Have you considered improving/renovating you own house? could you squeeze a bit more out it? Your own home has the added advantage of being tax free. Otherwise, becareful at the moment,it is easy to buy a house spend heaps on the reno and actually make a loss. With a low income you may feel the financial squeeze if you try to buy another property…[Read more]

Karl & Rita
I am just in the process of subdividing a block (3) in an area near you. There isn’t and way that anyone can give you a firm figure. It depends on so many factors.

In my instance I have spent $2500 on townplanner for initial work and application, $1500 for engineer, $900 for council fees, $300 for public advertising & signage. I…[Read more]

Greenhorn,
Hang in there. From experience I know how tough it is now, but in years to come you will look back and see that holding is the right move. As you can see from other forum contributors, the asset looked as if it would never improve, then suddenly takes off like a rocket. Rents are increasing, building costs continue to rise………
At…[Read more]

ronsab,
I am a great fan of sub division/developing, however the time delays are enormous. The frustration at times unbelievable, but it definitely worth it if you pick the right property. Have you considered your holding costs and it is possible to offset with rent etc.

jtw

Hi there,
Another option maybe to buy a house and sub-let the other rooms to other Uni students. Let them pay your house off while you study. A combination of Fist home owners grant, parents supporting you by way of a guarantee perhaps, maybe an equity partner etc.
There are some pretty sharp minds on this forum that could point you in the right…[Read more]

Gidday Redwing,
I had a look at the forum frolic link and that article about goal setting was great.

I know 6 pages sounds a lot , my first plan was only 1page. Now I get into the detail of budgets, how I am going to achieve things, timings, resources required, financing arrangments, different options,specific taskings etc. before you know it…[Read more]

Hi Redwing,
I might have missed something because I am almost computer illiterate. Where is the rest of it? Or is it just one page only.

AmandaBS, you don’t really need any template,the magic of it is in the appreciation process (planning your plan) and the fact you write down what you are going to do, and how you are going to do it and commit…[Read more]

Welcome Matt,
The forum is great place to obtain the most important asset in real estate investing, knowledge. I am in awe of the experienced people sharing on this forum. Hope you will be too. JTW

Well I’ll be having a quite Christmas at home with just the wife and kids. Most of our relatives are heading off on overseas trips etc. Peace in our time hey? Dazzling little story about last Christmas probably strike a chord with most of us who have had the in laws over for Chistmas, They where the in laws weren’t they Dazzling???

U2ra,
I have sent you a private message via this web site. check your mail box. I’d think twice about this area.

JTW

What about the Minimum sale price after Reno(Worst case scenario). The Max price may be misleading in this market, but still necessary to have on you sheet. I really like the idea, surely there is an existing on floating around.

JTW

Goodrum,
No I hadn’t heard that ‘Wanker’ interpretation, I though it was supposed to mean a panther or something. I might change the badges on the car, in north america they call them Montero.ours is a diesel Auto and goes great, I think it forgets to drink fuel every now and then. Ideal RE investor car.

I take back what I said about the car…[Read more]

Dazzling,
I to have a real soft spot for the old “FUN 100”, especially an old classic. I am jealous. However you probably only have this as a toy , right?

Alternatively, perhaps you are trying to tell us you are a middle aged, sluggish, overweight, tired and slightly balding. (Just joking, the thing about the car telling you about the person)

JTW

Thanks Dereck, I wasn’t familiar with B>I>G>.
I Checked out thier website and looks like what I am after. Appreciate the tip

JTW

Very interesting subject. I think that you can tell a lot about a person from thier car.

Personally, I drive a new Mitsubishi Pajero 4WD, I traded a 2003 Holden SS commodore. We live in a rural area and I was sick of the limited ground clearance and traction. I travel about 30-35,000 kms per year. I find it best to lease a vehicle, run all…[Read more]

Hi there Delboy and Adambc,
I would be interested in something along the lines of a property investors meeting and mentoring. ( No to combined finances)
Location and suggested times suit me fine.
Please keep me informed

JTW

Gross, I am interested in how you would get 2%p/m. The ability to get a steady 27% would interest us all. What method? could you provide a bit more detail. I don’t have a million bucks laying around but I do have some cash coming my way soon. I was thinking of doing a 1/10th or 2/5th scale version of Dazzlings idea.

jtw

Thanks for the imput. Based on the figures (which is similiar to what I came up with) it still makes a small profit ($approx $84 P/w). At present the tennants are getting a great deal and are well below market on rent. $20 per week per unit would be achievable without reno of the interior. The $70k quote was the engineers estimate and included…[Read more]

We had a colourbond roof installed on our new house and reckon it is great. For our needs, 2 advantages. 1.Collecting rainwater into tanks, colourbond has no competition. 2. In a high wind/cyclone area it is far more secure, easier to meet W51 rating etc. Now we have had a colurbond roof I wouldn’t consider tiles again. Dazzling is correct with…[Read more]

I am in total agreement with you C2 on your point about relaxing, thats why I personally prefer real estate over shares etc. About 15 years ago I had a small windfall of $6000 and my relative Ray got an equal share. I put it into RE and Ray put it into shares. At the time Real estate was really in the Doldrums and did nothing for a long time. Now…[Read more]