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Here's a bit of a history of cyclones in the area: http://www.windworker.com.au/qldcyclones.htm
Gladstone was high and dry through the this January flood, Rockhampton was underwater. Gladstone was just cut off from transport thats all and supermarkets started to get a little low but no real issue, roads opened and supplies back on the shelves. No one starved.
I have been saying for the last 12 months that Gladstone Real Estate is an excellent investment, don't leave it too late getting into this market. Here's today's news article – "Gladstone House Prices to Soar"
http://www.gladstoneobserver.com.au/story/2011/01/13/gladstone-gas-raises-house-prices/realestate.com.au / Residex / RPData /
Thanks for an excellent post euro.
Hi Mark I need to know your income details before I can give you accurate feedback as this will determine your borrowing capacity, rather not speculate with the limited info. <edited – admin>
Hi Leo
I have sent you an email .. have a great New Year.
Re renovating for profit NEVER spend money on structural if you can avoid it as no one sees the value added. New paint is one of the best ways to add value, as is fencing, and any other facelift type of reno.. bathrooms and kitchens can be touched up superficially as well ie bench tops, cupboard doors, tiles etc.
Theres good books at the back of the API magazine on the subject.
You can always access the equity from your NZ property and use it toward a deposit and costs buying an Aussie property. If the NZ location is looking like increasing in value you may not want to loose the goose thats laying your golden eggs (appreciating in value). I only sell property if its a non performer.
Wattoette wrote:Hi there,I am looking into purchasing our first Investment Property and have been looking at both negative gearing and positive cash flow. I am keen to go with negative gearing instead of cash flow positive due to high incomes earned by both myself and my partner.
I have started to read your book and am a little confused why you would suggest buying cash flow positive homes when this always seems to mean buying older homes in regional areas as I am finding that this seems to be the case with cash flow positive houses. Which then would mean more maintenance issues. Please correct me if I am wrong but wont the money earned in rent then have to go towards maintenance and repairs.
I have also been reading articles about the NRAS scheme, which promises cash flow positive investments, can you confirm if this is a good way to go, or are you just buying into trouble.
Thanks for any input
You can buy CF+ through NRAS but you need to research well as you want to buy in an area that shows good signs of potential growth. hotspotting.com.au have excellent reports on growth areas. I have more info on NRAS on my website that could be worthwhile reading.
Rents are currently near 0 vacancy. They have gone up recently and look like continuing in an upward direction. 4Bdm houses are getting min $380 for an old house, averaging $420 to $450 a week now. Some companies will include added rental yes. Gladstone is a main regional area so all lenders are going max LVR.
I would definitely increase the rent but up to you if you want to go all the way to current market as your email suggests. If you want the cash-flow then put it up, you will get plenty of offers from well paid reliable tenants. If you have a moral issue regarding keeping your tenant and not hurting their pocket too much then raise the rent accordingly. If it’s a question of simply getting the market rent you will get it.
Hi Austy, I have an office in Gladstone however I travel a lot and come and go regularly. I do have someone there on a permanent basis doing the groundwork with the Buyers Agent service.
Regarding the type of property you buy, I guess its up to you and your particular investing preferences as theres good value in both established and new. At the same time you need to be careful as theres also negative aspects of both.
If you are considering buying an established however one drawback is theres not a lot of room for negotiating in this current climate. Properties are selling up around the listing price if not slightly under if its a motivated seller. A year ago you could negotiate well as the market was reasonably quiet and hence build equity into the property early. Another issue is the coal dust that blows back from the stockpiles onto the houses in certain areas near the water.
The benefits of buying new is the builders warranty, depreciation benefits and reduced transfer duty if its a land and construction. There are reasonable deals available and also ones to be wary of. There are NRAS properties available that are very also reasonably priced which are positive geared after tax, they are also worth considering.
In terms of good rentals my preference would be 4 Bdm homes established or new around West Gladstone.
Really it just depends on what your particular investing rules are. I’de be buying in West Gladstone area Kin Kora, New Auckland, Kirkwood and even Calliope. Also theres good spots on the way out of town heading toward Tannum.
Interesting articles Austy
squidgie wrote:Hello fellow property investors!!
I am often reading this site as a budding property investor, although I havent actually posted many questions. I find it harder to type my thoughts/questions out rather than actually speaking to someone!!! But anyway here goes.
Ok, I have two investment properties in Victoria both units. One with a loan of 210k (worth around $400k) the other loan $347k (worth around the $400-$410k) My question is I want to buy a house and land package with my girlfriend for around $650k. We have 20k saved up. Can i borrow the rest of the deposit from the equity off one of my units to secure the land and then to build the house? Will it cost me alot in mortgage insurance even though i paid mortgage insurance when i purchased my 2nd IP? Is it worth selling the property with less equity to get ourselves the deposit so Im not cross-securitising all my properties? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Please let me know if ive left any info out.
Cheers
Squidgie
You could access equity in property 1 at 80%LVR and avoid LMI there. That would give you $110k funds toward settlement new purch. The purchase could be done at 85% LVR with around $8,000 in LMI capitalised (see http://www.genworth.com.au LMI calc) and with your $20k you would have enough funds to settle buying a house and land with about $15,000 in change out of your $20,000. You could in fact borrow a little more on the purchase perhaps and keep your $20k to deposit into an offset acc. In essence we can do this without using the $20k.
No need to cross secure and theres a great loan product out there at 6.90% with a 100% Offset account which would suit your investing needs very well. In fact it could reduce your costs considerably if you refinance (depending on your existing loan rate and fees etc)
If you shoot me an email I will send you the full analysis.
RobbieP wrote:Hi,Is anyone on the forum using RP Data or any similar companies to do their property valuations?
Regards,
RobbieI use Residex CMA and happy to send you a report if you shoot me an email with the property address.
Hi, havent bought there myself but heres a Suburb report with some useful stats
http://www.mediafire.com/?o812a2a1cpyvb2mpropertyjockey wrote:Hi all,It has been an intersting few months reading and asking questions about property investing.
Now it's time to speak to someone specifically about the correct strategy I will need to employ for the goals I have set and the best way forward to achieve them from my particular starting point.
Are there any property investment strategists in Perth I can talk to that can assist me in determining what my particular strategy should be?
By strategy, I mean the overall picture, not just investment techniques. Someone who can help me determine my particular game plan to achieve my particular goals.
PJ
Why do they have to be in Perth? Why not go for the right team player no matter where they are? These days with internet and skype video conferencing etc you can be anywhere.
Hi, to answer your question accurately I would need financial information related to your situation. You are welcome to email me if you would like me to crunch the numbers.
lucigoosey wrote:Ok now that I have paid more attention I can see exactly what you do and what you offer. I guess on my initial visit to your site I was short on time and only had a brief look. It is a very busy front page with links and diagrams that I was unsure if they were advertising or not. Now that I have spent some time reading I may look into you some moreThanks for your comments about my website, I appreciate it because as the owner I don’t get an objective view. You mentioned it was busy and that you didn’t really engage with the content initially and thats valuable feedback. In fact I have heard web designers mention that busy pages actually do repel people whereas clean sites draw people in. Maybe its time to delete some stuff on there.
