Great topic, its great to hear other peoples stories. When I was in NZ recently I picked up a book by Phil Jones composed of anecdotal stories from peoples experiences, not sure if it has hit the shelves here yet. I recommend it.

I am 32 and don’t own any property, I’ve spent the last 10 years at uni and building a career, now I’m paying for it!…[Read more]

I stand corrected. Thanks for pointing that out!

Chris

I think Perth would probably be the worst place to look for easy CF+ property at the moment. It takes time for rents to increase after a rise in prices to improve yields.

On a good point I’ve noticed in Melbourne that after reaching the lowest yield levels in 10 years, rents are on the increase while prices have dropped further. I guess the same…[Read more]

I disagree. The first home owners grant is only available to someone who hasn’t owned a property before, once you have owned a property you aren’t eligible:

From http://www.firsthome.gov.au/

“Neither the applicant nor their spouse (or de facto) must have owned and occupied a home after 1 July 2000.
Neither the applicant nor their spouse (or de…[Read more]

Theres a number of worthwhile considerations which haven’t been made which would affect the outcome of the scenarios. Unfortunately, a lot of them are unpredictable and hard to enumerate. Such as:

1. Population growth – Australias population will continue to grow. This means demand for more housing. Also, if more people are of working age and…[Read more]

You can claim it if you have already owned a home. It can’t be claimed on second or subsequent homes if you haven’t claimed one before, thats the way it reads to me anyways! [blink]

“To qualify for assistance, neither the applicant nor their spouse (or de facto) must have owned a home prior to 1 July 2000, either jointly, separately or with some…[Read more]

You don’t need to live in the property for 6 months within the first 12 months. You simply need to COMMENCE occupancy within the first 12 months of ownership. That is how I interpret the clause below from the govt. website anyway:

“Will at least one applicant be occupying the home as his or her principal place of residence for a continuous period…[Read more]

there is a great article on this in the July Aust. Property Investor magazine.

Chris

Interesting stats. Does that make you think there is an adjustment to be made over the coming 6 months – 1 year back to 5-6%?

Chris

what about Frankston in Melbourne?

Things I can see are:
– large enough local population to be self sustaining
– can buy a unit close to CBD and beach starting at $150k
– access to Melbourne city if needed
– close to Mornington Peninsula
– not a lot of land left close to the CDB to develop (vacant land that is)
– good growth prospects

I’m not…[Read more]

1. Interest rate raise << rates are still low compared to the last 10-20 years
2. Petrol prices << I’ll give you that one
3. Lack of job security with the new IR laws << I never believed in unionism anyway, and unemployment is the lowest it has been for the last 10 years, almost too low some would say
4. Inflation << again, still lower than those…[Read more]

I’m with Lomas on this one, whats more important, building wealth or building a complex legal structure to protect yourself from something which might never happen? Have you ever known anyone who actually had this happen to them, apart from a few cases on the news a few years back?

If you know how to build wealth, then lose it all to a situation…[Read more]