A lot of this stuff comes from understanding areas in detail and studying them over a period of time. For future supply two of a many areas we look to include forewarned zoning changes (what will be built on these sites) and geography (is there land physically available).

Demographics can be a little harder, because ABS stuff is often out of date. Not that we don't use this. I like driving the area at different times and looking at crime rates put out by WAPOL over time. How will the NRAS properties in Maddington effect your investment long term or where are they all located?

Now looking at every property in detail like this is too time consuming. To cut down your time I suggest using a top down approach where you will start with a broad Local Government Area and work your way down to streets you are comfortable with. So instead of looking at 15,000 properties in Perth you may be only looking at 200 and find 5 suitable.

People say, you spend so much time analysing property and making sure it’s a good investment. I stress that even just 1% average more then the market over 10 years on a 400k property is an extra 75k in capital gains. Meaning you can buy more properties sooner.

Hi Salacious,

Everyone's situation is different and you would need to talk to a finance broker or bank before doing anything. However, I have personally done a "Security Swap" on a property. My bank allowed me to have the money in a term deposit (loosing a small spread on the loan ofcourse) untill I had another property I could swap the mortgage to.

All banking policy is different so the best way to find out it ask your bank or broker.

Hi Azalea,

You are looking around the correct areas, but those areas are not just limited to units in Glendalough / Wembely. I would say if you want to maximise the ability to rent a property and still have good capital growth, here are a few industry tips:

1) Aim for townhouses or villas (dont have to be that close into the city – as closes as you can for your budget)
2) Attempt to get into smaller complexes (less then 6)
3) Quiet streets.
4) Older properties.
5) Public transport is close, but not too close to cause noise pollution.
6) Where local goverments are spending money.

Number one tip to keep in the back of your mind; don't over analyise. Always know the market value and don't pay over as it's a buyers market currently.

I hope you're getting along fine, but if you need a little more guidence. Feel free to get in contact with me as I have two articles one Strata properties which may be of some help for you.

Carpet Pros:
– Cheap
– Washable
– Favoured in the bedrooms (excluded floorboards in period homes)
– Warmer

Carpet Cons:
– Damageable & hard to repair
– Wearing
– A Big NO in kitchens
– Need to be professionally laid

Lino Pros:
– Durable
– Gaining Acceptability
– Easy Clean
– Cheap

Lino Cons:
– Burnable
– Can look cheap
– need to be professionally laid

Floor Board Pros:
– Clean
– good looking
– can be resurfaced
– fairly durable

Floor Board Cons:
– Scratching – can only be resurfaced up to a point
– Colder
– Serious damage may render unusable
– expensive for complete replacements

At the end of the day the best way to pick what to use is to go to rental home opens in your suburb which are of the same period as yours. Look what they are doing and match it.