Well you would have quite a few people selling an unencumbered property worth 1.1mill for $995k. The tax would then be avoided, and you would get a drop in property prices.

If the estate was worth $1 million and had mortgages to $800k would the tax be on the whole amount or on the 'profit'. You'd then create a class of people who couldnt afford to inherit due to taxes….

D

Time to ponder the differences.

Germany population 81 million, Australia 23 million
Germany has manufacturing, Australian governments have done their best to get rid of ours.
Germany has infrastructure, bullet trains etc. Australia, we have a couple metro trains that can't even run on time
Germany land size 357,114 kms2, Australia land size 7,692,024

Germany has lived through 2 world wars, wars transfer funds. There was a good documentary series called the Ascent of Money.

Germany has a huge population to land size ratio. They must fit their whole population and manufacturing and farming, and infrastructure and cities into this tiny area. This means they must have a regulated housing market. Without regulation in a market such as theirs people would be dying in the streets, they would have plague and riots etc and that's not how a well oiled German machine works.

Australians have seen property as a way to create security. If people pay off their house, they never have to move until they die. You are also forgetting one of the main reasons deep down for people buying property in Australia. Everyone wants to own a piece of the lucky country.

People came on boats (now and in the past) looking for a better life. Part of the better life was owning some security in your life. Never having the government or the bank or the mob (or whoever) take it from them.

If you look at property with unemotional eyes you will get a good picture, but you will miss the motivation, the "WHY".

D

Great post.

I'd love to buy a bargain, but in Melb atm there really isnt much movement in prices.

I'd love to know where all the much touted price drops are beacuse the areas I'm looking vendors are still seeming to get pretty much top dollar. Any sites are well overpriced and any price drops that are happing to stale properties are just taking the price down to basically RRP, I can't see any huge discounting.

We have 2 properties on the market atm and while it looks like we will get a good dollar amount they will probably take a bit longer to sell.

I think there are still plenty of buyers out there and it is is not quite as soft a market as some commnentators are making out.

Just my 2 cents

D

Thanks for the slap veseli,

Your advice was also quite general, being to "buy the cheapest house in the best area, and spend at least $50k and you will make $100k back".

w0mbat was after advice on renovating courses and where to get materials. There are alternatives such as having local builders build kitchens or to get quotes from them on project managing the whole renovation.

A general rule of thumb (that I've been told is 10% spend on the actual renovation, and that you should be looking for a 10% profit (minimum) for that time and money.

It really does depend on the house, the area and what you have access to. It's also about doing your research and asking tradespeople and real estate agents about how much things will cost and what resale values are.

I don't know whether anyone has looked at the better quality kitchens from Bunnings but you can get stone bench tops and a whole kitchen with nicer doors is a lot less than 12k.

I'm not telling anyone to spend 10k on a renovation, I am saying to spend an amount of money that is appropriate. I also never said 'buy flat pack, make a profit' I listed the lthngs that I had bought at Bunnings and  was giving an example of what I was doing currently.

Good luck w0mbat, I hope that you have gleaned from this that it isn't as easy as everyone makes out, people will give you different advice, but it is worth looking into more.

D

Lol Jamie! You beat me to it!

Flat pack kitchen from Bunnings, Flat pack laundry trough from Bunnings, all in one bathroom vanity from Bunnings, misc materials Bunnings, Plants Bunnings lol Customer of the year here Mitre 10 in regional areas are ok and Home Hardware store in regional areas as well. Find the handyman, ask him for quotes and then ask him where he buys his materials from, then go there and have a look.

D

Hi Reeeen,

How are you going with all this?

Some councils will let you subdivide on tiny blocks, such as Doveton which has a 200sqm minimum block size. But…… and its a big but, it depends on the block. Where are the easements if any? What overlays are there, if any? do you have any large trees that council may decide at a later date that they want you to keep? What is next door, either side and across the street? Is there a DEMAND from buyers to buy what you are proposing to build? Have you talked to at least 3 real estate agents and found out end sales prices and rental returns so you have a clear picture? What else is being built in the area? Have you talked to those builders and got a rough cost for what they are building there?

Call the council and ask them, Can I do this? They may say maybe, then call a couple of town planners or architects or draftsmen and ask, Can i do this? How much? How long?

Construction costs that were put in sound ok, I'd add another 50k for extras such as fences, landscaping, blinds, aircon things that are not included in the building contract.

You will need to subdivide to sell AND strata title to sell. The subdivision gives each property it's own physical parcel of land whereas the strata title shows on the actual title each parcel of land.

Also keep in mind your profit, it has to be worth it. Developing takes time 12/18 mths at a minimum to start and finish something like townhouses and if you walk away at break even or a small profit you need to ask yourself if it is even worth starting.

You need to ask as many questions as you can, developing is about more information rather than less. You can't say at the end…. Oh I didn't know that, because that will cost you a lot of money.

Good luck, developing is worth pursuing, but you need information.

D

Great Nathan! Thanks for the pics!

I'm in the middle of doing something similar (the house even looks a bit similar) in regional Vic. Its great to see people are getting in ad creating wealth!

Jamie, my hubby HAD to have the 370Z….. it's not sensible, but it is soo much fun to drive

D