Hi again BenI have been having a think about your situation.  In a nutshell, there is nothing you can do.A contract is between two parties.  The only people who can bring that contract to an end are the two parties.  The only real exception to this is statutory authorities.  For example, if the contract is for an illegal purpose, the police can…[Read more]

I have a discretionary family trust for trading shares and I also put my buy and holds in the trust.  My reasoning for this is that my buy and holds are largely negatively geared and I can offset any (theoretical) earnings from sharetrading against the negative gearing of the properties.  In reality, I haven't made any money sharetrading so it ha…[Read more]

At 5%?  Hell yes!!My rule of thumb has always been to fix if the rate was less than 7%.  I wouldn't fix now at 7% though because of the economic climate and the fact that interest rates are likely to come down.  But at 5% – I'd fix every last loan I had.K

I think that Ben is asking whether the contract between the vendor and the other purchaser (the one who came in the last minute) can be voided.  My understanding of Ben's situation is that he did not get the property and now wants to know whether there is a way that he can argue that the contract with the successful purchaser is invalid.  C…[Read more]

Hi Dan42You have misread my post.  My comments about the high exit fees were in direct response to Jaffasoft's post.  They were completely separate to the VCAT case.In my final paragraph, where I commented on the VCAT case, I applauded the woman for taking issue with what the bank had done because, based on my limited reading, I thought that the l…[Read more]

H …..The development projects must have a much higher return than 15% for them to borrow money at this rate and still make a profit.  They get as much as they can from the banks and then use private lending for any shortfall.I used a private finance company about 12 months ago and paid them 11% when all the banks were about 7 – 8%.  Private fi…[Read more]

I know several property investors/developers who are always looking to borrow money and will pay around 15%.PM me if you need more information.CheersK

Hi JaffasoftBut the early exit fees are interest fees.  Early exit fees are just the difference between what they would have made had the client kept their loan with them and what they will actually get.  The decision of whether to have fixed or variable rates is a decision where the risks need to be weighed up.  One of those risks in fixing ra…[Read more]

If the rebate is clearly shown in the contract and the whole contract is given to the bank, then there really is no fraud being committed.  The rebate doesn't need to be highlighted in pink pen.  As long as it appears in the contract then the bank can't  claim to have been deceived.  Just my thoughts, which are no substitute for good, ind…[Read more]

C2I know you have said that you think we have covered the legalities enough here but while you continue to throw up fraudulent propositions I am going to continue to let the rest of the forum know that they are fraudulent.  ( I am not suggesting at all that you have engaged in these activities or that you are in any way fraudulent, but I think it…[Read more]

Even if it is the formal contract that you have signed, you will still have cooling off rights.  You could simply "cool off" on the contract and then re-enter an identical contract with the new name.The practical way to go about this is just to ask the vendor to allow a name change.  If they are OK with this, then the first contract should be c…[Read more]

C2If you borrow from the bank with the intent to renovate and later on decide not to, the onus is then on you to let the bank know that you will not be using the money for renovating.  There is a continual duty of disclosure. This means that if you change your mind at any time, then the you must disclose.  The duy of disclosure does not end once y…[Read more]

Hi BoshyI am a bargain hunter in whatever I buy.  I see no point in going out and paying full price for clothes when I can wait until the store has a 20% off.  Yet so many of my friends see something they like and just pay full price for it.It is EXACTLY the same thing with property.  Some people look for bargains and some people just pay wh…[Read more]

Removing a name from the title won't necessarily protect him from being sued if a business deal goes wrong.Courts these days can look into things like removal of names from title, transfer of assets and other sudden liquidation of assets prior to starting a business.  If it is decided that such transfer of assets were for the purpose of avoiding…[Read more]

Why does your husband not want his name on the title any more?K

With $150k I would buy two houses on sudividable blocks.  I am in SA so could quite easily find two houses around the $250k mark each.  I would then subdivide the house, do a basic $10k reno on the house, sell the house and then sell the vacant lot.  If I was able to get a construction loan based on end value I would build a house on the vac…[Read more]

Hi fishngymI think the wording of the contract is very ambiguous.  It says that you (the purchaser) have the risk but that if the vendor occupies the property ("occupation" would include a tenant") the vendor has to continue to have insurance.  It doesn't say that the risk passes back to the vendor.  I think that the reason for this wording wo…[Read more]

Hi Pauls05I have posted on this issue before.  Unless the bank is notified of any rebate or in fact any agreement to only pay $230,000 for the property, it is fraudulent.  This is despite what other solicitors may or may not have told you.I am a solicitor and normally I put a disclaimer on any legal comments I make on the forum but I am prepared t…[Read more]

Have a look at the contract which will specify whether the risk is with the vendor or purchaser prior to settlement.   It varies from state to state.  In the NT the risk is with the vendor, but I know it is not the same in every state.  There should be a heading in the contract called "Risk".CheersK

Hi redleavesIn my experience, banks are reluctant to lend on them – they fall into the same category as serviced apartments.One of the reasons I don't buy them is because I am not comfortable with how the retirees are treated.  Most of these units require that the retirees pay a certain percentage of their pension (usually about 85%) as rent.  T…[Read more]