Hi beans

Nobody knows for certain what the outcome of an investment will be.  It's a bit the same as asking for the tattslotto numbers.  It's about measured risk.  Identifying the factors that stack the odds in your favour (or against, as the case may be).

In property, there are certain things you look at to satisfy yourself that the property will perform.  Things such as:

– The proximity of the suburb to major employment centres or capital cities

– The number of major employers in the township

– The public transport

– The road infrastructure

– Forthcoming infrastructure projects

– The demand for rental housing

– The presence of things such as universities and hospitals that keep people residing in the area

Similary with shares and managed funds, it is a measured risk.  You could take into account past track record of a stock or fund, but ultimately you are allowing someone else to decide how your money is to be spent.  In the case of a Managed Fund, a fund manager will decide which stock to purchase, and if and when to sell it. That Fund Manager might be good at his job, but he might resign at some stage and a new manager might come along that isn't so flash.  With direct stock ownership, you won't be getting invited to the board meeting to have a chat with the CEO about how things are going and to voice your ideas and concerns for the company.

Agreed. The courts won't worry about your mortgage hardship. This is why you need landlord insurance.

What state is the property in?  Is there a rental agreement?  Do you have landlord insurance that covers rental default?  Did you take a bond on the property?

painting, and preparing to paint, takes ages. removing old silicone is not a 2 second job either. 

Remember that joint buyers will have half the ownership but the ENTIRE responsibility for the mortgage if the other owner defaults on their portion of the payments.  This would sting if your partner did indeed default, but will also sting big time when you go for IP # 3 and find your serviceability is shot because according to lenders, you are responsible for the ENTIRE mortgage of IP #2, not just half of it.

I agree completely with the boys.

Additionally I'd encourage you to take a step back and ask yourself what are your objectives.  You want to ensure a property takes you closer to your objectives, rather than farther away.  For instance, is this property going to cover its own expenses, and if not, how do you propose to purchase IP numbers 2 and 3?

Just saying, you don't necessarily have to choose between the two apartments.  You could choose neither, if indeed neither takes you closer to your goals.

Hi Rus,

Easy – get someone on your team who has already achieved what you want to do. Richard who commented above is your man.

Hi Rus

A few things to think about are:

1. Buying entity. You could potentially buy even more properties inside a smsf

2. Proximity to retirement age, will largely dictate strategy.

3. Proximity to retirement age, how much spare time you have and whether your time is better spent generating the cash as a CPA will dictate whether you should DIY or outsource the assembly of the portfolio.

If you have a bank account in both Australia and in the US, you can simply use http://www.ozforex.com.au to move money from one account to the other.  You do it as a "deal" and your U.S. account would be the beneficiary of the deal.

Hi there, this might be better in the Overseas Deals forum