Hi Lila

Welcome to the forum.

I'd be skeptical as well. To me, someone that's selling new properties is a glorified real estate agent rather than an independent buyers agent.

If you're considering using a buyers agent, hone  in on a particular area where you'd like to invest and then engage a good BA in that location. Check that they're accredited with the industry body – http://www.rebaa.com.au/

Cheers

Jamie

Hi Johnny

Look's like it's already been explained but if it helps, I wrote this article for Australian Property Investor magazine on this subject.

Cheers

Jamie

I'd consider what Terry mentioned. Besides, tapping into equity can take a while. They need to assess the loan, issue loan docs, you sign and send back, they process and settle. It can take up to a month.

Cheers

Jamie

Hi Kosta

Even though you have $1.2 million in equity – you still need to prove that you can service the debt before any lender will release it. There's also a big difference between actual equity (your $1.2 million) and useable equity (the amount a lender will allow you to access).

Cheers

Jamie

Hi there

Have you already sussed out local property managers? They're often in the know when it comes to tradies in their area. Perhaps find a good property manager and ask them if they could coordinate on your behalf. It would be a lot of work for them – and outside of their normal scope, so some sort of payment will probably be requested.

Cheers

Jamie

Hi Kosta

Welcome to the forum.

Sounds like you’re in a great position to kick start a portfolio (in terms of equity anyway).

Finance structure is important here. You don’t want to use the entire value of your PPOR to secure your IPs.

Instead, you can set-up a loan against your PPOR which will act as the deposit/acquisition costs on your IPs (generally enough to cover 20% of the properties value). You would then set-up separate loans for the remaining 80%

Careful structuring and lender selection is important at the start – particularly if you’re looking to buy a few IPs.

Hope that helps.

Cheers

Jamie

Hi Tanjimh

At first glance, I'm not convinced any would add much extra value. They also seem like quite expensive options.

What sort of benchtop will go in at present?

I remember reading a very general comment somewhere about timber floored homes being easier to sell – but I would have thought it's much of a muchness and either would probably look good in a new home. Tiles might be a cooler option in the Brissy climate??

The tap upgrade seems excessive.

Cheers

Jamie

Hi Eric

I wouldn't be paying P&I on an investment property if you've got a non-deductible PPOR debt. I wrote an article on this subject for API magazine last week – http://www.apimagazine.com.au/blog/2012/03/interest-only-or-principal-and-interest/

Cheers

Jamie

Hi vas

Welcome to the forum.

I can't comment on the area because I'm not that familiar with it.

In terms of the finance side of things. It's difficult to comment without further info. It wouldn't be a bad idea to get a decent broker to crunch the numbers for you and work out what's achievable.

Cheers

Jamie

Yeah I thought it was a bit rich – considering we had an IP carpeted for around $30m2. I guess the difference here is that it's our PPOR and we don't mind paying for quality – however, this still seems a bit excessive. If anyone knows of any Canberra sand/polish companies I'd love to know their details.

Cheers

Jamie