Jaffasoft, that's a pretty ordinary attitude. This centrepay system is a LAST resort. If rent on my property is $200/wk then I want and should get $200. The excuses Ive heard "oh cant pay this  week cos the car broke down"" Theyre on the dole ffs, get a bike. "Can't pay this week cos teh dog has vet bills".  er so you can afford a dog but cant afford to pay for the roof over your head.

We have the lowest unemployment stats in years so frankly those who don't work dont want to. I knocked on the door at half past noon the other day and he had to get dressed as he was still in bed. Ive offered him painting work at my own home…….doesnt turn up.
a read on the thread "my worst property experience' will probably explain my heated response.

my worst mistake was allowing bad tennants walk all over me. AGain and again they were late with their rent. I would send appropriate forms but always a sucker for a hard luck story that they always fed me. I put it in the hands of an agent six weeeks ago when i hadn't had rent for six weeks and the useless agents havent received any rent from them either in the past six to seven weeks and hadn't done a thing. I made two calls to the agency but the person mananaging my property(if indeed she exists) was never available.

 Last wed I visited the house with the maintenance man and flew into an almighty rage when I saw the house.The house and  yard  is trashed adn they have dogs (not in the lease) and puppies inside on the  carpet. I would've cried if I wasn't so filled with rage. After giving the tennants what for, I marched into the agents office to get some answers.  I 'm not sure if this real estate manager had acreditation, more likely he had a psychology degree cos he managed to calm me down without  a drop of vodka. Anyway we started a plan, first being a maintence check on those pesky smoke detectors so we could get 24hr entry.

next day we turn up, no one home. the psycologist (oops sorry the agent has forgotten to bring keys so went back for them*^^*&()^^%&*)(T%R$#!!!!! Meanwhile I climb thro the window as any enterprising home owner does and was disgusted with what I saw. Of course it was rather unfortunate that when I opened the front door all the dogs ran out, never to be seen again.

Now this saga is going to continue but I'm no longer stressed about it. It will run its  course and after court  I will probably get $2/wk for the next 100 years, but it doesnt matter. This was a learning experience for me and eventually these people will be out. And frankly in the scheme of things, it is a minute hiccup. If this was the worst that ever happened to me , my life would be charmed.

But what I wanted to say to cu@thetop and others, mistakes are learning experiences that should never be repeated.  I dont believe in dwelling on the past on 'what I shouldv'e done". You can't change the past so concentrate on the present. Have goals but the future hasn't arrived yet so it is a realm of possibilities and that's exciting.

I wonder Terry if the fact that you were rejected for your first loan was a major factor in becoming a mortgage broker.  Sometimes we make good out of what was a bad experience.
milly

Just as there are a diversity of opinions on this forum, there is a diversity of investment strategies and you have to chose what suits you best. Naturally read books but as someone else mentioned,  note the context of the book. The year and the property cycle in which properties were bought.

While steve's strategies worked for him they arent my style, but I wouldn't call his book crap. And  I have seen enough of the man to trust his integrity. 

The most  glaringly obvious thing to me reading this thread, is the importance of getting a good accountant that knows and understands property investing. Cattleya has said she/he is an accountant and I suspect many of us get out the yellow pages and select the closest accountant. Now I don't want this to be seen as a personal attack on Cattleya but I do think it is important to have an accountant that specialises in property.

well done Lisa

I too am going to start my first subdivision this year. I've had surveyors out who have been great in giving me the costings ie between 20 and 30k (cos ipswich council has waived council contribution charges). But they have warned me that it could take a year from start to finish. It will be a battleaxe block.

now you would think that in these times with housing crises in most major cities and where councils want denser living they would be encouraging investors like us, cutting thro the red tape so we can get the job done. Perhaps there is a council town planner here who could explain why the hell it takes sooooooo long! Call me  a cynic but I can see my application being shuffled from person to person, misplaced on a couple of occassions, shelved during someone's annual leave and generally fartarsed around in any way possible.

I know Rome wasn't built in a day but I reckon I should be able to have my driveway and utilities to my little block in a month..

That just amazes me Terry. Were their children involved?

I am definitely staying single

Cattleya, I wasn't making an assumption that JUST 'girls' or ALL girls are gold diggers. It was just that by chance I happened to have sons.  I AM female after all and a feminist to boot. I just believe in entering relationships with eyes open. And the sex of a partner has nothing to do with it. I admit I would feel it an unequal relationship if I met a middle aged man with nothing and I certainly won't be swept off my feet by a young poor ski instructor with an eye to my lifestyle.

If a son of mine screwed up and ran off with his wife's best friend, I would understand even the mildest, nicest girl wanting to extract revenge and that might include ensuring a long expensive court battle that would see both parties with nothing. I don't think it is ethical  but I could certainly understand it. You can't predict the future or how people will react to changing circumstances.

But you ask 'what would it take to convince  me that a girl was not a gold digger". Trust is the best answer and trust is born out of time. So six months  or two years living with someone  may be long enough or it may not be long enough. Certainly a person should not be entitled to another's estate just because they lived with them. Gees they lived rent free after all. . But as I said above people DO change and no one can be sure how they will react in a new situation.

I don't believe this is . I think it is important to take off the rose coloured glasses occassionally.  The Cinderella stories are no longer be applicable in this day and age and Sitting on the Fence just wants to ensure that that is the case. Naturally if there are children involved there are separate issues to be addressed but frankly I should not have to worry that my estate could be challenged by a partner who contributed nothing when my will stated it should go to my kids.

Cattleya…you're a romantic! And I guess that's a good way to be when  you're young and wanting a family one day.

I had a great marriage, but I'm damned if I will share my hard won independance and assets (and debts) with anyone. My dad too,  had a good marriage but has no wish to shack up with anyone new. He has a lady friend who lives two streets away which is perfect for both of them. I don't think either of them want assets mixed up (tho frankly I dont see how anyone could live with my 'grumpy old man'. )

 Tho we arent cynics by experience, we are mature enough to see that the possibility  of divorce is a very common outcome. And as a parent of 4 boys i would be just as concerned as the author of this post. Living together is great when the young couple both start out with nothing. I don't think entwining finance and assets between a couple  to continue an unhappy marriage is the answer.  Tho my boys are still young I tell them to marry their best friend, the person they can laugh out loud
 with.
milly

on realestate.com.au  Find the property  you are interested in and then down on the right hand side you will find My RP data has a free suburb report site. Simply click on that and enter the postcode or suburb.

Yes where is your solicitor in all this Blaze?  They must be an incompetent lot.  I'd be wanting recompense for all my rent.

OH i forgot that you would still have the 80k mortgage on your own home.  You could consider downgrading but it is still doable depending on the value of your house and the growth you expect. A loan of 80k would cost you  conservatively around  8k/ year which is fine if your house value goes up 20k/yr.