I've done the queensland real estate REIQ course…..it goes for 5 days and costs around 750 bucks. It's worth doing if you want to learn how agents operate and the process/documentation of buying/selling/property management……so if that's what you're after then go for it. I did the course and went into real estate sales on the Gold Coast. Being in RE sales helps with my property investing a great deal as you meet heaps of people in the industry and find out about properties before they come on the market.

Any course is worth doing if it improves your overall knowledge.

Cheers
Glenn

i agree with banjo
i tend to think that most of the stuff you do is fairly similar…..but you do need to have your target market in mind when renovating to sell or rent out…..
 
i may cut some corners on some of the finer finishing touches if the place is to be rented. A renter wouldn't put near as much time into inspecting the place and it's structural elements as a buyer………a renter will notice whether the stove is stainless steel or not but isn't going to inspect the slight plaster crack in the roof or the water damage at the back of the cupboard.

thats my opinion anyways

u can get alot of useful stuff from your local tip shop or lifeline / salvos type stores including basins, tiles, mirrors etc even tools like tile cutters. sometimes people have heaps of tiles left over and just take them to the dump or the op shop. ikea/bunnings/spotlight can be good for accessories like towel racks / toilet roll holders / blinds etc. whatever you do don't assume that bunnings are the cheapest for everything……

yes it does depend on the standard of your bathroom……but you should be able to re-tile and replace vanity / mirror / shower head & handles for under 1000. its unfortunate if you have to replace shower screens, bathtubs etc as it can get expensive. i've only had shower curtains in my places which are really cheap and can be bought with modern patterns on them etc….and can't be broken by careless tenants. i picked up a great vanity off ebay for really cheap too.

the best thing you can do is ask on forums like this

cheers
g

i am nowhere near as experienced as all of these guys but the way i look at the I.O. vs P+I scenario is like this:

say if i buy a house for 100,000 and then sell that house for 175,000 in 5 yrs time creating a 75k capital gain.

If i had the loan set up as P+I i may have paid 50,000 off the principal. So i would receive a “profit” of 125k when i sold it……….. but in reality the extra 50k i paid off the principal is just my money being returned to me…..its kinda like saving 50k in the bank. in that 5yrs i could of just paid the interest on the loan and put that 50k into other investments and made further profits rather than it sitting on my mortgage doing nothing.

thats my simple way to look at it….coming from a simple mind (who failed maths in grade 10) hehe.

oh and with the toilet…i left my original toilet base there and got a replacement cistern and lid from bunning for 60-70 bucks. it also includes the piece of plastic between the lid and the cistern to hide the pipe and give that modern look. it totally looks like a new toilet.

gday,
well 8 months ago i had a sports car with alot owing and was renting with absolutely no savings. so i decided it was time to buy a house.

u must look at everything in your life and decide how to save money. i sold the car and got a little 4 cylinder, i sold everything i could think of that i no longer used on ebay. i did not indulge for 6 months on anything. sure, expenses pop up that u didnt expect but you must not let that be an excuse to lose your focus.

i redid my budget almost every single day….if i spent 5 dollars that day i redid my budget. u must become completely obsessed with your budget in order to save quickly and stick to your guns.
u must do without for a while in order to reap the rewards in the end.

so yeah after 6 months i had enough for a deposit and bought my house…i saved more than i could of imagined in that time. i am still budgeting now end plan to for quite a while.

but i was lucky in that i am single and did not have to satisfy anyone but myself….it would be hard with a wife and kids but once again dont let it be an excuse.