chrisrenee,

Take along any receipts or bills you have related to the property. Teeeeeell me you have a property manager and a RE agent looking after the place for you. They will or should have provided you with a balance sheet, showing all expenses occurred and income received for your IP- a profit and loss statement basically. Also, take along your statements from your bank- showing interest paid and associated mortgage costs.

Basically, as a property investor, become a hoarder and don’t chuck receipts out. If you buy books or property mags, keep receipts. If you travel to see your IP, keep receipts from everything. I read in another post of yours that you’ve been perusing the ATO website, so just look up what deductions you’re entitled to claim, and then hunt down the receipts or records.

You may need to start developing a filing/storage system for your records, so next year, you’ll have it all in one big pilish mess.

kay henry

shirl,

I’m going to make a slightly less bullish reply than westan’s because, whilst I am sure we all have the greatest deal of respect for westan (I know I do), for every westan, there might be someone else who has lost it all (see the foreclosure thread). It’s likely the westan doppleganger types might not be on this forum, or if they are, they are very quiet about their losses- we never seem to hear about losses on here- maybe we need to.

If you have no equity available, then I think you need to work out if your business is running profitably. If you have profit and equity from your business, then go for it! Many of us have used equity to build a portfolio- some from IP’s some from PPOR’s, and some from businesses. Not that many sit around these days and save up cash to use as a deposit.

I know accountants- some of them- can be conservative. But they may also have our best interests at heart- and know our financial position- most importantly. No money down deals, or borrowing 105%, or using LMI… these strategies can be good in a flat or rising market… but in a declining market (which is what I believe we are currently in- flat at best, declining at worst), then I think you should do some serious financial analysis, talk to a broker, or a thousand brokers, change accountants- do whatever you need to… but be realistic about your own financial situation. If you have NO MONEY, you become vulnerable to those who find people in that kind of situation, and that’s how they make their money.

Sometimes we don’t like what our accountant says, or our bank manager, and sometimes, we really don’t like our financial situation either, but it’s good to have a sense of reality about what’s possible.

Best of luck

kay henry

So basically, I could take mum’s credit card [curtain] go on a bit of a consumer spending spree, mum doesn’t dob me in [sealed] why would she? she’s my mum- it’d be mean if she dobbed me in [baby][cry][hypocrite] and then I can wait for 5 years and apply for a homeloan, and the marks against my name are gone? Actually, even if she did dob me in, and I was done for criminal fraud, do the marks still get removed after 5 years? [dead2]

kay henry

Thanks Celivia )

kay henry

Jason,

I think it’s a point that we could probably all think about. How much cash do we have sitting around if something goes wrong, be it with a loan shortfall, if the rent doesn’t come in to cover the mortgage, or if repairs need undertaking? [cigar][guilty] Financial exigency is a real issue.

kay henry

Terry- thanks for that. And stu, you must have read my mind- I have a thought, and you write an article about it- hehe.

Terry- what you’ve described is a cautionary tale. With the flatter market, I think we might see a bit more of this kind of situation- seeking quick riches, 105% loans, high-risk strategies… whilst people might boast about doing this stuff when the market is good… if the market falls, the same strategies can just cause pain.

I hope she gets out of it well, Terry

kay henry

I’m assuming that a line of credit is basically an account where you can access your equity without the fuss of having to officially do it by mortgage redraw. So basically, you have a card and can just go on a big equity spending spree?

What I am wondering is… if you have 100k LOC, and that 100k is your equity… so say you have a 400k mortgage (80%) and your 100k LOC (20%)… what happens if you buy a new car for 50k from your LOC? Doesn’t that make your LVR (say, specified in your loan at 80%) less than it should be? Do you have to justify what you spend your LOC on or does the bank control it at all?

I know that with redraw, my bank keeps an eye on it, and it’s a bit of a drama to do, but is a LOC just a card that you can go and withdraw all your equity? And then the bank takes all your property away? hehe.

kay henry

elika,

You don’t HAVE to do a BPI (Building and pest inspection) for a new unit, unless your bank demands it. I didn’t get one for a newish unit I just bought, but I did get a Strata Inspection Report- essential viewing, in my opinion Indeed the SIR showed all issues about the building, including any building problems. So you’ll get the dirt on what’s going on both inside the building, and out. Whereas a BPI will only identify problems that might exist, a SIR will tell you about what is being done to address the issues. You’ll find in it letters from solicitors engaged by the BC, reports by engineers, reponses by builders (remember, builders won’t necessarily take responsibility for any problems- they might say “We undertook work with building standard number blah in accordance with the fire protection act blah blah”. If the builders don’t take responsibility, owners might be up for individual special levies to get the building up to scratch. Any special levies forthcoming should be identified and stated in the SIR.

The SIR is a report that is done by a company that does that sort of thing for a living – it’s completely independent. It cost me $150. It will alo identify if there are any tenant issues, and any financial issues. It not only states these things, but analyses them.

So I reckon if you are going to make a choice, get the SIR. The BPI might say there is some real problem occurring, and you’ll get all worried. The SIR will state that the problem is known and is being fixed in September- so why worry?

kay henry

Ballie,

I am one of the people who don’t plan- anything Life for me is a series of surprises and spontaneous actions and unknown consequences- it’s quite fun

Re the business… I would hope that teenagwers could have access to programs which encourage self-confidence, and can discuss plans with young people, that don’t have any intent to take their money at the end of it. Guess it’s just been a market waiting to happen :o(

kay henry

Nice ideas, LifeX

Mad, I’ve been thinking it over, and as LifeX says, ya gotta take time our for you. I have an ex, who’s an investor also. She says to me that we come in with nothing, and that the worst that can happen, is that we leave with nothing ) She pretty much does whatever she wants in terms of investments and lifestyle, and thinks “oh well, if this investment doesn’t work out, so what?” When I think about that, it’s not a bad way to think. Let’s face it, too much stress probably isn’t good for your health, and is RE worth having a stroke about?

Whether we worry about our IP’s or not is not going to change the status of them. A 3% yielder is not going to become a 5% yielder due to our worrying about it Maybe ya need a holiday, just like LifeX is doing. I don’t want to give up lifestyle, and make too many sacrifices for IP’s. I want to live life NOW, and not defer it until this magical wealth occurs.

As for me, I would MUCH prefer to drive a nice car than to sell it off and put a deposit on another IP. I really enjoy my car and love driving around in it. Sometimes, we can just enjoy things for the pleasure they give us NOW, and not focus solely on sacrifice.

hehe- here’s a heads up for hedonism [biggrin]

Now I might go off and have a worry about yield

kay henry