Hi Leigh,
I guess each situation is individual.

We bought a 30+ year old house and our accountant who had previously explained to us about QS and their benefits, advised us against it. It is a very basic house and we replaced the air-con and stove, and the HWS is working ok, so we noted it’s age. It is 2-3 hours drive from the city -also a…[Read more]

Hi Bindi,

we have it and highly reccommend it.

Tony and Diane

Thanks Mel,

and LMI is…………???

If it’s loan mortgage insurance we have that.

Thanks, Diane

Thanks Mel and Simon,
I thought you 2 might be the ones to tackle this and many thanks.
At present we are with Com bank.
We owe 60 and the loan repayments are about 87/week,which we have been paying off at the 135/week for 3 months ourselves as we have all the other costs like rates & insurance factored in so we thought it would get us ahead a…[Read more]

Perhaps there should be a means of assessing the quality of work that individual teachers do. Some I know are very dedicated and work very hard. others are being “carried” by them, arriving late, minimum preparation etc. I guess the addage ” there are many willing workers here – some are willing to work and others are willing to let them” applies…[Read more]

Thanks heaps, Diane

Hi Bear,
not as far as I know.
cheers, diane

This area is on the outskirts of the Clare Valley and definitely has potential for future growth. However you need to research thoroughly things such as: the occupancy rates, any passenger trains??, figures on the growth/employment etc in the area, how long it’s been on the market etc etc.
cheers, diane

Hi nchattaway and welcome[]. It’s Diane Schmidtke and I assume there’s only one of you in SA and that I’m not embarrassing myself?? 20+ years older than you and we are only just learning this stuff and just got our first IP (in Sa) – so you are already in front and I expect to read great reports from you on here soon.
If you want to talk phone…[Read more]

We are moving back near our family – so I am going to be busy playing with and spoiling my grandchildren !! Can’t wait[] 12 more sleeps[]

Hi all, we were travelling for a few months and one Sunday after church were invited to a young couple’s home for lunch. During the course of the afteroon we learned this young father of 3 only worked part time, and the passive income from his investment properties paid his mortgage on his PPOR… WOW… We were 20 or so years older what were we…[Read more]

Hi Jester,
I agree with Redwing and would add this caution…
I am speaking about SA the state I know when I say that…. at the moment many of these homes are highly priced for what they are. As the demand for this type of home has increased for reasons of convenience, security and the facilites provided, many are being sold at higher than value…[Read more]

Hi Redwing,
Thanks for all that great information.
Nice to read, lots of positive points to ponder, and encouragement we are on the right path!!
We have been flat out renovating our first IP on days off over the last 4 weeks. It’s coming together as last. Has been exhausting from the fact we found a good job opportunity at the same time as…[Read more]

Hi s.i.s,
we have bought in a town where there are only several hundred people. The reason for this is that it is right next to a major town where there is no land left to build on ( due to river and lagoons) and therefore the population will spread to the town next door. We did thorough research on the area via the web, agents, local people and…[Read more]

Who puts the values on people’s occuptaions?? For example, A refrigeration mechanic I know did 4 years study as an apprentice and has 25 years knowledge of whitegoods and airconditioning, he worked hard and was a service representative for several major companies and the most he was paid was $29,000. He left this to become a manager of an…[Read more]

Hi Steve,
we are only new to this so this is just our thoughts ok.
We live in Mildura and got really excited about buying property here. However, after lots of hunting and talking to agents, found nothing that fitted the 11 second rule. So, we looked at Redcliffs, Merbein etc. The only properties that came close were 2 units, that are full of…[Read more]

Hi Anna,
appreciate your thoughts and ideas.
We didn’t realise in SA it’s the landlords responsibility to pay someone to maintain the gardens, or provide the tools for the tennant to do it, if you get a tennant who wants to!!
When we rented years ago we had to do and provide everything, so this is all new to us, and we are investigating it…[Read more]

Hi Redwing,
appreciate your ideas and natives are a good option.

Unfortunately the cuttings are not an option as the property is across the border from us, and although it’s only an hour and a half away, we are not permitted to take any plant material.

Maybe they have street stalls we can buy plants from on our days off!
Will keep the natives…[Read more]

Just a few thoughts from our 1st 3 months of looking…..
The templates in Buyer Beware are a really big help in sorting the finances and taking away the “have I missed anything” thoughts.

We looked seriously at a property 6 hours from us and went back for a 2nd look, saw things we didn’t notice on our first “eager” trip and made us realise it…[Read more]

Thanks westan and Sooshie,
Yes we are excited and nervous simultaneously! We bought in a small town on the River, SA. We did our homework on the area, talked to locals, etc and the area is definitely growing, has good employment (that’s not seasonal) and growth potential. It’s a small timer-frame, and there are lots similar that done-up sell for…[Read more]