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Thanks for that Terry. I was more worried about record keeping requirements than the small amount of CGT payable, but as you say might be best to check with my accountant
Yeah i took it out myself, fairly easy. Just a screwdriver…and a hammer. And if that doesnt work a BIGGER hammer…haha. Nah seriously really straight forward, and the flat pack is just a matter of screwing together. You could have someone put this in if you cant do it. Electrician and plumber cost me $75-85 an hour and it shouldnt take them too long to do this
I dunno if you would think of doing it yourself but i just bought a flat pax kitchen from bunnings for my unit which was too expensive and is pretty simple to put together. Just need a plumber and sparkky to connect it all
Hey Tylon020,
I am in pretty well the same position as you at the moment, bought my first property about 9 months ago, moved in about 6 months ago after renting it out for the first few months. I am really keen to get into the next property around the 200k mark and have seen some good potential properties. I have approx 5k in savings as well, but know that with the right strategy i could easily take on another propery. Will be interested to see what suggestions people have…
Thanks Terryw, kinda thought it might be along those lines
That varies form state to state, as it is administered by state govt
Hi Boobiejo,
in my experience with bodies corporate they can be a little slow in responding. However if you give them a call and run your ideas past them this should give you a pretty good idea of what you can and cant do. Really I think any structural changes may be challenging to have approved but cosmetic changes to the interior should be fine. As to selling a unit i am yet to find out, but from my perspective, if i was buying i would probably prefer to have a tenant in place as i could know that the unit was renting for 'x' amount and the tenant has been here for so long… Probably a slightly different story to selling a house as there is probably more chance that the potential buyers would be buying it as their PPOR and therefore may want if vacant. Only my thoughts though, someone more experienced in this area may have a better idea?
thanks attrill,
um yeah i think i might give the whitegoods swap idea a miss. Think thats something along the lines of tax fraud. Might be frowned upon by our freinds in the tax office : )
Thanks for the info on the bench tops tooI think that is a great story, we should all take something from it. We are all people doing the best we can, and sometimes the nicest thing you can do is often small to you but means more than you can imagine for the other person
hehe, let us know how it goes
oh yeah the place is an actual 1br unit, at the time there were bedsits advertised at 78k, but i really didnt like the idea of a bedsit- low growth prospects, harder to rent out and more likely than not shorter term tenancies.
Hi yetanothernewbie,
the unit i bought is in cairns. When i started looking about a year ago i too was struggling to narrow it down to something specific, but with a heap of research i was able to narrow it down to a few specific areas in cairns. I was also conscious of the type of area i would be investing in. For me cairns had the potential to be a good place to invest. The current population growth is about 3%p.a. which is quite good and the vacancy rates are at all time lows, below 2%. Also as cairns is bordered by the coast on one side and mountains on the other i felt that this added to the scarcity factor.
I spent quite a bit of time on the local council website where they have a good demographic breakdown of the suburbs, and eventually i realised that i could get a 2br unit in a not so desirable suburb or a 1br in one of the better suburbs. In the end i felt a bit better going for the better location, being close to popular recreation and cultural facilities and local cafes and shops. I guess in the end this was more of a personal choice, and like martin said if you have landlords insurance as well as a decent property manager then it doesnt really matter so long as the numbers stack up.
The place was advertised at $110k so with a bit of guts i offered 90k, knowing it would not be accepted, and eventually got it back to what i thought was a pretty reasonable 100k. I was lucky to have a family member in the area who was able too look at it for me so that got rid of the thoughts of 'was the area in general okay', which is all i would be able to do myself. I then had Archicentre do a building inspection to make sure the place wasnt going to fall down.
I've included the council link for the suburb profiles which may be of interest as i'm guessing most local governments should have something similar. I'm definately by no means an expert, i am only just starting out like you but i guess like the other guys have said you will learn from the first one (as i am doing) and you'll be glad once you make a start.
Cheers, Judehttp://www.cairns.qld.gov.au/community/profiles/cairns_districts_suburb_profiles.htm
Hi yetanothernewbie,
Was in a similar situation about 4months ago. If you have done your research and it fits in with your goals then i think why not start now. As Jebro said it depends on whether you are after income or growth as to the sort of property you are looking for.
Personally i knew i wanted to get into property investment but could always find reasons why i couldnt, or others opinions on why they wouldnt do this or that. But if you back yourself, have done your research and have a goal in mind then why not have a shot at it. Either way, starting of small is not a bad way to go. I said okay 100k is my limit, what is the best property that i can find for that money, knowing that it wasnt going to send me broke, and that if for some unforseen reason i needed to get out i wouldnt stand to lose a fortune. I bought a 1br unit with a reasonable return and it is already showing signs of promise with rents and values continuing to rise. Having made a start i can now see where i may improve next time or things that went well that i can replicate. The only way to get over the uncertainty is experience and the best way to get that is to have a go. Hope that helpsThanks for the perspective Trish. Have thought about the situation of a furnished property attracting a lower standard of tenant, and more likely than not more transient too. I believe the rest of the complex has whitegoods and some part furnished, so not sure if i should do the same. The unit came with a kitchen table, chairs, bed and whitegoods, however the whitegoods are probably nearing the end of their lives, so not sure whether to just get rid of the lot or to replace whitegoods and leave the rest of the furniture as is.Any thoughts?
Hi Mick,
in a similar situation, though have only just started in property investing with one IP in Qld at present. Have also been looking at expanding through higher return properties, it also seems to me that with the planned expansion of the SA mining industry, coupled with lower prices and good returns that SA is hard too look past. However I also note that population growth is not exactly huge there, and in adelaide at least i have read reports of there being excess stock, althought this doesnt seem to be reflected in the vacancy rate. Any other thoughts would be appreciated from others perhaps more familiar with the SA market
JudeThanks for the info, i liked the idea of the composite granite, but struggled to find pricing. I think, like you say at wice the price the result would be worth the extra cost. Will also check out Ken's suggestion re offcuts.
regards, JudeHi guys,
thanks for the ideas. Just found out that one of the units upstairs in a similar condition to mine has just had a rental increase to $175/week, so i think that with replacing the kitchen and repainting i should have no problems achieving something similar. On the over capitalizing issue, i think a budget of 5-6k shouldnt (i hope) be too much.
Another question for attrill, how does the price of reconstituted granite compare to say laminated benchtops?
Jude
G'day Ken,
The unit is approx 40sqm, batroom is in good condition, with fairly new tiling and paint job by previous owners. Kitchen is functional though very small workspace. I think this will be the main area for imorovement and value adding. Plan at present is to put in a DIY flatpax kitchen, new sink, oven, stove and fridge. Also aim to replace washer and dryer and repaint throughout. Rough budget suggests around $5,000-$6000 all up. Should virtually be able to complete most things by myself.
