All fair points, SWOT analysis is a good idea too. Thanks for the feedback.

Ahh Freckle. I've gotta say, I am a fan of your responses. People may find them a bit confrontational sometimes, but I think it provides a bit of perspective that others overlook. And that is exactly what I am looking for here. A perspective that I have overlooked.

And good advice for anyone looking to find out about an area, by the way.

In…[Read more]

That said… it was a one off event in 15+ years owning that and other properties.

My folks had a similar situation several years back.

The tenants didn't pay rent for a few months, then did a midnight flit. After we eventually got up there to check it out, there was several thousand dollars worth of damage done.

The bloke used to run stock cars, and drained the sump oil directly onto the garage floor… it was all pooled up…[Read more]

I should add: that 40k sitting on the mortgage would also make a pretty big difference to your cashflow situation later on when you DO rent the place out… we are talking a full 10% of your target purchase price. Or it could be drawn on to fund other investments if you are in a position to take advantage of them, further down the track.

Also, do…[Read more]

Well, it takes a woefully long time to build 40k in either capital growth or savings… so that's a pretty tasty carrot.

But as you say, a budget tighter than a ducks bunghole is no fun (nor smart).

Can you get a housemate (or two) under those arrangements? or does them 'paying rent' affect the FHOG or other grants?

Yeah there are a bunch of places that offer low introductory rates on balance transfers. Which I think (have not tried) would be great to try.

I guess from my recent experience, there are two questions that I would ask myself if going into the same situation again.

1. How quickly can you get it done and access the equity for other profitable…[Read more]

Hi Hannah, 

I am in a similar position to yourself. So far, we have just used cash for everything we have done to our PPOR (which will eventually become an IP). But living in the house rather than relying on getting it rented out ASAP makes a big difference to how you approach it.

For us, it doesn't matter if it takes a few years to finish (3 so…[Read more]

Great information gents. This forum is a brilliant resource that benefits greatly from your participation.In your experiene, who would be the most common client for a VF home? i.e. Self employed, seasonal worker, poor credit history, first home buyer, etc. I presume this question may be dependent in some way on the location of the property. B…[Read more]

Yes, a bit vague on the structure at this point. More looking from a holistic point of view at 'what could be done' if operating as any of those entities. The specifics of which would need to be thrashed out in consultation with quality professionals I absolutely agree.At the moment this is really information gathering on a subject I find…[Read more]

Thanks for the quick response Paul!

For question 3 the idea would be to sell houses that the business/trust/individual owns, as opposed to assisting others sell through VF (at least initially).

Would a credit license be required for this?

Again, thanks for your help.

Just throwing it out there.

What about putting the extra cash into some bonds with a yield over or on the interest rate of the home loan. That way the borrowings are all still ‘borrowings for investment’ and you can claim tax. Also, if interest rates go down you could make more cash (which you would pay tax on) that could be used for some of your…[Read more]

Thanks Aaron, that gives me a bit of confidence to dig a little deeper.

I suppose another thing in our favor is that the properties, along with house on my other side were previously approved for 16 units a few years back.

Thanks menunes for your feedback also, initially I think we would want to keep it pretty simple. I can see higher risk if…[Read more]

Cool, thanks for the feedback!

Will definitely have to get a solicitor to handle contracts then.

any potential problems for the buyer on that??? I mean if they are dependent on finance than would there be issues with valuation as the properties independently would likely not be worth as much…

G'day Ozlat,I wouldn't be so worried about your borrowing capacity just yet. Or your credit rating.At this point in time it is probably more important to focus on developing good habits and money management, and getting your situation sorted out before you start worrying about investments that carry risk and commitments above what you could re…[Read more]

Re the cash out function, be careful. Sometimes your interest free periods do not apply to cash advance…. Different banks, different cards, etc.

Thanks luke,

That is certainly true for the subdivision option. Selling the original house would likely provide a significant amount of equity in the remaining dwelling. However, on my initial tyre kicking estimates the cost of doing the subdivision versus just selling our place as-is left me with around the same amount of cash but exposed to a…[Read more]

mining may only account for that small amount, but support industry is extensive… everything from train and truck transportation of mined materials, construction and maintenance of mining infrastructure and facilities, ports operation, catering and camp housing, recruitment, training, manufacturing of replacement parts, yada yada yada… stats…[Read more]

If the stumps are in good condition, and only a little bit unlevel (less than about 2.5 inches), you can get the whole place re-levelled and stumps re-packed with hardwood or fibre board. It's generally cheaper than digging out and replacing the old stumps.A reputable company did this for me for $2600, about 1 year ago in QLD.They also quoted $…[Read more]

In the planning paperwork for ipswich council, my local, I think the minimum width for a subdivision (unless dual occupancy) is 5.5mThat said, you need to consult the council directly. Just because the planning scheme says one thing doesn't mean they won't contradict it for a myriad of reasons…. Talk to them and see what they reckon first hand.