Freckle wrote:
A bit melodramatic even for you fWord

That's a bold statement, as if you knew me well. Come to think of it, I don't know any trolls.

Freckle wrote:
You take what you can get and be thankful for small mercies.

Of course, or I could wallow in self pity instead. The choice is pretty clear.

JacM wrote:
Nice one, fWord!  What suburb are you in at the moment, and what suburb will you be considered to be a part of when they shift the boundaries?

Thanks. I think you might be familiar with this area. A part of North Geelong is proposed to become Rippleside. Some people would probably argue that it's much of a muchness, but IMHO it is…[Read more]

JacM wrote:
Yes people it is all doom and gloom.  If you own property and you hang onto it you will implode.  You really should get out while you can.  Sell me your houses for 20cents.  I shall then rent them to people who require accommodation (since nobody will own their own home they will have to rent) for whatever price I fancy.  Mwah…[Read more]

bardon wrote:

fWord wrote:
Yeah, the world is coming to an end too.But it's not gonna be 2012! That's my prophecy! LOL

You are most probably right there. So does that mean we should just maintain the fear indefinitely and one day we will be proven right?

No, no. Far from it. What I meant to say was, don't live in eternal fear. Every few…[Read more]

Currently working in Meadow Heights, not far from Dallas. A lot of folk would consider this area out here to be the rougher side of Melbourne. Not discriminating here, but in general, the demographic here is low socioeconomic. That said, I have met exceptional clients in this neighbourhood (or from surrounding suburbs). You will get a mixture of…[Read more]

Yeah, the world is coming to an end too.But it's not gonna be 2012! That's my prophecy! LOL

Very interesting to read about this. I remember Loch Sport vaguely when stopping there for a toilet break on the way down to Venus Bay. There was a well-drawn mural on the outside of those toilets, which I did photograph. It was a quiet and little town.

If this does occur, and that's a big 'if', does that mean that land will eventually be purchased on a lease hold basis? I've seen this happen in another country, except they didn't 'quietly' change a law. It's probably been that way since day one.

That's brilliant. If the banks pass on some, then property owners will get to save some more!

ozlat wrote:
fWord – thanks for the great tips… I get paid on the 15th with my first pay check and have already drawn up a budget, opened a savings account, and am ready to roll will be back here to ask more questions and share my progress… oh and started a "to read" list! mattsta – not sure exactly what my credit file looks like, so am…[Read more]

There's a lot of things I would like to do but can't do, because of the current habit of save and invest. However yes, I do have a limited life outside of that, and my job. Or should I say that investing is part of my life and one of my hobbies. I enjoy investing.The other small thing I do is photography. This used to be landscapes and animals…[Read more]

Yes, I got happy for about 5 seconds, and then figured, what the heck. The banks wouldn't necessarily cut my loan by 50 basis points. It's pretty frustrating, but this is reality I guess.

This might have been mentioned before, but consider drawing up a detailed budget to note down exactly where all your money is spent. Have a good ol' notepad in your pocket and jot down any expenses you make on the spot. Don't count on accumulating receipts and looking at those at the end of the day. Some purchases don't come with receipts, not…[Read more]

2009 Mazda 2 Neo. Fuel efficient, nippy performance (as much as you'd get in a 4 cyl non-turbo 1.5L engine). The great handling is my favourite bit and it takes sharp corners and roundabouts very well. It's an auto, even though I got my license on a manual and could easily drive a manual car. But given the infrastructure issues in some parts of…[Read more]

JacM wrote:
Can't say I would aim to buy a 5 bedder anywhere.  Three bedder max.  Little families that can't quite afford a mortgage only need 3 bedrooms.  By the time they can afford rent on a 5 bedder, they can probably afford their own mortgage.

Interesting. Thanks for that.I've generally avoided 5 bedders for another reason, such as the tr…[Read more]

Jpcashflow wrote:
Hi,I have a client who owns a shop in Geelong and she said that their are allot of shops closing down "etc".

Retail is doing it tough at the moment unfortunately, and I get the impression that it's quite general across the board. Things in Australia are pretty expensive compared to the prices I'm seeing overseas and online, so…[Read more]

Jpcashflow wrote:
Geelong? Will see what happends with ford If ford do let go of workers or cut hours back, will the local economy be impacted by this? I think after July there is going to be allot of opportunity

Johann, good point, recalling that just two days ago there was an article in the newspaper about the Ford plants at Geelong and…[Read more]

luke86 wrote:
But you want as big a land component as possible, as buildings (generally) depreciate and land appreciates.Units can have a large land component though- If you own a townhouse in an inner ring subrub in a small low rise complex of say 6 units you would probably find that the land component is worth more than that of a similar va…[Read more]

Freckle wrote:
All things being equal the 2br house you bought 10 years ago will still only buy you a comparable 2 br house today if you sold up and moved. Higher inflation generally means higher interest rates so you loose from that angle too.

Hence the term 'investment property'. People who buy such a house already have their own home (or…[Read more]