Leigh,

It means I work in an area of policy. I research and I consult and I write policy and respond to existing policy.

Perhaps we should have a separate topic asking people what jobs they do?

kay henry

Karen,

You made 20K on your purchase price in 18 months- that’s pretty good :o) Never mind the tyrekickers- you’ve done ok, given the state of the market in inner-city melby. Also- you didn;t overcapitalise to begin with- 125k is a cheapy.

If you can sell now- a 30sqm apartment could be more of a liability than an asset- then sell, I reckon. find some cashed up person who did well from the boom, and sell before the innercity melbournites panic and your capital gain disappears.

kay henry

jack,

Try domain.com.au

Then hit the “home price guide” link. (As below)

http://www.homepriceguide.com.au/index.cfm?source=domain&domain_ads=hpgword

This site will give you median prices, rental,s etc. It isn’t perfect, but it’s something.

Alternatively, type “blah median rental” or some combination into google.com- australian only sites. This should bring up anything about the area you wish to explore.

kay henry

hissho,

Get a mortgage broker to come to your home to work out how much you’re entitled to loan.

Also, go to the hundreds of “how much can i loan” mortgage calculators online.

You should be able to finance or refinance if you have equity, a job, and/or a deposit if it’s your first IP and you have no other property.

kay henry

I bought my last two properties sight unseen. Just saw one of them for the first time over the holidays actually- very pleased with it. I’ve seen the other one too, and am similarly happy.

If you work full-time and you see a bargain, are you going to pass it by because you can’t actually view it? Many people just go into a place and glance around at it generally and ok it. Whereas I ask the RE agent a large number of questions and ask further questions as he or she answers the first ones.

As a worker, I am limited in my leisure time- and I have a limnited interest in making all my holidays go simply on viewing properties in far away towns!

The internet is a blissful way of purchasing properties all over australia- go for it, I say :o)

kay henry

“The socialist leaning ABC?” That’s too funny, Bruce :o))

As to my hit predictions… regional/country areas of property will continue to be the cheapest in Australia, but the most affordable for those of us with not much capital- but they will be the most risky with interest rate rises, less spending, and possible industry declines- same old same old for cheap housing; wraps will see many go broke, and the industry regulated by policy- not self-regulated; those who got in over their heads will be duly ripped off by those who specialise in milking the vulnerable; stamp duty will be reduced by public demand- leaving less money for state govts to invest in public schools and the health system.. etc etc :o)

Happy leap year everyone!

kay henry

Fatboy,

Did you see the article in one of today’s sunday newspapers? It was about the Top 100 suburbs in terms of cap growth in nsw. The right-hand column had predicted cap growth rises for 2004. Seems that the source (propertyvalue.com.au, I think- haven’t got the newspaper on me now) doesn’t seem to believe it’s all over yet. Growth is still expected to be in double figures for many of the suburbs mentioned.

kay henry

Peter,

I understand where you’re coming from in your perspectives regarding the way I do things. But I am aware of what IU’m doing and I make my choices- just like all of you make yours. I don;t feel I was “hooked like a fish”. In fact, I had done an incredible amount of research for months on properties in the exact location and I am completely happy with what I’ve done. Happy buyer and happy seller. That makes me quite satisfied- win/win, remember?

kay henry

toystory,

Offering a reasonable price- perhaps 7% lower than the asking price, is very fair. Think of buying a place as similar to selling. When you sell, you want the buyer to give you a fair price. Well, we are the same person whether we buy or sell, so we can use the same principles. Noone wants to be ripped off.

Buying houses is a business practice, and one would do it with the normal standards we apply to our lives, and treat people how we want to be treated. Being fair can never be underestimated, and you’ll be able to respect yourself in the morning.

As with all these things, if it makes sense to you to offer fair price- as in fair after you’ve done all your checking on what you think the place is truly worth- then it will make sense. If it makes sense to you to ground the seller into the ground and take his/her property for almost nothing, then you’ll make that your choice.

With my last negotiation, I made an offer of about 3% less than the asking price, because I thought that was fair. When the RE came back and said the seller wanted more, I told him that my offer was firm, that I thought it was a fair offer, and that I felt that the sellers might see it as such, and accept it as fair people. That worked for me, and it worked for the sellers. It also made me feel good about the negotiation practice. For me, I wanna feel good about myself and don’t want the sellers sitting at home crying because they are in a deperate situation and I have tapped into their misery.

kay henry