Hi, I'd like to share my experience as a seller so you have something to ponder about. My sister wanted to sell her house, very proud we were of it too, & the agent advised auction. This was a long time ago, in a buyer's market. Not much interest, it was a dreary auction & the house went back on the open market.Many people came & liked the house.…[Read more]

Yili, my name is Kum Yin & I suggest you steer clear of hbbehrendorff.If you don't know any more than anyone else, your money would be safest in FD.Buy a house/unit to live in by all means [& get the 1st home owner's grant] if you really wish to own your own home.However, you've already picked up the fact that it'll cause some financial…[Read more]

Hi, mostly nervous & uncertain but there's a flutter of excitement, maybe fear? Enough to consider going back to earned income rather than just relying on rental income. In case the sky really falls down, in case my tenants stop paying rent.I resolve from this very minute to use fear & uncertainty to fuel a charge forward. There is nothing to fear…[Read more]

Hi, can't comment on your numbers. What I can say is that Richard Taylor has always appeared to me a person to pay attention to and his comments have been measured and knowledgeable. I'd pay attention to his words. KY

Hi, if I were you, this is what I'd do. Look for the house that I can afford and would like to be PPOR in 2 years time. Use the $50000 & if necessary top up with additional borrowing through existing equity – your current lender may agree to give you more than 80%LVR on the new purchase because you have excess equity in the other IPs. This way,…[Read more]

hi, do you dare do the unthinkable? There's option 3 – look for the best property you can get in Parramatta at this point in time. There may be some desperate seller & you can get a +ve reply to a lowball offer.It's dollar cost averaging in property investment.And I may suggest that 5% yield in property is quite a good return. That's why few…[Read more]

Hi Crashy, can you give me the info on Oanda? Where are they located & how do I reki opening an account?I've done both leveraged & non leveraged forex pair accounts. The leveraged [10:1] made 4x as much but made me lose sleep & kept me working on the computer at night.AUD/YEN non leveraged looks to be a fairly safe, constant way of getting a bit…[Read more]

Hi, once did profit from USD/YEN. Hairy ride though during the sept 11 days. Everyday passed put USD10 into the interest column & at the end of 3 months I collected about 1500USD & the exchange moved back into my favour when the mess cleared up. Made about $30K after accounting for errors with AUDThen I went on to buy AUD & hit the jackpot! But…[Read more]

Hi, from my very limited knowledge of thr forex markets, I'd say it's not that the rest of the world have suddenly lost confidence in the Aust economy.Investors chase value. AUD rose to the heights with everyone expecting the rates to spiral upwards and rise some more. Even as late as May when I refinanced my loan, the broker tried to talk me into…[Read more]

Hi Harb, just to let you know your common sense is appreciated. I'd far rather have water than gold bars, USD/AUD no matter how septic than cowrie shells, pesos or rupiah even ringgit. Same old same old. It's blowing hard outside. 4 walls protect me from the storm. Day I give up property as an investment is the day I see the number of houses…[Read more]

Hi, what I meant was draw on existing equity to fully pay for the property but obviously can't claim the interest which probably means it's not worth doing. In some circumstance, like in mine recently where devts. partially sold can still motor along on the original borrowings but the profits realised can be fully invested in a super fund, in…[Read more]

HI Kylie good to hear a sane voice.Six months pass very quickly. I personally will wager an ounce of gold that it will not hit $1500 [we're talking USD I assume]There you go – an easy $1500 if you dare back your convictions. If it doesn't can I collect $1500?Gold has a transaction price, just like any other investment. The holding cost robs it of…[Read more]

Hi Ummester, AUD came off the high of 95/96 cents to USD. How can that be bad? Parity [it came really close] was never sustainable at that point in time. In 2002, AUD was 0.5 USD. At one point, I actually bought AUD/USD @ 47.5centsWe're now around 80 cents. It's a natural adjustment .I do like your sense of humour though. Septic is such a graphic…[Read more]

HI, most of your info is correct. I just set up a fund in May. I can buy a residential property in the name of the super fund but using borrowing from personal assets, which I assume is what you'd do as you have other IPs.The rebates etc make it worthwhile. However, I'm building into the equation the possibility that the party may come to an end…[Read more]

Hi, interesting but largely speculative. Only time will tell. My tenants are relatively stable, with half of them doing a roaring business. Not a hint of a downturn there as yet.Property has definitely slowed but rental vacancies are still very low. People with or without money still live in houses, no convenient caves or trees to shelter them.…[Read more]

hi, wish i'd read steve mcknight earlier – got it in dec 2005 after an argument with my sister who thought i was risking too much. based on steve's 2nd book , i found my position far too conservative & proceeded to increase my exposure to around 58% LVR. the properties exploded & yielded 45% in 2006-2008 i ran out of books to buy! i bought them…[Read more]

hi, share my experience with you. i was a non resident but i had PR status. could have qualified for FHOG but didn't take it up as i bought a better house than that'd have allowed.i was taxed from the 1st $ earned & quickly realised that paying 40% tax on rental income was REAL stupid. Bought house 2 just to ensure that I had zero income. if you…[Read more]

hi, $135K renting for $160 pw sounds far more doable than the unit.check the stability of tenancy. if it's a major city eg Adelaide in Elizabeth it's possible to find such properties. it's a rental belt with 1000s of people renting so tenants are not hard to find. Also, rent has caught up & it's very unlikely to plummet to $60 pw that was the norm…[Read more]

hi, property is at an impasse so might as well gossip. share this experience with you.a young man aged 24 came to me & offered to work for no pay if i taught him how to invest. i looked & sure enough he was holding Rich Dad in his hands.i asked him his objectives & he said he 'd saved $10K in 2 years & aimed to continue like that. told him his…[Read more]

Hi,  I remember your previous posts. Congrats on coming this far.Fear is very normal.More impt do the numbers stack up? It is a flat period to be buying property now but if you have a plan & work it, you can progress a la get rich slowly & steadily like most people have to do. A wildly successful 1st IP is usually pipe dream stuff.You've already…[Read more]