Ah Forest Hill. Well at least I was in the same state

Yeah this is true WJ Hooker but with adding value DB could could still have some deductions on top of whatever exists. Get a good quantity surveyor to come through on either when u have settled.

Yeah agent = vendor best interests, not yours. I'd string the agent for a bit see what other tricks he pulls out to know whether he is serious or just feeding me spiel.

Remember you are buying, your money, your investment.

Good luck

Hi,

Alright I'll have a crack with my 2 cents.

First I'll have a stab with the suburb, Box Hill South or Burwood. Hey I might be way off… Secondly I like your figure of $4500 a month. Over $1k a week is interesting. How are UNDER 18 yr olds paying out this much? Are we talking overseas students? Or is this a combined household income?

Then I would ask with regards to reno or sub-division whether you can pay the mortgage as well as paying all the associated costs. Can you hang on to a property for anywhere from 6 mths to 2 years without sinking? You may have tenants for 6mths out of an 18 mths project. Can you pay $1000's a month on an empty property? (This is without all the other costs of doing ANY work on a property)

I would suggest rather than jumping in head first you do just a little more reading. Hey I'm not saying waste time ( Coz OMG the markets moving and there will never be another time, quick panic buy!) I'm saying read a couple books to see what you are getting yourself in for. A good sub-division one is by Ron Forlee, Australian Residential Property Development. Sorry I haven't got a good reno one because I haven't got round to reading any yet. Plenty of good real estate books here http://www.businessmall.com.au/ . Get some property investment mags and look at the suburb listings in the back for information on whats moving and what's not and rental yields.

Lastly not every opportunity will be over your back fence or round the corner from you. You have a whole state and a whole country to shop in. (yeah and world, I know!)

No one is going to hand you all your knowledge, you need to work for it. But do work for it, you are the only person who will be able to gain all the information. Ask questions, this is a good start. Who cares if you sound silly or you ask the "wrong" thing, just keep asking. No one is going to tell you where they planted their money tree but they may tell you how to find the seed.

Good luck, I hope some other people weigh in with an opinion or 2.

D

I wouldn't worry about moving and owning IP. As long as you have a great property manager it is fine. We have our very first property in another state which we bought while we were living there. We knew we would have to move in around two years so bought something that we could live in and that was easily rent-able.

If you have a look at the growth of your area now and if there is anything new happening, infrastructure etc then you should be able to see if it is worth it. Also if the rents are good and the prices are cheap might be ok. Always homework.

D

Yeah I don't mean waiting 20 years to buy the dream house either.

 I like the idea of buying a mid price house in a older area for reno but for a first time might be worth getting something cheaper with good chance of growth and/or C+. If they are not confidant with reno-ing budget might get out of hand etc, and yes house and land packs in new estates are not generally the way to make big bucks! (Unless you are the developer)

Out of curiosity Wealth where did you start reno-ing? Do you still do 10 a year or do you focus now on less jobs but bigger?

D

Hi

Very happy now! Getting $180 out of $128k purchase price. Depends where you are looking. And bargain hard. The property I got was on the market for a year (needs a bit of work of course, but that's ok I can add value)  Asking price $134k bit of to and fro-ing got it for 128K. Plus it came with a free tenant () But each person is different and likes different risk, areas etc.

I just want to know if anyone has actually got a good deal at an auction in the last couple years? Or has it just been a stooge?

D

Hi,

I would go with the "cheepies". The problem with getting the big house with the big mortgage first off is that you can't get anything else. That's fine for most people. They want the barbie dream house with a nice kitchen etc and never want to be rich or have any other properties.  (Sorry to all my friends)

Where I live the median house price is about 1Mil. We have opted to rent a nice house and use the money that we would have spent on the dream house on buying and building more properties.

It just depends on you. Can you live without the nicest car and the best house temporarily while your other assets grow? My friends don't get why I am renting.  My mum is constantly at me to buy a house to live in because she thinks that will make me happy. I am happy watching my assets grow knowing my family will have security later (and also its really fun counting money )

We are now at a stage where we could access equity and use that as a large deposit on the mansion but I think we can wait a little longer and use that money a little better.

The prices in our area have risen about 200k over the last 2 years. So if the smaller properties are going to give you a good capital gain go with those. If the 1 large property wont hamper your ability to keep purchasing by crippling you with repayments then go for that. Have a think about where you really want to be in 3-5 years time as well as how much debt you can handle and still sleep at night. I hope this hasn't sounded too preachy!

I would really love to hear what the pro's think and if they think getting the 700k house is the way to go.

Good Luck

D

Hi,

Margaret Lomas seems to be the "expert" on cash-flow positive and has a lot of books out if you want to read further. It's all about the deductions.

DWolfe

Hmm, expensive? Better do some more shopping I think!

Hey everyone,

I've got one seat left in the backseat of my car for my tour round to see some properties…..I'll point them out to you as we drive! Yeah they are all mine!

This doesn't seem like the best way to spend upwards of 30k. I'm all for education and spending money on investment…but geez!

A fool and his money are soon parted

DWolfe