Oops.  I ment $15,000 LESS than it cost me to build.K

Don't.  Just don't.I invested there last year and it was a complete disaster.  I lost money on everything I bought.  I even bought a block of land and built on the property and ended up selling it for about $15,000 than it cost me to build.  This was despite the builder being a friend of mine and building at a substantially reduced price.Wait unt…[Read more]

I feel like I have to defend Volitans here.

Qlds007 wrote:
More like a property marketing group who earn bit fat commissions on what you buy.

Richard made a sweeping statement damning the group.  I think it was entirely appropriate for Volitans to question the basis for that claim.  Is it based on hard evidence or is it just Richard's opinion o…[Read more]

I'm with you SNM.  Remind me never to buy a property from you!!K

HandyAndy888 wrote:
From my experience, cooling off periods are a waste of time anyway. If you want out, you can always default on ANY building inspection, or possibly on finance through the relative clauses…I PERSONALLY wouldn't worry about it….you may choose otherwise…

Hate to disagree but I am going to disagree.  One of my friends…[Read more]

karenday wrote:
just say someone says that their goal is to have 5 million dollars worth of property in however many years – does that mean that they will own all of that straight out?  or still have mortgages on it?its just that ive heard many people talk like this when discussing goals and i wasnt sure.

I think when most people say this they…[Read more]

gibbo1 wrote:
Mmm, smells in a house.Having been a volunteer ambo I have been in houses thinking its going to take alot of work to get rid of that smell.As you suggested it could be urine, it could of had a body left in the house for weeks or simply a dead rat in the roof.  I would first check the roof cavity to elimante that posibility.  If t…[Read more]

I think you should get legal advice.  Just because his employees say that he is going broke, doesn't mean that he is.  It may just be the line that they feed to dissatisfied customers to discourage them from suing.Go see a lawyer and find out whether it is worth your time, money and effort.CheersK

I think it is an excellent magazine.  I have subscribed for about 5 years and it is one of the best educational tools I use.Yes, some of it is repetitive and some of it is boring.  But I make sure that I read it cover to cover every month.  I often come across situations in my property developing career and then remember "I read about this a fe…[Read more]

In fact, just last year I tried to get finance for a property using a hybrid unit trust.  No lenders would touch it.  They all wanted a copy of the Trust Deed and came back a couple of weeks later saying that they wouldn't lend.How did I end up getting the loan? After receiving legal advice, I simply removed the word "hybrid" from the front page o…[Read more]

Hi RichardYou are probably right, especially at the moment.  In the past I have put in special conditions that the bank didn't even look at.  They then asked me questions later on down the track and I thought that if they had read the contract they wouldn't have needed to ask those questions.  But that was a couple of years ago.  You have far mor…[Read more]

I think about $25psqm should do it.  But just call a local floor polisher and ask them their square metre costs.CheersK

Although, if you have in writing that you have been offered 0.7% off "for the life of the loan", if the bank later tried to change it,  you would have a reasonable argument for a misrepresentation/inducement claim.  I imagine that any bank, if confronted with written evidence of the offer for the life of the loan would keep your interest rate at j…[Read more]

In SA, the Stamp Duties Act doesn't specify which party is obliged to pay the Stamp Duty; it is just normal practice for the purchaser to pay it.  Find out whether it is the same in your state.  If it is, write in the contract that the Stamp Duty is to be paid by the vendor.  In terms of disclosure to the bank I think that is all you would have to…[Read more]

Actually, there is caselaw protecting the right to a view.  Hutchens & Anor v City of Holdfast Bay & Anor [2007] SASC 238 is a South Australian Supreme Court Case that upheld a landowner's right to preserve their ocean view.  This doesn't necessarily mean that NSW HAS to follow the case but NSW courts will look pretty closely at it.You will need t…[Read more]

I'm still buying.  In fact I make my living buying, holding, developing and selling property.  Obviously I'm not an investor then as I'm buying in a falling market.K

My brief thoughts are that in order for you to back out of the deal you would need to issue them with a default notice, which is a formal notice giving them a certain amount of time (the actual amount depends on the state) to meet their obligations, failing which you will terminate the contract.  I don't think that you can just suddenly back out…[Read more]

I don't know anything about them.  However, you could consider this a free property investing seminar in your home.  Let them tell you about all the incentives.  There may be a couple that you don't know about.  They may have a few strategies that you haven't heard of.Your posts suggest that you are quite an experienced property investor and I can…[Read more]

Go to the developer's conveyancer and see if you can find them that way.

Last year I set up a HDT with some family members.  We had a terrible problem getting finance.  Most of the banks wouldn't lend against it.  You may want to check with lenders whether they will accept a HDT.  My broker tried about 8 banks before we finally found a non-bank lender.  In the end, we deleted the word "hybrid" from the front of the…[Read more]