Phew!…. Lucky I asked!

Your point is taken – steer out of serv apartments. Being a commercial loan is also another reason I don’t want to get into.

So, regional investment properties? Yes, they are also on my research list. Looking at the price, they seem to be cheap – very cheap in fact, to the point that I doubted myself: well, if these…[Read more]

Hi JacM, I am also interested in the geelong region. What does “PM me” mean in the context: “There really is no ignoring Corio. PM me if you want more info on geelong and which property managers to definitely avoid.”?
Jenny

Hi Kristin,
You mentioned about ‘when the lease is about to expire….’. Don’t hotel management usually renew the lease when it about to expires? What conditions are to met before they renew? And what sort of lease terms are generally given for serviced apartments? Thanks.
Jenny.

Thanks Everyone for the insight.

So studios don’t sound like a good investments. My next option was serviced apartment, as all the costs are paid for by the hotel management. The only things I were afraid of was that they would constantly demand me to uplift/renovate the apartment, otherwise they would not extend the lease option, which means I…[Read more]

HI Richard,I think they all have a separate bathroom. Anyway, by 'separate', did you mean a bathroom with its own door for privacy?  If the answer is yes, then the studio does have a separate bathroom together with a toilet, but a very small bathroom though. The total size  of the studio is only about 16 – 18 sq meter.  Do you reckon I could ge…[Read more]

Do hotel groups require ongoing maintenance by the owners? If yes, generally how often, what need to be maintained and roughly how much in dollars term or as a ratio of the current market value of the serviced apartment?  And what if the owner didn't wish to spend any further on the maintenance – do hotel management then cancel the lease?thanks. 

Uhm.. That's why I have been thinking of opening another trust account with my name as trustee. Just the nightmare of paperworks has been deterring me.Regards,jenny

Hi Lisasun,I work in melb and melb cbd studios have the price range that I think I could save for in the next couple to 3 years. Another reason is because I may want to live in it in between tenants (usually tenancy for these type of studios are only 6 months and it takes up to 4 weeks to refill another tenant. It is convenient to go to work. The…[Read more]

Thanks Terry. I understand now.Given that the IP is in my name as trustee, should I or could I ask the solicitor to make the cheque out to my name as Trustee for the family trust?About the 'bare trustee', if anything, I'd say Mum has been the bare trustee as she has no power. It was just on the paper that I made her the trustee, but the IP is s…[Read more]

Ok. Thanks to a number of you. A little research through this forum has basically summarised that there is literally no capital growth in studios, banks don't lend under 40sq m size and high overall running costs. So my questions are:1. On the capital growth issue: banks tend to be a little more liberal these days – some have reduced their size…[Read more]

Hi WomeninPropMelb, Luckily it turned out I had never an ex. So the IP is still with the family. Just so unfortunately that the mess that was created and now undoing it, I am worrying that I may create even a bigger mess like double CGT as explained earlier, stamp duty, potentially affecting Mum's pension etc……

it is not really Mum's money, so I don't want the cheque to go to Mum's name. I definitely want it to go the trust name.  Do settlement/conveyancing solicitor must make out the cheque with the trustee name, or usually the trust name alone is sufficient?Also, making the cheque to Mum will affect her pension, which of course I don't want.Terry, you…[Read more]

sorry – that was 'cost ratio per unit'.

Hi. I can understand about expenditure for the administration fund. But what is the significance of expenditure of sinking fund? What is a sinking fund? And how can one work out the most appropriate rost ratio per unit? Thanks.

learning curve2 wrote:
hi allso if i was to move in and live in it for a month over xmas/new year (while catching up with family), do some things that need to be done ie: garden cleanup, some painting etc., get the bills in my name, change address on mail it would be enough? it would be on annual leave from my work.

LC, Note point vii). in the…[Read more]

Thanks a lot, TFS. I’ll reconsider my strategy about studios. What about regional properties? They also have good cashflow. Are they any better than studios?

Hi.
strata cost – did you mean the ‘Body corporate’ cost or is it in addition to the body corporate cost.
The agent quoted the body corp fee was about 2K a year, which seems quite high in comparison to the size of the studio.
And I have a feeling that the body corp fees increase at a much faster rate than the rent.

Jenny.

For someone who would interested only in positive cashflow and capital growth was not on the agenda, would studio still be a good investment? I am in Melb, the studios I’ve seen in the city here are deadly tiny, only around 17sq meter to 25 sq meter. There are larger ones of course, but the price tag is almost the same as 1-bedroom, in which…[Read more]

Hi Derek,

Do you mind give me the countryside place where the homes are around 10sq, but only 100K each? Thanks.

Cheers.
Jenny

Thanks, Jamie & Nigel.

Will definitely read a bit more as suggested.
Seeing agents advertising big rental returns (7% and sometime 8.5% gross return) is quite tempting on the surface.
Regards,
Jenny.