Forum Replies Created
Alpi
Here’s a website that contains a number of links to all things National Heritage:
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~conserv/imovable.htm
Here’s a website you might like. It’s a case study, and discusses reno’s and lead issues for a Heritage House. It’s an interesting story, I thought:
http://www.lead.org.au/clp/racs.html
kay henry
Gats,
This has been discussed before. There’s no breach of copyright if you want to sell this stuff- otherwise places like ebay and second-hand book shops and markets would shut down. Go ahead- sell it- I am sure Steve wouldn’t mind if his knowledge is recycled, particularly if the product is no longer available.
kay henry
Sleep like a pig huh, Jet? [oink] Hope your wife gets enough sleep to mix up those medications correctly! [sick]
kay henry
Here’s a CGT article, showing the influence the 50% CGT Rule has had on the market since 1999:
http://theage.com.au/articles/2004/07/09/1089000355578.html
kay henry
Ausprop,
I think Yack was referring to this:
The boom and how it’s affected wealth distribution in Australia:
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/07/09/1089000352014.html
And this one:
http://theage.com.au/articles/2004/07/09/1089000355575.html
kay henry
Try this, Helen. It is an online learning website, and has everything you could possibly need, I reckon, to check out conveyancing. You have 5 trial goes at using the site- time to start printing it off [biggrin]
http://www.lawportal.com.au/full_screen.asp
kay henry
Patrick,
I’m a realestate.com.au junkie. I just look through the states, and look at places I’ve never heard of before, starting with my own state generally. So if I see a place called “quirindijaloopungulla” (ya know what I mean- the obscure ones)… then I just look it up, see what houses are availavable there, check the prices, then look it up on google.com.au- population, etc etc etc- and that’s the beginning of my search. I fugure anything for around 50k can probably yield 8%. Now I am not saying I *buy* these properties… I am just saying I think they can be found. For me, there’s too much risk in buying rural. But doing the searches has a number of benefits for me. I get to find out about the geography of Australia, and the house prices etc.
I also have a few ideas tucked away in memory for searches- if there are units available in a place, to me that means that the population is larger- units are built generally as an afterthought to houses, so that gives me a population indicator.
Population decline doesn;t mean a total writeoff to me- most rural enclaves have declined over the last number of decades, with younger people moving to bigger places for educational and employment opportunities- it’s just a national trend. But even places like Broken Hill have now got some more opportunities- Charles Sturt University has a satellite campus there now- so locals can get a degree, and maybe stay and work for their communities- all good, really.
The maps or data like “150km’s from blahtown” on realestate.com.au also assist. One can move from the rural search to the bigger town search.
I also don’t really check out places that are too “popular” amongst investors. I figure if everyone names a town/regional centre, then it’s probable that the place has already been combed over by investors, so I try to find places that have barely been mentioned- but that still have the same qualities- population, employment opportunities etc etc, but these can be “undervalued”- possibly- and therefore be an opportunity for me. Also, sometimes I’ll check out places where the primary industry might have closed down, and keep an eye on it over some time to see what kind of potential that place might have as a tourist town for its future.
I seek places cthat have not had huge capital growth- I am not interested in the cart that’s bolted, but rather in assessing the qualities of the cart- for what it is NOW- and what it may be, in my “gut feeling” or in checking fundamentals, for the future.
I believe 8% are out there- but there is a huge difference in identifying them- and actually *buying* them. If I ever decide to buy rural, I feel like I’ll be equipped to some level, to be able to know the market for such properties. I think it’s also a good idea to keep checking similar places – over and over- for some months or years- to see how things have changed- even if one isn’t purchasing there right now, so one can develop an historical sense of the place.
I prefer units than houses, and I’m appreciative of having a body corporate to fix up collective problems- special levies aside- that may appear. But I also have a desire to buy properties that are post-1987 (for depreciation allowances) so the 50k market kind of wipes that out ;O) Having said that, it’s probably still possible to find some of these post-1987 places in smaller regional places, at a decent price (under 100k- that’s my measure) and possibly still pull in a yield that is around 8%.
Undervalued places can still be found in smaller cities too- and particuarly in a flatter market- just look for “pre-growth” places that other people aren’t talking about, and then check them out on google.com.au and find out everything you can about the place.
I won’t buy places that are high on crime etc… that’s just my preference. Look for places with a point of differentiation- and you should be ok.
kay henry
Jefferson,
Try this link for queenstown and roseberry or do a search from the homepage:
https://www.propertyinvesting.com/forum/topic/11491.html
For Geraldton, I reckon it’s been combed through by investors, so you’ll be looking at higher prices and less yield. If you do a search, you’ll find a number of members on here have bought in those areas.
kay henry
Shaun,
Where are you from out that way?
If anyone is interested, the cheapest suburb in Wagga is Forest Hill, followed by Ashmont. FH is mostly houses (large Defence force community live there), and you can pick up lots of units in Ashmont. Two streets not to buy in in Wagga:
Edney Stree, Kooringal
Joyes Place, TollandAsk any local- those streets are renowned.
kay henry
Here’s an article by Neil Jenman on “Bait Pricing” which includes the “offers above” thing you’ve mentioned, Rose :
http://www.jenman.com.au/BS_S_Bait.php
kay henry
dc_homer,
I reckon you’ve missed the boat on regionals such as wagga, albury and dubbo by about a year and a half to two years (sorry Rugs).
I think now you’d be looking at country towns to get anywhere near cf+ (I’m thinking >10% here)
kay henry
Apples,
I’d hazard a guess that many many building and pest inspections uncover nasty problems. If you’re in the cooling-off period, you are able to (a) ask that they fix the problems at their expense and you pay the original offer; (b) get a quote for the cost of repairs and ask to take that cost off your original offer; (c) estimate in your head the cost of fixing the problem, and take an arbitrary figure off your original offer; or (d) walk away.
There’s probably some more options. Actually, there is another option. I had some issues with a BPI and just offered the original price anyway, because I wanted the place so much. I just didn;t feel like haggling, and was selling a place at the same time, and had someone doing the same thing to me, so in the end, I just went for the original offer. Depends on if you really want the place, or you think you may lose it. or the place I bought, it was only a few cosmetic issues.
For serious problems though- and plumbing sounds a serious one- options A-D might be the go :o)
kay henry
There ya go Derek- fixed :o)
kay henry
Further to the John Mgrath connection:
http://www.propertyreview.com.au/archives/2004/30062004/headline/01072004004.html
It’s amazing they showed his photo on their ads as one of their keynotes when it seems he had no intention of speaking.
kay henry
PK,
It’s my experience that the PM liaises with anyone that has anything to do with my property- including the Council, people paid to do repairs, and the Body Corporate. In your contract with the PM, it should allow you to transfer authority for the PM to deal with whomever is needed. Sounds crazy she is making you do the paperwork- red tape gone mad!
I’ll check my PM papers this evening – property settled today and I still haven’t signed off on them [baaa] But for other properties I have- my PM’s have always done business wih the BC for me.
kay henry
ian,
My reading of it is that it’s a “class” thing. We used to call fairly shabby old 70’s blocks “flats”. Then newer ones began to be called “units”. About 7 years ago, a gf of mine- from montreal- used the word “apartment”, and I hadn’t heard it used before really, in Australia, and it sounded slightly pretentious. I think if you want to sell a unit now, you call it an “apartment”. Older-style places might not get away with that though, and will probably still be called “units”. As a marketing tool, I doubt anyone would call a place a “flat” anymore- it’s a bit unbecoming.
Of course, then there’s townhouses (double storey); and duplexes (also known as semi-detached in nsw). Just like people don’t like to call places a “granny flat” or a “bachelor-pad” anymore… they prefer tocall it a studio apartment. I think it’s just a marketing ploy or a style thing.
kay henry
No offence taken at all, Baloo. If the IP’s I had achieved 10.4% yield, noone would be happier than me :o) But I’d have to up the rent substantially to achieve that, and my IP’s would sit empty and probably become squats- hehe. So I settle for what I can get.
Lower yield does not always equal growth though, of course. I have no greater expectation on my inner-city property for growth (6% yield), than I do for my regional one (9% yield). I just take the market and the yield as it comes.
kay henry
Paul,
Yep- work that is meaningful, enjoyable, challenging- that has to be right up there. In the thread about what jobs people do, some people described their jobs and said what pleasure they had from them. Last week, I did a Conference paper on performance-based funding, the govt’s science and innovation policy, and the federal budget… not everyone’s cup of tea, but it is mine.
Perhaps the society we are in doesn’t provide enough opportunity for each person to do something that excites them- and pays them too. But I am not going to wait until I have enough property to do something I like- I want to do it now. I’m too imatient to wait that 2, or 5, or 10 years to “retire” or escape. I’d rather keep myself being challenged and do what I love right here and now. I don’t want X amount of years dissatisfaction until the final bliss- that would seem like torture- like waiting in limbo until one gets to Heaven.
kay henry
Paul,
I agree with the comments you’ve made, particularly about the mums- the ones I know work their heads off.
When we talk about happiness, though, I wonder if we can say that the richer self-retired person is happier than the medium-income worker. I know unemployment has its own problems associated with it… but the worker in general… I am not sure I would want to give that up- for some elusive- what? I guess I have the idea that life is all about being comfortable and happy where you are NOW, rather than striving for something else that may (or may not) occur. If I don’t have tro be in paid employment in 20 years, I guess I’ll review mythoughts on this, but for now, work is all I’ve known, and I enjoy it. I think I could only play golf, tennis, or sleep in, for so long. Then I’d be itching to do something with myself, and I may as well be paid to do it.
kay henry
Baloo, I am not a cashflow positive investor either. The properties I want haven’t got huge yields, but I know where to find them (CF+) if I want them.
kay henry
