If you have available under bench space I would suggest it was a great idea, same as a clothes dryer. Unfortunately tenants have a propensity for breakups and one partner left one of my rentals recently with a rangehood and a dryer. Still chasing him. My advice would be to bolt them down from now on. A small unit with a dishwasher and an air-con…[Read more]

One of my clients has bought a unit in the same street I own 4. He has been away working so I asked him what his rent is. He tells me $210/wk. Mine that are identical to his are getting $235 x 3 and $240 x 1. So $100/mth hes duding himself by not reviewing the rent regularly. Keep on top of it.Nathan is on the money with his analogy as well. Like…[Read more]

Madness to do it now as you wont get a red cent from the tax man. Once you have rented it out for over a month then do any work you need and its classed as new capital improvements and depreciable on your tax. A good trick with air cons is to get one invoice for the unit and another for installation and labour. Installation and labour can be…[Read more]

If I had something that would return 10% II would try and duplicate that as a success story. $160 purchase and $320/wk rent is a flat 10% so depending on strat and management costs you are sounding like it is a winner. Get a val, dip into equity and go again.Nothing but fear holding you back.Happy HuntingDD

Ok so if you grab cash out of your offset $$ the real question is will it make you better off or worse off??As the funds are for investment purposes out of your LOC, it is then deductible for the interest on that money.You are pulling out deposit plus costs so estimate about 25% of the value of any new property you buy.510income /475 cost means…[Read more]

Carna20, what you should do is ask your bank which 3 agents are currently on their panel of valuers. If you then get a valuation from any of those valuers, this can be applied to your property for up to 6 months should you wish to access equity from it. Not only a good idea to find out from the bank as whatever you pay for a valuation now is saved…[Read more]

Ive heard someone where I live had a similar hassle. They paid out a phone contract, have a $140 default a year later when applying for a loan and would be charged $1500 to clear it. What a joke.Im surprised at this sort of madness creeping into our lives, in some cases detering young couples from getting ahead.DD

oo3c, Thanks for that, she was 35 and I was 45 when we split. The kids are 7&9 as well.DD

Richard again has nailed it as most valuers are coming in light on vals, im pretty sure you would get a rude no thanks from your bank. I had a deal recently where you could buy a 2 bed unit for $140k with a $200/wk rent return. Not as Amazing as Richards client but available last week. Block of 10 reasonable holding costs.They are out there. You…[Read more]

If you want cashflow and growth immediately you really are a dreamer. Units by nature incur body corp fees. To avoid these you need to find a duplex 2 bedder and hope the other half is the guy that owns it so there is no body corp fees. apart from that avoid pools, tennis courts, and onsite managers like the plague and you can find reasonable body…[Read more]

I organise renos for clients and have found that when Im in Tassie, the local bunnings has a measure and quote service. The builder I use down there that does the full rip out and replace for me gets them to deliver on site and then he and his offsider do all the hard stuff in 2 days.The only thing is you need the walls repaired between the rip…[Read more]

I always advise my clients to cross out the "assignment" clause and also to change the 90 day period to cancel the agreement to 30 days and initial it. You may start with a manager that is awesome and lock in your business, but if they go off to have a baby, or go to a better paid job with a different agent, you are left with the dregs and this is…[Read more]

What I usually find from a post like this is that you have become emotional about your tenants and their circumstances and not detached and looking at the bottom line. I achieve rents in a block of units in Kingston of $240/wk. My sister who has paid off her unit in the same block has her tenants paying $180/wk. As she is now divorcing, she needs…[Read more]

Anything thats been standing for more than 10 years is probably going to get a rubber stamp from council. In 2000 when my father died, his Forster NSW house we put on the market. The agent found the whole building had never had its final occupancy approval and it had been there 12 years. The council signed off on it without a problem.The house was…[Read more]

Leases, if it's a new tenant 6 months. If they seem ok  after this then a max of 12 months. I often lock in a rent hike at the same time.What I do is say the rent is $180/wk and I want $190/wk. I get the tenant to sign for 12 months, 6 at $185/wk and 6 at 190/wk. On one lease.This does 2 things, firstly gets me the rent I need locked in to a…[Read more]

oo3c, wow. Im on the other side of your situation. She moved on after we had amassed a sizable property portfolio. Just told me she had had enough after 18 years and boom, the dream has ended.The settlement was that as I kept the house I was to give her a big settlement to buy hers. I took out $450k extra in loans on the IP's which meant the…[Read more]

Guys, another way is to get a solicitor onside who will do the odd title search for you as a thank you for referring business to them. Sometimes being nice really pays off.!!!DD

Dr Spock, its so good to get on here after ages away and see someone achieving debt retirement so well. Well done. So many of my clients are frustrated as they approach a property deal, only to show this credit card or that unpaid debt stopping their approvals for what otherwise would be a simple loan.Great work and super well done.DD

Ok big flashing lights here too. What you havent considered if you sell it to your friend is that you probably have an exclusive contract to sell it with the agent. If you just turn around and sell it to your friend within the exclusive period with the agent, you are up for the agents commission anyway. Thats even if you sell it yourself.Please…[Read more]

My dad brought us out from Wales in 1966 and he was chief plumber on West Glamorgan council. His pride wouldnt let him do the 4 year apprenticeship here he then needed to get an aussie plumbers licence. He regretted it till the day he died 7 years ago.Now with what someone posted about taking a year to get qualified. With the average plumber now…[Read more]