I rented a place next to a train station in sydney for 2.5 years. I rented next to a train station in NZ for 1.5 years, I live next to a busy road now, the only thing that bothers me is the sirens when there is an accident. I would move in if there was a tram stop outside my door, I am always running late each morning and groan each time i see my bus go past before i get to the bus stop.

I am not a heavy sleeper by any means, but you get used to the noise. By the time the tenant has been there for 6 months-12 mths they will be well used to the noise.

I found a brilliant product at the sydney great ideas home show for soundproofing your windows if it is a concern, the results were amazing. check out http://www.magnetite.com.au its relatively cheap compared to double glazing and works really well for noise reduction.

I find it hard enough to find a rental property that hits all on my list of must have’s so the road its on would be irrellivant, have you thought of making sure it has all of the creature comforts to attract tenants? air con, dishwasher etc, all depreciable of course!

I love the idea of contacting the deaf association, brilliant! with it being so close to the transport you may find they could be very interested. now that is thinking outside the square!

derek,

i was at the conference too, ed chan is a brilliant man I enjoyed his talk a lot (the food was good too). I just made the connection of who you are, congrats on your success so far, I’m interested that your on this forum of mostly cf+ investors, have you changed your strategy?

Dohicky

i’m going to masterclass in sydney on oct 23rd

my original 1966 bathroom was completely renovated before i moved in. I got rid of the horrid bricked up bath (what is comfortable about sitting in a square tiled bath???) not to mention the horrid yucky tiny tiles that looked like they had never been cleaned and the grout was coming away. I still shudder at the thought of those tiles. I replaced the small bricked in bath with a smooth tiled floor for a nice large shower. luxurious. I had considered getting a bath to replace the bricked up one but due to the obscure size of the alcove i could not find a bath to fit, It has opened up the bathroom and made it seem more spacious (the white tiles on the walls also helped with this) I tell you the most expensive part – getting the plumber to block off the bath taps and change the shower taps to a single mixer. costs below:

Tiles removed and replaced $1800
Tiles $300 (got end of lines of tiles)
new toilet $330 (porcelain p trap – reece)
New Vanity $250 (ebay)
Tap/shower head/mixer $150 (ebay)
New large mirror $40 (IKEA)
new towel holders etc $50 (bunnings)
Plumber $3000 (included fixing all new fittings and some work in the kitchen)

All in all it was realtively cheap for a whole new luxurious modern bathroom which added a lot of value to the place. I can also now easily walk around without thinking of those old horrid tiles!!!!!

I feel a bit sorry for Simon as it seems very clear to me (although surprising I might add)

I will tomorrow have reached the 6 month anniversary of purchasing my PPOR, of which I used the FHOG and stamp duty excemption in NSW to buy. Very soon I will be renting out the property and it will be my first IP. I found it the only way for me to afford an IP and it has worked out very well for me. The other thing worth noting as that since I have lived here for 6 months if i sell the property in the next 6 years I do not have to pay capital gains tax. noice bonus.

There you go ladies and gents, the thread topic “in action”.

I’m very excited my partner can now go and buy his first property using FHOG etc so we have somewhere else to live for the next 6 months, and so the cycle starts again…

Dohicky

hi mitzu,

great to hear that things ended up ok in the end!! now the tough question, do you have a tenant? and if you do, how much are they paying?

Dohicky

PS – Ahipara isnt expensive if you want to live by the sea! much cheaper than Sydney. [laughing]

Hi I’m a member of the investors club and have been for about a year. The support and info you get from them is excellent and I went to one of their seminars earlier in the year which I found really valuable. The only downside is that they only look for negative geared properties and I’m looking for cf+ so I havent bought anything through them. My parents have bought a property through them in NZ and are happy with it. They offer excellent research on their properties and the regions they are in. I was going to buy a property through them until I read Steve’s first book which changed my thinking about neg gearing. It depends what you are after in your portfolio, but I can not fault the club at all.

any accountants able to advise on this? i’m planning a trip to nz and would love to claim it.

have they actually started investing in the airport? no offence but they have been talking about it for at least 10 years so far… things happen slowly…

Queenstown is now the most expensive place in NZ to buy property, so it has certainly had a lot of growth there, all the celebs are buying up farms and having a holiday home in the area. Are you a celeb? you might fit in well :o)

sorry I’m being a bit pesimistic. The area’s largest industry is tourism and is literally a tourist mecca. I dont see that changing anytime soon. If they do ever upgrade that tiny airport then the growth could increase a lot. More tourists = more jobs = more people needing accomodation.

Are you looking for long term rentals or a holiday spot rented out by the week? you could charge a bomb in the ski season.

I use Reviq, very good software and i think you can try it for a couple of weeks as trial software from their website. it projects next 10 years of returns.