Hey Luke

I had the same wishful thinking as you!

I am working to reduce my gain that I have realised this year by doing as much tax minimisation as possible – like prepaying interest, claiming max depreciation etc. etc. It also helps that I (when I eventually do my tax return) have a massive negative income from last financial year that will help to limit this year’s income.

Cheers
Mel

Bumper Sticker on Car ‘If you can read this, then where the heck is my caravan?’

Same theme – back of bikie Tshirt – ‘If you can read this, then where’s my girl?’

Cheers
Mel

David

Your ‘normal’ way of moving on to the second house sounds like its for those who live in it, and upgrade when they can.

The way I bought my second was when I had saved some more cash, but more importantly the value of the first had gone up. At this point I refinance my loan to 80% of value, pulling out this extra cash as the deposit on the next house.

For income (for the banks) I had a job, but you also count the rental income you are getting. I’m not sure about the Netherlands, but hopefully your rental would be more than your mortgage payment and costs. If not, you will need to have income (earned) to satisfy the banks that you can afford to buy more houses.

Hope this helps

Cheers
Mel

I see in the desktop page a day calendars for next year there’s a ‘Bushisms’ calendar, which could make for some interesting reading.[]

Cheers
Mel

Can I just butt in and say that the quote is actually

‘For the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil’. Certainly puts a different spin on it with the whole thing![]

Cheers
Mel

Come on Pinky, you haven’t told us if you are a metrosexual yet (or in fact what that is!)[]

Cheers
Mel

Pinky, it depends on what you want to achieve.

A ‘flip’ involves securing a property for a value (preferably a good discount on valuation) and then onselling it before you have to settle for a profit – taking into consideration stamp duties, solicitors, agents fees etc. If you cannot find a buyer, you have to settle on it, so you need to make sure you have the capacity to do that.

This technique is where a lot of people are getting into trouble. They are securing properties off the plan, with the intention to sell them before completion at a profit. When they find that a. they can’t find a buyer and b. they’re not worth what they paid for them, they’re in trouble because they need to finance them, and come up with a whole chunk of money to do so.

If you are planning on doing a tidy up and onselling, then there are several things you need to look out for. One good idea is to have a buyer lined up first, thus ensuring a sale. If you do not wish to settle it yourself, you would need to negotiate with the seller for access to the property prior to settlement to undertake the reno, and to show potential ‘occupants’.

Another strategy is to secure the property using an Option, which you can then onsell to the person who will sign the contract, and there is no stamp duty payable by you.

If you are handy, this is an option for you. I would recommend as a new investor that a good way to build your portfolio is something that Peter Spann calls leapfrogging. That is to buy this house that needs a clean up, settle on it, clean it up, and refinance to give you enough money to purchase the next one.

Be aware though that a lot of houses these days are going for a higher price ‘unrenovated’ than those that have had the money spent on them. Give the market a while to calm down, and then this could be an excellent strategy. the other benefit is that the rental on your renovated property is increased, and should make a far better return on outlaid capital.

This is long, I’m stopping now.

Cheers
Mel

Glenn

I say go for the seminar. You never know what you might learn in regards to securing that first property as well as how to do all the renos! Learn from the experts – they’ve already made a lot of mistakes, and it will save you a lot of time and money to take theirs onboard.

Cheers
Mel

Very good Poltergeist. I have shovel in hand, and am commencing digging!

Cheers
Mel

Bill, Huey said in another post that she’s a Pisces! I am too, and I know that my birthday isn’t in this month, or even the next two months, so I think one of you (I think you[]) is making fun![]

Cheers
Mel