Any reason you want Sydney metro? What are your investing goals? Where do you think Sydney is at in the property cycle?

welcome maycefactor, good questions…

Buffers are a great idea, and the size of them depends on your SANF (sleep at night factor) many people use multiples of time, such as “what if my property was vacant for 6 months”, or “what if I was out of work for 3 months” the work out what you need to keep the ship from sinking. I advocate basic…[Read more]

Sorry to hear about your experience here!

I don’t know this would ever happen with a good independent buyers agent? I charge an engagement fee, then I work (sometimes for months) to source the right place and only get paid the success fee after the property is unconditional. I would never want a client out there who hadnt received full value…[Read more]

Be careful.

Whereabouts are you thinking? The buy reno market varies greatly ( in profitability ) from spot to spot.

1 property managers vary greatly, I always advocate using local (to the property) but do thorough interviewing to ensure they are ok

2 lots – all the same due diligence is required as if it were local, perhaps a little more as you don’t have local knowledge. Do your numbers, understand the markets before committing,

3 personally I Always travel…[Read more]

I have done a bit of this over the years. Not spousal transfers just open market sales to take profits. Spread each one out to its own financial year, 50% reduction is great. My wife wasn’t working at the time and was half owner so her bit as super low, Never ended up paying more than around 10-12% of total net gain when her and me were…[Read more]

Great job! Certainly there are some risks with this strategy but there are far greater risks with doing nothing. Love it!

researchgeek – with a name like that I think you will do well!

There are loads of options to consider outside of Sydney. They differ widely depending on the population bases, economic activity, growth drivers and stage in the property cycle. You need to think about your long term goals and work backwards. Ie Positive CF is great, but it…[Read more]

Thanks very much for the mentions Redom and Jamie.

Hi Derric. Sorry I didn’t notice your post I was flat out all December with the Christmas rush. These guys are great brokers if you need help with finance. I have had some horror stories with clients using their local bank branch (who 9 times out of 10 have NO idea about investing) and…[Read more]

Depending on the house either dropping the floor or raising the top is the professional way to do it. As described here its not cheap. But if you do it right, get it approved, then you have actually added some real value. Depends on your numbers and your area if it will add up.

Have you got any criteria regarding town size or more specific location issues?

House89 and thecrest I think you are requesting info regarding my post above? If so the mention in the above post is Metropole. The have offices in all three cities and specialise in inner city only property. Nothing in outer suburbs, but if inner is what you want, they seem to do this well. I have a friend who has used them in Sydney and Bris…[Read more]

Yep I read it around age 18 and a few times since. Probably Im due for another round. I remember it being very encouraging.

…and some of this story is included in his main (first I think) book “Real Estate Riches”. Its a good read.

Is the property for investment? Probably need to check with your accountant about this but personally I would get a new one. Most 2nd hand property transactions have the benefit of the ATO assuming you don’t have the previous details, and you can usually claim off a new DS, which will get you more tax back over more years. Technically this might…[Read more]

The brokers can comment on specifics re which lenders treat extra rental income more generously, as they do vary. However all extra income improves serviceability. As investors we generally hit a ceiling in 1 of 2 ways. We either hit the servicing ceiling or the deposit ceiling (we max out our dsr or our lvr) when either one stops you its…[Read more]

Thanks PHP! Good data you have posted there to see what numbers are actually behind that growth story. To the original poster if you can find a house in a decent street for $350k then you will do ok most of them are over 400k now.
Time in the market is vital long term, but my view is that timing also counts. Comfort is a funny thing too – some…[Read more]

Tai,

I can’t help re 10kms of the 3 mentioned cbd’s. Metropole are large and active in all 3 cities if you want consistent service. There are numerous smaller operations in each city too. If you decide to look at Wollongong cbd feel free to contact me.
But in terms of brokers I can vouch for Jamie Moore at passgo he is excellent.

Matt