Re the Redfern discussion… just to clarify my position here. I do NOT want the Block knowcked down… I do NOT want the suburb gentrified and my neighbours unable to afford to live here. I think Frank Sartor’s mob is outrageous, and I believe in Clover Moore’s protection of the area.

I do NOT want Indigenous people forced out of my area for the sake of property “values”. I believe in people before profit.

Just wanted tro make these points in case anyone thought I was taking the bourgeois sartor approach- I’m not. I like the people in the area- it’s diverse and has culture up the wazoo- I chose this suburb to live because of what it represents- inclusion, activism, social justice- real notions of “community” and I have been one of the many thousands of people in the area who actively oppose Sartor’s agenda.

Thanks

kay henry

Thanks for asking the questions, redwing- you’re a very positive guy

What has been your best move?

Buying property! Knoqwing my spending habits (I have never been thifty), I would have nothing by now if I hadn’t bought that first cheap property.

What was your worst mistake?

Not buying more property when the market was flat as a pancake before the boom. Being a snob about where I bought property- it meant that missed out on heaps of opportunities.

Key advice for the novice?

Research, research- read every piece of property-related material you can get your hands on- pretty much everything is free on the net.

Best Property or Investing related book you’ve read?

This forum- seriously. But the book that got me started was Jan Somers’ book. I also enjoyed Anita Bell’s book, as me and my property partner at the time were also paying off our properties in 3 years (it’s dated now though post-boom)

Your Top 5 Tips?

* Don’t bother being told what to do by people who still think from a bygone era- study trends for the future- the future of X-gens and Y-gen high income earners is not on a 1/4 acre block an hour out of sydney (paying 500k for a block in Schofields that is being opened up by thre state govt is not worth it imo).

* Keep your job unless the income you generate from property is equal to your pay now. Otherwise you might end up in poverty and out of the workforce for too long and unable to get back in.

* Keep your integrity in every part of purchasing and selling property- noone loves a scammer.

* Don’t burn your bridges with those who assist in property- RE agents, accountants, banks, PM’s etc. Maintaining good relationships with professionals is king. Your property manager is not your slave, and your tenant is valuable- treat them with respect.

* Property is fun! Become independent- don’t rely on others to teach you- teach yourself by reading and watching what others do- but don’t follow slavishly anything you’re told. Learn to fish yourself, instead of expecting the fish to come and climb onto your plate.

kay henry

I live right near redfern and it’s a fabulous area- for me. It’s between two Universities- University of Sydney and UTS, has thousands of students living in the area (always a massive source of tenancies), with thousands of new International students coming every year that need accommodation.

The cafe culture around here is excellent, and the community pretty much knows each other on a first name basis. It’s also very multicultural- and that’s important- to me- because I can’t live in bland areas.

It all depends on what you’re looking for.

kay henry

This question gets asked every 6 months or so…

Thing is- who cares how much money people have, what their ages are, or if they live at home? Everyone is at different stages. Not all of us wanted to become builders or mortgage brokers- people choose all different kinds of professions- some of them have nothing to do with property- but they fund property acquisitions.

I personally find the questions to be very patronising. New people are just as welcome here as people who are on here to drum up business in other ways.

Why not start up an advanced forum somewhere, resiwealth, where people with a certain minimum wealth, age minimum, and ego-minimum can go and one-up each other? This forum is for all.

kay henry

If it was not your debt, then why did you pay it?

kay henry

Well, buying an elderly person’s home, cashing them up, and giving them tenancy for life can’t be so bad… Unless it’s some major rip-off- and at first sight, it seems ok… then the only people who would be upset would be the whingeing children of the elderly person- worried about their inheritance.

kay henry

Jim,

Wow- an exit strategy before oyu’ve even entered- talk about real estate coitus interruptus! [blink]

Whilst there are literally thousands of still unbuilt OTP’s coming onto the market in Sydney, Melourne and Brisbane this year (read the figures somewhere this morning- can’t remember where), I imagine in the next couple of years- and by 2006, I imagine the slowdown will take pretty much full effect. Then, who knows, your properties may be in demand? Already rental vacancy figures are pretty low in the Sydney market, and probably in Brissy.

I think the exit costs will be too high to come out financially ok if you sell ’em up now… although it’s unlikely you’ll pay much CGT (although that’s a sad consolation).

I think it is a mistake to panic. There will bea bunch of people to prey on your situation and see your sales with a firesale eye. Give it some time, and talk to as many people as possible about what to do.

kay henry

uforia,

I hope you don’t mind if I ask a question… the 9k you are paying extra for your property… areyou counting on making this 9k up as profit in some other way? Because otherwise you might be moving into negative equity if property values remain flat. I am assuming you would be thinking of some creative deal to get the LMI back?

I know people have used LMI successfully before and during the boom… but I think now it would bwe used with far greater caution given the flatter market.

Hope you don’t find my query intrusive

kay henry

LKGK,

The 11-second rule can also be seful as a way of *focussing* on rental yield and return. Prior to Steve’s book and ideas, most of the focus was on negative gearing and growth properties… and for many, the pride was in *owning* properties- but yield wasn’t paramount.

If you have checked out 100 properties, then you are obviously getting a real sense of the market in the area you are looking at to buy in- which will help you to analyse the market and allow you to work out what’s achievable.

You can’t assume you will be able to achieve 10% yield in each and every market. My approach is different to Steve’s- I am happy to buy later built properties and claim depreciation- which ups the yield and doesn’t demand a cash injection for a reno. Whilst depreciation strategies can be a problem for some (Steve has sections on this on this board), for me it is working and reducing my tax liability. Yeah,m i know- I am making a loss- hehe… however, we’re all different- some of us love losees? [biggrin]

The 11 second rule will give you a new focus on achieving cashflow- but I doubt properties will reduce to what they were some 6 years ago, so you may have to look at more regional or low population markets to find higher percentages.

kay henry

trisha,

It depends on many things…

* how much equity do you have?
* how much serviceability do you have? (you may have 100k equity but you’ll still be borrowing that 100k anyway)
* are you on a P&I loan? or an IO loan? How long will it take to pay your current loan off?
* how negatively geared are you?

If it is going to take you 20-odd years to pay this loan off, unless you want to work for wages, you’re better off buying more property… but noone can advise you unless they walk in your shoes.

Perhaps get a financial consultant/your accountant/a mortgage broker/someone with finajncial savvy who you can trust… to discuss your personal situation.

kay henry