Think Midland as well – huge government investment in infrastructure and planning. Formerly pretty low SES, but is still close to Perth and likely to grow over next 3 years

It’s called a marketplace people. Instead of getting annoyed then shop around the same as you do for anything else. If you are not happy with the quality or value you get from a tradie then go onto the Internet at sites like true local and let people know about it.

If you can’t find another tradesman because you bought a property in Port Hedland…[Read more]

Qlds007 wrote:
What about selling the investment property into a Unit Trust and borrowing the full valuation price being say $240K and then using the residual net proceeds ($240K minus loan owning of $100K) to pay down your PPOR non deductible mortgage.This shifts $140K of the loan from non deductible to deductible debt.You need to crunch the…[Read more]

Stumunro wrote:
Awesome job mate. I am gobsmacked at how great you have transformed this house and on that good a budget. you are a deadset inspiration

Couldn't agree more.

Congratulations. Absolutely fantastic result for all your hard work.

oneplumber wrote:
The media reckon Doctors kill more people then Electricians.

Good point. Maybe if we gave Doctors beer when they treated us, they might do better too.

Try greysonline.com.au  I haven't personally used them, but I have a builder friend who swears by them. They have online and on site auctions and are in cheltenham, bit of a drive but not too bad.

Buyers agents tend to help you source, value and purchase a property – they act on your behalf. In return, you pay them a fee – either fixed or as a percentage of the sale. Examples are Wakelin and Wakelin in Melbourne. They often have their own philosophy as to what is a good house which may not be compatible with yours. "Agents", as you know,…[Read more]

House looks great!  Just a quick question. When you say you worked 77 hours for the week on it – is that you alone, or does that include all your helpers time as well?If you are working 77 hours per week – that's hard going!

Australian Property investor usually has tables of info, but historical trends are a little harder to come buy. If you can narrow down the suburbs that you want then you can buy the RP data. It's sort of helpful, probably more if the suburb is a dud than if it is good. That is, if you are buying somewhere with a proven track record, then the data…[Read more]

There is a new zinc mine going in near Zeehan, which is W coast tassie.Check out :  http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/01/15/1827320.htm

Oh yes, there's real electricity in the air now. Perhaps the idea of a web page with quotes is just a pipe dream after all. . .

Whoa! I take it that you've had some bad tradie experiences. There are good and bad ones, like in every profession – including brain surgeons!Of all your suggestions, some of which I'm sure are not that serious, if anyone can list what a reasonable cost per job is, that would definitely be very helpful.Chris

The potential problems here are usually1) Delay in building – is the house built already? It can cost you big money if you are paying a mortgage and there is some problem with completion of the project2) The property is worth less in 2 years time. This happened initially to a lot of people with Docklands apartments, but a bit of research, common…[Read more]

Hi Richard – Full time property investors, Hotel Heiresses and minor European Royalty would be my guess. Unfortunately, we just leveraged ourselves to the hilt to buy a business opportunity which wont start to pay out for a while. I think if I try again in 90days I may be even further behind

Dont worry you guys, I scored -452. Yes, I may be the only person who could survive negative one year! Not the best time to quit work!

P.S. Yes, I live in the inner north

oneiricer wrote:
Hi guys,i've just had a look at this month's API, and at the back is a map of melbourne with the suburbs growing in price. I noticed the majority of the fast growing suburbs is towards the east, where the east link is going to be built. Obviously this has a direct factor and is pushing prices up, but more importantly, why does…[Read more]

Once again, Marc has some excellent advice (I sound like a cheerleader!). If you dont take advantage of the FHB grant, then you need to earn 30% more than that before tax to have the same amount.For you to make the decision you need to think about what's important to you. 1) How important is your 'lifestyle' now?2) How far out are you prepared to…[Read more]

attrill wrote:
Three years ago I got Granite Transformations to do the bench tops in a unit of mine. The cost was double that of new laminate and half that of proper granite. It still looks like new and was well worth it. It has been a rental for the last two years and being able to put hot pans on it and cut on it makes it a sensible option.…[Read more]