Hello peoples, I’m here too,
Been reading away my afternoon.
So, there’s a bit of battle on between you and the Enjo lady, getting a little warm in here!
BTW I don’t think you were insulting, just let it blow over, but you do need to watch out for Arty!
He’s always watching….

Keep smiling,

Sue [][]

Be careful not step on the flowers when…[Read more]

Hi Brent,
I don’t know if it is true, however I don’t think that a 49% ownership can give you the power to make that large a decision on your own (Without a vote)
I always though you had to own 51% to have total say on decisions.
Does anyone know for sure?
Keep smiling
Sue []

Be careful not step on the flowers when you’re looking at the stars

Hi guys, great post!

Quote;
“So how do you do it? Here are some “positive geared” ideas:

– Rent to students. Buy a house next to tafe, uni etc… with five bedrooms and rent each room out. This will be positive geared but can be seasonal…”

Pin, have you actually done this? I have contemplated doing this myself as I live between two uni…[Read more]

Hi Casey,

It all comes back to the numbers. If the house is at a price that allows you to do the necessary renovations and still come out on top, then it’s worth it.
Just don’t forget that renovating a house is not as simple as it looks on TV. Budgets can often blow out, so be generous with your estimations of what the reno is going to…[Read more]

As Del said chances are we will all come across a tenant from hell in our investment lives.
If you prepare for the worst, you cannot be suprised.
Build your wall around your city of Babylon, to ensure your gold is protected.
Today we call it “due diligence” and insurance!

Keep smiling,

Sue []

Be careful not step on the flowers when you’re…[Read more]

Hi Salaberge,

For peace of mind I would look at the property myself, especially being your first one.
Secondly, never be afraid to delay settlement un til you are happy, once it is settled you may have no recourse.
Check with your solicitor to see how much a days penalty is for delaying the settlement. I think you will find that it probably isn’t…[Read more]

Hi Fudge,

Too hard to give a ball park figure without more detail. I suggest you go to realestate.com, go to rentals, and see if you can find a similar house to what you are looking at, for rent, in the area that you are looking at.

Hope it helps,

Sue []

Be careful not step on the flowers when you’re looking at the stars

Banks might seem like the big baddies to the first timer or small investor. But once you show you are serious and begin to build your assets, you will be amazed what deals they will offer you. They will actually chase you for business, offer you better deals, even take you out to lunch!
No, I’m not a big time investor. I used to work in a bank.…[Read more]

Hi David,

I don’t mean to be critical, but why are you referring clients to a mortgage broker when you don’t seem to be comfortable with using her yourself? Is it a commission thing?

Just strikes me as a little odd,

Keep smiling,

Sue []

Be careful not step on the flowers when you’re looking at the stars

Thanks for that Del,

In investment advertising they often say something like “10.5% return on your investment”,
Have they used the same method you outlined, or different?

Keep smiling,

Sue []

Be careful not step on the flowers when you’re looking at the stars

When one of my boys was 3 I went shopping with him at a clothes shop. As I had his younger brother in a stroller I let him walk. Well he was in one of his moods and decided he’d play hide and seek amongst the clothes racks.
Fun for him – Not much fun for Mum!

When I finally managed to get hold of his arm and pull him out from the clothes, He…[Read more]

I am also considering investing in shares, but is it at complicated as it looks?
I mean it seems you need to learn a whole new language before you can even begin to understand how it all works.
I know some will say property is also complicated, but I think we feel more comfortable with this as we can see it and most of us have had some experience…[Read more]

Good on you Bill for going against the trend.
To back up your argument with facts and figures is great. Having read your earlier posts, I know you have a wealth of experience and we should take your comments seriously.

Most investment?wealth creation books I have read, recommend that you should not follow the crowd – Be first, not last

Keep…[Read more]

Hi guys,

I just thought I’d bump this post to the top of the queue so that Arty will find it! []

Keep smiling,

Sue []

Be careful not step on the flowers when you’re looking at the stars

Hi Bill,

Great response. In this forum there seems to be an attitude of buying if you can find a good deal. Your argument for holding out and strengthening your finances, appears to have strong merit. I was considering this myself, however I seemed to be in the minority. Thanks for the balanced advice.

Keep smiling,

Sue []

Be careful not…[Read more]

Hi Earnest,

When we first became self-employed, the biggest worry for us was being left with a huge tax bill at the end of the year.
So what I did was place 20% of our Gross income into an ING Direct account. Now, we have done our tax for the this year and we find we have a good deposit left over for an IP! And the interest was a nice little…[Read more]

Thanks Bill, Simon and Picja,

You guys are a wealth of knowledge and we appreciate your input,

Cheers,
Keep smiling,

Sue []

Be careful not step on the flowers when you’re looking at the stars

Hi dags,,
I also know someone who uses the same system that Simon talks about.
He buys properties, does a reno, then has the place re-valued to use the equity as deposit on new purchase.
He does a lot of ground work, sets up a whole folio of similar houses that have sold in the area and other statistics to support his claim.
He has this all ready…[Read more]

Hi Guys,

So what you’re saying is that if I am self-employed (Under 2yrs) and therefore need a lo-doc loan, I’m going to have trouble if I buy in a country area? Perhaps a higher interest rate or no finance at all?

Cheers,

Sue []

Be careful not step on the flowers when you’re looking at the stars

Hi Pinky,

If you have 10% dep and can show to the lender that you are able to make repayments on your loan you shouldn’t need to touch your investment money. With a 10% dep I believe you would probably have to take out mortgage insurance though. And don’t forget the extras you need like stamp duty, legal fees, transfer fees, etc.

Then again, I’m…[Read more]