Forum Replies Created
- gpfstuff wrote:
Catalyst,
I am located in Newcastle, NSW.
As for the long distance renovations, I have never completed one and am more of the opinion to set a profit on how much I want to gain from a reno and then search, search, search and more search for a house to fit my criteria which is close to home. This allows me to go after work and do some painting etc.
Ideally I would rather not work, but Buy, Reno and sell for a living! What a Dream job!
Thanks for the great posts!
GlenI'm in Sydney. Close- yell if you need anything.
We want to buy reno sell soon as our portfolio is almost full (well where we want it). We only aim to do one a year to supplement our wage from our portfolio as we don't want to work for much longer.
If you love renos it's the way to go. If you don't it's best to pay someone else as if your hearts not in it it will show. This is especially important if you are selling (as opposed to buy reno hold..
gpfstuff wrote:Hello Catalyst,Thanks for the insight into your renos. I really like the idea of getting in and out as quick as possible. 5-6 weeks sounds like the ideal time frame.
Juggling the other things in life is always a challenge. I think you have to say to yourself and your famiily around you that it will be a finite time frame. During this time frame life is going to be tough but it will be rewarding at the end!
Regards
GlenThat's true. I've seen many reno's (not mine) drag out to the point where people are sick of it. Not my idea of fun. If it's not fun I'd rather pay someone else to do it.
If friends/family offer to help. Let them. Lots helped with the first one but after that we let them know they had no obligation as we were making money from it. We still got a few helpers when needed. We had to sheet half a house with gyprock so needed men (I hate to say it). haha. Have you ever lifter that bathroom sheeting? Man they are heavy!
We have only done one long distance. We took 6 days off after settlement and did a quick makeover. A friend of mine who doesn't even know what a spanner is just hires local tradies. He has only had minimal problems. But he's not as fussy as me.
Oh No!.
What was in the contract regarding what they can do as far as work on the flat?
They obviously haven't got strata approval either so once they get wind of it there will be more trouble.
No solicitor I know is happy about early entry.
You should have halted work the first day you saw it until it was resolved. Get them to stop now and push for early settlement.Hope everything works out for you.
Nice try but no.
It's no longer your money. The money is collected to pay for upkeep on the property. Just because it hasn't been spent yet doesn't mean you can take it back.
Sinking funds are generated to pay for upcoming expenses. For example there may be $50,000 in the fund but in 2 years time the place may need all new windows costing $60,000.It's listed on RPdata.
Or one trick is, if the kitchen is original they used to date stamp the sink hole.
Or look in the meter box.
We have done several full renos in the last 2 years.
We rip out the kitchen and bathroom and replace with new, paint, carpet, polish floors.
We both work full time and do most of the work ourselves (except tiling bathroom, electrical and plumbing).
We usually take 5 weeks for a full reno. We both go after work and weekends.I personally think most people take WAY too long for reno's. We did one quick one where we painted the kitchen doors and replaced the handles, new lino in kitchen and laundry, new carpet, paint throughout and new vanity and toilet. That took 8 days. A friend did the same but it took a month.
Where are you located?
Google them. You should find lots. Do a search on Somersoft forums. Lots there.
I wouldn't use them but it's personal. They do push their own properties a fair bit.
And now they are franchised out so each one is only as good as the leader who bought it.
I can think of a lot better things you can do with $9K (is it still $9K?).Find some meetups in your area and meet likeminded people. Look on Meetups.com
It would be a fair bit of money to spend considering you'd only get an extra $10pw. I wouldn't bother. It would take a long time to get your money back.
Maybe just clean it as suggested. Could you do just the loungeroom? and paint so the living areas look more attractive.Hard to say not knowing the are it's in. At that price I'm guessing a small CBD/town? Can't comment on the yield either not knowing the area. Too low for me though.
Can't comment on the cost/value as too little info. But-
Why are the charges so high?
Nearly 12% management fees? Have they asked different real estate agents their charges?
Are rates really that high in Queensland? I think they include water don't they (ours is separate)?
And why is the insurance so high?
That's $269 a week just for those 3 things.So $720- $269 = $451 rent (X 52= 23,452 ).
the interest will be $39,000. So negative $15,548 + other costs. Or course there's depreciation.Have they worked out the figures?
Personally I wouldn't be putting more money than I own into one property. For a start they have no equity in the property and they arerisking the mum's house to do it. If the value drops by 5% the bank will be wanting their money back.Yes change the carpet and maybe paint to freshen it up if needed. Mirror wardrobe doors are expensive so only do if really needed. Can you sand and then paint the doors?
You have to work out the cost and then decide whether it will give you extra CG and/or rent.
A tidy fresh place will attract a better tenant also. Look at it from a tenants eyes. Would you want to live with the old carpet?
Don't forget insurance. But you will get a good amount back on depreciation seeing that it seems newly renovated. Don't forget that you also need to add the costs of stamp duty and solicitor costs.
So will not likely be negative *given the 20% deposit. But not REALLY CF+ as the deposit you have put into it could be earning interest else where.
I like to count ALL costs.I would put them up myself. We had tenants put hooks up without asking and they put them up really high so when they move out we'll have to repair and will move them to an appropriate level (didn't even think about hooks). Wish they'd asked but I can't complain they've also repaired a few things and put a screen door on themselves and not asked for the money.
They are long term tenants and really treat the place like their own (in a good way) so I'm not complaining.
suzbats wrote:Question for experienced investors: We are looking at buying an investment property in the inner city (Melbourne) such as St Kilda, Elwood. How do we know if the property will be cashflow positive? I have used Steve's 1 % Rule but would prefer more specific real stories from anyone else who has invested. At the moment, the apartments we have been looking at seem to be negative geared (once we include all expenses) rather than positive geared. Also, how much of the expenses can we claim from a cashflow positive property? Many thanksYou claim all expenses. The rent goes on to your income and all the expenses come off.
To work it out just take all the outgoings from the incomings and see if it's negative or positive. Don't forget to take out depreciation. Which may make it look negative (and you'll get money back) even though it is putting money in your pocket.
My first question is? Is it legal. ie the splitting of the house. If not then you could be told at anytime to rip out the kitchen etc and stop renting one level. There needs to be fire walls (floor/ceiling) etc to be legal.
So before going any further I'd want to see the paperwork. If everything is legal then on the surface (without knowing the value, rental demand etc) it looks good.
I like API the best. You can get them from your local library if you don't have the cash. At my library you can't borrow the new ones for 2 weeks? I used to go to the library and sit and read them each month before I subscribed. It's great to borrow some older ones too. There are great stories about other peoples stories which gives you ideas of different strategies. Mind you some of them, I think aren't startling. I think they are scraping for stories sometimes. Like 2 people that bought 3 properties that are negatively geared with little equity.
Shop around for local kitchen suppliers. You'll do better than IKEA. Many install also.
Rip the old one out yourself. You don't need to buy expensive appliances.
If it's a basic size kitchen $6.5K would be a maximum you'd need to spend in total. Don't forget the depreciation report.
Only if you wanted to borrow more money using the property as security.
Don't forget you also need to declare the rent as income so that will decrease your pension irrespective of your asset balance.
Usually you would only pay the .25% holding deposit then at the end of the cooling off period (after you have sorted the finance etc) THEN you pay the 5-10% deposit. Well that's in NSW.
So at worst you'd lose .25%
No I wouldn't use Mt Druitt agencies for Toongabbie.
Better to use local or if a little further away go to a more upmarket location rather than a worse suburb. It affests the clients looking.
We rented our Old Toongabbie villa through a Baulkham Hills agent. Had lots of takers as it was slightly cheaper than the ones they were looking at in Baulkham Hills.
