No website?? [cigar][eh][guilty][hmm]

In these days of techies, it is so much better if people have a website. Their lack of a website is probably not only bad for business, but also makes them look a tad unprofessional.

kay henry

Yes Karl and Rita, I would buy sight unseen. I would be doing every piece of research I could on the city or town I could find (google.com.au). I would compare other properties. I would ring up local RE’s and ask all manner of questions about areas in that locality. As Monopoly said, get lots of pics of the property. It does help if you have *some* indication of the area. Ask people on here if they know of the area, or do a search on here or on somersoft.com A Building and Pest Inspection will cost you about 300-400 bucks. That’s a must for sight unseen properties. I have no issue with sight unseen properties, but if the property is a bit raggedy, then you’ll have to be more diligent in your researching.

Keep the questions coming, Karl and Rita- knowledge is power The more knowledge you have, the more confident you’ll be in your purchase Sometimes, you may have to pull out too- that takes its own type of confidence- if the plan isn’t working, you can always say no. An offer and acceptance is only binding after both parties have signed the contract (and there may or may not be a cooling-off period). If you have to pull out, do so.

kay henry

Ablaz,

Yes, those articles can be depressing, for sure. I remember reading about stuff like that over the years, and particularly when I first started reading about it, I became quite down and felt powerless.

With regards to RE, I wrangled with the ethics of it all about a decade ago. I figure if I can charge reasonable rents, do the right thing by tenants, and maybe one day have my own home, then I am not doing anything outside of what I think is ok. I wish there was more public housing, but the government has relinquished its responsibility. For a number of years, I charged rents that were under what the Dept of housing charged, just to ensure I wasn’t being exploitative.

Having said this, the old activist chant of “property equals theft” was said to me the other day by a friend- hehe. I hadn’t heard of it for a while! You can be an activist, and keep your sense of what you think is right and wrong, and still enjoy real estate, I reckon.

My opinion only, of course

kay henry

Yes Ma’am, I pay 8%. That means I pay a total of $16.00 a week for an onsight Manager. Before my new teant came in, my OM came into my place and painted a wall for me- for nix- and without me asking, because the previous owner did a dodgy job, and the OM didn’t like it.

$16.00 a week to have someone keep the complex absolutely immaculate is not much of a price to pay, in my book. I am not gonna haggle over a buck or two. She’s a good chick, my OM, and sometimes, if you want to get good service, then you have to pay for it. To me, that’s all about building relationships. It also helps when things go wrong. For example, I paid maxi amount to my RE agent to sell a place of mine, and then, when things weren’t working in the sale ie vendors pulled out, and things got complex, I had two of these agents working their hearts out for me. Sometimes it pays… to pay.

kay henry

ezy, it’s fine, and the topic came up within a topic, so it’s not really off-topic I have no doubt sexism still exists within RE, so probably, does racism, and so probably does ageism- as in, people getting treated worse because they are older (or younger!) and not taken seriously. It’s good you’ve mentioned it- a reminder that we still need to challenge that stuff.

Thanks, ezy

kay henry

Scremin,

To be frank, I had a rather large night on Thursday night, and now, my body and mind are screaming for me to be good, healthy, and domestic. So i am trying to be all good )

kay henry

Pisces,

There are princesses everywhere- some of them just don’t have a title [inlove]

Scremin, what dinner table does farting and burping go down well in?

kay henry

Kylie,

Justto provide an alternative perspective here, you said:

“Noone in my circle of influence is involved with IP’s at all. They are all happy to work in a job and rely on their “super”, this is not acceptable for me or I imagine many of you.”

I do know many on this forum board wish to resign from their jobs and retire early. But you can also work in paid employment AND invest. Generally, we have to get income from somewhere to invest. Whether that’s a steady income stream from shares, small business, or employment, I have yet to see any evidence of people not working (in some capacity) and being able to invest- that is, if they start NOW.

Also, think about how much income from IP’s you might need to *replace* your current income from work. Say you currently earn 50k, or about 1000 bucks per week. Say you buy into CF+ houses and earn a net profit of 50 bucks per week from each. That’s 20 CF+ houses you’ll need.

If you negative gear, then you’ll be not receiving any extra money oer IP, but may be paying OUT 50 bucks a week.

I am just not sure how this retirement thing works. Wouldn’t it be a strategy to invest in IP’s and ALSO have a job? You can have 300k superannuation to live off PLUS your profits from IP’s. Plus, work also provides mny other things- use of skills, social benefits, long service leave (3 months paid leave PLUS your usual wage during it).

Kylie, why I’ve written this post is because I think working can “work” too- it doesn’t inhibit one’s investment strategies- I believe it enhances one’s opportunities.

kay henry

Mandi,

As others have already said, you are not taxed at 47 cents in the dollar except when your income reaches the highest level in that bracket. So you would only be taxed at that rate for each dollar you earn oer 62k. also check the new levels since the Budget was brought down.

It’s a myth that each second job is taxed at 50 cents in the dollar. If you are earning 35k in your first job, then you have another 27k to earn in your second job until you kick into the highest bracket. Just tell the accountant at your new job what you are earning in your first job, and they’ll adjust your taxation level accordingly.

kay henry

One of the great things about a chat room would be being able to see a person who has specified knowledge and actually having a conversation with them and being able to ask them questions and have them answered. Messaging is useful, but it still doesn’t have the immediacy of chat. So you see a QS or a Mortgage broker or someone who’s doing what you want to do re investment, and you can ask if you can speak to them, and then have a private conversation with them. I remember having a phone conversation with Simon (MortgageBroker) once, and him telling me immediately how much I could borrow given my current finances. It was certainly motivating! Chat is like the phone- only quieter

Yay for an upcoming chat room!

kay henry