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May I share?
I own a number of properties. I have found it completely trouble free.
I use Managing Agents. They pay all the bills for me. They provide an annual summary I give to the accountant.
They pay rates. Insurance etc.
I only have to work out the interest expenses each year, easily obtained from the loan statements.(i used to write them down once a month which was also pretty easy)
I have a file called " tax 2011," (or whatever the year is) and file in there anything that is not paid by the managing agent. (land tax for example) Once a year I spend a day putting it all together, and sending it to the accountant.
Personally, i dont think you need or want complicated excel or spreadsheets( even more work!)Its really easy! (in my view)
I think it is always a good time to buy the "right " property. People want to wait for the market to "reach the bottom" but history teaches us that by the time statistics catch up, we have already passed the bottom and missed it! More people buy in a rapidly rising market (for fear of missing out) than in a falling or stable market! Crazy eh?
Why not just offer 20 percent less than the asking price now if you are ready to buy and have lots of choice, rather than waiting for a possible10% further fall? Then you buy at the "bottom" without having to actually try to pick the bottom.
Another strategy is to agree to buy at current written valuation prices. My experience is that many if not most valuations done by bank valuers on existing and newer properties currently are coming in very low, (actually making it quite hard for people to borrow-but thats another topic) but Vendors are more likely to "accept' this official valuation.
Or just contact the banks and get their list of defaulting properties, and take one of those of their hands. This is a once in generation opportunity where banks need to clear out their toxic debt, and will take any offer and write off their bad loans. And THIS will not last!
Best of luck,
L.K. Tan.
