No so much help with bees rather a funny story!

Driving along a while ago in sunny Perth, windows down singing along to the radio when I drove through the middle of a swarm of bees. In a panic I was waving my arms around looking for a place to stop, didn’t notice a speed limit sign and promptly went through a speed camera.

When I got the notice in the mail, thought very seriously about asking for the photos and waiving the penalty, then thought, who would believe a story like that!

Could have ended badly but in the end, you just have to laugh!

Woah, 7 family members to invest together, sounds like a disaster waiting to happen!!! So, how would it work? Would one person be appointed to make all the decisions and be responsible for administration or a group effort like a board?

I just know it can be a struggle to agree on one property with your partner let alone 7 other family members. Unfortunately, family can get pretty emotional particularly about money.

Hope it all works for you!

If you are going to make suburb comparisons, Dee Why would probably more relate to Scarborough rather than somewhere like Quinns or Butler.

JES mentioned above the “high quality hub” of Manduarah. Can someone inform what the attraction is? Apart from the pie shop, I can’t see anything really going for it. Investment wise it may be of interest but I simply cannot see what all the hype has been about. Sorry to offend any Manduraites out there!

Have got to agree with Ned, why would anyone want to live on such a desolate coastline, particularly the Perth coastline? Still think anywhere from Padbury to Butler can represent good value considering proximity to the city, beaches, transport and shopping.

Hi Don,

Thanks for the reply. All sounds pretty logical and inspiring!

Am currently completing renovation on my PPOR which is looking good. Primarily cosmetic but amazing the difference it all makes. Am going to go down the line of buying another place while I am working as you have suggested and do the renovation / dress up but ultimately it is the goal to do this as a full time occupation. Looking more along the line of buy renovate and sell rather than renovate a rental, or to renovate for clients.

You are absolutely currect in terms of cash flow which is my current concern. I have equity in my PPOR which I could possibly use or could sell it and use the equity to buy again, live off and renovate. Obviously many hurdles such as difficulty in borrowing without a job and delay factor before selling the next property.

Sounds like the best option then would be to use the equity, keep the job and renovate part time and build for the plunge.

Waffling sorry, thanks for the reply.

Try and read as much as possible.

Just finished a good book called “Mao’s Last Dancer”. Not related to investing as such but puts a lot in perspective with respect to the opportunities that many take for granted, myself included.

Hi there,

All I really know is that Clarkson has been referred to as “Balga by the beach”.

Would have thought the area has a lot of potential though, one suburb back from the beach and short drive to Joondalup and the city. Personally, I think a lot of suburbs along that strip have a way to go in terms of price.

Hey Salacious,

Sounds like you have a lot of fun ahead of you!!

I am in the final stages of getting my builders license and am planning to do the same thing as you. Buy old places and renovate, or renovate for other people.

A few things off the top of my head to consider.

1. Time – this almost always runs away particularly if you are doing everything yourself. If you don’t have an offsider to run to Bunnings to get that one little item, its easy to burn days just stuffing around.
2. Money – also tends to run away. Do a comprehensive budget and add a bunch as contingency.
3. Approvals – Depending on where you are and what type of work you are doing, you will probably need Council appovals of some sort. Again, refer to 1 and 2 above. Add frustration!!
4. Licence and insurance – Again, be mindful that depending on what you are doing, you will need to consider the implications when you go to sell. May need to be an Owner Builder, Builder or not at all depending on what you are doing, which also has knock on effects when you go to sell.
5. Consideration of what is the current trend of the day and also what is “timeless”. Trendy is good but be mindful of when you go to sell that you may not be narrowing the buyers pool.
6. Have fun doing it! I love mucking around the house with power tools and building materials and could do it all day everyday, but if you don’t enjoy it, its a lot of very hard work.

I am sure all of the above is commonsense but were some of my considerations.

good luck!

Hey Wylie,

Intersting use of laminate flooring!! We have it on our floor and is great in terms of scratch resistance and cleaning as we have two large dogs.

Question though with respect to kitchen benches. How does it go with water? We have it on our kitchen floor and have a couple of minor trouble spots where water has got between the grooves and has lifted slightly. What is the kitchen bench like as you will get it wet? Have you coated it with something? Really just curious as it can have problems with water as it isn’t solid timber.

cheers

Hi PropertyWA,

As a novice in the share market, I used a company called Euroz Securities over here in WA. Found them to be fairly reasonable and gave some good advice. Was looking for short term, higher risk investment and ended up working well. Of course, could have gone the other way but their advice was sound.

Am sure there are many many others.

Personal opinion, for a first dabble into RE I would outlay for a professional. Having watched a fair few conveyancers before, it is relatively straight forward however they become very handy when the proverbial hits the fan if you have a good one.