Forum Replies Created
Go wdemirdonder!!
In reply to your request for advice I also left school with not a clue as to what I wanted to do. So I found a full-time position in a cafe on fairly dismal money but it kept me busy and I had an income coming in. When I ended up buying my first property I made sure I could afford the payments even if I was unemployed (the original property was $95 000 with a rental of $140 wk. Before I bought it I also cut up my credit card, paid out personal loans and made sure the only thing I would owe to anyone was the mortgage. To summarise what Im trying to get across is:
1. Dont think you have to borrow a huge amount or have an annual income of $100,000 to get started. There is heaps of property out there to get started with they just tend to be in less than fashionable areas.
2. Dont get tangled up with credit cards/personal loans, consumer debt etc otherwise you'll just be a drone working to make the banks richer and not getting ahead. If I cant pay cash for something I dont buy it.
3. It is absolutely possible.
I am about to buy another couple of properties in 2008 due to the equity having built up in my first. They will both be under $150,000 with an anticipated rental of $170-$250wk. And I still only earn about $40,000 a year.
Best of luck!!!
HI Kenzel and welcome!
No such thing as being too ambitious when it comes to property I think. YOu have done really well to get a $30K deposit and earning $45k gross is most likely plenty to get you started on somethin g under $300K (I bought my first apartment on $28K with a $10000 deposit).
Say you bought a 2-3 bedroom apartment or house – you could rent the other rooms out to help you get ahead in the first year. I did exactly what you are proposing and provided you dont let everyday expenses and credit card/lcar loan etc debts get out of hand once you have the first place with enough equity, I have found dealing with banks much easier when you want to go onto IP #2 and #3 etc…Best of luck!!
I think a good deal of the problem is 1. People have forgotten how to live within their means (whatever those means are) and 2. To start small.
It always fascinates me how people pop up on ACA/Today Tonight obese, smoking, with a beer in their hand and say they are ‘battling’.
Duh. Stop smoking/cut back drinking/go for a walk. Get a job. Save. I totally agree when older people think younger people should stop complaining (and I aint old). I have lost track of the number of times people my age say they cant buying anything cos its too expensive. And then find out they are only looking at 3 bedroom houses within a 5 km radius of the city. Then they refuse to buy anything smaller/cheaper cos ‘I dont want to live there’.I bought a one beddie in the daggiest suburb imaginable. People laughed. Renovated on the cheap and stopped spending on crap I dont need. Rent doubled in 2 years. Flat got revalued at an extra $40,000. Wouldnt you know it – people stopped laughing and I get told all the time how ‘lucky’ I got. Will repeat process next year as the rent I get will make it totally CF+
It is totally possible. And I say that having completely stuffed around in my 20’s!
With all the information available out there re Property Investment I think people need to rely on their gut instinct and intelligence rather than blindly following to the letter what some expert has instructed them to do…
Incidentally, three years ago I applied to become a ‘Jenman’ Certified real estate agent and had to complete a quiz which would apparently determine whether you were suited to aforementioned job. I answered honestly and not only did I not get the job, the letter informing me of this specifically suggested I was not cut out for anything of a real estate orientated nature and Id do well to find alternative employment. Pretty harsh as rejection letters go!
Anyway, screw them, I bought an IP property 6 months later which I made cash flow + from renovations and will buy my 2nd and hopefully 3rd within the next year or. So take all the ‘advice’ with a grain of salt and dont be deterred from what you know in your heart you are capable of[biggrin]
lucylu
Thanks for all the advice everyone – I feel a lot more confident on knowing what to ask for now. Although the idea of self managing sounds enormously appealing; over the weekend was toying with the idea of setting up a website where people with self-managed IP could access advice, leasing forms etc as from speaking to other landlords in my position there seems to be quite a demand out there.
Just also wanted to say this forum is fantastic – is great to mix with like-minded peple so willling to share advice![biggrin]
Hi Callander thanks heaps for the advice – the property in question is in the Queanbeyan area (next to Canberra) and PM was with a major agency which is why I was surprised the service was so appalling. Interviewing other landlords is a fantastic idea I never thought of.
The trouble with the property management in some of these smaller towns is they dont have the competition that a major city might have and so bad service tends to be glossed over and its rare you meet someone who is on the ball. I thought I was being a landlord nazi at first but then figured that expecting rental payment every month at the same time was what they were being paid to do so bugger it!
Thanks again[biggrin]
lucylu
