You're never too young or old to start anything!Colonel Sanders was 66 when he started KFC and look where it is now If you've got the passion behind what you do, you'll achieve it.All the best,Lance

Wow Melanie! This post is truly inspirational!Great work so far, I look forward to finding out how the rest unfolds All the best,Lance

I think if you converted it to a 4 bedder then it would be great to rent out the rooms individually for student accommodation. Although there is the risk they won't take care of the place.If you're more focused on renting to a family I think the kitchen reno would be great. Certainly more appropriate for family living conditions.

Same here, that sussan's a stubborn one

Hi Mdees,Try using http://reports.rpdata.com.au/ – You can get a free suburb report that can display median house & unit prices in the past ten years and the past 12 months. A few other things included as well that you'll find useful.Cheers

Hi Terry,Sorry, I must have misunderstood your first post. I agree that all aspects as you just mentioned above would be ideal but are unfortunately hard to come by.Well I guess there's not much else to do but really go out there and find the deals that fit the profile.Thanks Terry

Hi Andrew,I recently read that you need to be careful buying an IP that would also act as a holiday home for yourself.The reason being that if your IP is only an ideal place for tenants looking for a holiday home then you're essentially going to increase vacancy rates by using it yourself. Say for example that demand for the property was high in…[Read more]

Point taken However, in regards to the "To Trust or not to Trust: That is the question" post: https://www.propertyinvesting.com/forums/getting-technical/legal-accounting/4326640It's mentioned that when holding property through a discretionary trust (which I plan to do) will not allow you to take advantage of negative gearing, as losses in the…[Read more]

Hi Terry,That's true, but if I was to focus on reducing debt and adding value, either by subdividing or renovating at later stages, then wouldn't that compensate for slow growth and essentially allow me to get the best of both worlds?Perhaps it would be better for me to ask, what sort of strategies have helped others to build a substantial…[Read more]

Thanks for the insight Erik,Hitting a brick wall when it comes to pure growth investing as you mentioned is a situation I don't want to put myself in.I guess it all comes down to finding a balance in your strategy so your options in the future are always open.Cheers

Roy,There are basically two ways to create equity – that is, repay the principle on the loan, or create more value in the property itself, either by renovating or allowing the housing market to improve, which at the present time isn't happening much at all.And yes, you should expect a fee for switching to variable interest rates (if that's what…[Read more]

Yes I received the very same message yesterday and notified the moderators

Hi Johann22,Perhaps you should consider where you are going with your investments before you ask what you should be buying.Cheers

daniellee wrote:
Well… had my meeting with the accountant. Was not really impressed, and felt that at times, I knew more than him when it came to property investing. To put it simply, he advised against a DT and said to just go with buying in our own names……Clearly, I did not get the answers that I was looking for, nor learnt much from…[Read more]

Hi Clareow,I was at a home buying expo last year and saw a presentation by Archicentre –  http://archicentre.com.au/They seem to be quite goodCheers

At the current time my partner and I want to begin applying the 100-10-3-1 rule I picked up from Dolf de Roos. For those who haven't heard of it before it simply means to look at 100 properties, make an offer on 10, have at least 3 (offers) accepted and buy 1.We're just starting out as property investors and understand it's important to have the…[Read more]

Hi springrose,If you're after houses that have been foreclosed I've read that you can ask real estate agents if they have any REO's (Real Estate Owned). Unfortunately, most real estate agents aren't too proud about having REO's so are very discrete about them.I think you can also ask at a real estate attorneys office or a court that handles real…[Read more]

daniellee wrote:
I spoke with the accountant, and was advised to not bother about a trust.

Hi Daniel,Thanks for posting this topic.. I'm learning a lot from everyone who's contributed.Just wanted to say something in regards to your post above -"When someone points their finger at you and tells you 'You can't do that!', they really have three…[Read more]

Qlds007 wrote:
Hate to say some of the State legislation in relation to wrapping has changed a lot over the last few years and a lot of this information may now be inacurate or incorrect.

I guess that explains why the product was discontinued in the first place

newy777 wrote:
Cheers,what is an option?? is there any example you could give me..

Hi Newy777,You can purchase on option on a property which gives you the irrevocable right to purchase that property within a given time frame.Say for example you purchase a 18 month option… you now have 18 months to exercise your right to purchase the property…[Read more]