Thank you, L.A. Aussie,

For staying on topic.

There is no doubt that kids coming out of school have no idea of the differences between an asset and a liability. Have no idea of the value of money. Have no idea how to avoid the debt trap (Having said that my daughter seems to have a great nack for not spending her own money and concentrating on mine!).

Wealth 4 Life et al, please guys, if you don’t like each other just don’t respond to one another’s posts.

Tiling over tiles will only work if the original tiles are sound. If the paint is peeling then tiling over the top may not be your best option.

If you have the time/inclination you could strip them off and give it a go yourself. Tiling isn’t that hard.

My wife painted some bathroom tiles white once and seems to remember the job was tedious and difficult. The effect was very good, however, and lasted several years before beginning to peel.

I suppose the lesson learned is “Don’t paint tiles if you plan to keep the bathroom”.

This is pretty good but doesn’t show streets in smaller towns (just the town).

http://www.wises.co.nz/

Cheers,
Dave

Using Tax as a form of compulsory savings is not a good idea; the Tax department doesn’t pay interest.

I think georgisj’s idea of using the money in an offset account is a better idea.

There is one as part of the Due Diligence pack available for sale from this web site ( https://www.propertyinvesting.com/buyerbeware ). I received the pack a few days ago and I thought it was very well produced and if using the templates gets you out of a jam then well worth the money. 2 CD’s and a booklet.

I would just send the form to you but as it’s a “for sale” thing that’s probably not such a smart move []
I will say, however, that it set out things like:

• Dates things became effective
• Dates things (like the offer) expired
• When and how much money would change hands
• Conditions that would void the offer such as the builder’s report or finance falling through

It was pretty straight forward without any obvious legalese.

Good Luck!

…I know that woman!

I got the impression from Steve’s book that he was fairly agressive in his buying and selling of properties. Again, my impression, it didn’t sound like he held for very long – mind you he’s only been doing the PI stuff for a few years himself!

I thought a lot of times he saw an opportunity, realised a profit then used that in for a deposit on the next place or two. Like the fable of the shoe maker.

I could have completely missed the point there, though. You see him in the forum occasionally, maybe he’ll answer…

Comsec offers a ‘Protected Portfolio Loan’ which allows you to borrow a whopping 100% of the value of a share parcel. It has other interesting bits like – and I’m quoting here – “you keep all of the capital gains but are not responsible for any losses”.

Sounds too good to be true?
http://www.comsec.com.au/Baseframeset.asp?b=SiteMessaging&iSeq=445

“Keep going, you’ve nearly reached your financial freedom”

Better.

SIS is only 21?! Wow! When I was 21 I couldn’t even dress myself!

For my part I’d like to thank SIS for candidly answering a question that was posed to him. I believe SIS answered in good faith and I have learned a lot from his replies. How I use that information is now up to me.

Tax is generally a sensitive issue for most people and you always get differing points of view on sensitive issues so rember SIS – opinions are like “bottoms”; everybody’s got one.

Rather than focusing on the grey areas between tax minimisation and avoidance I think Richmond has hit the nail on the head: this forum is about learning the practicalities of how to invest in property. I for one am facinated by how you guys actually, actually do it!

…when did I become my father?
Dave

Well I must say, for me (a newbie), this has been a fascinating discussion and thanks to everyone for opening my eyes a little wider.

One question: how on earth do you claim alcohol as a tax deduction?? What’s the next logical step? Hookers? [?]

Dave