I agree – that sounds ridiculous. If you were changing tenants than yes – but the fact that it's business as usual with your current tenants, I can't see how they can justify that cost. I would be asking questions.

Cheers

Jamie

Here's a basic example – http://www.passgo.com.au/blog/25-the-project/67-how-to-use-the-equity-in-your-home-to-purchase-an-investment-property

Cheers

Jamie

Hi sk

Do you know how much the excess would be if you were to make a claim with NRMA? I'm not sure what the extent of the damage is but it would obviously have to be higher than the excess to make it worthwhile claiming.

How did the PM come to the $100 figure? I'm assuming that damage to a relatively new benchtop would cost more than that. Perhaps request the PM to get a quote for the damage and ask them to recoup the costs from the tenant. You shouldn't be out of pocket for this.

Cheers

Jamie

You need to be creative, energetic and driven. It's also a balance between finding IPs with strong enough cashflow so they take care of themselves (and don't hinder your borrowing capacity too much) but still achieve growth (which you may have to manufacture through renovations).

As Terry mentioned above – Nathan Birch is the poster child for this, what he has achieved is awesome.

Cheers

Jamie

Yep, my first IP was in Queanbeyan NSW. We spent 1 month (after work hours) renovating the unit. We spent about $3k on cosmetic renos and it was revalued at $40k more.

Experts will always have opinions – and they will always be different from one expert to the next. Read widely, absorb as much as you can and then decide on the course of action that best suits you.

Cheers

Jamie

Personally, I wouldn’t rush it. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of interest as advised by the REA (the fact that he/she mentioned you should wait until you inspect the property before placing an offer kind of confirms this).

Cheers

Jamie

If you can't wait the week, perhaps you should call a buyers agent in the area and see if they'd be willing to inspect on your behalf for a fee.

Alternatively, if you're going to use a property manager to look after these IPs, you could call a couple and ask them to inspect on your behalf in return for your future business.

Cheers

Jamie

Hi Wiwin

You just need to start small and work your way up. Just because you live in Sydney doesn't mean your investing needs to be restricted to Sydney. I'd look at something that doesn't cost too much to hold – something that's neutral/positively geared that you can add some value to via basic renovations.

Cheers

Jamie

I second that.

Cheers

Jamie