I think this is a good thing Ivan

However I suspect that like most things ASIC do it will need to nothing.

If these people were serious then they should be prosecuted.

There are always opportunities however you must have someone that you can trust on the ground if not you re playing Russian Roulette

I am back in Florida at present buying more deals and doing more forward planning. Market conditions are good however it is always important to do your due diligence. When it comes to the US your investing who you deal with on the ground will determine your success

Firstly most banks will treat this as a commercial loan so you will need a larger deposit.

Secondly capital growth on these properties does not really happen infact in some cases the values fall

The returns are not good

Now the purpose of an investment property is to get cash flow and growth since this investment does not do either why would you touch it.

Hi Jared

You should be able to buy an apartment in that range but do not buy off the plan and stay out of the CBD. The only thing you will buy off the plan at this range will be small or student apartments. Do not touch them. Look for older apartments as to where to can add value. There is nothing wrong with apartments as an investment. But you need to do your due diligence carefully.

First pick out an area and then get to know it like the back of your hand.
Go through all open for inspections during the weekend and drive by the others
Also inspect rental opens that will give you a good idea of returns
Once you have done this over a few weeks you will get a good idea as to the values in the area and with that knowledge it will help you to know when you have found a great buy

When buying commercial property in Australia you need to be careful with the type you buy. Generally a blue chip commercial property is a lot more expensive than a residential one. Be careful when buying things like cheap warehouse because if there is a downturn in the economy these properties lose value quickly.

With a residential property the value is in the land and the building in commercial it is normally based on the cap rate. So if a building is rented for $25,000 and sells for a 10% cap then it would be worth $250,000. The problem wit this type of invest is what is the value if you lose the tenant.

I personally buy commercial property in the United States where we get higher returns for a much cheaper acquisition price.

Not quite show how I was advertising when I was talking about a property we are closing on in the United States. In other words I am talking about something I have done not promoting

Thanks for your 2 cents worth Engelo

I have a full time partner in Florida and have just spend the last three weeks on the ground. We took nearly 3 months putting this deal together. So yes a huge amount of due diligence. Once the deal closes on the 12 September I will put up a detailed review

I could not agree with Richard more

Most of these companies are making huge commissions they are often pushing properties that are not selling in the general market at and that’s why developers often offer marketing companies large commissions. The purpose to invest is to make money why would you buy something that is over priced. Richard buys things in Australia for clients and I represent people who buy in the United States. Try dealing with people that have your best interests at heart rather than marketing companies that are just looking to there next commission

What you will find is that there is a massive number of small apartments coming out of the ground in most of our major cities.
I am sure you will find plenty of groups will to sell them to you.

The reason

They cannot sell them so they offer marketing groups large commissions.

Do not touch anything under 50 square meters and I would also suggest to stay away from the CBDs in Australia. If we take Melbourne as an example I believe that we will see the property values in the CBD fall and that means many may be hard to settle.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 4 months ago by  Nigel Kibel.