Hi All,

my partner and I balance each other to a certain extent. I like to be thorough with Due Diligence but almost to the point of analysis paralysis and would miss every deal. My partner gets the vibe of where the action is and wants to act on it. If it wasn’t for him we would have missed on the last 2 properties. One was supposed to be very…[Read more]

I looked it up on the internet once because with 2 young kids I was having trouble getting a urine smell out of the carpet in their bedroom. 1/2 cup vinegar mixed with 1/2 cup water poured directly onto the smelly area then towels to soak it back up. May need to do it a couple of times. It worked for me but it will depend on what is underneath…[Read more]

We went to South Hedland to see the house we bought. Most of the houses in South Hedland seem to be old fibro houses on poles with iron roofs. Some are quite run down and ugly looking. Others have been painted and maintained quite well. Ours is in the later catagory. There was a beautiful tropical garden front and back and a huge below ground…[Read more]

Hi Jarrah,

It would probably be helpful for someone wanting to understand the market here to do a little reading on how the mining companies are doing. Some of the company names up here are RioTinto, Woodside, BHP, or do a general search under Mining Pilbara latest news. They seem to be constantly finding new deposits of iron ore etc.
It is hard…[Read more]

We live between Karratha and Port Hedland. It is unlikely that someone from out of town would feel comfortable buying up here at the moment because you don’t get time to do your due diligence before the place you are looking at has been sold. So we have had to brave and leap into the market. Remembering we have lived here for 10 years and know…[Read more]

Dazzling,

you have probably resolved this issue by now as I see it was first posted a year ago. But in my relationship I am the one who hates spending money on, “dudades”, (Robert Kiyosaki’s term for plasma tvs and boats etc). Initially I was the one interested in property investing and found it hard talking about it to my partner. Then I sent…[Read more]

1. Using cheap resources such as the Valuer General’s sales data and value watch reports when researching suburbs, looking up the value of the property you are about to purchase.

2. The differences between residential and commercial properties e.g. doing the research on each, double the purchase cost for commercial, loan differences, landlord…[Read more]

I was looking up term deposit rates the past 2 days and NZ has some quite good rates for $10,000 NZD over 12 months. Just incase you were thinking of putting it somewhere safe until you had a steady income.
Alternatively you could look into the First Home Owners Grant Scheme.

Good Luck
Deb

There are quite a few rich single men where I live. What age and attributes do you require?
Are you happy to live in the middle of nowhere, 45 degree heat in Summer. Alternatively the new rich man could do fly in fly out and you could live in the City.

Ha Ha

Deb

Dazzling, is it OK to ask the tenant what their intentions are as far as staying on? How far can you go with communications to the tenant when you are the purchaser? Could you ask the tenant if they would be interested in signing up a 10 year lease if you purchased the property? Can you write that in an offer e.g. subject to tenant signing new 10…[Read more]

You could try the Valuer General’s Office in the state you are searching. The sales data office should be able to sell you the latest value watch summary on the area you are looking (unless you look in small country towns). If the commercial real estate makes up the whole subburb then the report will be helpful to see what capital growth there has…[Read more]

The best interest rate I can get from a lender over East is 7.9%. That is only if when the property is valued it is actually worth the $350,000. I came across an interesting quote from a lending institution.
“unlike residential financing where the Borrower must qualify for the mortgage product; Commercial financing differs whereby the Property…[Read more]

I should rename this thread 22%cash on cash return. The commercial bank loan officer informed me today that a commercial loan with Commonwealth Bank is at 8.7% for 5 year fixed interest only. That really throws a spanner in the works for me. Instead of this deal returning more than $10,000 p.a. it would be a return of just over $3,000. Our other…[Read more]

I now have the lease (which doesn’t appear too complex).
sometimes I hate living in a small town. The only commercial loans person has been away the past 2 weeks. Armed with the lease and the past sales data I will get the bank involved next.
Thank you all for your advice along the way.

Deb

I think you might be onto something Dianne.
I told the agent I had been advised to see the lease prior to making an offer. I said both the bank and my lawyer would like to see it. Now I will wait and see if he posts it to me.
I also got the historical sales data for this lot and the first recorded purchase was in 1992 for about $75,000. No further…[Read more]

We live in a mining town in the North West of Western Australia. Population 2500. There is a severe housing shortage here and in the surrounding towns. When a house comes up for sale it gets snapped up. The houses are gone before I have a chance to complete my due diligence in order to make an offer.
The only reason we are looking in our own…[Read more]

Thanks Dazzling & Gross Realization.

This is such a big learning curve for me. I was being sucked in by the rental return without looking at the whole picture. I am used to residential and being able to find out every last detail on the property myself from the Valuer General’s Office.
I will let the agent know I will need to see the lease before…[Read more]

The land is in the industrial area near a mining town. How would I find out what the ‘dirt is worth in an industrial area’?
The buildings are 25 yrs old.
The lessee’s mew manager said he wants to be there for another 20 yrs. They service the mines which are booming and should be for the next 20 years plus.
We should be able to lease it again if…[Read more]

[confused2]
Need help. I am still working on this deal. Agent said the $36,000 rent is net and on top of the V.Os. I am using Steve’s Buyer Beware Financial Analysis template to check the stats. I have just noticed that the funded costs don’t get added to the principal amount being borrowed from the bank. I have added them now and the cashflow…[Read more]

Hi Dazzler,

thanks for your valuable input.
I will clarify with the agent whether he has quoted net or gross rent.
The rent review are yearly CPI. So I guess that would make it about 3.5% currently. Is that what you mean by escalation rate? Should it be more than that?
The agent was also saying that an application has gone to the council to have…[Read more]