Forum Replies Created
Hi All
I am glad I followed Westan’s advice and I pulled out of NZ completely, all I have in NZ is a small bank balance.
I am now finding good deals in my own backyard.
KerwynHi Claire and Jenny
Go have a talk to the property manager, they normally will tell you the truth. The agent will try a snow job on you, he wants the commission.
KerwynHi Don and Liz
I think it boils down to what stage your investment career is at. Buy and hold is probably the best long term strategy, but it depends on how financial you are. It does not take long to hit the LVR and DSR wall; unless you have a job that pays zillions. Unfortunately most people are not in this category; a couple of properties will see them finished. If you are in your 20 to 30s than that is fine you have the time to wait for the capital growth to kick in, but that can take 7 to 10 years depending on the property cycle.
I do a lot of quick buys and on sells for good profits, a few renos and creative marketing. I like cash flow and quick cash as I don’t have 20 years to wait to make money with buy and holds. I don’t want to wait until the nurse at the nursing home wheels me outside to sit in the sun, I want to chase the sun now and have a good time.
So as I said it depends on where you are at and how old you are.
KerwynHi All
I have a degree in Archaeology and Paleoanthropology.
My better half is a medical doctor.
We now do property investing and options trading, it pays better.
KerwynHi Harry
The secret is to buy right at the beginning; you have to be prepared to make heaps of offers. You also have to have a walk away price and if you can’t get the house for what you want then you look for something else.
I simply look at what it costs me to buy the materials and then I just do the job. As I do this for a living now I simply look at the total profit as you do with any business.
I like doing this kind of work so it is fun for me and I get paid. It takes me around 2 weeks to do a make over sometimes 3 weeks.
I don’t do any thing that needs structural work, I stick to cosmetic only.
KerwynHi All
It is about time I jumped into this tread to back Westan up a bit. I think a lot of people have misunderstood what he is saying. I don’t think he is saying that opportunities are no longer there in NZ, only that they are not there like they use to be, and I would have to agree.
I personally have backed off a bit in NZ also of late. I now find a lot more deals in my own back yard at the moment that is giving my great returns. Sure I had to change my strategy a little and I am not doing buy and hold, but quick cash flow deals. Like very minor renovations that add great value and then on sell quick for a $20000/ $25000 profit.
I just love the down turn in the market all the people who were sucked in by the negative gear crap the government was spruking are now up to their necks in debt with no where to go.
There are some great buys around if you look for them and all I have to do is walk out my front door [biggrin].
KerwynHi Jarred
I had to drop my rent on one of my houses in Invercargill. It was rented for $140 but when the old tennant moved out I could not get anyone. I dropped the rent to $100 a week and had no problems getting someone.
It is not much of a house but at least it is just paying for its self at the moment.
Kerwyn.Hi Clones
All I have to say is yeee aaah, more for me. I can’t wait for all those mugs to get out.
You Beauty [biggrin]
KerwynHi Oxygen Funding
I just attended ULP in Sydney and I was totally blown away. Anthony Robbins is an extraordinary person and I would say one of a kind.
It was the best thing I have ever attended. It is probably not for everyone especially the egotistical or the brain dead, but apart from these people it is a wonderful experience to be had.
By the way it will be back in Sydney next year around August. It was supposed to be in Hong Kong but their venue will not be completed in time, so it is here again.
I will be going back next year and taking as many people along as I can find.
I have one word to describe it OUTSTANDING.[biggrin]
KerwynHi Andrew
I have been a bit wairy of buying Auckland apartments especially off the plan.
I tend to look at what happened in Sydney and Melbourne and wonder if this could happen in Auckland.
There are heaps of people in big trouble who bought on the word of the real estate agents that they would make a fortune. All they got was a big mortgage to pay every month.
The problem with apartments is the value of your place is linked to the others in the block. If one vendor gets into trouble and has a fire sale then your unit is devalued to match.
I have found that it is better to buy in an established building that one that has just been built, at least you can add value to an older place with a bit of effort.
Another thing that has me a bit concerned about the Auckland apartments situation is the builders are advertising in Sydney etc for buyers. If they were such a bargain and a good deal then there would be enough buyers in NZ without the added expense of advertising in the Australian media.
Something to think about.
Kerwyn.Hi Shalom
You have to be a bit careful when doing things to a room. What you may think is fantastic other people may think it stinks.
It depends on what you are doing with the place renting it out or going to sell it?
If renting it may be better to ask the tenant what they would like before you fork out money.
If selling stick to things that will give the place a light and airy feel, nothing that is to trendy.
I just sold a nice place that I thought looked really good and so did 90% of the people who came to the open house. I put in floating timber floor in the lounge, gold 3 bulb lights, nice very light green paint on the walls, it looked a million dollars.
I drove past a day after I sold the house to see the people repainting the walls a boring biege colour, my nice floating floor in the front yard, and the lights all removed. I could have saved myself heaps of work and just put in boring paint and carpet.
Some people just do not have any taste.
KerwynHi Robo
I always do polished floorboards if they are in the house. If not I always put in timber floating floors in the living areas. They do not cost much more than carpet and make a huge WOW effect to the property. People love them.
KerwynHi Terry
To bad I already have it. Good book for those interested in L/Os
KerwynHi Misty1
To answer your question absolutely, the wrappee can pay the wrapper out from accumulated equity.
When you do a wrap deal you agree on a price for the property at the start of the contract. If over the years the price goes above the agreed price then the wrappee is entitled to that equity. If it turns out to be more than they owe or even enough for a good deposit, then they can get the house revalued and approach a bank for loan to pay the house out.
I wouldn’t worry about it for awhile though as house prices are on the way down, unless the house is in Perth.
KerwynHi Nat R
You could be 100% right?
But on the other hand just maybe they have plenty of time and money, so can afford to be on the beach.
Sure would be better than turning up to a stinking 9 to 5 job five days a week.
KerwynHi Dohicky
When it comes to sitting tenants Westan is absolutely correct.
You also can not be sure the so called tenant paying the big rent will still be there after you have bought the place.
I have had this happen to me on 3 occasions and either had a few months wait to find another tenant or had to drop my rent significantly. You never catch up the lost rent so you find that your expectations on yields have a few big holes in them.
You can minimize the risk by making sure you ask the property manager, not the sales person, what the real deal is. I did this on one of the properties I bought after the fact unfortunately when the tenant disappeared a week before I took over. The PM asked me who told me this story that it had a good long term tenant in the house. I said the sales person told me, only to find out the person was in town for a few months and the rent was a bit higher than it normally would be: so check it out. Never ever take the word of an agent as gospel.
KerwynHi Michael
Reading the latest reports on Sydney property it seems there might be a prolong downturn. Property has already fallen 5% in most suburbs except some of the more affluent areas. The forecast is for this to continue for the next 2-5 years.
What is your estimation of the length of this downturn?
Have you an opinion on the Canberra market as it seems to be giving conflicting Stats at the moment, I am not sure what is going to happen.
KerwynHi Muppet
That is not good news for Tokaroa. I hope there is no impact on Tok as it is a great little town.
The trouble with take overs is a new broom tends to sweep clean and they simply do not care how many people they hurt.
KerwynHi Richard
You question covers a broad area and really depends on what you want to achieve?
Are you after tax minimisation then a Company is the way to go as you only pay 30 cents in the $ tax. Plus if you are running a business and making a profit from property investing Eg doing renos, you can claim nearly everything to do with property.
If you want asset protection then a discretionary trust is good with a company that does not trade as the trustee on top and the trust underneath. It is good for minimising capital gains also.
I know some people who have a trust for every house they own. So if they are sued, say by a tenant then only that house is venerable and all the other properties are safe.
As our legal system is linked to the British system a trust is common law. It came into existence when an over zealous British king tried to steal the church lands and possessions. The church set up a trust under Joe Blow the farmer who owned nothing as trustee. Since the king could not get anything from the farmer as he owned nothing he could not get access to the trust to steal the churches lands. This is an abbreviated version of the story but close.A company is Admiralty law and is in essence a person who never dies. It can have one or more directors who do not own the company as such but are employed by it. It has special tax laws that are much more flexible than what a normal person has. So if you are going to do property as a business then you should start a company. You can get a shelve company set up for around $1000 and a trust for around $300 to $500.
You can contact Castle Corporate Services PTY LTD on 03 9898 6666 and they will help you out.
KerwynAhh Foundation
Does it really matter if the cycles are 16 years or 2 years?
If you pick up a good deal and on sell it for a profit; which by the way can happen whether the cycle is up or down? Do all the stats and graphs really make one ounce of difference?
Kerwyn
