Sam, it is a very bad mistake not to get a building and pest inspection done, development plans can always change, if your spending hundreds of thousands on a house $450-700 is a very small amount to pay to make sure the house isn't termite ridden or has serious structural damage and if you are purchasing a house with a rental agreement in place…[Read more]

Have you arranged a building & pest inspection??

Just did research re CGT haven't yet sold property so hadn't looked into it myself, was just going off what our tax accountant told us!! Thank you very much for this information, does make more sense having all as IO, I've just been putting it off as I liked seeing all the loans go down but it's not going to help up when we buy a PPOR.

Thanks…

I only just read this post so you've probably already made your decisions.

One negotiating tip I've found very useful is renegotiating after the building and pest as at this stage you already have a contract so nothing to lose if they say no and you have a good basis to negotiate, you need to use a very good building inspector to help you with…[Read more]

Hi Terry

Cheap accom will last as long as my partner is employed and if anything happened with that I'm sure my employer would help us out, then when we leave this town (12-24 months) we'll have accom for as long as we need at his parents place. The current plan is to stay with them until either we find our own place or if we decide to move into…[Read more]

Hi Jason

It's going to be a crazy time for you getting all the ducks to line up given the time frames.

I'm pretty sure the 3k was more to do with the stamp duty concession (either because he was a first home buyer or maybe it was just that it was our PPOR as it turned into an investment the moment we moved out at 8 months. I'm pretty sure the…[Read more]

ps Our strategy is Buy & hold/ Buy, renovate & hold and goal is to have a very positively geared portfolio in 10 years hence paying P&I right now. Another reason behind paying P&I right now is we're on good money right but this will change when we move out of mining in a couple of years and/or go to living on one income (in maybe 2 years) so…[Read more]

Thanks Terry, I really appreciate your time taken to offer advice!

We rent (cheap accommodation that's subsidized by our employer) so don't have a PPOR therefore have our savings offset by the loan that's in the name of the person on the lowest tax bracket, that's one of the reasons I thought of having an transaction account for each property…[Read more]

Hi Jason, quick comment not relating to your question but to your situation, unless something has changed you need to live in the property for 12 months to get the full concessions, 6 months for FHOG but 12 months for the stamp duty concession that you also get for being a first home buyer and/or PPOR. 

My boyfriend had to pay back 3k to the…[Read more]

Less courses more work experience, try and get a part time job working for a real estate agent or even go around to all your local agency's and ask if you can do a few hours volunteering/work experience if they say no offer to mow lawns (on their rental property list)/do admin filing or reception for free in exchange for time with a real estate…[Read more]

Thanks for the reply Scott, I love the colour coded cards, what a great idea!

Ps I really should have grammar checked before posting..

100% a good thing, the only tenants it's going to deter are people you’d never want renting your house! I put an offer on a IP last year that was across from a police station (I ended up being out bid) but still went through the whole thought process and talked to a number of friends who all agreed it’s only good thing.

I should add it may depend what state you buy in, we bought in QLD. A quick google and look at the Office of State Revenue gov web site will confirm you have to live in it for 1 year not 6 months. May be different in other states.

On a positive note the pro rate pay back amount if you leave before the year is up is tax deductible…

Can I ask what the cost difference is to the 'good' side of town?

I would never buy in the "bad" side of town as it may limit the capital growth long term and also limit better quality tenants. If the stats are that good why not spend more and buy in the 'good' side of town which should give you much better capital growth and where you may get…[Read more]

Quick note if you do buy a PPOR (although note the best option by the sounds of it) you have to live in the place for 12 months – 6 months for the first home buyers grant yes but if you leave before the 12 months you have to pay back the government the stamp duty concession pro rata. Learnt the hard way over a year ago and our mortgage broker and…[Read more]