Leeanne75
As much as I would like to give you an easy answer, there really isn’t one. If there was some magic town/suburb where all property was positively geared then it would be snapped up pretty quickly wouldn’t it. It comes down to looking around, QLD has better opportunities than most states. Many people buying +geared at the moment are buying in rural towns. It is getting harder and harder to find them as this market keeps moving up. Sorry I can’t be more help, but the only way to track down a great deal is with a lot of research. Things like rental yields for area’s, migration patterns, housing prices for an area etc.

Best of luck
McDeyess

Perhaps a few extra details could be on some use.

Where is green point?
Block size?
cost?
What is on the ajoining blocks?

McDeyess

Yeah I have believed for a while that QLD still has some growth. One of the valid points someone on this forum raised against it is the job market here. I do agree having moved here recently I know lots of newcomers looking for work, it is there but not as easy to find. Mind you that is just annecdotal *cannot spell* evidence, does anyone know the unemployment figures for QLD as compared to the national average. I couldn’t see anything up to date on the ABS site?

McDeyess

Cremin,

I wouldn’t waste my time asking the vendor if it is a nice area etc, they can easily lie as they have a vested interest. In some contracts for sale it stipulates that the Vendor has to provide you the names of ajoining neighbours if you ask. I would certainly do that. Then rock up on a weekend and see if anyone near the place is out in the front lawn and are willing to have a chat. If you can pick the right type of person (old people are normally the best) then you can get all kinds of info as long as you are polite and don’t pry to much. I have found that if I say I am looking at buying the house people are more than happy to help.
With regards to making sure the property isn’t attached to neighbours property, that is a tough one and wouldn’t mind someone else fielding that, I am buying a house and land package and there are heaps of things in the contract about the Vendor having no responsibility if the fence isn’t on the property line etc, I am not sure where to start checking those kind of things???

McDeyess

Hello,
On a slightly seperate but related topic. You can take a Contract of sale to most Conveyancing solicitors and they will review it for you at no cost (with no obligation to do conveyancing through them). You can do this before you sign it if you feel that you have time and are not confident with these legal documents.

McDeyess

Hey caz,

I think like most things it is a case of due dilligence. I am in a similar position right now with getting my PPOR, I went to see 4 banks before I spoke to a mortgage broker so I could see what was out there myself. Didn’t take long maybe half a day I would just walk into a bank and say I wanted to talk to someone about getting a home loan, most places were happy so see me a few scheduled an appointment for the next day. When I spoke to a broker I found him to be good and informative but seemed to disgregard certain products, I believe this is because he couldn’t get business with those lenders (or however the whole comission thing works for them). At the moment I am in a position where I will probably go with one of the banks I researched myself but still take some of the brokers advice with regards to product selection. I have a fridge magnet that for me sums up my outlook, it goes something like this “Do not believe anything that anyone tells you. Even if I tell you, do not believe until you discover it for yourself”[Buddah]. This is the first property I have ever bought so I have had to learn pretty much everything myself, some people are helpful with their advice others proclaiming to be experts when you investigate what they say it turns out to be wrong. I think the best advice I recieved on this forum to date has been to do your research, and that is with everything to do with property including your finance. The other thing I would say is when you get your loan don’t set and forget it, review it regularly look around and see if their is a better deal, most loans don’t attact a penalty for leaving after 3 years, if you are looking at a 8.5% interest rate certainly changing over when you have some more equity could save you thousands.
The option I am currently looking at is –
First year 5.25%, change over to another product @ cost of $300 (will save me approx $1700 in first year). I have also been able to negotiate the application fee being waved by negotiating directly with the lender, the broker was unable to do this.
Finally, best of luck.

McDeyess []

Housesonly, I live in QLD also, great place isn’t it []
Some of the reasearch I have read suggests QLD could move up another 10 – 20% by 2003, after that things could become more interesting again, I think Warren Buffet is the one who said 2008 is the year to look out for with regards to the baby boomers so look for them to come in droves. Your point about the job market is extremely valid I could not agree more. I quite often to go Caboolture and it amazes me the amount of shops and industry going on there, people appear to come from everywhere to work there, glass house mountains etc, I have never been able to explain what keeps it going??? I guess my main point was I think there is more chance of QLD experiencing growth before a fall (and perhaps a softer fall than down south) as opposed to Syd, Melb and Canberra. From speaking to my mortgage broker a great deal of the purchases he is making from external investors quite a few foreign so they really don’t need to worry about getting jobs locally. I certainly did not mean the QLD boom would never end of course it is cyclical.

Nick,

That was a great post, really informative and useful as I am also looking at the Trust/company structure with its various pro’s and cons. Can I ask where your information was sourced? I am wondering how useful you found wealth guardian to be?

McDeyess

Hey Spanner,

Your situation sounds very similar to mine (except of the getting burnt part [] ) I was looking at maybe using the FHOG plus some of my savings to get my PPOR. Then using the rest of my savings to buy a place with an Interest only loan. I would use the Rent money to pay extra off my PPOR mortgage for a while, when the rental property increases in value (hopefully) then I would sell and use the Capital gains to buy property under a buy + hold method and maybe pay a little more off my home. That is how I am thinking at them moment anyhow, I am pretty young and still learning but that is just another idea I was looking at. Hope I have been of some help.