Forum Replies Created
Hi Nonnie
Is the tennant on an expired lease ?
If yes, simply write vacant posession into the contract, and include any make good repairs before settlement.
Hi Jamie'
Just double checked, and those figures are correct – no typing errors'
Hi Sparkys
I completed my RE certification about 6 months before entering the industry. (Five day course, bout $600)
At the time i found it extremely informative and did think that having a basic understanding of the legislation surrounding Real Estate would benefit any investor who was serious about running a professional portfolio.
Having said that, i don't know i would recommend doing the full licensing course. There is a heap of subjects on things like OH&S and Trust Accounting that would be of no real benefit to an investor.
What i would recommend is either just picking a few of the subjects, or attending a few CPD courses, specifically those around the new 2010 Residential Tenancies Act.
I often find myself talking to investors who want to buy / sell an investment property, but who have no real understanding on the legislation surrounding the sales process when there is a tenant involved. Even from just an ongoing property management perspective, there is a bunch of stuff that investors need to know, but don't…
Gert wrote:We as a body corporate have taken him to VCAt with not much success.
Hi Gert
What exactly did VCat say, and how long ago was the case heard ??
Although i am not based in Vic, VCat is the governing body that oversees body corperate / strata issues…
You can appeal a VCat decision to the Supreme Court of Victoria, but i would have thought that something as simple as an order to pay outstanding levies would be a fairly strait forward order made by the tribunal member on the day.
Hi GOM
I'm not trying to re-invent the wheel…
There are several members such as QLD007 who are able to provide some very detailed residex reports a specific property.
The above stats are more so aimed a providing a quick once a week snap-shot.
Cheers
Hi Stoj
As JacM said, the desire to redevelop would need to be considered as a sperate project.
In regards to your desire to get your quarterly strata levies reduced, and do some of the basic repairs such as replacing tap washers etc independant of professional services, that should be fairly easy to achieve…
Have you spoken to some of the other owners ? Chances are they feel the same !
I recently took on a fairly active role within the executive for the block of units i have my PPOR in. By volunteering to put the bins out myself, and another owner volunteering to mow the grass strip out the front, we have reduced the gardeners contract by $160 per month…
Not much, but its a start… (Nb. Every owner who attended the AGM was in full support of both this motion and several others i put forward).
Cheers
Matt
stoj wrote:Also will that give me and my brother voting power at the strata meeting seeing as we own 3 of the higher paying strata units.Hi Stoj
Short answer is yes…
When you vote you will simply need to request that the vote is counted by unit entitlement and not by show of hands – completely legal, no problems there.
Only caution, just be careful how you excercise your balance of power, otherwise you will very qucikly put the other owners off side once they realise that you and your brother can dictate how each and every vote goes…
Cheers
Matt
Quote from the article;
Mr Beezley, a 21-year-old building labourer, said he was working up to 75 hours a week to pay off their $340,000 house-and-land package as quickly as possible.
It was part of a plan to upgrade to a bigger and better house in about five years time.
End Quote.
Although i highly commend this couple for having a go and looking toward their future unlike a lot of other people their age, i think that $340K is a lot for a first home buyer…
Instead of starting off with a 'House and Land' package, maybe a 2 bed unit for around the $250K mark would have been a better first purchase ?
Eg. Do young people really need to be workaholics or do they need to start off with something a little more modest and then upgrade in a few years…
Hi Wattoette
Michael Yardneys book 'How to build a multi-million dollar property portfolio in your spare time' is the book you should read…
His strategy is to buy property located close to the major CBD's that is negative geared but has good capital growth potential.
If possible, do a quick comestic remo – Eg. Paint and carpets
Give the property two to three years, the increased rental return will have the property close to nuetral geared, and the equity that is now available from the capital growth can be withdrawn and used for the next property purchase…
Matt
propertyjockey wrote:I am willing to bet that these types of areas will change purely as a natural progression of population in and around infrastructure. What is fringe today will be inner-circle tommorrow.My thoughts… your 100% spot on.
Look at Redfern in Sydney's CBD. It's taken a long time, and change is still occurring, but it is slowly becoming a very 'trendy' suburb.
Hi Spludgey
If you are looking for somebody on the the Central Coast;
Geoff Corah
Penninsula Law
02 4342-1111Geoff will be able to arrange all the local pest and building inspections etc
Please note, Geoff is a Solicitor and not a conveyancer. As such, his services are a tad more expensive than a conveyancer, but if for any reason things should go wrong, he would be the bloke that I would want in my corner.
Also, if you are using a trust / company structure etc, i would definately advise you use a solicitor and not a conveyancer…
I know that there is a very serious message and issue behind this video… even so, it is one of the funniest you tube videos i have seen.
" The rent it just too damn high ! "
Hi Sharon
When you look at buy and hold property, from a very simplistic view point there are two main factors to consider.
Rental Yield
This is the rent you will receive each week as a percentage of the overall purchase price.
To use Steve's '11 second rule' if you take the current interest rate and add 1%, that will reveal the rental yield you require to have a cash flow neutral property.
So, although your specific weekly return is affected by other factors such as deposit, on-going property management costs etc etc on a very simplistic level, a 3.58 % rental yield is going to provide a fairly negatively geared property.
Capital Growth
This is the forecast growth of the property.
Eg. If the property is valued at $300,000 and is forecast to grow at 5% per year, the property is forecast to be worth the following;
Purchase – $300,000.00
Year 1 – $315,000.00
Year 2 – $330,750.00
Year 3 – 347,287.50
etcSo, to wrap it all up. Instead of looking at the Defense Housing and saying is 3.58% a good yield, I would be asking the following;
1) Is 3.58% rental yield + X % forecast capital growth a good overall investment?
2) If i answered yes to the above question, i would then ask what is my after tax cash flow going to be at the end of each week and can i afford to fund the property if it is negatively geared?
Matt
Ps. For comparison purposes, Residex produce a 'best rent' report for $295 that lists the Top 100 suburbs that have a median rental yield of 5% minimum and a forecast capital growth of 5% pa minimum…
Hi Sharon
I looked into the Defense Housing a few years ago…
As Catylist said the negatives are that they generally have a very high % charge for property management, which amongst other costs makes your property heavily negatively geared in the beginning.
On the positives, they do things like fresh paint, new carpet etc for no charge at the end of the contract term.
My overall thoughts are that if you are very risk adverse, and like the idea of a garanteed rent / property condition etc then Defense Housing would work for you.
If you are happy to deal with the occasional dodgy tennant, and take care of some basic repairs / property maintance yourself you can achieve much better investment returns elsewhere.
Matt
Mate
Two books;
0 – 130 Properties in 3.5 Years – Steve McKnight
How to grow a Multi Million Dollar Property Portfolio, In Your Spare Time – Michael YardneyBoth take a very different approach to wealth creation…
Matt
Michael Yardney promotes these guys fairly heavily…
Hi Rachel
I'll pretty much echo the words of Charles. Yardney takes a very different approach to that of Steve's.
I have been to one of Yardney's one day work shops, and what really impressed me, is that he is quite a methodical numbers based investor. His investment strategy has been tested and survived several property cycles.
I align myself with his view of a changing demographic. Specifically, the number of traditional Husband & Wife with 2.3kids and a dog is giving way to Dinks (Dual Income, No Kids), single parents, baby boomers selling down etc.
Thus, the demand for large 3 bedroom houses is decreasing and the demand for 2 bedroom units close to the CBD is increasing. Who needs a backyard to maintain when you work 50+ hrs a week and don't have any kids ?
Having said that, i don't know that i would spend 5K on anybodies 3 Day seminar… Steve's, Yadney's or others.
You can buy a heck load of books to get a grip on your strategy, residex reports to choose your area and a heap of fuel / accommodation to find the right property for 5K.
Matt
Scott No Mates wrote:Do I need to disclose it? It is not on my block & the information is readily available in a waterfilled & crocodile infested basement of some government planning department.Hi Scott
Ok, so i am not saying that i am a real estate law expert by any stretch…
I did however do my certification course in NSW for Real Estate (5 day course) a couple months back.This scenario did come up… the basic advice given by the teacher was that if the vendor / real estate agent knows of any planned development, major works etc that could affect the value of the property it has to be declared to the potential purchaser.
The teacher also made it pretty clear that if a vendor / agent withholds information, then that can be grounds for contract termination etc…
lifeX wrote:The Agent may have known, but said nothing…
…and why would they?If the agent knew, and said nothing, then it is a breach of thier knowledge of material fact…
Hi Shabar
I'll admit… i'm a local.
If you are looking for a commuter special (500 mts walk to station) i would avoid anything on the hospital side of the train line. Commonly known as 'the wrong side of the tracks' (Holden Street, Faunce St West etc).
I would choose something in either Hills St, Beane St East or Gertrude St. You should be able to get a good 2 bed unit / townhouse for low 240's.
If you weren't too worried about the 500mtr walk to station, then Harry Parry Drive would be the go… you can get some very nice 'executive units' with water views, 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, granite bench tops etc for low 300's.
Hope this helps…
Matt
