resi,

Three of the possibilities that I think will get investors into trouble:

* 105%/100%/95% or any high borrowing ratios
* IO loans in a declining market
* People giving up their jobs or never having one and then thinking they can live on residual income of $50 per week X however many mortgages- well, that’s 20 houses to get a bare wage of 52k per year- pretty low expectations for 20 houses effort! If people stay out of the workforce for too long, it could be VERY hard to get back into it if you want to in a rainy day.

As for saving… well, i guess if one can create “instant equity” or some such thing, by utilising real estate as a vehicle to wealth “creation”, then one doesn’t have to scrimp and save for ongoing deposits. I am not gonna live the Anita Bell way and make my own white bread sandwiches.

Credit cards are crap, I agree, but they’re handy.

kay henry

depreciator- heya

Sounds like your buyer is a cheapskate. Guess that if a person buys a car and they get it out of the showroom and blows up, then it’s worse less than a docklands apartment.

I spend months checking out locations for property, before I really feel comfortable, so I can understand obsessive research- I think it’s healthy to do homework, and buying a lemon can be a risk in a car or a property.

Maybe he’s trying to annoy you until you reduce the price [biggrin]

PS Coffee must happen soon- I’m so disorganised, depreciator! [baaa]

kay henry

rumbiz said:

“…a serious issue….security….how many ways can landlords offer a more secure rental property without going bananas?”

rumbiz, some places have discreet camera settings in apartment blocks, but the thing is, tenants don’t want to consider themselves under surveillance also. My apartment block where I rent has just put in such a system, and I must say, I am not terribly fond of the Big Brother thing in my place of residence (I like the show though!)

Re gated communities, I remember when they came in a number of years ago – in australia- a legacy of the American obsession with private property. I am not sure people are always more at risk of strangers (abuse/violence etc, often occurs within people’s own home from people they know), but I guess gated communities can prevent theft etc.

I think it’s better to have properties in areas of very little crime. I remember my amazement when I was doing crime research on a place I bought a propety.. the crime at the time was that someone had let off a fire hydrant (ummaa)- and that was it!! No crime at all! That’s the kind of place where tenants will feel safe.

Some gated communities could feel like one lives in a very rich prison.

kay henry

Brett,

Yes, you can mention the Reno Kings here- you can mention anyone at all.

kay henry

Not in my books, Anubis. The CGT is calculated on your taxable income- if it’s 55k,then you fall into the lower threshhold. CGT is not adding taxable income to CG. It’s based upon the initial taxable income- ie wages. The CG is separate.

kay henry

Rob,

You may think the people with degrees you see are a bit moronic, but reality is, in most (professional) or emerging white collar fields I know of, a person with a degree will be employed over a person without a degree any day. Right now, you’re unemployed, and need a job. I reckon even if you enrolled in a degree, it would get you those positions you want.

Re recruitment agents- well, I agree with you that they probably don’t help out the average joe. It’s a bit like relying on a buyer’s agent or a spotter to get a property- I reckon something as personal as a job is one’s own to get- I can;t imagine someone taking that process out of my hands. RA’s are salespeople really- probably working in a call centre.

Now- a headhunter- that’s what you want following you around. Two of my friends just got headhunted- got recommended for jobs heading up corporations- just got calls and emails at work asking them to jump ship because they had been recommended! that’s the go- being identified in whatever field as a “must have” for an organisation.

Now that you’ve let the PI Forum know you need a job, I am sure there’ll be someone around who can help you out, Robert.

kay henry

Robert,

Perhaps you might think of getting a degree.

kay henry

I agree with lonnie about how to make a purchasing decision. Check past sales, and try and be a bit scientific about the purchase- if you can value the property yourself by doing as much research as you can, then you won’t be thinking about arbitrary things like lopping 10% off purchase price.

For example, if it was a beach front property for 169k- would you still need to knock that % off your offer? If you offer too low, you may lose the property, but is that too terrible in this market?

Check the “sold” section on realestate.com.au to make an informed choice.

Re the 5k needed to make the property more rentable… it possibly depends on what is needed. Some RE agents have different notions on what might be needed- I have heard RE agents tell me a place looks “tired”… because the property might not look like their own brand spanking new home. well, I don’t care if the property is asleep, quite frankly. It needs to be “tenantable”- but not immaculate. I am mentioning this because you haven;t provided info on what might be needed- just don’t overcapitalise in this market.

RE agents in the area can give you a rental appraisal. Sometimes sales agents overestimate the rent you can achive in order to sell the place.

Best of luck and add more detailed info about the place if you like and people can give you their opinions on stuff.

kay henry

What does that mean, Sam?

kay henry

Neo- no offence at all Just didn’t want anyone to think I had different reasons for loving the area than I do

Clover has been a great supporter of this area, and I think the new Sydney Council – who also oppose Sartor- will try, within their power, to maintain Indigenous housing.

It will be a terrible shame for Redfern to disappear as we know it. I see the glee that some property investors have when they think of how Redfern might change, and it saddens me. A lot of it smacks of pure racism.

Thanks, neo- it’s all good. [blush2]

kay henry