So you have sought approval from the council and received it before you started work on it? I am a bit confused as to what you are saying here. They lost your approval?

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I know I can, I know I can

Visit me on my IP Journey blog http://www.ipjourney.blogspot.com

Ahh Giraffe I am the ultimate optimist and living with adversity has enabled me to learn that all situations are opportunities, not only the ones you pay for.

I believe that when the time came to make a decision (my health or my wealth) that I made the right one for me.

Well done for making money from the trip and well done to everyone that did achieve their goals. I know I am certainly better off for my trip (yay for remission!)

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I know I can, I know I can

I was there for nearly a month (work and play) and put everything on the credit card after realising that converting cash is almost a 1:1 proposition after fees etc. Least with the credit card you get the conversion with only a small fee and the credit card is accepted everywhere just about. Convert a couple of hundred for cups of coffee and parking meters I guess.

If you look at the map I have on here http://ipjourney.blogspot.com/2005_03_01_ipjourney_archive.html you can see what we did over 12 days. That was a lot of site seeing and only a couple of places checked out for real estate. I would be stretching that out a bit further in time if you can. You’ll note we didn’t go all the way south or all the way north (they will be for next time).

Know where you want to look first and incorporate that in the trip plans. There is a great deal of fabulous scenery and touristy places (and we didn’t even get to Queenstown where most of teh extreme sporty things are). For scenery we loved Lake Tekapo, Wanaka, the glaciers and Mt Ruapaho (sp?) . For things that tickled our fancy , the mud pools and geothermal areas around Rotorua.

If you are crossing the gap in a hire car take into consideration whether you want to be tied to an absolute timetable of being in a certain place at a certain time to catch the ferry or freewheel and book the day before online (or just turn up like we did).

edit: better picture of teh map here http://photos1.blogger.com/img/58/2709/640/trip.jpg

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I know I can, I know I can

Ahh us parents are funny beasts aren’t we? Tied up in our own affairs, stressing over money and jobs and keeping the bills paid and sometimes losing sight of the really important things in life like the triumphs of our kids.

I have a 15 year old son who swings between wanting to be a man and be on his own and being childlike in his desire for attention, appreciation and praise. I try to go with the flow on that (and he ain’t never going to be too old for a cuddle from his mum).

I sympathise with your plight and say CONGRATULATIONS! I bet your parents are as pleased as punch and want you to work to your full potential to get where you want to go…but alas they are just human and can be distracted or stressed or just messed up and might not react as you want them too. Don’t take it to heart though, it is all part of realising that you are the one who has to always live with your decisions and if you decide to keep succeeding like you are then you don’t need anyones else’s appreciation (though of course we all like a pat on the back now and then don’t we [bonjour])

*hugs*

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I know I can, I know I can

Welcome iiwanak73

Some net friends of mine would have a chuckle seeing me post here after (about 6 months ago) I was researching PNG on the web. They were concerned about the political instability of PNG as well as the economy being rather immature.

From what I saw there was the city rental markets for foreign company executives and workers but I could not determine whether there was much of a domestic rental market.

I would love to hear what you think about all of that and anything else you can educate us about.

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I know I can, I know I can

I was looking at a 2 br place that has a garage under the same roof. Is the benefit of converting the garage to a bedroom better than losing a garage to a carport?

I was thinking it would be big enough to put an ensuite in as well but that would depend on value created. I don’t want to over capitalise.

Anyone done this sort of reno and can comment on the price and pitfalls please.

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I know I can, I know I can

Minimogul I understand the “obsession” comment totally!

People who have read my blog will know that I am driven to make my IP journey head in the right direction, and that my partner is happy to sit back and let me do it all.

It is most disappointing because I know when I paint him the pictures in words of where we can be he gets it, but the comfort zones are there and the fear of getting out there and doing it just stops him dead in his tracks. He has passed up the opportunity of not working for an employer and doing the foot work for us, but he just can’t motivate himself to do it.

At worst I can convince myself he is just another leech sucking the life and energy from me (like the rest of the negative nellies out there) and at best I know he is my teacher in patience and conservatism.

I don’t mind a high risk investment he prefers something safer. We balance eachother out mostly….but that is not going to stop me doing what I know needs to be done. In the mean time I seek out people like Mini who have the burning urge to just do it.

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I know I can, I know I can

or scam?

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I know I can, I know I can

I loved Wanganui city and could see masses of potential to develop further touristy things like restaurants by the river (why is there a fruit/vege warehouse hogging all that riverbank? Given the money their little patch would be something else all together). The residential wasn’t too bad either. We avoided the gang area (over the river and north) and we took a spin down to Castlecliff to suss out what everyone is avoiding (another industrial area next to the sea! and the houses looking at a horrible view).

The PMs were very friendly and claimed that 100’s of Aussie investors had been there in the last 2 years. We just couldn’t find what we were looking for as demand is still outstripping supply (darn it I was hoping for a bit more cooling before we got there) even in the specialised niche we have hoped to attack.

Know the place fairly well now so will be calling on a weekly basis to keep the agents looking….

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I know I can, I know I can

Good Stuff Ozi

I’ve been here for a week working and now have 2 weeks to have a look about for properties myself.
I’ll be concentrating on Rotorua and Wanganui (and surrounds) as I narrowed my research to those areas. I’ve been quite ill so I am also trying to take a rest and have a holiday too while I am here.

Anything you would like to add on those areas?

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I know I can, I know I can