I’m thinking the italian MC won’t be finding new business among the greek guests at this wedding.

Do you mind telling us how long each lease was, the time between leases and how much it cost to refubish between tenants?

Do you recommend staying away from small local strip shops after this?

Munjy

I’m not so sure if talking ONLY to people who are rich/successful is the right thing to do. Often when talking to people who may not be rich/successful, you see where they have attempted and failed. This can also be a lesson in itself. Or where they have had regrets in the past.

It’s all about filtering what you receive. If your nearest and dearest have never invested in property, don’t listen. If they’ve lost/made money in property, consider and digest what experience they do have.

Not sure how many people have my philosophy, but I’m sticking to it!

Munjy

Yasmina,

It’s always hard when you mix in personal preferences with investment decisions.

Sounds like you like where you live, but you want to be less dependent on Mr Bank for his loan. Remember that when you sell and buy again, you’ll incur alot of costs.

If in doubt, you could always trial the rental options (rent out a few rooms- sounds like you have a big house! or move out and rent). At least, the option to move back and live as you are now is still open.

Personally, if it’s near a golf course I just don’t see the confusion

Munjy

There is every possibility that I may be wrong as I have not done any “real” maths for a long time. But I think the formula for compound interest is:

n
P(1 + r)

Hard to write it on a post actually. I’ll try writing it out.

Get the rate and add 1. Put the entire amount to the power of n (which is the time unit). Multiply the whole amount with the principal.

So, on a 5% interest(p.a), 2yrs, 100,000. My calculations give me 110250. Make sure your interest rate is the same time unit as your “n”

Hope this helps and doesn’t confuse!

Munjy

So true! We really are the weaker sex.

MissK,

My philosophy with investing is that you have to find something you’re comfortable with, can/will understand, and must be able to afford.

It seems you have narrowed it down to property (as opposed to say shares), you just have to focus a little more.

Btw, have you seen the tips thread? Full of one-liners if that’s what you’re looking for.

Munjy

nazzy,

This is really only my 2cents worth. May only really be worth 1 cent, but here goes anyway.

You want to take advantage of the stamp duty and CGT concessions – understandably. The issue of whether to buy/rent has been covered quite well already, so I’ll leave that to you.

However, my feeling of the market today, is that there is better buying away from the 500k area. The reason being, around the 500k mark, there is a ceiling people are willing to pay, due to the FHOG/SD issues. Meaning, everyone wants to maximise the concessions they get and think, “I’m saving $X in stamp duty!” But that means that there is more demand in the sub $500k region. If you go above this, you will find less people are willing to spend, because every $1 increase in price will bring more stamp duty, etc. This means that you will have more bargaining power, and more likely to find a better deal.

To qualify my statements, this is only in the areas that I have researched in Sydney, and is highly unlikely to be applicable to all areas of Australia.

Regards,

Munjy

I think your dog must also help you fertilise and tend to your garden.

This thread really appeals to my twisted mind.

Munjy