I do not believe what you are saying. You knew there was a problem and you paid a deposit! Have i missed something here; or do you stand to loose your deposit if you don’t proceed.

Were you aware of this defect and you still paid a deposit?

A 30 year old house is not ‘old’! Replacing a ‘beam’ for $2000 is not such a big expense and the house…[Read more]

Walk away from anybody who is not willing to provide 2 references that can be checked by a phone call. They should also freely give you enough employment details to let you feel confident about their ability to pay!

I have always been inclined to agree with Foundation because what he says makes considerable sense. Buying and investing in this property market is extremely vicarious because the market shows many signs of imminent collapse. The third or fourth ‘comment’ in this thread about the US market backs up this position but I am not sure the writer meant…[Read more]

Pay a painter to do it! It will always be a better result than clad….it never looks good and does not look realistic. Might improve a fibro house but I still think there are better ways to treat fibro given the cost of clad.

I could see replacing an asbestos roof because of the appearance but to replace perfectly sound asbestos just for the sake of it is pure idiocy and a supreme waste of money! It is not dangerous and it does not have to ever be replaced. An asbestos fibro house in Chester Hill, (Sydney) is never going to be worth more with the latest version of wallboard.

LAAussie includes a factor for capital gains which is probably the historical 2 to 5% realized in the past. It is unlikely that this can be taken as a ‘given’ especially in the short term, say 10 to 20 years. It may work in selective investments but the key word is, of course, selective. In fact, the true immediate factor is probably a…[Read more]

Errr……Thanks, anyway?????

Just a slow response to DLPP who seemed to be a touch sensitive to my reply! I was curious as to what you had on the go but have decided that you are probably selling ‘cash flo positives’ to buyers for a commission or somthing like that! Yes or No? If you are, I was curious as to whether you retained the best deals for yourself or do you…[Read more]

Nice going DLPP! Wow, Was it in NZ? Double Wow! Could you find one for me,too? You seem to be in the business of bird dogging, so maybe we might take your comments with that in mind! I wonder why you are still working if it is all that easy???

The truth of the matter is that there are few truly cash flow positive unless you luck onto somthing. Resource rich areas have clicked and so has Perth but where to now? You can ‘renovate’ but you are contributing your labour to the process. At the moment the bank will pay you around 6% in an ordinary account so you would have to see a lot of…[Read more]

Some country areas offer affordability whereas the city equivalent may take more of your funds to get started. I think the most important factor is the tendancy towards sea & tree change. There are some who are searching for a change of life style and are going to the country to find it. Often retirees make this choice. Your IP may not be of…[Read more]

Was this a weird thread? I didn’t understand it at all so I think I will move on to a gardening forum.

No way that they will qualify for the age pension. You can get a part pension up to about 600,000 assets. If they don’t own the property outright they might but they are also restricted as to income.

Apply a good quality white paint and it will last! I have never seen a retro fitted ‘brick veneer’ that looks good. I would suggest that you may actually lose some appeal if you tried. Another idea that seems to add to the appearance of a fibro house is to apply horizontal weatherboard half way up the sides. You can even just do the front of the…[Read more]

A small roof would cost about 10,000AUD and the asbestos removal would be from 3000AUD to 5000AUD. It is difficult to see that it would increase the value of the property by that much. While there is some concern about asbestos, it is not a problem if left in place and not worked on.

I try to take all type of info onboard from many sources and it all helps me determine how to invest (or not to invest). Anecdotal information is important because it may have more currency to it! We can find statistics that show evidence of property prices falling but we can also see evidence and stories that the market is not dropping. Take some…[Read more]

By all means, put up the rent! Council rates, insurance and, most of all, interest rates, have gone up. However, I suggest to you that you will have to give some notice depending on where you are located. I assume that there was a lease and that the term of the lease has expired and that now it operates on a ‘continuing basis’. The tenents will…[Read more]

Nice one mathewc73,

….but losing is a hard way to learn! Some people never recover from a heavy ‘learning experience’.

Bluntly, interest rate rises mean trouble! If you can pass it on to your tenants then you can live with it. The same rule of thumb applies to all the other expenses you may run into. There is no magic! You have to have enough coming in to offset that which goes out. The minute that you start laying out more money than that being paid to you; you…[Read more]

Accounting fees are tax deductible because they are a cost of doing business. Over the years I have developed a special relationship with my accountant because of our mutual interest in property. It may not be obvious, but having a good accountant provides a lot of ‘swat’ when dealing with banks and the tax office.My accountant is so ethical it…[Read more]