sorry if i’m being ignorant, however i used to educate people on fire safety and was always told that smoke detectors should always be on the ceiling or at the top of the wall, otherwise the smoke has to fill the room enough to drop to the level of the smoke detector giving people less time to get out.

hi there,

The 3% the bank calculates on the credit cards for your minimum monthly payments are based in the AVAILABLE LIMIT, not what you currently have outstanding. its called risk assessment on the bank’s behalf. So this can dramatically reduce your lending capacity even if you are not using the cards.

Also, the banks are wising up (and have…[Read more]

reverse mortgage? no way! I want to leave my kids (when i have them) more than just debt. I would prefer an LVR of 50%max by the time i retire.

ok my turn…

If you lost all your money/investments/assets/ppor how long would it take you to replenish your portfolio and what strategy would you use?

Hi Jenny,

I think everyone has a story of misfortune with a bank of some sort which is unfortunate. My parents recently travelled 100km’s to thier nearest branch to sign docs on a new ip mortgage only for the bank to advise they hads lost the papers the next day (day before settlement i might add) needless to say there was a lot of running around…[Read more]

Hi Mini,

The property is currently tenanted so at least i know the real rental value, thanks for the advice! I will make sure if i buy any untenanted properties i get an independant rental appraisals, Don and Liz gave me the same advice, I think its a very good idea.

still looking for another property… The search is neverending. I keep getting…[Read more]

I used to live in ashfield, great property area but how will you find a cashflow positive place there?

If I were in your situation I would buy buy buy using the equity in your own home, do your research and find some great cf+ properties, then sit back and wait for the cash to roll in. But thats if i were in your situation and I’m not and your risk barriers may be higher than mine.

I’m still buying there, signed my contract this morning :o)

40 employees layed off at the mill today.

sorry i may have misread that, did you mean LMI (lenders mortgage Insurance) or personal mortgage protection in case of death or disablement?

I know there are only two mort insurance companies in australia of which CGU is one, sorry I dont know the other ones name. Most banks use one or the other, not usually both.

hi you can use a quantity surveyer to do this for you, check it out in the yellowpages.com.au website.

OK I just turned 26, but I’m still 25 at heart!

5 Months ago with the help of a FHOG and my very generous parents I bought a deceased estate in Sydney for $210K, after 5 months and $15K of renos I have increased the value to $255K. essentially it was a no money down deal as I also borrowed the $15K for renovations which I am in the process of…[Read more]

what is the kiwisaver scheme?

hi,

Your certainly on the ball…

Dont move back with your parents, after living away from them for 6 months you will understand why. Your life experiences from living with others will by far outweigh the benefits of Mum’s cooking.

Also you may find that renting out three of the four bedrooms you will get close to what you would per week on a…[Read more]

hi, gladesville couldn’t be more convenient for me, I’m happy to attend at 4pm on september 11 (will get me away from a day of tv re-telling the sept 11 story from 4 years prior. couldnt give a stuff about rugby/football/fooseball…

Very interested to hear other peoples stories on how they have invested especially outside of sydney while living…[Read more]

hi there, i would recommend reading steves book from 1 to 130 properties in 3.5 years. he talks about a few strategies.

gosh isnt it funny? I grew up in kaitaia and couldnt wait to get out of the place (as soon as I left school) and here I am thinking of buying my first investment property in NZ and I stumbled accross your dilema. I would never in a million years think of investing in Kaitaia, can you let me know what the rental returns up there would be and what…[Read more]

Hi I’m an expat kiwi living in Oz. I was one of the very few people to vote for compulsory super contributions during the referrendum a few years back in NZ. Most NZers have no super plan at all, I was lucky enough to have an employee super plan when I was in NZ that i made contributions to. Here in australia the 9% that our employers contribute…[Read more]