That really is the difficulty in life Annie – you don’t know what you don’t know! The best you can do is look to people with a strong track record with investment clients and preferably investors themselves. Referrals from other investors obviously can help. Otherwise you can end up with poor selection which ties you down a more expensive path, or have to switch to a lender who will allow you to go down the path you need.

Development time frames, really dependent on the shire, current zoning, any potential objections to the developments etc. I’ve had a few WA developer clients recently aiming for 18 month turnarounds – but very possible to go over this depending on the construction method.

Haven’t heard too much on Zinger, however you will see plenty of reviews on a lot of Nathan birch’s businesses if you do a google. Quite a few posters have spoken about using the various businesses on Somersoft.com (a very popular Australian property investment forum).

You’ll find that the majority of the ‘investment agencies’ out there are just spruikers flogging off OTP townhouses/apartments as they get large commissions from the property developers – beware if you get advised to do this. Metropole is a very well known company, unlike a lot of fly by night operators.

Personally I believe the best value is in the investor expanding their knowledge and formulating a plan by establishing their goal and working their way backwards.

Building a team of professionals can help you through this process, which include an investment savvy finance broker, accountant, quantity surveyor, Buyers agent potentially etc.

Have you looked much into the legalities of pushing in the US + the ongoing costs? The system is vastly different in the US than Australia, factoring in other ongoing State charges, maintenance req’s etc. I have clients who have purchased a number in the US, who factor in 20%+ of rent going to misc outgoings.

Buy in gloom.

I don’t think anyone would suggest that Sydney is at or near the bottom of it’s current cycle, so you have to question yourself as to whether it may be more fruitful in targeting other markets in Australia which may be still early in their current growth cycle and showing strong fundamentals.

One other thing to remember when comparing total returns is that there is a very big difference in the tax treatment between rental return and capital growth.

But SuperAndrew’s post resonates strongly with my views too – capital gains are speculative and cannot be guaranteed, whereas rental return will always be there. Doesn’t mean that purchasing for capital growth isn’t a valid strategy, but it’s certainly dangerous to rely on significant CG to keep your investment numbers afloat.

Just get them emailed, pretty much every strata does this.

DeanCollins wrote:

No because “Yield” should always be value at “current valuation” not what you paid for the property when you purchased it.

If you are measuring yields based on the purchase price eg….. 10 years ago…..then of course you are looking like a genius :)

Yes, except if rents increased at the same rates as capital growth as you suggest, gross rental yields would be static. This clearly isn’t and hasn’t happened ever.

usmic wrote:

They say they are buying these developments in bulk. This is how they are negotiating the discount…

They wouldn’t actually be ‘buying’ the developments, they’re just second tier sales jocks. Anyone with a mobile phone and ABN can do exactly the same – and do!

Property is easy to sell in Australia, you don’t need to provide massive ‘incentives’ to sell them. So why give away massive discounting? It’s all about maximising the profit in your own pockets, which I have no doubt they are doing. ;)

GWS rents are softening slightly from increased supply, but it’s not VERY difficult at the moment. In saying that, if you don’t have constant pressure it’s more difficult to increase rents consistantly.

Catalyst has touched on something important that I think a lot of people need to take into account – GWS and Sydney in general has just gone through a massive boom, in some areas hitting 35% CG in the last two years. With yields in the doldrums and prices at new highs, you have to be careful in modelling where you think your investment will track in the medium term and whether there are alternative markets you could be investing in with ‘safer’ returns.