The media talks doom and gloom, and sure there's an impact, though I'm of the opinion it's being overhyped. As for "Property values plummet" (Front page of ninemsn.com.au) all I can say is the relative overall growth of my property portfolio has increased 13% in the last 12 months. I've also noticed less listed properties in my area and…[Read more]

Hi Dank.What Steve is saying is by purchasing in a new estate you are buying one of many new houses that are all in very close proximity to one another. This leads to a large supply, which means you need even greater demand in order for values to go up. If the demand doesn't go up and buyers don't snap up the other blocks of land/packages, the…[Read more]

Hi Guys. You should read 0 to 260 Properties in 7 Years, which follows on from what you're reading now. If good cash flow properties were easy to find everyone would have them. I'm still only a beginner but it seems to work that CF+ deals are generally in places where people don't want to buy and live long term themselves, ie smaller regional…[Read more]

I always use Action Property Inspections on the southside, but I'm sure they'd do the north side as well. http://www.actioninspections.com.au/index.html (Andrew Mackintosh) He teams up with Brygen Pest Inspections and can arrange to do both at the same time. They aren't the cheapest but are extremely thorough and provide a detailed written r…[Read more]

You really should talk to an independent financial advisor and a good accountant.Something you need to consider is the waiver of Capital Gains Tax due to it being an inheritance. My understanding is you have to sell it within a 2 year window to get the CGT waiver. CGT is a lot of cream you'd have to give away to the tax man which could be used to…[Read more]

crashy wrote:
if you were so smart and had such prophetic powers you would have sold your properties at the top, instead of holding them to this day watching them fall.

Crashy I think the issue is that hbbehrendorff has never owned any property. He spends 10 hours a day reading the media and has no time for fickle things such as going out and…[Read more]

hbbehrendorff your points and sentiment is exactly the same as the rest of the "Doom and Gloomers" as you put them. Your points aren't relevant. The media has clearly  had an impact. Firstly. Australia's property market is not in the USA. The US issue was a bomb waiting to go off. 1. a massive oversupply of houses and subsequent over inflated…[Read more]

Your original post was long ago, but thought I'd reply anyway.The answer is yes. You are appealing to two totally different markets. The home buyer and the renter both have different requirements and expectations, though they're similar if you're targeting the same category or market. As with any business you need to identify where you're money…[Read more]

We have quite a lot of pebblecrete around our PPOR. It does come off quite easily, though would be about 22 years old or so. If yours is newer it may be better stuck down. We plan to have it either sand or water blasted using a petrol driven gurney (gets better pressure than your average electric one), then tiled over (with outdoor tiles). I tend…[Read more]

Thanks Richard. I was hoping to find someone nearer to Brisbane as we work full time and would find it difficult getting to the Gold Coast during the week.

A couple of  other questions – In order to get the equity out of the existing properties would you have to refinance the mortgage and have either a line of credit setup or a redraw facility?Can you refinance or have a redraw/line of credit established if the mortgage is at a fixed interest rate?Are you not better off avoiding redrawing on your…[Read more]

Thanks for the feedback. I will have to rethink my strategy.

The Investors "Club" is the only club I can think of (other than Amyway perhaps) who has sales reps. They're not a club, but a well conceived marketing business. They have other related businesses and business partners who all benefit when an individual buys through the "Club". Its not to say they're all bad investments, but perhaps not the best…[Read more]

I detest "the world owes me something" people. Sounds like your tentant fits that description. What you need to remember is its your money at risk, which you have earnt. If they want the same, they need to do the same and its your right to protect the money you have invested.

Hi Warratah 78,

I’d suggest either Springwood or Rochedale South personally.

We bought our PPOR in Rochedale South in Nov 04 (first home) and have seen about 20% growth since we bought it.

From a living perspective – we’ve found people in the area to be friendlier than other places. Springwood which is a short walk away is becoming quite a…[Read more]

I was surprised at the number of people that were there. Most of the information wasn’t new. I did find the scenario with the friend who had lots of equity and no income a very creative way of investing, though highly risky. The trust section was extremely interesting.

The sales pitch in the last session could’ve been skipped as people were…[Read more]

There are multiple answers to this. Though it depends what your goals are. If its an investment, I’d suggest interest only is generally the best option. If its to live in, it depends. You can either gear yourself higher, pay interest only and use all extra cash to go towards another deposit for another investment property, though none of the…[Read more]

Thanks for the tips. Much appreciated.

They basically said we couldn’t do townhouses on the lot we’ve found as its too small. I didn’t ask if we could do duplexes though

The property has a granny flat on it as well as a 3 bedroom house, but the granny flat has no plumbing and the ceiling is only 2.2m The deal could potentially be cf+ but we would need to do a fair bit of work with the…[Read more]

Thanks again for the help Julie. I called a council town planner and was informed that in Bris the land must be at least 3000 m2 to put townhouses on. I didn’t actually ask if the same rule applies to duplexes.