The people who I know that are doing it tough are still living in their own place (that thebank owns 95% of), buying new furniture on interest free and considering whether dimmers on their downlights are the right way to go!!!

The interpretation of doing it tough these days has changed.

There are a lot of people living by the pay cheque but…[Read more]

Here is an article from the Herald Sun on APril 4th which may be of interest to some:

Roxby an Olympic task
From: By Andrew Trounson
April 06, 2006

Mini-city … BHP hopes to attract thousands of new workers to Roxby Downs, which lies in the middle of a vast ochre plain. Graphic: Eirik Wallem Fossan BHP Billiton’s proposed $US5 billion ($7…[Read more]

Do not own property there but have watched the market there for some time.

If only I purchased there when I first started watching. Lately has been more out of interest than anything.

BHP Billiton is about to construct a large amount of houses there to sell to staff at cost as the expansion will more than double the town.

I think it’s…[Read more]

Michael,

Why don’t you start your investing career small with some of your own funds to demonstrate to your dad what is possible in the world of property investment.

Your dad I am guessing would be close to retirement age so he has to think about what risk category he is in in terms of investment. If you lose everythingtomorrow you still have a…[Read more]

For those that have left the orkforce to invest full time, have you wilingly left and earned less for the first few years? That’s what scares me the most – that I will leave nad not be able to get the income level I get now.

We are planning on my husband leaving the workforce to invest and renovate and over a number of years build that up until…[Read more]

In what way would a cash offer entice a vendor.

I have put an offer in and removed any finance caluse knowing because i know the fiannce will be available to me. This is as good as a cash offer.

I can’t see why a cash offer would win a vendor over if there was a bidder offering substantially more. I know as a vendor I don’t care if the offer…[Read more]

wow, this is exactly the sort of thing we are working towards.

at present we’re doing a subdivision and building and will then follow that with a renovation on a currently tenanted property while we are in the process of another subdivision.

because we don’t have the equity position yet (ages 24 and 25 with mortgage still to pay on PPOR) we want…[Read more]

Interesting reading.

I must admit that this is definitely a strategy that I have thought about though not what I ended up doing. We bought about 10km fruther from the city than we would have liked to have lived because it was $100k cheaper.

Negatives – more travel to the city, further to go out and visit friends and family

Positives – you can…[Read more]

ring some electricians and explain the situation to them.

If you cant’ get the certification insurance won’t cover you in the event of a fault occuring.

I don’t understand why anybody would purchase a property if they could only afford the minimum repayments. Borrowing a little less and putting the difference into repaying additional capital would see them quids & years ahead in next to no time. Plug a couple of example figures into an online mortgage calculator and the point will become very…[Read more]

If you’re happy to work for $20 a day cash and know how to paint I think you would find endless hours of work. Get a job wokring late nights in the supermarket or something. Work Saturday nights overnight stocking shelves, get a job working in a distribution centre, anything. There is opportunity to work amny hours even when stufying full-time.…[Read more]

why don’t you go back to work? what’s so bad about working anyway? Tasmania is a great place to work – the hours don’t seem to be long in most companies and you can still do all the things you are doing to houses in your spare time if you are committed to it.

there are a lot of people on these forums who are starting out in the investment…[Read more]

i don’t think you will find a house for around teh $200k mark in those areas.

maybe if you’re looking for a 1 BR apartment you might be able to get something for that budget.

are you looking for capital growth, rental return, renovation job??

if you can do the subdivision i would guess when you do the numbers the profit on the two units would be better.

also consider, doing the subdivision and then selling the land off to a builder and retaining the front to have a low-cost solution which takes the stress out of the game for you. You will probably find that this will achieve the best…[Read more]

$200

what a great time for you to ask this question.

we just layed lino in our kitchen and dining area at our investment property on the weekend.

there is a video you can buy for under $7 on “how to lay lino” which gives you the lowdown. i don’t need it anymore so if you want it I can probably give it to you if you’re in melbourne.

We ended up…[Read more]

I drive a 2003 Subaru Impreza RS and my husband has a 1995 Honda Accord. my compromise is not spending the extra cash on the wrx but still having a functional car that I enjoy every time I am in it.

I would love to see next to everybody’s cars details of net worth – or even how the value of the cars when purchased is as a % of annual income. In…[Read more]

Just to clear a few things up:

$246k was not a low ball offer for the area. The asking price was $240k+. A lowball offer would be in the $230’s.

The offer I put in was on the day that the section 32 was released. The vendor would not have been receiving offers before this.

The price the house sold for was $251k. This does make my original…[Read more]

ah yes, forgot to mention where I am.

In Melbourne.

Bill Johnson, unfortunately I am in the market of buying a property at a market price, not putting the highest possible offer forward first. Had the agent told me that under no circumstances would there be negotiations I probably would have put an offer in of $260k, even though my limit was 265-267k. However, the agent did not tell me…[Read more]