thanks for your comment back in 2006! you can know me – skype, facebook, etc – I’m barbgriffin on facebook, hit me up! Barb AKA Mini

Interesting how you can read the article and get doom and gloom and I read “8 per cent ahead of a year ago”…..
….”Listings for the rest of the North Island and the South Island were also on the rise, with the number of properties for sale in Christchurch in February up 63 per cent. ”

Recent capital gains figures say that Taranaki has gone up…[Read more]

Hi there

I have only subdivided in the North island, however the first step is to get a surveyer to visit the site and give you the low down. they measure it, give you a time-frame, exact run down of costs, etc etc

There is a lot to it i.e. where are the services, access, right of ways. There is a legal part of it too but this comes much later.…[Read more]

Hi there

“I know there isn’t any “real standard”, but what is a reasonable fee?”

At NZ Bird Dogs we charge $2500 for a fee for the cheapies (say up to $150k.) For deals i.e. 250k we might charge $3000-3500 (depends on the deal.) If there is say 45k equity in it then we might charge $3500 for a 255k purchase rather than $3000k. For the million…[Read more]

Hi there…
ballpark….takes about 3-6 months depending on how busy the surveyers are. In some towns you can’t even get them to start for about 3 months. They do the stuff and then it gets presented to council. A lot of hurry up and wait.! There are also legals involved. Total price – depends on the size of block, council’s requirements, and…[Read more]

I reckon I know who you mean too, this person does a lot of our clients. Okay so the feedback is that some ‘trust’ (arr arr no pun intended) this accountant (as you sorta have to do, to some level) and give up this element of control to save the fees.

others decided they feel a bit funny about this and are happy to pay the fees/taxes and retain…[Read more]

can recommend Chris Raynall from

masteraccountants.co.nz

check the website, his prices are very reasonable, he does this all-day-every-day for loads of our Aussie clients in a similar boat as you.

cheers-
mini

http://www.nzpropertytogo.com/birddogs.html

I have noticed that a lot of investors’ strategy is to ‘buy where you think the market will go up’. So therefore if they have been buying in one market and it’s gone up heaps, they sell off and then try and find another market where it might go up. This is fine and I guess over the years you would become a real globe-trotting investor. Australia,…[Read more]

I have noticed that a lot of investors’ strategy is to ‘buy where you think the market will go up’. So therefore if they have been buying in one market and it’s gone up heaps, they sell off and then try and find another market where it might go up. This is fine and I guess over the years you would become a real globe-trotting investor. Australia,…[Read more]

One thing I’ve learned through getting deep into property investment is the relationship to the economy as a whole. What do we know, what can we count on? property going in cycles, of between 7 and 10 years (ten if it’s a long cycle.) So, if we had Taumarunui houses on a 16 percent return (higher if they were dumps, but let’s say 16 for a good…[Read more]

Hi there

I am still very active in the NZ market, recently I bought a property for 85 valued at 110, CF+ve and 1.5 hours from Auckland. I have on the table an excellent renovate CUTE property 3 hours from Auckland for 56k and I know the renovators and how good they are, it is a 12.5 return which is brilliant for something which needs nothing done…[Read more]

talk to a surveyer and they will do a site inspection. if they say ‘yes probably can do it’ then let them do the site-plan and start the process, which goes in several stages, get them to cost that all out for you.
also talk to an agent as to what sections are worth and how easy to sell, to figure out if this is a viable/profitable move.

“”It’s the ones who got in six months ago who are not necessarily going to get capital gains.”

Disagree!
Ok, you don’t necessarily ‘get’ capital gains in 6 months if you are not going in a fast automatic price-rise period, BUT!!!! There are so many ways to create capital gains that if you are impatient you don’t have to wait for time to make…[Read more]

“1. What would be some of key learning points and lessons which you will like to share with us, given your past and present property development
experiences”

hi kenneth

Well if you learn 80 percent of your lessons on the first three developments, then as none of them are completed yet and won’t be for a while (these things take much time) then I…[Read more]

”
Its been said that successful property developers are a bit like movie producers. They assemble a highly talented team of people and skillfully lead them to develop a profitable outcome. ”

As an executive producer I can so relate to that!
problem plus solution equals profit.

So there was a day about a year ago when I was ‘not a developer’ and…[Read more]

So here’s the thing, there are always a squizillion people wanting to emigrate to NZ from all over the world. The government in their infinite wisdom, turn the tap ‘on’ or ‘off’ as they think best. At the moment, as you know, the economy is kicking serious butt, the property thing is just going nuts, and the government are I guess concerned about…[Read more]

Blair, Blair, it’s all about Blair.
He is so far ahead of the LJ’s and the harveys and the rent centres and the professionals and the ray whites and so on, who are all riddled with EMPLOYEES who don’t care. Blair cares because HE da Man, i.e. it is his business.

He does operate in a funny way i.e. landlord gets the entire rent, Blair invoices by…[Read more]

Great question!
I would get preapproval and see how much you can borrow. i would then buy some property, something you can add value to. (do up, subdivide, re-tenant, unit title a block, add a minor dwelling, etc etc etc) and then re-value the property.

If this is a negatively geared property, you can still make money, but you won’t be able to…[Read more]

If I had stuck to the ‘only invest where you live’ rule, oh, my word! The things I have done, the things I have been able to do, ah! – I have to pinch myself some days, because of the ‘free money’ made by property deals.

as for Japan, So keen. I was there in May and it was all doom and gloom, the country is in the doledrums and has been for ten…[Read more]