Hi Chen,

Cherrybrook is a nice suburb but in my opinion I wouldnt buy an investment proeprty there. The houses are big, the blocks are pretty big, but I am not sure if there is much opportunity for sub division, development or value adding. I think the yields are low and you would be forking out nearly a million dollars for a low yielding property which could destroy your cash flow.

Cheers,
Luke

Yes, but basement construction is a lot more complex than above ground construction. If you are building close to the boundary and there are existing multistory buildings on the neighbouring properties close to the boundary then you may need an expensive retaining system during construction. If you are not planning on building close to the boundary and the neighbouring buildings are single level, then it would probably not be a complex basement and it would be much cheaper.

It is just hard to put a figure on how expensive a basement is without knowing how close it is to neighbouring buildings and what the ground conditions are like, so the extra $80 might not be enough.

Cheers,
Luke

Hi Wisepearl. Constructing a basement adds a lot of unknowns. If you are dealing with a high water table and neighbouring buildings being close by, then you might need an expensive watertight basement wall. Even if you don't have a high water table, then you will need some kind of temporarary and then permanant basement wall.

I can't really comment on your numbers because I don't have a lot of experience, but an extra $80 a square meter wouldnt go far if you are building basement carparking on a tight site.

There can be a lot of risk with below ground construction and when shoring and/or dewatering are needed- it is just really impossible to put a figure on the cost of a basement if you dont know the ground conditions or what the site and neighbouring byuildings are like, It is like asking a builder for a quote to build an office building but not telling him how tall the building will be.

Cheers,
Luke

Doesn't the deposit money sit in a trust account and interest gets split 50/50 between the vendor and the purchaser?

You would need to get council approval which would mean satisying the BCA. If you give the local council a call or drop in and see the twon planner I think they would be able to help. You would probably need to get plans drawn up and submit them for approval.

Some of the things you would/might need to satisfy arE:
-Building setbacks
-Ventialtion
-Fire rating and fire escape
-Electrical safety
-Structural certification (footings, roofs, walls etc- but a builder would be able to do many of these themselves if you got a builder involved)
-BASIX- not sure about this one, but I would think there would be requirements for wall and roof insulation at least

Cheers,
Luke

Hi- Stacey Surveying would be the guys to call then, they sound like they really know what they are talking about when it comes to subdivicions. Just so you know, I do not know they guy but I am on these forums all of the time so I have read quite a few of Ashleys posts.

Cheers,
Luke

I havn't read the enture thread because it is so long, but will read the rest this afternoon at some stage. I just would like to point out that anyone who bought a ouse in Perth in 2003 and 2004 at leat doubled their money due to general increases in property prices in Perth. I do not want to offend anyone, but lots of people who do not know the slightest about investing made a lot of money in this time but this does not mean that they are property gurus, they just happened to buy at the right time. Of course there are lots of people who are very knowledgable in regards to property who made money in this time.

My point is, is just becuase someone made money by buying a house and land package in 2003-2004 in Southern River does not mean that you shoudl do something similar. I personally would not buy an investment proeprty in Southern River- there is lots of land around, lots of new estates going in, and hardly a shortage of property in the area. You might find that people who bought property in more inner ring suburbs such as Mount Lawley, South Perth, Vic Park, Floreat etc have seen their properties increase by mroe than those in Southern river (as a % of the value), and find that the price decrease from the peak is less in these areas compared to Southern River.

Anyway, those were just my thoughts and I thought I would jot them down, will try to read the rest of the thread soon.

Cheers,
Luke

Hi,

If you are working in Port Healand and you are smart with your money, you will be able to save some serious money in a relatively short amount of time. If I were you I would be saving everything I can and waiting for a year or two, reading lots of books and talking to people who invest in property (people who ACTUALLY invest in property i.e. own 5-10+ properties and do developments/renovations, as pretty much everyone who owns a house will claim to be a property investor). After a year, you will hopefully saved up a LOT more than the $20k you have now and you would be well placed to buy a property to get yourself started.

I am assuming that you work in the mining industry and have your accomodation provided!

Cheers,
Luke

I am not a valuer or finance professional, but:
-If they are on the same title, the valuer would have to value the units as one. If the units can only be sold in one line, then they would have to be valued in one line
-If one side of the duplex is in terrible condition, then the vlue would be brought down by that unit as they are being valued in one line. Even if it is cosmetic, it would be hard to sell if it doesnt look appealing. The banks are always concerned about hopw much they can sell the units for if everything goes pear shaped and you stop paying the interest bill, as they need to limit their risk.

You could try ringing up a valuer in the local area to ask them to give you their opinion on the valuation if you need a certain answer.

Cheers,
Luke

Hmmm, interesing. I suppose that you technically should be able to, but it might be hard to convince the ATO during an audit that that case of beer and bottle of wine was given to the tenants and not drunk by yourself. Would like to hear other peoples opinions though, as if you can claim this type of thing easily enough I will be telling the ATO I give my tenants cases of beer all the time and keeping the receipts.

I guess your accountant would let you know whether you should claim it or not. If the property was owned in a trust structure I guess it would be easier to claim as the trust should be treated like a business and at arms length to the beneficiaries (i.e. you).

Cheers,
Luke