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I've noticed most people talking of prices in capital cities, and the conclusion being that prices will not fall by 40%.
We invest in regional Victoria and I predict that prices will not fall by 40% here either. Our town has a population of 7692 and with the new Aldi store opening recently and a new KMart and Coles supermarket currently being built along with the train line
re-opening to connect to Melbourne, I'd say we'll soon be expecting a boom rather than a bust. Big businesses don't go to regional towns without first doing their research, which is what the the people who predict doom and gloom should also be doing!I've rented a house with a spa and I think I only used it as a spa half a dozen times in a year. I wanted a bath for my son and spas are really to big to economically use to bath a child. Needless to say, we used the shower all the time.
Now as a landlord, in my opinion, installing a spa will not increase your rent, so the return on investment is limited, when you consider the costs involved.
However if you are selling the property it may be worthwhile.JacM wrote:littleaussie: who are you insured with?We were insured with RACV landlord's insurance but they would NOT cover us for floorboards or rubbish removal or cleaning when the house was trashed. The house needed to be repainted and they would not cover that either. They did pay for the loss of rent though.
Since then, our new agent has recommended Terri Scheer Landlord's Insurance as they have dealt with them in the past with no worries..
So now we have RACV for our buildings insurance – we need building insurance for our loans and they are the cheapest we have found.
And we have Terri Scheer for our Landlord's insurance which covers contents and rent arreas. That policy also covers you for up to $60000 on your building. In Victoria it costs $275 p/a
Their building insurance policy is separate from their landlords policy and is too expensive, that's why we kept our building insurance with RACV.
Hope this is of use to you. If you happen to find any other good insurers please let us know.Hi,
If I was in your position I would consider having a chat to a mortgage broker. We go to (an Aussie home loans) broker as they have access to all of the bank's loans and can source a loan suitable to your needs. They don't charge you any fees for their services as the bank who you choose pays Aussie for referring you to them.
Also I noticed a comment on cross col. Avoid it unless you absolutaly need it. If you cross colateralise your properties it is very expensive to un cross them. Also if you wish to draw down equity, they will get a valuer to re-value all of the crossed properties at your expense. They will then only lend you up to 80% of the properties combined value. ( without mortgage insurance, and depending on you serviceability)
If for any reason your crossed properties have fallen in value they can re – call the loan. Be vary wary of cross colateralising.
We have 5 properties all with separate loans. All of the repayments come out of a line of credit and all rents go into the line of credit. We keep our PPR with a separate bank with separate bank account for tax.
Hope this is of help to you.Hi,
I can understand your problem. One of my investment properties was trashed last year and the polished boards were severely scratched. The tenant lost her bond but it was impossible to get any money to cover the repairs. Since then I have paid a little extra for landlord's buildings and contents insurance. My policy covers accidental and malicious damage. If you decide to take out landlord's insurance, be sure to read the fine print as not all insurer's cover is the same.
If you currently have insurance you could go to them and see if they would be willing to cover the repairs. Or if you have a good real estate agent they will handle this for you. Good luck.
