Hi Steve
From a purely financial point of view, you’ll probably find it better to continue renting and start buying some investment properties.

However, there are emotional considerations as well. If your partner (or you) have some emotional need to be living in your own place, then that should carry a lot of weight in your final decision.

It’s…[Read more]

If i’m approaching an agent I don’t know, I’ll keep it fairly general. For example, I might ask to see any brick houses or town houses in a particular price range. If I want cash +ve, I’ll only look in areas where they are likely to be. I find it better not to get too specific initially as you could miss out on lots of opportunities.

Tracka, if the owners can in fact sell the plans, I would offer them half what they paid. Fair’s fair. What would you want in their position? I think an offer of $1000 would be insulting especially as you’re talking about your home and their home not just some investment.

In the meantime, start saving, and when you figure it out, let us know would you?

I often look online to get a general picture and work out which area I want to buy in, but then I’ll put a day aside to actually go and look at some properties.

I start by calling some REA’s in advance and making appointments with them, one after the other. By the time I get to town, they’ve arranged for me to inspect all the properties they…[Read more]

Hi Marc
If the property is considered to be hers, wouldn’t it be her own home and therefore exempt from the assets test? Or doesn’t it work like that.

I have never come across that before. I can only assume it is a mistake by centrelink. The only payment she should not receive is rent assistance if she’s not paying rent to be there. Can only suggest you contact centrelink directly.

That indicates that the relevant property has someone currently in the process of buying it. If you want to buy that property, you would have to wait and hope that the current sale falls through. The most likely reason for a sale not to happen after it is under contract is that the buyer can’t organize finance. The property would then be “for…[Read more]

Originally posted by Dazzling:
Hey F,

Shop on a secure 2 year lease with a 2 year option – tenant been there for a while so high likelihood the option would be taken up….escalation clauses in the lease as well which was attractive.

lol, so put that in ya pipe and smoke it F [suave2]

Thanks for proving my point Foundation.

Hi Ees
It’s not that spectacular. I’ve always lived within my means. I actually saved 90% of my income for the year before buying my first property. Buying and selling property (and shares) is my job. It’s not passive income really. My income is capital gains and I live very cheaply. I’m single and the things I like doing don’t cost much.…[Read more]

I think Paddmaa’s reply was a good one. It’s always a good time to buy property, afterall, you’re not buying the entire Australian propety market. You’re only looking for one and there are plenty of exceptions to the national trend. It’s always the right time to buy. It’s finding the right location that’s the challenge at the moment. If you…[Read more]

Hi Jenny
Sounds as though you may be able to evict them on some kind of technicality. I’d imagine that could be quite messy though. Do you have any other alternative? Can your daughter’s family delay their arrival for a few months or could they find something else for the interim period? If not, the bribery option that Tom mentioned sounds…[Read more]

Hi Nads
The first time I went to a bank to ask the loans manager for a home loan (2001), he said to me “hmmm, I really think you should go and talk to your father about this before you do anything”

I left the bank feeling a bit deflated as I thought I’d picked out a great investment that was well within my means. I went to another bank and the…[Read more]

Yes

“I am currently living in QLD but am moving back to SA in 2 weeks”

Ohh, so sorry [eh]

did she live in a lighthouse?

Hi Mark

Maybe if you tell us what town you are in, someone could reccomend a solicitor for you. In my limited experience, the conveyancing cost doesn’t seem to vary too much between firms.

With regard to finance, you might be best off contacting a mortgage broker directly with all the details. There are a few of them on this site. There are…[Read more]

Thanks Terry. That is a pretty high rate.

Depends on the lender. Just phone them and ask.