Thanks Terry, unfortunately thats what i feared. When you say to go to a new lender, are you saying that when we submit paperwork for another loan, we only list our part of the loan on the existing property in the paperwork? What is the fallout from this should they discover down the track the real situation?Have you had success in doing this in…[Read more]

Hi johann,Congrats on getting into the property market at such a young age, its always the lament of the property investor that they wish they'd started earlier. I started roughly the same time as you, but even so, wish I'd started earlier. Quite impressed that you're able to save $25k per annum whilst earning $50k, some fantastic dedication.As…[Read more]

05 Subaru Liberty GT, beautiful car.

Hi Panda,I use Michael Diamond of Diamond Partners, they're in Caulfield. I'll dig up their contact details when I get home and post.Dave.

Definitely check with the council and/or an architect/draftsperson. Depending on the property zoning, you may not be able to subdivide at all, I know of some areas where the minimum block size is 300m2, so in that case, you wouldn’t be able to split your block. This will differ from council to council, so check out yours and see what they think.

D>

Further, in Frankston, there are different zonings that determine block size, I know that there are some places in Frankston that are very development friendly and have had block sizes as small as 250m2 post subdivision. 300m2 sounds like more the norm in the area though. Bottom line, if the council is saying that they won’t approve a subdivision,…[Read more]

P_hewson,

I’m actually doing this now, there are some important things to consider:

* Goals – Ensure that you are both aligned as to what your goals are, if not, then you’re not going to want to do the same thing and make the same decisions.

* Expectations – Set expectations early, be honest about what you expect from each other. You don’t want…[Read more]

I’d get an architect to look at the property, describe to them what the council is said and show them the 32’s. Get them to measure up and see what they think. We’ve used a mob called Clear Design down there, might be worth a while.

D.

Can’t say I’ve noticed speed issues (I assume you mean loading speeds), seems to be as fast as ever.
D.

Hi,

My brother used a company called Business Sight, they specialise in setting up tradesmen who operate as sole traders or small businesses and turning them into businesses. Their hook is “Be as good in business as you are at your trade”.

I’m not sure whether you’re a trady or not, but I know that these guys have worked in other areas and with…[Read more]

More than happy to give you the details of a great architect that we used in VIC, depending of course where you are, buy we’ve had him inspect blocks in both Eastern and Western Melbourne, very happy with his services and instilled a lot of confidence in us when purchasing property for development purposes.

Let me know if you want his details.

Dave.

I’d also speak with an architect, I know that our architect has experience dealing with the councils and has a wealth of knowledge of past projects that may be able to help you out.

I also believe that some councils look favorably on North facing living areas, I know that our Architect is adamant that if at all possible that living areas face North.

Nat,

We did a similar thing, essentially we came to an agreement with the builder to undertake certain parts of the construction of a townhouse. In our case we undertook the framing, tiling, and some other work as we have team members with those skillsets. The way that we worked it is that essentially we will be sub-contracting to the builder, he…[Read more]

Barbara,
Yield is essentially calculated by the following formula:

((Weekly rent * 52) / Purchase Price) * 100

So for the above property

((410 *52) / 359,000)*100 = 5.9837 OR 5.94 rounded up.

Cheers

Dave.

dare_to_dream, a 6% yield is not a bad return, of course depending on where the property is, growth prospects. I assume that your calculations are not including growth prospects, tax breaks, etc, with that factored in, this property may pose a great opportunity to some investors.

That being said, its not my cup of tea, but I know many investors…[Read more]

Sounds good Jason.

Let me know when you’ve got some for sale and I’ll have a look, always need new ties .

Cheers

Dave.

Fair points from all before, one thing that you may need to look @ is serviceability. Obviously if you sell you will have to pay selling costs, cap gains, etc etc but you will also be able to pay off a mortgage, and then take your left over cash and buy further property. If you use the equity you will have multiple mortgages, this is obviously the…[Read more]

Interesting to hear LA, some valid points. Also interesting to read that his friends bought there in 2003 and have had no cap growth, but over the past quarter the area has grown by 40% or so.

The units I’m looking at have quite a good rental return, but horses for courses, unfortunately no one has a crystal ball.

I’ll email you through the info…[Read more]

G’day Chris,

Just on your comment on cap growth, the Herald Sun 8/12/2006 pg 21 states that Carrum Downs has had a capital growth shift of 40.3% growth over the last quarter. Looks like your friends may have bought during the level out and its back off again.

Dave.