then again, there are less buyers around in that price-range, surely?

And while capital gain is a wonderful thing, easy come easy go, really – 10 or more percent less that you would have got “5 minutes ago”, on a 1.8 mill property, that’s a lot of money down.

elves –
yeah –

“and yeah maybe it was overpriced”

yep I’d agree with you there – I read recently, that on a global scale, apparently Aussie properties are among the top three or four most overpriced countries in the world!!!

“What will happen if the property stay vacant for month after month? I think this’s also the downside. New investors might just jump in to buy regional properties without doing complete due diligence “

Indeed, I keep forgetting that although I am all for investing in smaller towns as they offer spectacular yields, low entry prices, you need to check out the rental demand before you buy, for the kind of place you are buying, for the *actual* place you are thinking of buying. You need strong rental demand for it to work. In the places I’m investing and bird-dogging, there are high yields, good properties for cheap $$$, and high rental demand. You need all three factors. one rental agents has 70 people on the waiting list for rental properties and zero for rent. the other rental agent in the town tells a similar story.

I have never ever heard of properties sitting vacant for months and months *in towns with rental demand* unless they are total dumps with major problems, such as are majorly in need of maintenance and a clean-up.
They can still be great deals to buy provided you fix them up though and turn them into a desirable rental property.

hi melbear,

“I’m more than happy though, as my equity has quadrupled in the last two/three years.”

yeah. well I think if there’s a time to neg gear, it’s in a boom. I am glad I am going to be in time for the next Aussie boom, though!

Is Southbank the bit by the arts centre in melbourne, like by that bridge over the yarra near flinders stn?
the whole strip that goes down to the casino?
i like that area. Really, is it only 199 for an apartment there? That seems so cheap. but then again I am looking with Sydney-inured eyes.

thanks a lot for sharing this, wish I had prop’s there myself.

richmond, yeah there would be, because the number of people renting is growing each year.

“Decent bargain.”

Kay – what makes it a bargain? Is it because it is cheaper than others for more value? Is it the potential for growth there, or is it the potential for income, and if so how much of either (or both) do you expect, to come up with your opinion that it’s a ‘bargain’? It sounds as though you know the area?

cheers-
Mini

pisces,
>
> “Domino theory ? Or should that be called the ‘Sheep follow the leader theory’ > ?
>
> “Buy a +ve cashflow property, write about it by saying what a wonderful buy it
> was, others will follow suit and in the process drive up the prices as more and more start looking in that area.”

Are you insinuating that +ve gearers are just tricky Neg gearers in disguise!!!!!

It is estimated that only 10 percent of all properties sold in Aus are going to be positively geared.

The sheep are the 90 percent negatively gearing .

In Australia only 0.05 percent of property investors own 3 or more investment properties. Maybe more would like to, but they maxed out?

how about this for a domino. You have 5 properties, ‘offset geared’ or whatever. You have a problem with one of them, which could be that you can’t get a tenant, or there is a maintenance issue, and for one reason or another, you need a quick sale. Trouble is, if you sell, even if you come out Ok with the price at fire-sale prices, there is capital gains tax to pay plus a fee for discharging the loan early. So you’re stuffed if you sell, and stuffed if you don’t. No way to refinance, as last time you refinanced, it was top of a boom, and not only are banks tightening their exposure in the case of LVRs, but hedging against values going down further, and besides, prices are slightly down anyway, not to mention borrowing costs higher.

So the domino effect says that if the property portfolio is too highly geared or whatever or too ‘rent reliant’ or a person has an unexpected expense or something happens in their life which means they get behind, they might not only – by having to sell at the wrong ‘time’ in the market cycle – by the domino effect not only lose one property but the whole lot.

So how would the bank let you get in that situation? You just keep starting companies as corporate trustees going guarantor for a trust buying a property. Some ‘legal scam’ which means an individual who couldn’t possibly borrow that much as one entity is able to borrow and borrow and gear and gear because of some loophole.

Am i close?

“touch typing and i mean typing really fast and being able to talk on the phone or have a convesation at the same time yet abe able to type away… is the number one skill of all…”

If that were all it took, Secretaries would have the power…

many more things interesting to respond to in this thread, I’ll be back, have some ‘property deals’ to do, hehe