It's about 100sqm for the sand and polish and yes a bit of scope creep The carpet is quite ratty so decided to rip it out. I'm actually also thinking about resurfacing the bathroom and laundry tiles as well… have a professional paint over the tiles using the resurfacing techniques they have these days – cheaper than a full bathroom reno. Want…[Read more]

Thanks Joel. Spoke to a company that renovates houses, and they reckon putting in a new toilet into the bathroom and adding a shower to the laundry, as well as ripping up the carpet and sanding and polishing the wood floor for the whole house plus painting two bedrooms will come out to be around $6000.Does that sound reasonable? Being an…[Read more]

Hi guys,

I certainly will be considering another investment property, always on the lookout But what to do with my savings in the mean time… by re-draw I mean, I put all my savings into my loan account (on top of my normal mortgage repayments), and when I need to use that money (i.e. as a deposit for another investment property) I just…[Read more]

Global warming you think? Hmmm. I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like in 50-60 years… a 6 degree average increase in temperature, so the extremes will be even more harsh.

Hey, 10 years and that’s a cup of coffee!

I agree, you can rent out a property you have previously lived in and ‘gear’ it. Perhaps she was referring to the fact that you can’t claim deductions for interest if you’ve drawn on the mortgage for the place you’ve just moved out of (i.e. in order to buy new property)?

The problem is that private sellers are selling privately in order to gain maximum profit, i.e. not have to pay agents commission etc. As a buyer, this puts you at a disadvantage, but usually sellers tend to over-price their properties and hence there is room to bargain.

I reckon we definately need more money spent on essential services, especially when it comes to healthcare and education (sometimes I’m suspicious the government deliberately keeps these services poor just to get people on private cover/education!).

However, I don’t believe intrinsically that the higher income earners should be taxed…[Read more]

The base level rate is I feel at the moment too high… inflation has pretty much eroded the tax cuts we got as a result of the GST.

Compared to some countries in Europe, we are definately better off, especially with our quite reasonable tax offsets for things like gearing etc. However in a direct comparison with the U.S. (which is difficult -…[Read more]

They are already in place, as of June 2003 those are the official tax rates. If you’ve been paying last financial years taxes, well, you can look forward to a nicer tax return

Sincerely,
Mal

Thanks everyone, I’ll definately let you know what I decide. I’ve been going through the policy wording of five different insurance products at the moment… crikeys, there’s a lot they don’t cover!

Sincerely,
Mal

I agree with Bill, if you had bought 12 months ago, heck even 6 months ago, you would be doing alright. But right now, with talk of interest rates going up one must think that any price increase here at the moment (say, land in the new Gungahlin areas going up from $210k to $240k which is ridiculous for 500sq metres) must be temporary.

Sincerely,
Mal

luckyone – Thanks again! Amaroo huh, who knows, they might even be next to each other! I too would like to get into positively geared investments but I think a strategy involving a few high capital growth properties in good areas like Gungahlin is a good way to balance out the portfolio, even if they are negatively geared… when the Gungahlin…[Read more]

Thanks luckyone, much appreciated! The Independant PG does seem to be a behemoth when it comes to these sorts of things, I was talking to three different RE agents at the same time once, from the same branch!

I’ll try and negotiate down some of these fees… I’ll hopefully be buying many more in future! Still, crikeys, seeing other places charge…[Read more]

Hi guys,

You wouldn’t happen to know of any good property managers in Canberra would you, who could look after a property in Gungahlin? I’m after someone who’ll take intimate care of the property as I intend on living in it one day. I’ve talked to a couple of real estate agents about their property management services, and they all charge 10%! Is…[Read more]

I’d have to reccommend the St. George one (or perhaps even another banks one) because with transferring cash from your St. George DragonSaver account to your everyday transaction account, it’s instant, i.e. you don’t have to wait overnight. I’ve found that very convienient when needing access to savings immediately.

Hi crashy,

Could you send me an email on [email protected] please? I’d like to ask you some questions, but I can’t seem to work out your email address.

Thank you,
Mal

Howdy,

As someone who has just purchased land and has entered into a comprehensive building contract, I think I have some valuable advice to give you! I’ve been very lucky with the property that I am building… before the slab is even laid (they’ve just started) the property is already worth $50-80k higher than what I am paying for it.

The…[Read more]

Thank you very much, I shall definately contact some accountants and see what they have to say… life wasn’t meant to be easy after all!

Sincerely,
Mal