and what has attracted you to Orange?
Kylie
I would just start out with the basics- dont waste money moving stuff and removal fees – just take the basics clothes, computer, you buy lots of good things cheap on ebay, deals direct.com.au, garage sales
I left my ex years ago when I was 26 yrs old and came back to OZ with a backpack and $600 aud to my name after 6 yrs- I couldnt be bothered worrying about anything, fights, etc or being upset, or worrying about material things-
starting again fresh can also be great- you can shop, choose littel bargains, save up for things and you earn them and they are yours- no use fighting over a couch or spending a fortune to move ityou can dress things up a lot also with a few rugs, pics, throws, pot plants etc- you are actually better off than a lot of ladies.
I do a lot of charity work and some ladies leave with nothing, not even 1 cent, and they are escaping violence.
physical or mental etc, there are so many organisations out there that can assist you also and support groups for women.Depends what work you do as to where you move really- both cities are nice, and Adelaide is not so much traffic, cheaper, and maybe a safer place for the kids to grow up also-
Sydney has gone to the dogs a bit with violence, drugs,
prices are ridiculous, traffic a shambles, graffiti, dirty– I'm from Sydney, but have seen the major declineHave you thought about Brisbane or Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast- I moved up here 8 yrs ago and love it
Good luck- just chill, move asap, and get into a calm, peaceful environment with no dramas and be happy- life is very short
We have explored the similar situation with our 90 yrs old grandfather, and we decided to let the place remain vacant, we checkon it every week and have a mowing man attend to it 1 per month. The issue is if you rent it out and then your mum gets ill or needs to go to a home, you may need to sell the home to fund her nursing or any care required or special services/ nursing home bond or purchase a little unit and it may not be possible to sell easily if tenants are in the property or only 2- 3 months into a 6/ 12 month term, also we did not wish to run the risk of any damage, repaint/ M/ Repairs to the property if there was any tenant damages. Also the extra income could effect the pension and entitlements to certain care/ benefits. So the extra income of 200- 300 per week was not really an incentive for our family, it was more the convenience, keep the home non damaged, and not effect the health and pension benefits.
We also took the approach that it was our time as a family to care for our grandfather and so be it if we are loosing on rent money, it is not all about money – it is providing the best care and options possible and not effecting their pensions/ health benefits and if you need funds asap for special care it is a nightmare to sell with tenants in, tenants would get pissed off if house getting sold/ inspections after being there a few months and it was best to keep the home in mint condition, plus also you will find that your relative may get very upset if they cant sometimes go back to their home to potter about or check it or visit for memories sake, so there are many many areas you must consider and we put the financial side last of the rent and their needs first, plus did not wish to effect any benefits.
Speak to solicitor asap- I am a R/E principal and agent myself and have been for 18 yrs now, in QLD/ NSW
a buyer must also take some responsibility for their behaviour, if you are not happy with something do not sign it, it is simple, tell the agent- put in the condition or Im not signing it, be assetive as it is your hard cold cash$$$$$$, or tell the agent Im not signing anything or paying a deposit until my solicitor looks at it for me.Yes speak to solicitor asap and get it sorted and instruct all things to the agent / solcs in writing and tell your solicitor you want kennels removed or a price reduction as you have to remove them, but if a really good deal and good opportunity/ equity in it- no use loosing the deal over a few kennels that you can probably get some guys to remove in a day or two for you.
Not all agents the same
I dont think buyers agents are spruikers- they can really help in search, selection, putting good deals on the table that you would never publicly know about.
My company that I own has 3 in residence, we all have degrees in Business, Property, Construction, Accounting, our full R/E licenses in NSW/ QLD. Between our small specialised team we own over 70 properties, over 80 yrs combined experience, manage about 200 new homes in our rental / asset mgt division and we probably build about 100 a year – some we keep, others we sell- this is our own building/ project mgt division.
We focus on development sites, duplex, blocks of units, properties to reno/ add value to, Qlders to raise up, bulk purchasing blocks of land direct off developers, and projects that maybe have gone wrong, ran out of money etc so that they are in a position to be bought out or take over and complete.
Probably the core thing people dont realise is this is how very serious developers, investors purchase, they do not have time to find the deals, will cost them more than 2- 2.5% in their billbale time to find one deal, or often they will not know exactly what they are looking at if front of them, or what they can really do with it. A lot of good deals do not even get to the net/ papers. We get a lot from solicitors, divorce cases, mortgagee, deceased estates, fire damage homes, insurance damages, tenant damage, partnerships gone wrong, urgent business sales.
About 6 weeks ago for a client I have secured a subdivisable site 6 km from Brisbane CBD for $530, with a 4 brm Qlder on it, it has potential to reno and raise up, and split off the back block and sell off- either way there is very good profit in the deal for my client, my service cost him $10k, it was on the market for 10 minutes only, I was against an offer of $590, but secured it with a cash contract, no conditions, and 21 days settlement. Have just had a valuation come through at $1million from ANZ based on my draft plans/ specs/ builders quote of raise/ reno as put a proposal through for a raise, reno, and pool costing 290k all up, and just had 3 agents appraise at 1.2m- in a fantastic street with recent sales of very comparable.
My client is very happy and would never have found this deal, known what he was really looking at or the potential without using a sevice/ specialists. Actually I should have bought this gem myself.I am investing in S/A at moment and using a buyers agent to help me, as I dont have time, knowledge, or many contacts down there, so if I can see deals with opportuniyt/ profit in, Id rather part with 2- 3 % as thsi is better than making a huge mistake in areas I dont know, so suits me to also use a specialised buyers agent.
What advisors certificates are you talking about exactly? as there is no requirement to have them in Qld only to have full real estate license-most certificates are financial planning/ and most financial planning cert only focus on shares etc.
Bye
KylieIve had nearly 25 properties as holds all in good areas in the last 18 yrs in property- we still have about 10
Parramatta, Leichardt, Stanmore, and good areas of Gold Coast/ Brisbane and in 18 years this has been what has happened, we have used very good property mgrs, Im a principal myself- but I only buy/ sell I dont manage.1 House burnt to the ground by the tenants ex wife- cost about 300k to rebuild and 1 yr for CGU to rebuild it, CGU were always 2 months behind in their rent chqs to us, so had to go to solicitors to sort this out, pay solicitors, and also top up the mortgage account for 3 months until rent chqs came through- the tenants ex wife broke in, and lit 18 fires and blew the house and pool up, got charged and convicted by the police and insurers. Caused us 1 yr of stress, paperwork, property mgrs were incompetant and couldnt be bothered really to take the time to do all the claim correctly so I had to take over- as it is a 600k plus home in a good area of Brisbane, tenant was great but the pscyh ex wife appeared. Property Managers were not legally competant enough or even up with their paperwork correctly and would have put our asset at more risk by mistakes.
1 House trashed by a lady thta hooked up with a bad boyfriend- see story above about poo nappies, vomit, mini skips of rubbish
1 House teant got 7 weeks behind in rent as split up with his girlfriend and lost the plot- left his job, packed up, left the house open, keys thrown on the floor, no cleaning done and took off- bond did not cover the cleaning/ loss of rent- so wastes my time again with paperwork to sort claims out/ loss of rent/ cleaners cant turn up for 5 days as all booked out, so I have to clean so we can get tenants again asap.
1 Unit in Parramatta tenants cook a lot with curry/ chillis and one of the neighbours got pissed off so had a fight with the tenant, smashed holes in wall and kicked unit door
All these tenants were correctly scanned initally, passed all tests, income, references, jobs, stability- just things happened in their life that threw them off couse and my properties lost out.
So I made a decision to only buy, sell, develop, subdivide, and do furnished corporate rentals which I manage myself, get rid of all property managers and their poor service, weak excuses, incompetance and not put up with tenants anymore- life is so much better, easier and making more money with less stress.
So I did have very good areas, good PM paying them 9- 11% fees, I believe in getting very good people/ team and paying for them- but this strategy didnt get higher results.
No I dont have any regional properties at all- I build in regional and sell sell sell – no tenants/ no stress, and I learnt something at Steves discussions, bank the money, do not let the property own you, you own and control it for your needs/ goals. I was not happy holding a large rental portfolio, I apired for it as a challenge, did it, sold it and now life is easier for us and we really like better our different strategy.
You can do all the checks in the world- but you can never check or be sure of peoples emotioinal/ mental state/ life circumstances. I did all the checks had a perfect good tenant, then it turned into a nightmare and about 19k of damages- due to tenant going a bit haywire with boyfriends, drink, fights with neighbours and making stupid decisions etc etc
Insurance only covered a small portion of this and then applied an excess to each room, and also said some was caused by the ladies kids so they do not cover any damage done by kids, so they did not cover the carpets kids weed on, vomited in, rubbed nappies into, crayons on walls, textra everywhere, etc broken kids toys everywhere in backyard – we took out about 4 huge mini skips of rubbish, it stunck so bad no one would clean it up that came to quote- so I asked the insurer choose a quote, Ill quote and well clean it up and you pay us as no one wants to touch all the rubbish/ filth, rats, poo nappies- it was a sickening job, and I was cursing rentals this week that I was out there with flies, rats, vomit, yukkkk, rotting garbage, fleas.
I only build and sell now, or reno / sell, subdivide, had enough of rental properties, tenants and in 18 years very rarely found a long term good consistent property manager- they change every year or so.
I would be looking for proeprty that is on a very decent size piece of land that can be subdivided down the track
$10 a week is nothing, as soon as you get 1 small hiccup/ M/R, rent vacancy etc you will be easily washed out of cash flow.
Always buy property that you can add value to, under priced, urgent sale, and the value is in the land
I have been investing for 18 yrs solid now, have about 25 properties, and houses that I bought 8- 10 yrs ago on large blocks, the councils are now starting to allow dual occ, units, subdivions- they have chugged along at break even, or some cash flow but the growth and opportunity is in the land. So things we bought for 80- 90k nearly 9 years ago are now worth 350k juts for the land and this is before we subdivide or do dual occupancy.
I also used very good buyers agents and paid a lot to them to search, select, secure the deals, advise and help me- so even years ago I paid 10k buyers agency fee to buy a 3 brm, dbl brick, 2 street access, on over 1400 m2 10 min from Brisbane- every cent was worth it as I couldnt find or get these opportunities myself, they happen too quickly, so 93k inc buyers agency fee is now worth approx 400k not subdived and apprx 650k subdivided as land is worth gold as very scarce close to Brisbane- I belive in developing a core circle of highly experienced advisors, buyers agents, finance brokers, sales agents and ring them weekly always and email them also, and they will keep in contact and bring the deals your way.
Sometimes you have to spend it to make it
No I wouldnt be holding for years vacant land, and cant deduct it and hoping and praying something happens- only large developers do this when they buy huge parcels for future use and they have the $$$ to hold and have factored it all in.Why cant you get bond assistance from Dept of Housing? maybe you should go to speak to a Womens Coomity Support group and they often can assist or Salvation Army counsellors, they know all the options/ rights and community support possibilities.
Sorry to hear about your cimcumstances, but all things for good reason and maybe you are meant to move somewhere, start a new life and hopefully meet someone nice- as some very good men out there- I have one thank god- he is loyal, trustworthy, great cook, even tempered, smart, has all hair and teeth, he is very religious and a very good person- so I am really blessed, although it hasnt always been smooth sailing- Im a sagitarius,a nd he is a pedantic virgo.I would find something I could reno or add value to and do it and mke soem money and keep going forward.
I left a relationship when I was 26, came back to OZ with a backpack and $600 aud, strong work ethic, and no doom and gloom, positive attitude, still friends with the ex, now Im 38 and have a lot more than $600, in actual fact can stop work tomorow if I wish, but I loe what I do in property, never a dull day, always action, adventure, meet new people, laugh, go out, see different things.Life is short no use worrying too much, maybe a total new adventure on the way for you, the most important thing is to not get emotional, waste energy fighting about money, learn how to mke it and keep it
Bye
