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Better late than never, I did try to post a reply in this thread last week but the internet cut out on me.
Anyway I’m 21 years young, grew up in Warrnambool, Vic. now living in Melb. I’m a final year Entrepreneur student at RMIT (only a couple of months to go!), I’m a part of the first year through so we’ve practically designed the course for both ourselves and the years to come.
Coming from a position of no savings, no income, no credit record and no respect in the industry (age still seems to be of disadvantage when trying to look serious about business) I’ve been busy gathering up all of the knowledge I can and trying to sort out who does what, what works and what doesn’t, what will be the best entry strategy for myself and where am I wanting to be 2, 5, 10 years down the track. Now that I have the confidence and some background learning I feel it’s time to get the ball rolling. I’ve been working on several business plans over the last 6 months and I plan to have my first company trading on the 15th of September after several months of market research/testing.
Money is very tight at the moment as I’m putting every cent into research, start up capital for the company and snowboarding funds! How many of you forumites are snow bunnies? I’ve just come back from a week at Hotham, my cash position is so budgeted I hitched it up the mountain! Counting down the days till I’m back up there carving my way down the mountain…. 2 days to go!!!
My personal thanks must go to all of the members of this forum (yes even Tails!) who have been so helpful in shaping the direction I’m heading in and arming me with knowledge and practical experience from your own investing situations [
] Thank you.Cheers guys, its back to work on the business plan for me.
“All the world’s a stage, and you choose the role you want to play on that stage” William ShakespearHi Youngie,
Like yourself I’m young and fairly new to the game. What I’ve found is that there’s a lot of barriers to entry in the real estate market, 90% of these are all in your mind though!
Finding the right entry point for your personal situation is what you should look at first. What do you want out investing? Is it you want an income to replace your job so you don’t have to work? Do you want to build wealth so that you can live comfortably later in life? Does this sort of investment suit you?
A few points I would consider in looking at a block.
1. Location – You can increase your likelyhood of good CG by researching where you buy. For example – Australian average CG is about 8%, you can increase your likelyhood of achieving higher than average CG by investing around major population growth areas, coastal areas, better climate etc. All of which the Gold Coast has going for it.
Within these areas you should look for;
2. Demand – is there a high resale demand in the specific area you’re looking at? Is the demand for owner occupier or investors, residential or commercial, town houses or units?
and,
3. An ‘A Grade’ site – blocks will always hold/increase in value the best on a premium site, ie: a bloke which has ocean views, gets a lot of sun, has special features such as convenient access.
4. You should also negotiate the lowest deposit you can, and the longest settlement. If they wont negotiate on deposit, hit them up for a longer settlement. The lower deposit and the longer the settlement the greater your returns will look. I would want to push for a definite settlement date prior to signing a purchase contract on the particular block you are looking at.
Cheers and good luck [
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“All the world’s a stage, and you choose the role you want to play on that stage” William ShakespearNo problems with fleas yet, but dust… well listen to this one!
I had a tradsman round at my house all day yesterday adjusting some of the doors because they were starting to stick as the house settled a little. As I came home in the afternoon I was quick to realise he’s not only a fan of electric sanders, but he also likes working indoors [
]! The place looked like a cabinet makers workshop there was that much dust! I had only just cleaned the place top to bottom the night before too To make things worse I could of fixed the job myself by adjusting the hinges a little, but thought best to leave it to the building company. As this guy was being paid by the hour he sanded them back, re-adjusted, sanded them back again, painted them etc etc. All in all, 7 hours work to fix 4 sticking doors!
Sorry my post was only meant to come across as an idea. I haven’t checked this with a my solicitor yet, but i’m looking at doing similar things so i’ll keep you posted on what i find out. Should be arranging a meeting in the next 2 weeks.
Good point of note Gordon, always run all information given to you by others past your solicitor before using it in your investments.
Cheers [
]If you are looking for the cheapest alternative try the trading post. Not sure which section it is but there’s always properties in there going for next to nothing, even a handful ‘free to a good land’ [
] I think they’re mainly from people redeveloping land and are hoping someone will come and remove the existing property rather than having to knock it down themselves.If you’re looking for new homes, or to purchase one from a company who specialise in relocating properties try a search on the net – relocatable homes, house removals etc.
“All the world’s a stage, and you choose the role you want to play on that stage” William ShakespearThat’s what I thought Michael, but I can’t personally see any logical reason unless as you said you know that your income for the next financial year will be a lot lower. My first thought would be that if you’re in a position to do this (pre-pay interest with the intention of lowering your tax liabilities) then chances are you’re income the following year if anything will probably be higher [
]I would still think that a dollar in your pocket today is worth more than a dollar in your pocket tomorrow, and as such I would defer the payment as far into the next year as possible rather than try and pay it all now. Afterall, you are spending $1 to only get 30-40c back (which you’ll get back at the end of next year anyway – if you don’t fill out the tax adjustment forms prior to that).
There’s also the opportunity cost of the money you’re pre-paying. If the interest rate is say 7% that could be the deposit on another property to increase your income and wealth rather than a pre-payment to lower your tax.
“All the world’s a stage, and you choose the role you want to play on that stage” William ShakespearThanks Steve,
I thought that may be the case [
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“All the world’s a stage, and you choose the role you want to play on that stage” William ShakespearAlthough i don’t conduct seminars i think i can relate 100% to why investors like Steve run them, let me give you my example…
For the last 3 years I’ve worked casually as a surfing instructor in the town i grew up in (Warrnambool), i still travel back every fortnight to teach kids how to surf.
Why? Well its not because i need the money (i only end up making about $80 for a days work after my travel expenses), and its not because i’m furthering my surfing skills by teaching first timers. I travel back, put up with freezing cold water, rain, wind and even hail (yes, the lesson usually go’s on
) because i enjoy teaching others what i know and i have a skill others can benifit from. The surfing business also pays me a premium wage well above other employees because of my experience, and qualifications. I dont devote most of my time to teaching though because i can make more money devoting my time to other interests (such as real estate).When judging speakers on their credibility and ethics why don’t you have a chat to someone that’s been to one of their seminars, attend their introduction seminar, or learn some basics of what they are teaching and make an informated decision for yourself, rather than slander them because some other ‘guru’ in the industry has tainted the overall image.
I’ve been to several seminars myself, and all it takes is common sense and some personal ethics to sort the good speakers from the bad. I’m yet to attend a seminar of Steve’s (pretty keen to but unfortunately tix are sold out [xx(]) from what i’ve seen on this site though, others comments and their admirations of Steve i’m so far impressed and quite confident in his teachings.
Keep up the good work guys [
]Thanks for the good example Terry. My thoughts on buying below MV in order to refinance your deposit out happens several months after settlement.
Example
Same property purchased for $320k (MV = $380k)Buyer settles on contracted date and puts down the required bank deposit say $32k/10% and also pays closing costs of say $20k, thus receiving a loan for $288k. Total investment $52k.
About 3 months later (depending on the banks stand down policy) the buyer can refinance the loan to take out their origanal deposit
At the same ratio of 90% finance the purchaser could then finance out $54k ($342k – $288k)
Therefor, although not initially no money down, shortly down the track the deal can be considered no money down.
What are your thought/experiences with this Terry?
Cheers, Leigh [
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] Thank you.
]! The place looked like a cabinet makers workshop there was that much dust! I had only just cleaned the place top to bottom the night before too 
] I think they’re mainly from people redeveloping land and are hoping someone will come and remove the existing property rather than having to knock it down themselves.
]
