Forums

February 2, 2010 - 11:50 pm

Here are a few areas to consider:

Melton
Wyndham Vale
Tarneit
Geelong
Laverton

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
Email Me | Phone Me

VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

February 2, 2010 - 11:42 pm

Two books that I've read recently that taught me loads of titbits I didn't know are:

Think and Grow Rich In Property, by Stuart Zadel
(http://www.businessmall.com.au/featured-items/think-and-grow-rich-in-property.html)

and

Property is a Girl's Best Friend
(http://www.businessmall.com.au/featured-items/property-is-a-girls-best-friend.html)

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
Email Me | Phone Me

VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

February 2, 2010 - 10:35 am

Where are you located?

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
Email Me | Phone Me

VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

February 2, 2010 - 9:10 am

Those were my thoughts also, DWolfe!

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
Email Me | Phone Me

VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

February 2, 2010 - 7:22 am

Martil wrote:

YOU HELP ME TO FIND A VENDOR FINANCE HOME IN THE PENINSULA, VIC.
JOINT VENTURE. BUYER READY TO MOVE IN NOW, IS FULLY COMMITTED AND HAS PAID HIS DEPOSIT.
I LIVE IN THE GOLD COAST AND HAVE A FULLY QUALIFIED BUYER WHO LIVES IN MELBOURNE.  YOURE REWARD WILL BE PAID WHEN YOU HELP ME FIND THE HOME, NEGOTIATE THE DEAL, SHOW THE HOME TO THE BUYER AND DO THE PAPERWORK WITH THE BUYER.
IDEAL AREAS: ROSEBUD WEST, ROSEBUD SOUTH, DROMANA, RYE, SAFETY BEACH, SORRENO.
WANTED IN THE HOME: 3 BEDROOM HOME WITH SOME CHARACTER. GOOD SIZE BLOCK, GARAGE, ENSUITE, SAFE AREA, GAS, DECENT SIZED ROOMS, AIR CON, FENCED, SHED, LANDSCAPED. BUYER DOESN'T MIND SOME TIDYING UP AND SMALL REPAIRS BUT NOT INTERESTED IN A WHOLE MAKE OVER.

CALL ME TO DISCUSS OR EMAIL ME YOUR NUMBERS AND I'LL PHONE YOU!
mareeguymer21@hotmail.com
Maree 0427 499 058 or 07 55 749 290 

Um, this reads a bit like a scam.  Capital letters is like the internet version of yelling at people.

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
Email Me | Phone Me

VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

February 2, 2010 - 6:34 am

Hi Todd,

Awesome you are getting your head around your situation

There is a free weekend seminar on in sydney in a couple of weekends time.  You can book your place here; https://www.tgrcashflow.com.au/book

If you attend a bunch of free seminars and learn one or two things at each, then that's got to be a good thing.  They are also great places to network with other people and hear what they are doing.

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
Email Me | Phone Me

VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

February 1, 2010 - 4:27 am

How long do you think you'll be unemployed for?  It is not yet March – have you started looking for another job?  Surely the savings you have access to will last you a good few months – long enough to get another job?

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
Email Me | Phone Me

VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

January 31, 2010 - 10:01 am

In my opinion:
1. Yes.
2. Mate you've got to live somewhere that you feel happy about.  You've paid a little extra for that.  No worries.
3. Yes, but be sure it has an offset account, and put all your spare cash in it to save on how much interest you have to pay.

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
Email Me | Phone Me

VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

January 31, 2010 - 9:48 am

Hi

What is the location of the property?  If you furnished it could you get more for rent?  eg aparently Sydney apartments rent for up to $150pw more if furnished…

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
Email Me | Phone Me

VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

January 31, 2010 - 9:46 am

The dilemma of whether to live in a property I own, or rent something else is something I've been pondering lately.  I've come to the conclusion that there are too many things in life I enjoy (eg being on holidays every weekend, and a long overseas trip each year) to have the nuisance of a landlord announcing at an inopportune time that I need to vacate.  As a result, due to my lifestyle, I'll probably decide to live in one of my properties.  If you can absorb the nuisance of having to move sometimes, there might be more money in it for you not to reside in a property you own…

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
Email Me | Phone Me

VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

January 31, 2010 - 9:40 am

Why sell?  Another idea to throw into the mix is:

Get the bank to revalue the house and try to refinance to give you a cash injection to help you for the next year or so while you can't work

Personally I think there is such a small gain in it if you sell this house, it just isn't worth it.  The banks are being quite difficult with dishing out loans at the moment.  You might find it hard to jump back into the property market, so I'd hang on to the house if you can.  Maybe discuss with the tenants the reason for their interest in buying.  Is it because they want to be on the property ladder, or is it because they want more flexibility or a new addition to the property.  Perhaps they would prefer for the loungeroom to be purple?  Maybe if their reason is something you can accommodate (eg let them buy purple paint and paint the room themselves), then you could keep them as tenants, possibly though hiking up the rent to cover the cost of fixing the purple mess when they eventually leave).

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
Email Me | Phone Me

VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

January 29, 2010 - 3:05 am

hehehe love it DWolfe – can't wait to meet you at the gathering next week

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
Email Me | Phone Me

VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

January 29, 2010 - 1:15 am

I agree – I doubt  you'd be in a position to take on more debt at the moment – and I'd be surprised if the bank gave you a home loan at this point.  They'd want to see that debt cleared down first, I'd think.

Clear those loans, starting with those charging the most interest.  And read up as already suggested.  I'd take a look at your spending patterns as well to help you understand which items you purchase that you don't really need, and the bottom line of how much it costs to be you.  Try putting everything you pay for into a spreadsheet for a year.  It'll shock you how much gets spent on silly things and how quickly they mount up.  Maybe you have a coffee habit that costs you $50 a week, for instance.

I'm worried about your credit card situation – be aware that you might already have black marks on your credit file, which will make it harder for you to get a home loan when you come to it.  Basically get rid of your debts asap and steer clear of being in such a situation again, is my advice.

If you are buying things, you might as well buy them on a credit card that earns frequent flyer points.  Then at least you'll eventually get a holiday out of it.  But I live by the rule of NEVER buying anything on my credit card unless I actually already have the money to pay it back. 

The reasons I pay for things on credit are:
1. to get frequent flyer points
2. because in some cases, it is the only type of card that can be used for the transaction
3. to allow money that I already have stay in my homeloan offset account for another month or so and save interest for me there

Anyway that's all from me for now – it is awesome to see that you realise  you need and want a battle plan, and have the goal of GOOD debt (ie property debt) in focus. 

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
Email Me | Phone Me

VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

January 29, 2010 - 1:04 am

Your council will be able to tell you things like what the minimum size block is for your area, and what percentage of each block is permitted to be built upon.  (In some cases the council won't allow further subdivision in a particular area.)

Naturally there needs to be vehicle access to each property, so you might have some dead space that is a side driveway or something like that.

You might be required to look into the electricity, water and telephone situation, and you might be required to pay for an extra Telstra pit to go in if the nearest available is deemed to be unsatisfactory by the service provider.  Either way, you'll find that if you ring your council and explain you are thinking of dividing your block and are hoping for some guidance on the guidelines, what sort of paperwork has to be filled in, what costs are involved, and the turnaround times, you should find them to be pretty helpful.

Watch out for easements.

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
Email Me | Phone Me

VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

January 29, 2010 - 12:14 am

Wow sounds like you need to hike the rent up.  If the gap was only $20 it wouldn't be worth upsetting your tenants over it.  But a gap of $95 is difficult to ignore…

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
Email Me | Phone Me

VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

January 28, 2010 - 10:44 pm

Brilliant!  Can't wait!

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
Email Me | Phone Me

VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

January 28, 2010 - 9:44 pm

DWolfe wrote:

Hey JacM are you coming on the 4th of Feb?

Yes. 

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
Email Me | Phone Me

VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

January 28, 2010 - 9:42 pm

Great work in organising this aaabbbccc.  As per my email, I'll be there with bells on.  Who else is going along?

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
Email Me | Phone Me

VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

January 28, 2010 - 9:39 pm

Personally, I don't expect to make serious money from property.  If I do, bonus.  However at the bare minimum, I do expect it to fund a certain percentage of my retirement income.  The prospect of putting all my retirement eggs into a super fund managed by someone else who could manage it well or could manage it badly, is too much of a risk for me to swallow.  I can't see how it could possibly achieve my requirements unless it does grow at an average of at least 10% a year.  Not much to ask, I don't think.

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
Email Me | Phone Me

VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

January 28, 2010 - 9:35 pm

You'd want a good accountant too – one that's specialised in the field of property investment.  A book I'm reading at the moment has a section on Adrian Hill.  He sounds like he knows his stuff.  This is his accounting company: http://www.superiortax.com.au/

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
Email Me | Phone Me

VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.