Hi Jarred, sorry I can’t be of much help, but I am wondering, is this a reasonable market rent in this town for a property like yours? Did the property manager suggest this amount?

Have you had a chat to your property manager and did s/he have any suggestions?

Assuming that there is nothing wrong with the house, perhaps the reason would be that there is a lot of competition in the area?

If you drop the rent, you might find a tenant quickly.
I know that nobody likes to drop their rent, but it may be a bettr option than having no income at all from this property.

Let us know when there are any changes, I’m interested!

Celivia

No, a property on the main road is not for me.

You say that it is a fairly reasonable price- so it should be, it is on the main road.
If the same property would be located in a quiet street or cul de sac, for instance, the price would be more, and should be.

If you need to sell one day, other potential buyers will also expect it to be a fairly reasonable price.

I can’t imagine that traffic noise is not that noticeable when there’s a tram stop at the door! I’m sure that you were distracted or inspecting in the middle of the day when the noise may not be so noticeable.
Can you imagine lying in bed sober at night or early in the morning, and having to listen to the cling-clang and ding-dong trams stopping and taking off every 15 minutes or so?

I rented on a busy road, and NEVER again. Every time a truck went past the house it was like surviving an mini-earthquake.

You will have a high turnover of tenants. Insomniac zombies that will leave the house as soon as the lease is finished!
Either that, or tenants that are noisier than the traffic surrounding them.
Either that, or tenants who can’t afford to rent in a quiet street and are atttracted by the ‘fairly reasonable’ rent you’d have to come down to.

Don’t mean to sound so blunt (I’d be more sensitive if you already had bought the property )) )(I’d be telling you all about double glass windows etc) but these are my views on properties on main roads and I wanted to express them without the frills.

Celivia

Interesting topic, gross.
Jacob, you seem to know a lot about the matter! I’ll keep an eye out for one of these books, sounds like a joy-read.

I agree that the truth is very subjective.
Inside every person, there is a constant rivalry of truth and lies,( of good and bad). These are two sides of a coin.

For most people, the truth means the truth that suits them best.
Truth is relative in that it relates to a certain context and certain circumstances.

In everybody’s thinking there is a kernel of truth.

But having said that, there exists also a ‘general’ truth. These are truths spoken by groups of people, e.g. religions or cultures(; even times can change the truth).
These have one accepted general truth.
Still, general truths remain subjective truths as well (if it wasn’t, religions wouldn’t be killing each other).

Because I think it is true that the truth is subjective and relative, I think that nobody can be 100% right. Whatever I think is the truth at this given moment doesn’t necessarily mean it is the truth. But then again, I might be wrong, hehe.
That’s why everything everybody ever says is always subject to conflicts, debates and contradictions.

The truth can be misleading. Something that seems to be true can turn out to be not true.

I think that there are just too many criteria as to what truth is, to be able to decide upon one truth.

The only exception is truth based on facts- scientific truths.

The truth has to be logical, the truth cannot be contradictory, and truth is compatible with other truths.

I think the question of What is True is very much a rhetorical question.

My answer, therefore, is: Dunno! [whistle]

Celivia

Hehehehahahahehe, too funny, you got it, Milly!

When I left home at almost 20, my leaving-home gift was my mum’s faded couch, my aunt’s scratched coffee table, and a few fraying sheets and towels of my gran, but I felt like the richest woman in Babylon I tell ya![biggrin]

Mum: “I bought a new couch, dunno what to do with the old one.” *Hint, hint*

Perhaps these days the kids do not fall for cheap hints anymore, hehe.[biggrin]

They won’t take the bait until it gets bigger and better….[whistle]

Too much financial education can financially kill parents; we gotta keep them at school where, apparently, they learn nothing they can use in life! [thumbsupanim]

(I do not take credit for the advice given above-others have written fat books about the matter).

Celivia

OK????
This thread is too enigmatic for me…[confused2]
Me has only a simple mind…[biggrin]
Perhaps I rely too much on clarity?[wha]

Celivia

“And ok I admit I’m a cynic but I rekkon with my 4 kids, one might actually appreciate getting a free house and use it to full potential. Another of the kids will probably gamble it away, another will sell up and go travelling and another will have a messy divorce in which he/she ends up losing teh house. If i had a fifth kid, they’d prolly be the junky and it all would go up in smoke. “

[laughing] Funny, Milly! [biggrin]

But seriously, I won’t be helping out my children in such big doses of financial medication before they need it.

Yes, if and when they need it, and IF I think they are ready and responsible enough, I wouldn’t mind helping out with deposits (or part of deposits depending how big the deposits are and how my own finances are at that moment) as gifts to start them off, or with an interest-free loan, but I expect them to be finacially responsible by the time they are ready to leave home.

If they have a job and can’t manage paying off a home, then they will be renting. That’s life.

If they don’t have a job and want to leave home, they will need to get a job to support themselves. That’s life.

If they can’t cope and think life is unfair, I will be there to support them emotionally. [chill]

Am I a mean mother?
No way. I will always be there for my kids.
If there are ‘needs’ to be filled, I will be there to fill them when I can.
But where the ‘wants’ come into the picture, they got to sort themselves out.

It is important to me that they learn to be self-supportive.

In no way I am criticising the way others are helping out their kids. Every family is different. Just saying how I look at it to suit my own family.

So to answer your question: “How to start is the question ie try and buy near where we live or rather look for property further a field“

My answer simply would be:
You do not need to start at all.
Perhaps just keep investing for yourself and if it makes you feel good, make sure you have a deposit ready (e.g. in equity) by the time you feel you want to help out your kids buying their own home- of their own choice. This would be a lovely ‘leaving home’ gift.
If they are not quite ready to buy their own home, perhaps it will help them into their first investment property, or you can keep your deposit for the time they are financially ready to commit to paying off a mortgage.

Celivia

Have you tried to negotiate a reasonable increase in rent in return for an air conditioner?

She shouldn’t be able to keep demanding improvements (I’m not talking about necessary repairs of course) without expecting an increase in rent.

Celivia

“I’d rather have control over a 4% return, then be locked out for 45 yrs and have no control over a 11% return. Oh, and where’d this 11% come from ??”

Exactly what I was thinking. Who wants to lock away every cent into super, which you can’t touch for years.
At least, when you put the money into your own home, whether you have a mortgage or not, you can still use the equity for further investments, which also accumulate equity to use, and so on.
Super does not offer any flexibility.

True about the changes into super, too.
Weren’t they talking about making new changes again, something about making part of the super accessable so that people wouldn’t be too afraid to put more into super?
You never know what new changes ‘the gov gang’ will come up with next that will affect our super, like it or not.

Anyway, I wouldn’t complain if people decided to rent and put their money into super instead of buying their own home

Celivia

Apart from my personal preference of having a separate bath and shower, I imagine, to answer your question about the bathroom design adding value to the property, that having the tub separate from the shower will add more value to the property than combining them.

People today just love luxurious bathrooms in terms of comfort (don’t they call them Power bathrooms?, hehe)

Having said that, it doesn’t mean that you will have to cramp both bath and shower in a small bathroom.
People also are into storage and space.
It’s all about maximising the space you have available.
Walking into a bathroom where everything looks squashed is not attractive and won’t add value.

If having a tub AND a separate shower looks cramped, then think of a combined tub/shower but make the vanity base one that is offering a lot of storage, and perhaps add a safe medicine cabinet.

Celivia

I’m glad it works, G7, and that your pc is still standing![specool]
Looking forward to your future click here links!

Celivia