I sacked my property manager and didn't have any issues. You just need to give them notice.

As for insurance charging more – I didn't find this at all, in fact it was actually cheaper when i switched providers haha.

Check out this blog post on managing your own property:…[Read more]

i'm always wary of investing in apartments where there is a lot of stock. with 150 apartments in the building the value of your property will be dictated by others sold in the building. not to mention if you want to re-sell/rent out then you will be competiting with other apartments in the building that are most likely identifcal to yours.also,…[Read more]

not only will you get more $ from rent having a decent kitchen but you'll also increase the value of the property.

it comes down to first impressions…you want to wow people (and especially valuers) before they step foot inside the house. not to mention un-landscaped properties tend to look unfinished.

The chances of re-zoning is likely to be slim to none. The advice I have always been given regarding local council is to work with them, not against them. In other words find out what they want and then deliver it – makes for a much easier process when it comes time to lodge for approval.I have a ton of info on subdividing and some basic feaso…[Read more]

i found a pretty good spreadsheet online that i use – just plug in the figures. can email it to you if you like?

I had some suspicions that it may have been a housing commission area and i was right. not sure if there's any plan to relocate the housing commission in the future.

i started a blog following my foray into the world of investing, you can follow it here – http://www.mypropertyjourney.com

I'll be honest I'd never even heard of it before you posted here and i've lived in melbourne nearly my entire life!!I've done a quick look on a few websites and by all reports the median price is around the early $300s for a house which def seems cheap for that area (considering surrounding suburbs). I'm wondering what could be wrong with it haha…[Read more]

hi newbiebeginner,i recently wrote a rather lengthy post on NRAS and the positives and negatives surrounding this kind of investment. you may find it helpful – http://mypropertyjourney.com/2012/05/20/what-you-need-to-know-about-nras/

I thought you had to own a certain amount of property (i.e. total over $600k accumulated) to beeligible for land tax i.e. total over $600k? or have you already reached that threshold?Out of curiosity is land tax worked out on a percentage or is it a flat rate?

Amit – there's a great website called meetup.com i've used it to find groups of like minded people in melbourne. you may find it useful

thanks for that, there was some great info floating around.

For those of you who didn't get the opportunity to see Nathan in Melbourne, you can find a re-cap on my blog: http://mypropertyjourney.com/2012/03/04/i-is-for-initiative/Cheers,Emma

First you need to find out if you can obtain a permit – which means you need to speak to your local council.

if you're in victoria don't bother with either. with new privacy laws introduced they are pretty much useless.

All council websites are the best for current developments as well as future planning schemes.RP data is another good one.

i agree with a lot of what everyone has said. sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and go for it. make sure you do your due diligence and are comfortable with your decision but don't over analyse things. there are always going to be better deals out there, we can't win them all but we can make informed, decisive choices.there's some tips on…[Read more]

very cool richard, thanks for the feedback

moxi10 is right, i would go to a builder over an architect, since they would be the one actually doing the work. They will have a good idea of what is possible and costs associated. Definitley will need to provide an incentive for them to look at it – I'd pull out the yellow pages and call around, see what you can come up with. Having said…[Read more]