Lisabellan,

Just to add something here… many serviced apartment firms have a provision for annual rent rises. You might want to check out if your company has that, too.

kay henry

Jaffa, I am more familiar with the other side of Albury – the bushy side- Henty, Holbrook etc. The city of Albury itself is quite lovely- with the Murray running down the middle. As with cities like Wagga, the CBD holds up well in terms of value maintenance. As you may have seen, Albury has some really industrial outer areas on the highway [thumbsdownanim Stay near the river and you’ll be fine. Albury has cheaper prices that Wagga and the population is smaller. It has a victorian “feel” to it though, so probably has more Victorian investment interest in the case of resell. As with a lot of regional areas, it’s built on footy and has a fairly large yob element- hence, stick to the CBD.

kay henry

vicgirl Just think, when you have a job, you can afford double the amount of properties, as you’ll have double the income.

kay henry

I dunno, folks, I think I have to disagree. Hoping that partners might have the exact same interest in property, is almost like hoping they might have the same interests in other activities. Some partners like fishing… others like knitting. I think it’s ok to have really different ways of seeing. Whislt I think it’s more *ideal* to have the same excitement, for example, about pozz gearing, or neg gearing… but if people are not into the same strategies, then they can still work it out. There are some relationships where one person does the “property bit” and the other person is more a “silent partner”, because they either don’t have the same understanding, or more likely, that they don’t have the same passion for it. I know many couples where one partner loves and buys property, and the other sits back, and doesn’t. I think it can still work.

kay henry

I’m with Rugs, Chan. I mean, one should only buy neg geared props if there is an opportunity for CG- not just because it’s cheap. When the market flattens out, it will flatten out for all properties… but which ones will recover? Perhaps “location location location” will again become de rigeur. As Rugs said, unique properties, near water, or other properties that will appeal to both owner/occupiers and investors (well, I added bits- sorry Rug).

CF+ properties will probably always do ok- if they have tenants, and if there’s not too many repairs. but if negative gearing, well- does the property have the qualities for growth?

Chan Jet, I don’t care what my properties will do in the next few years. This is a time for me to pay them off. I think if people are expecting their properties to double in the next few years, like they may have done in the last few years… well, in market change, perhaps expectations need to change too. The get-rich-quick fashion was so 3 years ago.

kay henry

Deanna,

Check out the town you are looking at, and type in “blahtown population decline”. That will tell you if there has been any significant change. I think it’s important to distinguish between anecdotal evidence, and more statistical evidence. Even if people are moing out, it’s possible that others are moving in, so it could be equalising.

Sounds like the place has nickel/gold mines… you can find out the longevity of the mines by doing some research, and it sounds like you have. Broken hill, for example, with a population of about 20-22k, has about 6 years left in its existing mine, from my reading. This info is increasingly publicly available.

I mean, even if a mine does close down, sometimes families and individuals still stay…. or the place becomes a “ghost town”. It’s hard to make a call on this stuff… but if people want to buy 50k houses… then there are many risks for these towns.

kay henry

rachderick,

It costs nothing to do some checks through realestate.com.au Why not sit with your husband and check out properties on there? You can choose a state- perhaps the one you live in now, and just look at different areas. Another thing I do is look at Australian Property Investor Magazine ($8 from newsagents) and look at all the cheapest towns in different states. Most of them, I’ve never heard of, but it gives a starting point, and it’s easier, visually, for me to see the cheapies, than doing random searches on the net.

It’s fun to check out RE all over Australia. It costs nothing to look, and then you can find out price ranges. The only way to find places is to look. And if your husband is as enthusiastic as you are, you can look together.

I find that I see properties, and then the more I look, the easier it is to find better and better places. So I might see a place, think it looks good, but then I find another place, that has more land, is in a bigger location, has a newer property, etc etc etc. Comparisons help.

Then you can ask on the forums things like “is anyone investing in south-est WA?” or something. You can also ask about specific towns, but people sometimes like to keep deals under their hats, so people don’t nick ’em.

Finding properties isn’t hard… finding *suitable* properties is a bit harder.

kay henry

Pepper,

I buy units. hehe- I should make a website called “Ibuyunits.com.au”. Wonder what our friend would think [baaa]

Whilst there are many arguments for buying houses over units, units are something I first bought into, and have become used to. You are probably right about units being more affordable than houses. It might be because they usually have a smaller space, and certainly a smaller land mass.

What I like about units is the collective responsibility for maintenance via Body Corporate fees. Others dislike this collectivity. I am very hands-off, and am happy to allow others to attend the meetings. Having interstate property, means that I can just allow others to make decisions, and I can just set and forget- works for me. Also, if there is something wrong with the roof, or some structural problem, we all share the cost. Special levies (for unusual works, or maintenance, or unforeseen expenses) can occur though in units. I haven’t had to pay this, but I imagine it could be a pain.

I think one develops a taste for what one likes. You could be a “houses only” type, or a “units only” type, or have a mixture. i feel comfortable knowing one market, and don’t feel much need to move out of that right now, but I’d be happy to buy a house if it was at the right price.

I think I also invest for what I prefer personally. I like apartment living, so I think it becomes an easy investment choice for me.

kay henry

YC,

Sounds like a plan I think the most important thing in investing is confidence. You seem like you’ve done a lot of thinking and are developing your own independent strategies. That will serve you well if the market falls apart a bit, and other people are looking for the latest “crash survival” book to give them answers. The independent mind is the greatest RE investing tool, I reckon.

kay henry