Forum Replies Created
Sorry, yes I over generalised….
I have no problem with people/businesses charging a fee for a great job. In this case though I couldn’t see the value for money for what was on offer.I made a few enquiries through US Invest and decided against going with them.
The bloke on the phone was nice enough, pushing their product for very little information. I think it was more of a feeling I had rather than factual info I could share…
The push on getting my credit card info before I got any real information about what they provided or what I got for my “9 – 95” i felt was a bit shady. Only after 3 phone calls from them I realised the “exclusive property report” i would receive was actually available free of charge!! (also realising that the “cheap” report was charged at $995 not $9.95 as I thought!)
Not that im an expert by any means but I feel the “one-stop-shop” companies are to be avoided…
Lucky for me another investment opportunity close to home arose before I signed up for anything.http://www.owner.com.au/ is popular, not sure about the traffic statistics, but there are always signs posted around town…
M
Personal opinion, but Something I would stay away from.
Whilst its ‘guaranteed rent’ They decide on the price of the rent, they organise the repairs and send you a bill, they decide if a rent increase is warranted. Maybe this is just me being a control freak, but they are just a few of the decisions I would like to make as the landlord.I’m sure there are benefits involved (im happy to be corrected) but for me the lack of control over my investment was a big turn off buying for DHA
Hi Keenan that would be great!
I’ve got afew things on the go at the moment so any thoughts would be great.
Your profile won’t allow me to send you an email, so let me know when you are here and we’ ll catch up for coffee.I’ve been here 30+ years and never thought of stockings over the fan blades – that’s a fantastic idea!
We usually just get the old ladder out and get covered in dust to try to clean them… Not a great job!With the a/c we have a split in the main living, but each of the bedrooms have the box style, they all still work fine but would it be worthwhile changing these to splits as well?
As for the ‘stinky’ It’s all open plan so no walls could be removed, I think it will just be a matter of removing the Lino that’s been there since the house was built.
Any comments on floating floors? I’m a little wary of timber in the humidity here, but it’s a lot cheaper than tiling so is looking good at the moment. Is there an expected life span of timber floors in Darwin? (retailers are not too happy about answering this question) I dont want to be doing them again in 5 or so years, so tiling is still high on the option list.
I have been involved with houses that have been sold at “lock up stage” meaning completed enough for the occupancy certificate but none of the “bells and whistles” as yet.
Not really sure if its still done, but This was popular a few years back with first home buyers not being able to afford a fully completed house so flooring, painting, robes etc not included in the purchase price.
This worked well for first time home buyers as they could get into the market, as house prices increased they could access the equity to finish off those bits and pieces. Builders at the time were ok with the process, obviously not making the full retail potential, but more turnover meant they covered everything they needed to.You would need to find a builder that was happy with the set up, as well as a buyer that could put up with concrete floors and the bare basics. Personally I like the idea, for first home buyers, prices (in Darwin) are skyrocketing and it is hard for anyone to enter the market, but the buyers also need to understand the benefits of doing it hard for a few years to reap the rewards.
I agree, the kitchen and bathroom are high on the agenda!!
I’m looking at things like outdoor living areas, do they add value to the proprty? In Darwin (I think) they are a must so perceived rental value will be higher, just not sure what valuers actually take into consideration.
If I were to spend say, $Xk on a deck & covering, would it increase the value by that much or more?
Do I put in an automated watering system
LandscapingI’m not looking at selling just yet but would like to increase banks valuation to access equity keep purchasing other IPs. I don’t want to be spending on things that don’t increase the value.
I will be doing a lot of the work myself for this one so labour costs will be kept to a minimum.
The house was built about 1985 and nothing has been done since.
I’m looking at floors, kitchen, bathroom, paint at a minimum.
Garden has absolutely nothing in it but lawn.I guess I’m just looking for some opinions on how to raise the value without going overboard.
There is a lot of work to be done, but nothing structural, house itself is sturdy, just a “stinky boys house” that really needs a face lift.I don’t want to spend a lot but am willing to spend what it needs, if that makes any sense?
The house is valued at $400 IO loan is $236
3 bed 1 bath
Similar ‘nice’ houses in the area are going for $450-480There are %ages I’ve read on renos (ie 5% of house value on kitchen, 3% on bathroom etc) Not sure how much truth is in these when you actually get in to do it though.
Sorry, no – no gold toilet seats, just ridiculous rents. In saying this though, ridiculous house prices to go with it…
There are comments nearly on a weekly basis of tenants going off at the “greedy landlords” for charging so much, but really as an investor who wants to foot the bill for someone else living in your house?As for interiors, anything that won’t rot is ok. Carpets, timber, vinal don’t last as long as they should due to the humidity. We have 6 months torrential rain so there is no way to keep everything dry enough to last. At a push you could probably get away with carpets to the bed rooms as southerners like it, but from a cost perspective I wouldn’t bother. If they want something soft under foot tennants can buy a mat…
If you are looking at renos, factor in “Darwin time”. Wet season (october-may) can’t get trades in as it’s too wet, dry season (may-october) they are too busy…
Prices for anything are over and above what you would expect to pay anywhere else as we pay excessive freight bills on EVERYTHING.In saying all that though, I love it! Been here many years & can’t imagine living anywhere else. I mean really… Where else would you get a newspaper that will have a croc on the front page EVERY day? Lol
I thought I’d just bump this one up as there has been no comment.
Does this mean don’t touch Portugal investments, or no one has tried?To live or invest in…? Big difference between the two…
I’m probably a little biased but palmerston is the go to live, as with any areas there are good and bad. Steer clear of the older suburbs (moulden, driver) newer suburbs are nice, but over priced (belamack, roseberry) nice houses available in Bakewell, durack, gunn.
If you are looking at the northern suburbs don’t go to karama or it’s surrounds…The market is a little weird at the moment as we have just had the Inpex announcement so house prices raised, dropped, skyrocketed, stable, now awaiting another boost. Don’t really know where it’s headed.
Lots of potential to invest, if only vendors sold for the price the house was actually worth rather than what they expect after Inpex move in (2014-6)
As I’m in the NT info will probably vary from place to place, but…
I wouldn’t touch timber framed houses, steel only, brick even better.
Tin roof over tiles.
As for windows aluminium all the way!
We have a strict building code here due to cyclones & hassles with termites, so I think it’s the area and cost of build rather than preferred options of the property…
Probably no help to you at all!!I don’t think it really matters where it comes from, it’s going remote NT so fairly central to all manufacturers around Australia…
Transport costs obviously are a factor, but quality & reliability more so…
No idea on planning myself, just throwing out options…
Could you combine titles, get the approval for rezoning etc then advertise the lot as a package deal.
You would get the higher valuation as it is now ready for development.
Benefit of this would be you could both still live in PPOR whilst all this is going on…From what I understand by keeping funds separate is makes the split between personal and investment easier at tax time.
If you put the money to the investment loan, then redraw it for personal use, you can’t claim that portion of the interest as a tax offset.
If you put the cash in an offset account, you get the benefit of less interest whilst it’s there. But when you withdraw for personal use you then don’t need to worry about percentages between the 2, it it is clear what is investment funds and what is personal.There are a few posts through this site that explain it better than I have, but that’s my understanding…
I had a similar situation with units I bought last year.
Purchase price was $500k for 4 x units loan for $530.
Valuation came in at $475kWe looked at the rental opportunities and made the decision for purchase from the figures.
Taking up the equity on other investments has slowed us down for a while as we are “maxed out” according to the banks. But, The area is in growth and rental made it a positive investment so for me it was a no brainier, in this circumstance.Every situation is different though, so you will need to check the individual figures for this purchase.
If someone is willing to share their set up I would be very interested!!
At the moment we have 6 properties (hopefully) soon to be 8.
Each of these properties werent really planned through very well in the early stages and i have continued with my ‘ad hoc’ way for 6 years now. I have a separate spreadsheet per property so I could see the comparison from year to year, this worked well the first few years with only 1 or 2, but is now giving myself more work than intended.We have a property in Portugal we are about to start renting out. Previously it has just been our private house for when we visit family.
To now turn it into a claimable investment, will it just be a matter of claiming income & expense, or is there some other notification we need to do?Jamie M wrote:Hi thereA trust isn't going to solve your serviceabiltiy issues.
Cheers
Jamie
Just thought I'd clarify… It's the lenders tests of serviceability not the physical ability to pay the loans…
