I’ve just come back from Mackay last week (parents are cane farmers) and have seen the ads for Keswick Island. Be aware that reliable and easy access to the island is important – technically Keswick Island is not in the Whitsunday Island group (which are readily accessible via ferries from Airlie Beach/Shute Harbour, 1.5hrs drive north of…[Read more]

Kurrajong Heights in the Hawkesbury region (north west Sydney)

Didn’t know there were so many Sydney-siders here!

Thanks for those links (and the first list). We’ve recently bought in the Hawkesbury, and have also heard ‘hot tips’ since then that our suburb is expected to go through the roof. I’m not entirely sure given the cooling market, that it will happen this cycle, but its certainly one of the few Sydney regions that is hovering under the median house…[Read more]

Rickyw, I agree with Redwing. We took the leap and bought our PPOR (in Sydney) and got it under value. I haven’t lived at home since I was 13 (boarding school, interstate for uni and now Sydney – originally from Nth Qld) so I was craving a little stability and a patch of dirt to call mine. I think when you’re younger (I’m just 23) there’s a…[Read more]

Deposit bonds aren’t only for OTP apartments. We recently used one during the purchase of our PPOR while we were waiting for $ to come through from the sale of an IP share. Our mortgage broker suggested it to us and it was very handy – we were ‘gazumped’ on the first property we were to purchase, so the deposit bond was cancelled and the fee…[Read more]

We’ve found a similar situation with agents too busy to bother with genuine buyers…while the market was hot. We listed our specifics with an agency months ago and yet were getting no calls from them although we’d seen that suitable properties were being listed with them. Knowing the principal agent by introduction and reputation we decided to…[Read more]

Freedom! Financial and emotional, for my partner, parents and I.

Just bought the first house, at 22, and I want to be ‘free’ by 30.

Hi everyone! I’m a newbie but have been following the threads with great interest. My partner and I have just bought our first PPOR in Sydney [] at almost 10% undervalue (anxious vendors and a relatively untapped suburb). We’re now sitting tight and watching the market, although not by choice! Champing at the bit to get going… We only…[Read more]