Forum Replies Created
Hi,
I was just looking at this tread. Since it's been a while, I'm wondering how the journey has been for those who mentioned they were going to do tax liens.I'm considering this kind of investment and would love to hear from others who've been down that road before. Interested in finding out where you have invested, what has been hard or easy, have you made the promised interest from the liens? How much work have you put in? What has been your experience with establishing a US bank account and operating your lien business from Australia?
Regards and thank in advance.
There are risks with any medical procedure, not only eye surgery. You have to weigh up the risk, seek a second opinion and decide from there. My brother had this eye surgery over 10 years ago, I had mine done about 5 years ago. Both of us consider it to be one of the best things we've ever done.
Congratulations on a fantastic start! I suspect someone with your drive isn't going to need uni. Focus on building those entrepeneurial instincts! Do uni if you really want to, but I'd also recommend reading things like 'Think & Grow Rich', 'The E-Myth', 'Richest Man in Babylon' and lots of those other classics.
jkmtHi,
It's certainly worth considering the emotional side of it – can you watch someone else living in your home and not caring for it the way you do? Only you can decide that – some people are OK with it, others aren't. If you can, it's certainly worth thinking about because the capital gains tax rules make it attractive, and it's much better to have the government give you a discount on your interest payments and expenses. In my mind, any property I buy is just there for investment purposes, whether I live in it or not (right now I don't live in anything I own and I'm not planning to change that anytime soon).
Cheers,
jkmtHi,
I'm with Erik. Go slowly, do lots of research, watch for the bargains – they are certainly around and more are likely to come. It may be worth getting that top-up loan now (and park it in an offset account) as it is getting harder and harder to get finance from the banks and if values fall, you won't be able to access as much. Sit on the money, do your research, look out for something that has sound fundamentals and enjoy the luxury of time that allows you to buy something in a 'distressed' situation that has room to add value.
jkmtHi Everyone,
There is some good advice in the above postings. It isn't an easy path, and the more low-cost reading and self education you can do the better. It is also important that you look at your own psychology of wealth. What are your real beliefs about wealth and money? Are you truly comfortable with the idea of being wealthy? If these things are out of alignment with your stated goals, then you will fall down every time. Doing my own personal growth in these areas has been just as important, if not more so, than the learning I have gained about property investment. At the risk of promoting yet another 'guru', I have learnt heaps from listening to and reading material by Bill Zheng from the mortgage broker Investors Direct in Victoria, as he is particularly strong on this psychology angle. The other important learnings have been to get in and get my hands dirty by actually investing. Sometimes it has gone wrong, other times it has been great. Regardless, every investing experience, particularly the not so good ones, has been something I have learnt heaps from.
Good luck with it. Keep trying and don't give up even when the going is tough.
JKMTUsually we get a PM to look after our properties. However, we did have one that we privately managed, which worked out well. Tenant deposited straight to our bank account. As we were distant, we also paid a small fee to a local to keep an eye on the property and to handle any maintenance issues. We were happy to self manage this one, as it was a quality tenant with a good track record and immaculate housekeeping, and we probably would have got a PM in if that tenant had moved on. In the end, the tenant eventually bought the house from us. Do think about things like can you cope with giving rental increases, and how would you handle issues such as non-payment of rent or damage to the property.
CheersHi,
Congrats on the move. I'd be inclined to hang on to what you've got, rather than sell and buy elsewhere – the changeover costs are too great and would eat too much of your equity, when you're already sitting on something that's a valuable nest egg. Sunshine Coast is a great spot with plenty of potential. If the extra $1000 a month in repayments (different between rental income and mortgage payment) is a worry, look into getting a line of credit which is there solely for the purpose of helping to meet the extra monthly payment. While this increases the size of your loan, the increasing capital gain will more than cover the amount of that loan in time. The downside is that you will lose some of your rental income in agents fees, etc. But you'll do that with any investment property.The property is also still there for you to go back to if you decide that the interstate move isn't your thing.
I guess the other really important question is can you stand to see someone else living in 'your' home and maybe not treating it with the love and care that you've put into it. If the emotional stress of that is too great, then sell and move on and wear the associated costs.
Just my two cents worth – I'm not a financial planner. Have a chat with your accountant about the options. Good luck with everything.
Hi,
I had lasik surgery two years ago. It was the best thing I could have done. I was 38 at the time, and yes, I will probably need glasses for reading in my mid-40s, though this along the lines of not having to use them constantly, just for specific tasks.I had the surgery done in Hornsby, Sydney, and it cost me $3000 per eye. Definitely worth it from my point of view, although it felt like a big hit at the time. There was a bit more pain than I had been told to expect (which was 'very little'), but the surgery only lasts a couple of minutes and I was driving by the following afternoon without any hassles.
My brother had the surgery about 10 years ago, and when I spoke to him about it before my surgery, he was still happy.
Best of luck with it,
JennyHi Redwing,
Apparently, if your house is in Qld, you will probably need to rebaton and use cyclone baton screws if you choose colourbond, and you shouldn’t need this for tiles. If your house in NSW, unless it’s on beachfront or in a high wind area, you probably won’t need the baton screws. Can’t comment for other states. Please note that depending on the condition of your batons, they may need to be replaced anyway, whether you go with tiles or metal.
There are probably only two other things to consider. 1.When you do your re-roof, it’s probably worthwhile to change your gutter as well before the colourbond goes on (doesn’t matter so much with tiles). 2. The fascia (board behind the gutter) might be the only other thing you have problems with as the fascia needs to be higher for tiles than with colourbond. So if you change your gutter, you can adjust the fascia at that time.
Another tip is that tiles can be recycled for use in driveways or landscaping so if you are using a skip bin for tiles only, the bin people may give you a cheaper rate.
Going from tiles to metal will probably be slightly dearer than going with tiles because of these variations. If you go with metal, then this is a good opportunity to put insulation in at the same time.
Hope that helps,
JennyHi Everyone
My husband is a roof plumber, who installs colourbond roofs as part of his work. So thought I’d run this topic past him for comment. His thoughts:
When you look at costs, make sure you are comparing apples with apples.
There are a couple of different options with both tiles and metal roofing, and then another couple of options with the insulation underneath.
TILES
You can get cement or terracotta. Terracotta can be around 25% more expensive than cement. You can also get shingles which are a very flat tile and usually very expensive.Cement tiles are cheaper but don’t last as long. The problem with them is that the painted surface tends to deteriorate and the concrete is porous, meaning that once the paint deteriorates water gets in and the tiles eventually start to crack due to expansion and contraction from heat.
Terracotta has a longer lifespan, but does tend to get brittle after many years (maybe 20-30 years). Terracotta is made from clay not concrete and is glazed, which can make it very slippery.
METAL ROOFING
There are three main types:
• Galvanised, which used to be common. This is metal with zinc coating.
• Zincalume, where the coating is a specially formulated zinc and aluminium coating, meaning it will last twice the length of galvanising alone, unless you are right on the beachfront where galvanised may have the advantage.
• Colourbond, which is zincalume with a porous paint applied to it. You can get special coatings (Ultra) or stainless steel colourbond, but these are much more expensive (twice to five times the cost of standard colourbond).With standard colourbond, the further you are away from saltwater, the longer your roof will last. There is a 12-year warranty on colourbond, but you should get at least 30 years before you start to see any major problems. In comparison to tiles, cement probably won’t last as long as this, and terracotta will give you about the same.
INSULATION
There is:
• Sisolation (sarking) – an aluminium foil product. This is usually placed directly under tiles and can also be used under metal roofing. Sisolation only reflects some of the heat and not the noise from rain.
• 50mm or 75mm glass wool with foil (eg Anticon) which will give good heat insulation and noise reduction. This is laid directly under metal roofs (not tiles) and will give you a much better ‘R’ or insulation rating than if you use ceiling batts.
• Ceiling batts. For insulation you will need to lay ceiling batts if you have a tile roof. Because they are not directly under the roof material, they will not be as effective as something like Anticon. Can also be used with metal roofs.INSTALLATION ISSUES
You can lay tiles without sisolation, but this is not recommended for roofs under a 26 degree pitch due to condensation problems.For tile roofs, you can also get foam blocks which go between the batons and sisolation, stopping the sisolation from flapping in the wind. No need for this in a metal roof.
Batons:
• For tiles. There are two sizes, depending on which state you are in, usually 50mmx25mm hardwood, or 30mmx38mm soft wood (pine).
• For colourbond roofing, batons are usually 75mmx35mm, and you won’t need as many because they are spaced further apart.If you are replacing a colourbond roof with tiles, you will have to use more batons, spaced correctly (for every row of tiles). If you go the other way, your roofer may just use the existing tile batons, although this is not as secure as having new batons laid.
Also, if you have galvanised gutters and/or downpipes with a zincalume or colourbond roof, the metals will not be compatible and the gutter/downpipes will rust out. However, it is OK the other way around, and you can have a galvanised roof with zincalume or colourbond gutters/downpipes.
If you are going for a tile roof, make sure your lead flashings are painted with a non-porous paint if you have aluminium, zincalume or colourbond gutters/downpipes, to stop them rusting out. Lead is not so much of a problem with galvanised gutter.
COST AND OTHER ISSUES
Costwise, laying terracotta tiles and metal roofs are similar, although the insulation that usually comes with the metal roof may make colourbond more expensive.Colourbond roofing has taken over from tiles as having better status eg all the architecturally designed homes are using it. Colourbond usually seems to achieve a higher valuation.
Six months ago, our area went through a major hailstorm and we repaired a number of colourbond and tile roofs. With the hail, tiles tended to break, letting water in, while colourbond tended to dint, but was more likely to remain waterproof. Replacement of colourbond was usually because of the appearance, rather than the functionality. In these cases, the colourbond paint was scratched, but the underlying zincalume coating was OK.
In relation to security, I don’t know if it still does, but there used to be an insurance company in Qld that gave you a 25% discount on contents insurance if you had a metal roof rather than tiles.
Hope that is of some use. I guess you also need to consider the character of your area and the roof types around.
Cheers,
JennyI agree, weigh up all comments on their merits. I’m still thankful for the “negative” comments of relatives who put me off investing in a timeshare unit when I was 20. Yet at the time, I resented what I saw as their lack of support.
However in general, I have found that those who used to be critical of our approach now hold their tongues and even respect us because they see that we have done OK through some of the not-so-conventional investment choices we have. Their attitude is ‘well it’s not for me, but if it works for you …’ That’s OK by me.
JennyToday I attended the funeral of a friend who left behind three sons, the youngest of whom is just 14 and must finish growing up without a Mum. So I guess tonight I find myself musing on how do you find the balance? How do balance being there for your young family giving them a positive emotional legacy for a life, building a financiallly comfortable/free future for yourself and your family and with doing the hobbies and things that make life special for you? I don’t have the answers – everyone does it differently, some well, some not so well. While some people here prove that they can invest and have a young family, don’t be too hard on yourself if for you that doesn’t work right now. To quote previous posts, focus on what you can do, not on what you can’t.
JennyHi,
As a pensioner, there’s a fair chance she is receiving a reasonable amount of rental assistance, so won’t have to pay the full rise out of her own pocket. Check with Centrelink what sort of rent assistance she might be getting.
Sounds like you would have no worries getting another tenant if she does move and your current tenant will have to pay whatever market rent is going anyway.
On the flip side, our experience as tenants of what we considered as an “unreasonable” rent rise (20%) showed that in NSW there is no tribunal ceiling on how much rent can be increased in one hit. However, our landlord lost all our goodwill because we were being asked to pay this increase when absolutely no maintenance (and the maintenance required was pretty major) had been done for a long time. So perhaps you can improve the place a bit which will help ease the pain for her and keep a reasonable relationship between both of you? BTW, negotiation meant we only paid half the rent rise and got some maintenance done.
All the best,
JennyHi Ben,
Don’t rule out places like Mt Isa and Rockhampton. We have properties in both and they have served us very well, and the prospects for both those properties are looking very good at the moment, with tight vacancies and rents being pushed up in both places. The outlook for both towns in the immediate future is also pretty good, as the mining outlook is positive and Rocky is about much more than beef. Yes, they may not have the steady capital growth of Terrigal (just down the road from where I live!) and I think like most of the rest of Australia, they will plateau a bit pricewise for awhile but you’ll be putting much less in from your own pocket. Depends what your investment aims and personal situation are I guess.
How did I initially get in touch with these markets? My mother moved to Rocky a few years ago, and I couldn’t believe the house price vs rental return figure. Mt Isa kept popping up in my realestate.com alerts. From there it was a matter of looking at figures and talking to as many people as I could. While both populations fell for a number of years, there has been growth in the last couple (particularly Isa), which may not be reflected in the official figures yet.
Hope that helps. Good luck with it.
JennyHi Endless Summer,
While I don’t know your individual circumstances and challenges, I can give you a couple of thoughts from my journey of the past few years. Our challenges, and those of many parents of young kids I know, have been financial in terms of equity and reduced income, and also time.We have 2 children under-5. By choice we rent our PPOR, and bought our first IP when our fist child was 9 months. We’ve continued to buy since then, even though most of that time we’ve been on one income.
Things I’ve found helpful:
1. Think regional Australia. You might not have the equity or income to buy in a capital city, but there are plenty of towns which have healthy populations and industries and property prices are cheaper. It’s a way of getting into the market rather than sitting out and doing nothing.
2. Think outside the square. Can you do a reno/ add a room, paint, anything to add value?
3. How much are you prepared to sacrifice? The sacrifice might be in material things, like better vehicles, buying secondhand clothes/toys or in time and family life. One of our sacrifices was to buy a cheap country property 9 hours drive away, send me back to work full-time, and have my husband, who was then the primary carer for our first child, commute(with child) for three weeks at a time to renovate this property. It went on for a year. Not an experience I’d care to repeat, but we learnt heaps and heaps, had a great adventure and made enough profit to help on us the next step.
4. Use the internet and phone to research your market as much as possible. Kindergarten time, sleep time, late night, whenever you can.
5. Involve your kids if they’re old enough. Make it a game. Great learning for them. My son still talks about “Daddy’s house” and “Mummy’s house” which can really confuse acquaintances!
6. Don’t hesitate to use childcare if you need to focus on something. Family daycare can be pretty cheap if you are on a low income.
7. If and when the second partner goes back to work, continue to live as if you only had one income. It’s really tempting to splash out after years of frugality, but it’s a rare opportunity to stash away substantial savings on a regular basis.That’s all I can think of for the moment. Stay with, you can do it. Just don’t give up.
Cheers,
JennyHi,
Yes, my husband and I went to Michael’s Sydney property briefing. We got far more value out of it than the $55 we spent. And my husband will be going to the workshop in June. By the way, there were substantial discounts for early bookings and our expense will be far less than $3.5K. I would love to go to the workshop and would except for the complex logistics of interstate childcare for two very young children.
We’ve been to a few seminars, some of great value, some I wished I hadn’t bothered with. However, one thing I can say is that by pursuing education (not just through seminars), we have challenged ourselves, broadened our worldview, and built the confidence to take the plunge and invest in multiple properties. And in that ‘getting our hands dirty’ we have learnt even more, both positive and negative.
I’m really looking forward to what my husband will bring back from the workshop, as some of its content is the next step in our property investing career and I want to be as well informed as I can be.
I guess I just want to say that education is neither good nor bad, it just ‘is’. What an individual does with it is up to them. Yes, some people will come away from Michael’s workshop and make their million from what was in it. Others won’t make a cent. That’s not about the quality of the education, that’s about the individual, their mindset and their circumstances.
Happy investing!
JennyHi Leanne,
You’ve probably already considered this, though it is amazing how often it is overlooked. Have you offered the property to your tenant? We’re currently selling a property to our tenant, and I know of other tenants who have bought the house they live in. Maybe you have the makings of a wrap, or if not, at least an immediate sale without the costs of advertising and chasing buyers. Selling to your tenant means you can often be quite flexible in the way you structure settlement, etc.
Good luck
JennyHi,
I’m with RentMaster and PropertyAngel. I’ve been a tenant in the same house for 14 years (we love the place, not the landlord!). I would love my landlord to show some appreciation for the fact that we’ve been good tenants. While pizza doesn’t personally grab me, I’d still appreciate the thought it represented. What I’d really like is that when we do make a request for maintenance that it gets some attention, rather than being ignored and us having to solve the problem in whatever way we can/or just live with it. So for our landlords to actually ask us what they could do for the place would be bliss.
With our own investment properties, I certainly tend to be willing to do/give a bit extra to tenants who’ve shown themselves to be valuable, even if it’s just a thankyou Christmas card with a gift voucher in it.
Cheers,
JennyYes, I’ve been impressed by Trevor. We didn’t end up buying through him because something else came up elsewhere first. However, he has been highly professional and even though we didn’t spend our dollars with him, he is still actively helping us to get a quantity surveyor at a group price.
Cheers,
jkmt
