You are not talking big money here (for one property). Put the rent up $10 a week. They can't argue VCAT over a $10 difference. Well they can try but really!!!! Let's be realistic.

JacM wrote:
I would be very interested to hear if anyone has opted to put the rent up to cover excessive water consumption and been taken to VCAT (or equivalent) and had the rent rise over-ruled on the basis that the rent is above market rent in the area?

You don't have to stipulate that's why you are putting it up. Mention it as I said then…[Read more]

Ok, unless you misunderstood your accountant – sack your accountant and get one that knows something about property tax.

Ask how many properties an accountant has- it's a good start.

I changed accountants when I asked my previous one whether I should get depreciation reports for my properties. His answer was "up to you". When I changed…[Read more]

$220K for a reno? What, are you ripping it all down and starting again? That's crazy!  

Based on your limited information it's impossible to say which is better. We don't know the area, what is in demand there, sell prices, build prices etc etc.

Numbers talk and you've given next to none.

You need value now + reno = value after.

Then
Value now…[Read more]

I don't understand the 6 month CGT point.  You've bought it? are buying it? Are you living in it while renovating?

If it's a PPOR there is no CGT period. If it's not it's 12 months from purchase to get the 50% discount.

What sort of reno are you doing for $10K that will take 2-3 months?

All part of property investing. If that's the law then I guess you have no choice. You could get the agent to give them a ring and ask about it. Go out and check that there are no leaks. Let the tenant know you are concerned about the high bill and kindly mention that you may need to put the rent up if the bills remain high..

In NSW taps need to…[Read more]

Qlds007 wrote:
Agree with what has been said already.

Poorly structured loans cause so much work going forward and are the biggest killer when it comes to potential lost interest deductions.

Cheers

Yours in Finance

YEP!!!!

The November 1st interest is for October (31 days).  The October 1st interest is for September (30 days).

Amend- the…[Read more]

Make sure you compare the product with similar places in the same area. What is a similar place, say 5 years old, selling for in the same area?

Remember strata for OTP is an estimate. How accurate it is is anyones guess. My guess would be that it is conservative.

There's no yes or no answer  about whether a certain OTP is good or bad but head…[Read more]

Agree with Terry- not good paying down the investment as you now need to borrow more. What is this $100 loan based on?

Speak to a good broker. The fact that you are going to live in it makes a difference as you won't be paying rent so your outlay shouldn't change much.

I would definitely keep the IP. A good broker should be able to make it…[Read more]

The 1st November one is higher because October is a 31 day month. The other 2 are 30 day months (so 1 less day of interest).

Yes interest is calculated daily. If you have the (say) $5,000 early just stick it all on. If you get paid weekly, pay weekly. It doesn't make much difference really. The thing that does make a difference is paying…[Read more]

I always count ALL costs which usually amount to 105% (purchase, stamp duty, solicitors fees). I borrow all of it.

The $400,000 with $400 a week rent was used years ago but now people chasing yield want more as it's a negatively geared property.

Even 7% will be negative normally. Nathan buys under market so that's why he can get 7% yield.…[Read more]

If you own no other house you were claiming as your PPOR then you pay no CGT. When you move back in the clock resets and you can move out again and claim another 6 years.

Nice hey!!!

Good points Wilko about the cost of DIY.

When we reno we generally do nights and weekends so no loss of wages (just a damn hard 5 weeks slog). But if I earn more than a tradie so wouldn't take time off to renovate. Also a tradie can usually get the job done more quickly and you don't have to put up with your hubby nagging. LOL

Even if you just…[Read more]

Past CG are not an indication of future growth. Maybe the suburb next door has been experiencing good growth and now it's time for your suburb to get the flow on effect.

I've bought in areas where people said "that area has had no growth for years". AHH music  to my ears. It was overdue for growth as neighbouring areas had growth.

It's more that…[Read more]

I still am not clear about what you hope to gain out of the clearance rates. How will they give you an appreciation of the market? So if it's 70% what does that tell you? Sometimes agents talk vendors into dropping their price. So it sold but below market. Auctions in some areas are a very small percentage of total sales so won't give true figures…[Read more]

In most cases we do everything except electrical, plumbing and waterproofing and tiling the bathroom.

Last one we paid a painter to paint the outside and a builder for 6 days. On one we paid a kitchen installer to install the new kitchen.

If you take care and have a bit of an idea it's not difficult to end up with a quality reno.

We are very…[Read more]

I agree with Freckle.

Why are you interested in auction clearance rates? What are you hoping to gain from this knowledge?

There are a LOT of other things that will be more helpful than auction clearance rates.

Some cities don't tend to use auctions as much as others. Sydney used to be one of these. The reason they are gaining popularity now is…[Read more]

Why are you willing to pay $235K if to you it's worth $225K?

The truth is you don't know what the owner will accept. Try to find their reason for selling, if they have bought elsewhere etc. 6 weeks is not a long time. Also going from $240-250 to $245 is not a drop in price. It's just what they want.

Is this for a PPOR or an IP? I know with a…[Read more]

Good on you. We (hubby and I) were thinking along those lines but we have been busy with other things this year so haven't looked any further. We have done a few reno's but held them as we have been building our portfolio.
 
We will be semi retired next year so may look at doing one then. We do most of the work ourselves but the tradies we do have…[Read more]

Hi, No the tenant will not be paying your mortgage off. If it is negatively geared that means the rent is NOT covering the costs. Or have you worked the negative gearing based on P & I plus all the outgoings? If that's the case it wouldn't be really negatively geared and you can't claim all of that on your tax. You can only claim the…[Read more]