I've just finished my 2nd home with Dixons and overall, am happy with the result.  It took about 6 weeks longer than predicted but still, not that bad.  The supervisor was very helpful and so have been the Chermside staff.  If ever I had a problem, I'd arrange an appointment to see my sales consultant who always sorted things out for me.  I got…[Read more]

I've built 2 homes through Dixon and have been happy with the experience.  The Chermside office (in particular Peter and Eliza) have been extremely helpful.  Advantages:  great value for money, reasonable building time (between 4 to 7 months), great tracking system, knowledgeable and helpful staff,  wide range of plans, inclusions are impro…[Read more]

Yes, this happened to me as well.  I had a property that did not go up in value for over 5 years so had to fund a reasonable shortfall during this time.  In fact, my rents also went down during that period so was stressed out constantly during that time.  I tried to sell but would have got $10,000 less than what I paid.  I decided to hang in by…[Read more]

Have heard some good reports about the Property School.  At least they aren't selling you a product.  I heard that the course was very thorough, well organised and practical. 

I was told that CBA and St George don't require ABN and GST.  That was a little while ago so contact a good broker who may be able to help you.

Very hard to help you if no one knows where your property is located.  Do you have a house or unit?  How old is your property

I've bought vacant land and built on it but have decided not to sell.  I made about $70,000 equity in each case.  Fortunately I bought the land just before the end of our current boom so can't guarantee that I'll be successful again.  I'm currently building another house in Carseldine, Brisbane and am fairly confident but not positive that I'll be…[Read more]

David Layton wrote:
Senior Economist, Jason Anderson from BIS Shrapnel, says, "……. translates to a positive outlook for good positive growth for Queensland. It adds up to still being a very strong fundamental environment in terms of property price growth over the course of this year and into 2009". BIS Shrapnel forecasts, Brisbane is p…[Read more]

You shouldn't have any problems if your father is guarantor.  Have you gone to your bank yet?  There are some great mortgage  brokers around either on this forum or somersoft.com.au. 

Not easy to get cash flow positive properties at the moment.  Some of my friends are looking at building duplexes which will be either neutral or close to cash flow positive.

The only worthwhile lo doc at 90% is with RAMS.  Their interest rate is very competitive It's a fairly new product so not all mortgage brokers can write them. 

Not too many hot markets at the moment.  I live in Brisbane and things are definitely slowing down.  Last year's across the board rise of 20% plus won't be repeated although some commentators think it may rise by 5%.I don't know of any capitals that are "hot".  The only places that may increase substantially this year will be in regional ar…[Read more]

I appear to have spent more than anyone else on this forum in renovating our bathroom and toilet but it was well worth it.  I could have scrounged around for cheaper materials, read books, got the cheapest quotes from electricians, plumbers etc, gone to handyman courses.  Instead I got topic quality fittings, tiled to the ceiling, hired the best…[Read more]

I'm going to build some houses on land that I own.  Should get some greater rental returns here in Brisbane.  Even though the capital gains won't be as high as last year, I'm going to keep buying if I can get hold of finance.  I think that there are going to be some great opportunities here as heaps of people keep coming to SE Qld and there is a…[Read more]

I personally would hold on to the property as selling it and buying somewhere else may make the situation worse.  For a start, the selling costs such as commission, legal fees and bank fees may amount to $15000 plus which means that you going to be left with a maximum of $125,000 (or even less)  for future investment.  What are you going to do ne…[Read more]

Jackie1966 wrote:
If you were to increase your offer by, say, $5000, at the end of the day this would mean about a difference of $10 per week to your mortgage (at 9.5% interest).  Would you miss out on the house of your dream for $10.00 a week?  I know I wouldn't.  You keep saying that if someone wants to pay more than it's worth, so be it.  Isn…[Read more]

Qlds007 wrote:
Yes only top ups to existing loans are being considered with no new lending.They closed their doors last Friday and the State Manager tells me that future deals need to be done on a full doc basis only with Nodoc / Lodoc products being withdrawn.

Richard, what do you mean by top ups?  I already have a no doc loan with Macquarie…[Read more]

I've just come back from talking to a representative at Australand in Carseldine (14km north of Brisbane). 3 house and land packages were put on the market starting at $529,000. They were sold out within 4 hours of release. He showed me the contracts and said that he still has a waiting list of unsatisfied customers. The 3 purchasers were all from…[Read more]

Ian Landy wrote:
Hi Lucky,There may be a market for such a course but their are so many different strategies that the course would be very general in nature. Like Marc says, get in their and do it. If you have read 10 books then you don't need any more academic stuff to confuse you. Just pick a strategy and go for it. Procrastination can be a…[Read more]

Qlds007 wrote:
Rams 90% Lodoc I would still classify as flexible and competitive.

I agree with Richard.  RAMS 90% lo doc has an interest rate of only 7.95%. Very flexibe and competitive.  My son is applying for a 90% RAMS loan at the moment and ,so far, is very impressed with the product and service.  Exit fees are under $500.  What is X Inc  M…[Read more]