sorry to hear your very common story. I was in a similar situation and handed it over to an agent. Does your dad know that agent fees are tax deductable? anyway I still manage a couple of properties where the tennants are a dream.

You simply MUST get  landlord insurance. It isn't too late. Again this is tax deductable.

Tell your tennant if he leaves within a fortnight or month and the property is in good repair, you will give him a good reference for his next property. (you can always tell the new landlord the tennant is constantly late with rent). sounds like you are being taken advantage of and so it is time to act.

Yes I was going to suggest putting the ball in the tennants  court. They broke the bracket for the rangehood….they have to fix it. How the hell could that get broken through wear and tear in two years? They have broken the door handle so they should fix it.
Get rid of the property manager. bloody hopeless.

just a small point, none of these places are in Brisbane. they are all either Pine Rivers or as in north Lakes, Redclliffe shire.  I think Petrie will do less well than any place close to the Gateway. All those areas are predicted as growth areas.
I have been considering whether to invest in Murrumba downs or try to get something (probably dilapidated) in Brisbane. Brisbane has one thing that these  other places do not ie land scarcity.

I'm not one for units but  the future holds a greater percentage of aged and single people. Also  younger people and couples also want to be where the action is, so I think you can't go wrong with a unit in the CBD.
As someone else mentioned, keep the unit till you have the equity to buy in north lakes or murrumba downs or somewhere you like.

Well done JL!  I like your strategy. I have been telling my boys (eldest only 15) the same thing, that to get into the prop market, you buy somewhere cheap and rent it out  hopefully CF+. If they want to live in the inner city, go rent there.

Two of my nieces bought houses with huge mortgages with all the bells and whistles.They expect the same standard that their parents have worked a lifetime for.

I bought my first house on the outskirts of Bris for $43k. It was a no character 2 bedder near the railway line. I took in a border.
My parents told me their first adelaide house had no carpets and no curtains.

and btw 'capitalism' is not a dirty word . But I would probably not broadcast it among friends if you don't want to be alienated.

Tis an interesting thing about handshakes and I will certainly keep an eye on pictures of handshakes.(I know I know)

Even as a woman it irks me when someone gives me a limp handshake. Obviously I wouldnt want my hand strangled but a firm one shows respect., and certainly looking you in the eye. some men give "the weaker sex" that limp handshake and I find it a bit condescending or patronising. Still, it is only in recent years that men have shaken hands with women at all

Anyways for those that are curious here is a link on How to shake hands correctly.

http://www.howtodothings.com/careers/a4716-how-to-shake-hands.html

Note well the number of pumps. Any more than 3 pumps is considered awkward. hahahaha I think pumping hands is a little bit beyond my capabilities. If I like someone enough for 3 pumps, I'd give them a hug.

Sorry crashy being off topic.

bardon you said
"Milly, all I can say about Residex is that their forecasts have stood the test of time and they have always got it right."

I dispute that.  How do you know that? How long have you been using residex?
Those top areas may well continue to grow but not at the level that is current.
What I am saying is that ALL the best land in the world has been built on. (usually the catholic church has the best view on the highest land in town….closer to god and all that) .

I still say the figures of top performers in SEQ are skewed because those areas were farms 10  yrs ago. Of course the cap growth has been   great. But I don't believe it can be maintained.  Those top performer are all glossy new homes but you have to get in your car to get a newspaper.and petrol set to rise again. Also soon enough the houses loose that 'newness' that people love/

YOu can talk about forthcoming train lines (redcliffe have been promised it for 130yrs) and other infrastructure but have you actually seen the size of queensland? and the amount of taxpayers?  victorians can boast beautiful trains and roads throughout but gees it's not big enough to get lost in! QLD is a vast state and everyone wants a piece of the pie.  Urban sprawl is not what the gov't wants.

There has been a lot of talk about booming chermside (about 15k's out from CBD) The reason it is so popular is that so many of the properties on lots as small as 420sqm can be pulled down and replaced by four townhouses. Most chermside properties are post war so no worry about heritage listed colonials.

It's just occurred to me that residex reports predictions are for the next 5 to 8 years so Barden you are probably correct and i have wasted my time adn yours by arguing. I'm a buy and hold investor so of course I'm looking for a longer time span. So I'll stick to the older 'burbs that have stood the test of time.
milly

I have been lucky enough to attend a couple of seminars for free. And I won steve mcknight's masterclass pack in a competition (but i didn't do tooo much with it cos it not my investing strategy). THere ARE different strategies out there and you have to decide which is best for you. I know a guy who has spent a fortune on seminars and books and hasn't bought a single property, cos he isn't sure which way to go. So you have to be careful of that

There is a wealth of info on this forum…….all free.  My advice would be to start with a property in your own area. YOu know your own area the best. Start putting in low offers, sooner or later you will find someone who HAS to sell

goodluck

Personally I prefer timber. a) because I prefer the look of it and b) because it is a damn sight easier to work with. With timber it is much easier to put in new doors or windows. You can move the walls around or  put on an extension. I dont know about other states but here in Qld it is almost impossible to find a brickie for a small job like an extension.

I guess it is a personal taste. It will also depend on the area you are looking at. What are the majority?
Also are you interested in growth or rental return? I can't see it would make much difference in either but I don't know the houses or neighbourhood you're looking at.

I wonder about the residex figures.Residex makes forecasts based on statistics from historical performance. Now most of those top performers are new estates. 10 to 15 years ago most of the top performing suburbs didn't exist, it was just vacant farm land. So when developers bought those properties 10 yrs ago and developed them, of course there would be a huge profits made and thus historical data would show huge growth. Now I'm not so convinced that those high growth predictions are accurate.  So I guess I'm more inclined to stick to long established areas that have respectable but not outstanding growth. Anyone else have any ideas on t his? maybe I'm missing something.  I guess it's good to be close to the freeway like Murrumbah downs and griffin but while you can turn off to those places driving from brisbane, you have to travel inland to get back on the freeway to head north to the beaches.
Does anyone else have thoughts on this?

I'm in a similar situation but I own the house and grannyflat that my bro and his wife want to buy into. I have looked at it from every angle and can't see how and can be a win win situation for both parties.   They can't afford to buy the place without my help but i'm an investor and when there is growth I want to be able to access my share of the gain.

You really need to find out  your fathers goals in purchasing the unit. He shouldnt' be pressured into 'doing the right thing for his kid'. He may've considered it his nest egg to sell at a later date to become a grey nomad. He might want tennants to help pay for the thing. He might  become an invalid in his old age and has to sell the unit to afford a live in nurse. . He might want to draw down the growth to reinvest.  Frankly I can't see one financial benefit for your father other than 'helping out the kids'. I hope he doesnt get called 'MIser DAd' just cos he doesnt like teh idea.

Tell your sister to buy a house where they CAN afford in ipswich or beenleigh or somewhere. and then rent a unit in the city. SHe gets all the tax benefits of owning an investment house and by renting she wont have to maintain the thing and gets to live where she likes at a price much lower than mortgage repayments.