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May 18, 2013 - 1:38 pm

Hi Jamie

50 vacant rentals sounds like a lot. What population is that spanning? Or perhaps I should ask what is the vacancy rate?

We place our clients into properties in areas with high tenant demand (vacancy rates below 1.5%).

May I ask why the budget is $100k? Plenty of ways around such constraints.

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
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VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

May 16, 2013 - 5:23 am

Of course.  People want to buy interstate for reasons such as spreading risk, having a property in a market that is expected to experience high capital growth, or reduction of land tax liability (by not having the entire portfolio in one state).  Australians living overseas but wanting to purchase property in Australia also find BAs very handy since they are not on the ground here to shop for themselves.

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
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VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

May 16, 2013 - 2:54 am

Further to what leaderscorp says, yes, "some documents" are processed for you.  As to whether absolutely everything is handled for you is dependant upon the agreement with the BA.  Generally it's just the acquisition that would be handled.  Nothing to do with arranging building and pest, property management, or anything that involves dealing with the council.  I choose to handle the lot, but it's not the norm.

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
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VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

May 14, 2013 - 11:47 pm

Hi Jay

As Jamie said, steer clear of organising an independent valuation as you will appear too keen.  Also you will have to pay for the valuation.  The bank will conduct a valuation in the early stages of the financing process.  If it doesn't stack up they will soon tell you… and you could go back to the vendor and say well finance fell over because of valuation, so let's renegotiate the price and start again.

It's not like other buyers are beating down the door, so you have time on your side with this one.  That said, do you really want a property in your portfolio that would take a long time to offload if you needed to sell it?  Can't say I would be too comfortable with such a proposition.  I prefer property that would always have plenty of willing buyers.

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
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VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

May 14, 2013 - 11:42 pm

Hi Jay

Following on from what Jamie said, like in any professional, quality will vary, as will what's included in the service.

There are all sorts of reasons people might use a Buyer's Agent.  The reasons include:

– Lack of confidence in negotiating

– Lack of time to conduct due diligence on suburbs and properties

– The desire to purchase in an area that is geographically far from your home and the realization it makes more sense to pay someone else to go shopping for you in lieu of forking out loads of petrol money or flight cost money, and large chunks of your spare time

– The realization that Buyer's Agents tend to hear about deals before they hit the market

The key is to determine what your goals are and ensure that whoever is doing the hunting for you – whether it be you or a Buyer's Agent – is working within those parameters.  If you are struggling a bit on determining what your goals/strategy should be, you'd be looking to ensure that professionals you hire are able to see the path that needs to be trodden for you and talk to you about proposed strategies before staring the hunt for properties.

Hope this helps!

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
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VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

May 14, 2013 - 7:15 am

The topic of buying a duplex with FHOG was discussed here;

https://www.propertyinvesting.com/forums/property-investing/help-needed/4338885

Not sure if the rule would be different if you were "building" rather than "buying existing property"

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
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VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

May 13, 2013 - 12:41 pm

Attached dwellings are dwellings that share a wall.  So it is saying that if your land is 600m2 or more, you could build say a duplex.

Detatched dwellings are dwellings that do not share any walls.  So it is saying that if your land is 800m2 or more, you could build two separate houses/dwellings.

If you wanted one house plus a duplex, I would imagine that you would require 400m2 (half of 800m2) for the house, plus another 600m2 for the duplex, so you would need 1000m2 in total.  That's what I think, if you combine the understanding of the other all the rules you mentioned.

Of course, there will be other council rules you have to comply with and you must make an application which may or may not be approved.  In other words, it is not a guarantee that just because your land is the correct size you will be able to build what you want.  For example, there might be an easement under the ground that you are not allowed to build on top of. 

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

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

May 13, 2013 - 9:55 am

I am constantly puzzled by the perception that properties with good yields are only found in the middle of nowhere.  I find them in great locations every single week.  Define your end goal and ensure you are acquiring properties that fit the goal.  It's amazing how quickly even one negatively geared property can be to the growth of your portfolio.

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

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

May 13, 2013 - 3:05 am

ps make sure you find out what all the bills are on the flats.  If the council rates and water rates are billed separately you would surprised how quickly your 6% yield will be eroded.  I'd be looking for closer to 6.5% as a minimum on a block of flats.  Also be aware that if there are 5 or more flats in the complex it will almost certainly be commercial finance which is a higher interest rate.

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
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VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

May 13, 2013 - 3:04 am

Hi Jen

Richard Taylor is most likely to be able to point you in the right direction.  I'll ping him an email and have him respond to your thread.

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

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

May 13, 2013 - 2:57 am

Hi James

Best to use one of the brokers that have already responded to you in this thread to arrange your finance to ensure it is done properly.  All too often we see people coming on here getting answers from those in the know and then trying to relay the knowledge to an inferior local broker.  Makes no sense at all to do that.

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
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VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

May 12, 2013 - 12:15 pm

Hi Cat

Surround yourself with a team of people that have already achieved thru property what you want to achieve.  Couple of great brokers have already pitched in on this thread.  Do yourself a favor and ask one of them to do your mortgage broking for you.  

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

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

May 12, 2013 - 12:12 pm

Why would you use some random broker in Melbourne and try to explain to him the great information that two brokers have already given you in this thread?  Makes much more sense to use Richard or Jamie as your broker.  Most broking work happens via email and phone these days, so you have luxury of using a great broker regardless of where they are based. 

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

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

May 10, 2013 - 2:55 am

Be careful with Property Insurance Plus – when I last spoke to them the flood coverage wasn't great.

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
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VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

May 9, 2013 - 1:26 pm

I have also found that Terri Scheer quotes are astronomical compared to other insurers. 

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
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VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

May 8, 2013 - 11:53 am

Hi Dave

I'll assume you have factored in CGT.  If you hold a property for more than 12mths before selling it, there is a 50% discount on the CGT.  Have you trialled your numbers on holding the property for a year before selling it?  Up to you whether you renovate at the start or at the end of the 12mths.

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
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VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

May 6, 2013 - 12:02 pm

Hi Claire

Please tell me you are not referring to a SMSF acquistion that is not yet settled let alone unconditional?

Can't say the ATO would consider it responsible use of a SMSF's monies paying for repairs or improvements on a property that has not yet settled (and worse, not even unconditional).  Careful, if you do something the ATO does not like, they have the power to force you to sell the asset and close the SMSF, and not let you ever open a SMSF again.

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
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VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

May 6, 2013 - 11:29 am

Hi Joe – I'm pretty sure it's an SMSF acquisition – I've spoken to Claire previously

Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
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VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

May 6, 2013 - 9:37 am

Pay it off?  Blasphemy.    Much better to split your available funds into multiple piles to acquire multiple properties. 

Keep in mind you cannot live in more than one property at once.  So in this regard, the properties need to make sense as investment properties rather than places you wish to reside.

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

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

May 6, 2013 - 9:34 am

Breece is your man

https://www.propertyinvesting.com/user/breece

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

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