Hey Woogy, I'm with you.

I bought my first house in Adelaide in 2001 and at the time I thought we had bought at the peak of the market.  Everyone was saying that prices were only going to go down.  Seven years later and, despite prices having gone through the roof, people are still saying that the market is going to crash.

I'm not saying that prices are going to continue to go up.  I'm just saying that there are a lot of henny penny's out there.

Buy property.  Just make sure you do your research beforehand.  If the doomsayers are wrong then your property will increase in value.  If they are right then people will lose their homes and will need to rent somewhere – hopefully your house.

There may not be the crazy money that there was to be made a couple of years ago but, trust me, there will always be a demand for housing.

Cheers

K

I am also a full time investor.  That doesn't mean that I have retired, it just means that my husband and I have been able to quit our full time jobs and concentrate on property.  We have a combination of rentals, land, and building developments.  I love property so I do most of the work (looking for deals, sorting out finance, bookkeeping etc) and my husband looks after the kids. 

Four years after starting our property investing we have managed to get out of the rat race, move to a fabulous farm in the Adelaide Hills, spend most of our time with our little kids so that we can make the most of the short time we have with them before they go to school and generally speaking, have a fantastic lifestyle.  We could sell out of everything, put the money in the bank and live reasonably comfortable for the rest of our lives, but we are both young (under 40) and I love wheeling and dealing.

I expect that you will find there are a lot of full time property investors on this forum.

Cheers

K

Hi Frosty

Our investing strategy has changed over the years.  Just over 4 years ago we started buying positively geared property in Darwin and also in a Qld mining town.  We sold out of the mining town because, although we were getting a 10% return, dealing with the property manager was more hassle than it was worth.  Darwin property prices went through the roof so we decided to sell up and pocket the cash.  Darwin is a funny old town.  You can have magnificent houses next to a housing trust slum.  There is no one fantastic street or suburb in Darwin (except the new suburbs).  We bought old units that were getting a very high yield, but they weren't quality stock, that is, something I was prepared to hold on to for the next 20 years.  I felt that Darwin had seen most of the growth it was going to see for a while so my husband and I took our money.  Even at the price I sold them, those units are still positively geared.

We have now both quit work and are full time developers/investors.  Generally speaking, there is more money for us in building than buying established houses.  The houses I am  building I would normally keep for myself and rent them out but we have overextended ourselves a bit financially this year and want to consolidate our position.  We have a couple of young little kids and I am tired of saying to them "I'll be with you in a minute".  I just want to be with them while I can.  So I am currently selling out of most of our stock and chilling out for a while. 

Horses for courses.  I started out being a strict adherent to Steve McKnight's positively geared strategies but along the way I found a combination of strategies that worked for me.

PM me if you want more detailed info.

Cheers

K

The bank is under no obligation to provide you with a copy of the valuation.  You pay the bank several fees when applying for a loan, including "valuation fees".  You are not actually paying for the valuation, rather you are paying for the bank to obtain a valuation.  There is a difference.  The valuation contract is between the valuer and the bank.

However, as scott and Richard have said, the bank should tell you what the valuation is (again, even though they have no legal obligation to disclose it) and even if the bank doesn't, you should be able to work it out.  If the bank lends you 80% of the purchase price and the bank has an 80%LVR policy, then it stands to reason that the valuation came in at the purchase price.

Also, in my experience, you can find out absolutely anything (from absolutely anyone) if you ask the right questions.  Just call the bank, speak with confidence, give them your loan number and ask what the valuation came in at.  I did exactly the same today, even though I went through a mortgage broker to get the loan.  If all you want is the valuation figure, they will probably tell you.

Cheers

K

I use Susan Banks from Specialised Business Solutions in the Brisbane CBD.  Her number is 07 3221 1100.  I can't recommend her or SBS highly enough.

Cheers

K

You know, there are some posters on this forum who shout doom and gloom and use lots of exclamation marks and use BIG CAPITAL LETTERS!!!  They say nothing but negative things and often take offensive and accuastory potshots at people.

However, left to their own devices, these posters invariably trip themselves up and show what narrow minded and uneducated individuals they are.  You know what I mean – people who scream that the market is crashing and say "you can't rely on the history of the property market – times are different now" and then quote past statistics to bolster their own argument about how we are all going to end up unemployed and homeless.  Or people who, in trying to convince other posters to agree with their way of thinking, end up by posting factually and legally wrong information themselves.

To Kate who made this posting in the first place, yes there are things that can go wrong with the worst house in the best street.  Your financial situation could force you to sell the property before the other houses are done up, selling at a loss; you could find out that there are all sorts of structural problems with the house or that there are encumbrances or covenants on the land that justify the cheap price.  HOWEVER, you appear to have done your due diligence, you have tenants, it would appear that your financial situation is strong enough to cover you for potential tough times.  I say congratulations on a good buy.

Personally, I am a fan of Ipswich.  I worked there 4 years ago and I drove through there for the first time in years a couple of weeks ago and could not believe the change.  It looked amazing.

Well done.

K

You could buy a cheap toilet and vanity from Bunnings and could pick up tapware on Ebay.  In fact, you may be able to pick up a cheap toilet and vanity on Ebay if you look out for one near you.  I often see good quality second hand tapware on there.

I have recently done a reno and bought an excellent quality second hand rangehood for $3.00.  I picked it up just around the corner from my house.  Far cheaper than the best new quote I could find of $229!!

Cheers

K

I don't understand why the bank would require all those things.  What would the bank do with a house inspection?

I would ask your lawyer why you are required to get that information before the bank will approve a loan.  I'd be interested to find out why.

Cheers

K

Let's reason this through.

You have your own PPOR that you currently live in.  You need to move away from your PPOR for work reasons.  Provided that you have lived there long enough for the ATO to be satisfied that it is your PPOR (normally about 12 months) then you can move out of your PPOR and, provided you don't have another PPOR, you can rent out your PPOR and claim the deductions as per an investment property for 6 years.

Your husband has been offered a job where rent is part of the package.  If the job was somewhere where you didn't have a rental property that would of course be no problem.

You have a rental property in an area where there is a massive short of rental properties.  Half your luck!  You can of course have any company you want or any individual you want renting out your property.  No problem.

As long as the company enters a lease at market rates then I don't see any problem at all with what you propose.  Don't get bogged down by the fact that you want to live in what is essentially your own rental property.  If it was another employee from your husband's firm it would be fine.  If you moved somewhere where you didn't have an IP it would of course be fine. 

As a caution though, I would ensure that the lease to the company is at market rates and would get independent evidence to support this.  I would also disclose this to the company and get some form of written acknowledgment from them.

I don't see any problem whatsoever with your scenario. 

Cheers

K

Hi ID

I didn't say that property prices will double in 10 years.  I said that a house bought today would be worth in 10 years time.  And the recession that happened in the late 70s?  Well, property prices have gone up substantially since then.

And your suggestion that an average house (being "your house") will be worth $10 millions when incomes haven't risen at all is  a hypothetical gross exaggeration.  What, house prices rise rapidly to be worth "$10 millions" while the median income stays at the same level ad infinitum?

Give me a break.

K

K