If one signs a contract with an agent, of *course* one is going to have to pay the fees- even if one’s best friend says she or he will buy the house from us the next day. It’s a contract- it’s binding. Perhaps the best thing to do is, when one wishes to sell, to not do anything for a few weeks and perhaps some offers may come through- via osmosis- who knows?

When I got a contract to sell my house, I knew I would be paying the selling costs and the advertising costs- whether it sold the first day or in 3 months or whatever the contract was for. I guess if we are selling, it is a good thing for the house to be sold on day 1, so that we can have the money sooner. People stress about not having their house sold in the first few weeks – and feel like the RE agent is not doing their job. Again, it’s one of those “damned if they do and damned if they don’t” situations. If the RE sells it on day one, they are “ripping us off” by getting their full commission. If they take their time, they are not doing their job and not trying to sell our lovely house.

I know when I list my house, I would like it sold ASAP. I consider the RE is doing their job if they sell it on Day 1 as much as if they sell it in 10 weeks.

kay henry

stowy, you asked:

“If interest rates rise, is there a corresponding increase in rent, or can a positively geared investment turn negative?”

The same could be asked “if interest rates reduce, do we lower the rentals on our IP’s”.

Rent is not linked to IR rise and falls. We make our own choices on these things. I have never seen anyone voluntarily reduce their rent due to market fluctuations. Sometimes people have to reduce them due to market *conditions*.

If you buy cheap properties, then IR’s won’t affect you too much. Is getting 9% return such an horrendous worry?

kay henry

sandy- thanks for your email. A few points on your situation.

* If you want the place to be your home, you won’t have tax deductions.

* The market is flatter now- can you use this time to save a deposit instead of going for VF?

* You have a decent wage and no encumbrances aside of personal credit and a car loan. I am sure more traditional lenders would loan you money for a mortgage. Have you had a mortgage broker come to your home to assess your situation? Why are you choosing VF?

kay henry

Del- thanks for the info I too believe that buy and hold is only for when it’s working. I sold an underperforming IP. It was never gonna perform, so why not use that CG and buy more IP’s and live a little?

A plan is always a good thing. I never have one, of course, because I’m too disorganised. If I had a plan, it would be to do filingin my office! But it;s too stressful to plan, so I just plan to plan, if ya know what I mean [upsidedown]

kay henry

del said:

“For those who insist on being negative, go somewhere else, otherwise get your facts straight! You know who you are!”

I am not gonna take that personally, because mine were straight. But I’m sure you didn;t direct it at me, del :o))

Del- who cares if you made a million bucks or not? I think it’s better if you have 500k worth of “controlled” property with 300k equity, than it is to have $1 million control of property with only $150 equity.

Control over debt is a good thing too! Best of luck with it, del.

kay henry

tomori,

If you’ve had the property managed by a RE, why not ask for a market appraisal from that agency. It’s obligation free. I used the same RE agency and it worked for me- I like doing things in a “one-stop shop” kind of way. For me, it became a partnership between the selling agent, the property manager, and the tenants- we all worked in a coordinated way- very good!

Regarding charges, I agree with the others- sometimes it “pays” to pay a little more. In discussions with my agent, I wanted to pay maximum (for their agency). I could have paid a reduced price, but I wanted “maximum service” if you will. It was better for me, because at a time, things got a bit complex, and I felt the agent was totally out there doing his best for me. Sometimes if you pay discount rates, you might get discount service. It’s a bit like a mechanic carwash or a handwash- you get what you pay for.

kay henry

Russ,

A couple of Q’s for you please

(1) You said it gets 10.4% return for 24 weeks a year. What does it get as return for the other 28 weeks?

(2) How come you can’t be a spotter in WA? What Rule/Law is it that prohibits spotting?

kay henry

Do mortgage brokers have to have any qualifications or belong to a professional body?

kay henry

kinks :o) It’s good to be realistic. I saw someone on here yesterday who says he/she has 2 IP’s but will be retiring next year! Well, that’s all good if you wanna retire on like $10 a week

Let us know how you go, kinks. I guess you can buy that much worth of property if you have a high enough income. Maybe you could halve the desired income for retirement from 100k to 50k and then you can halve the amount of IP’s you need to achieve it :o)) After all, 50k will probably still give you some sort of quasi-decent life.

kay henry

dpeka,

If he’s offering you $350k for an unrenovated place- TAKE IT!!!!!!!!!! hehe.

There are lots of stories of people waiting for CG that never arrives. They get an amazing offer and refuse it waiting for something better, and then the market flattens out and they’re stuck. You said that places can be $340 reno’ed. Save yourself the money and sell it.

Of course, having said that, it propbably is the RE just trawling you for business, but if it’s a genuine offer, then it’s a flip- and why wouldn’t you?

Don’t forget, you’ll pay 100% CGT, which might lose you half the profit immediately. And would you have to pay the RE to sell it for you even though he’s approached you? Probably. Add in solicitor’s fees and mortgage related fees, and you may be looking at 20k profit (which is better than nothing depending on your plans). Make sure you do the sums

kay henry