Guys and girls,

Well constructed arguments by both parties here. Richmond, well put, no one chooses to be poor. And I say that not just because you showed me empathy re the Child Support issue.

To balance that argument however, (forever a fence-sitter I am, as I see valid points in most any debate, perhaps I should be a Diplomat), I would like to share a real life example of expenditure vs income.

KK and MM, perhaps I can express your views by example in more eloquent terms. Richmond, take note, these guys have a point, but your point about choice is the over-riding factor. You are correct.

I had 3 jobs, 7 days at age 17. One of which was the Mr.Whippy Ice Cream truck. The largest sales came from the poorer suburbs. I even learnt that I should look for the most number of milk bottles by doorsteps to target the best streets. This meant more kids. Yep, the poorer suburbs spent a few dollars on instant gratification. That was their reward, as is cigarettes and alcohol .. instant. A poor family could not consider the concept of long term investment gratification with marginal disposable income.(Yes, I hear echoes of “The Richest man in Babylon”). Most of these people are hard workers from my experience. That is what they know. They do their best, and have the same wishes for their kids as any other parent. Due to circumstance by which ever method you wish to describe, these same people place their children first. Their “choice” then becomes instant gratification in a small way, as that is what they can afford today.

Children come first, be it long term or short term.

Kind regards, Phil

Fullout,

You are the Landlord. Grab it by the b&^^% and take charge. As you suggested managing it yourself, I can only presume your IP is local to you.

Who cares what stories the agent might tell? If you approach your tenants, explaining that you are unhappy with the agent’s service, yet you value them as tenants, no one will lose excepting the agent. Your saving in the agent’s fees is equivalent to a rent increase anyhow, let alone any future rental increases.

You have done your bit by fixing the urgent stuff. Sort it out one-on-one with the tenant. If you like them, lock them in for a couple of years. Jack up the rent by that $5 a week and give them a week’s free rent from the 18th of December. Happy Christmas!

Kind regards, Phil

Ok you buggers,

Convince me again NOT to sell my house.

I weighed up Alf’s logic 2 weeks ago, and felt the same as he. However, Bill you are adamant that I should ride it out.

I’m thinking if I had cash in the bank to be set for an opportunity in say 18 months time, I would have enough cash to borrow far less than 80% on another PPOR then. This would afford me a LOC. The balance I could then use for diversification in the stock market.

Convince me to stay put guys, else I have a 2 storey townhouse on offer before I miss the boat.

Kind regards, Phil

KK and Josh,

The response time on site is now negative and getting slower. The letters appear only after the sentence is written. Please excuse any slow responses to your thoughts.

Points taken. However, if a poor person starts spending the disposable income, what do you think this will do for the economy?

If spent, surely we will see growth, more jobs.

If saved, will the financial institutions then be flush with funds for further lending, leading to even further growth?

If you agree, is this not a win-win circumstance for the economy?

Kind regards, Phil

Hi fellow taxpayers,

What are your thoughts on an even simpler tax system?

Double the tax free threshold to $12,000 and pay a flat rate of tax after that amount regardless of personal income. No claimables, no rebates, income derivation is up to the individual.

Staples cost the same for all, luxuries are a choice for those who choose to afford it.

Regards, Phil

Hi Westan,

In two words .. no way. Jitters might not be the word, but more along the lines of what Richmond said .. take a quiet look. That is, keep an eye on the market continually. My bet is no buying until at least 6 months after the next interest rate rise. Wait for the flood and perhaps diversify in the mean time.

Kind regards, Phil

If you buy a property with someone who is not your partner (wife/husband or defacto) in my experience, in the absence of any contrary arrangement described in a written agreement between the partners at the time of purchase (emails between the parties involved probably nowadays are sufficient to establish the date of such agreements), the tax department regards the relative share of the property (so equity + borrowings) of each party as being an indicator as to who should declare the profits. So if you had a property of $250K, including establishment costs like stamp duty, one person puts up the deposit of $50,000, you jointly get a mortgage of $200K, paid off $50,000 by the person with the deposit and $150,000 by the person who didn’t contribute any deposit, the ATO are likely to say the profit should be split 40%:60%

Baby rats are so cool … do you have any photos yet Arty?
We have a wall at work where everyone puts baby photos – I put a photo of Jack and Harry (my ratties) up there. Needless to say, my workmates think me strange – I don’t understand why[][]

Also spend some time looking at project homes. Often you will be able to obtain a better price than from normal builders.

Just remember that whatever price they quote you will be increased by site costs, difficult access problems etc which you may not realise will add to the cost when you get told the price of the display home you are looking at.

A project home builder would still be happy to quote you on plans custom designed for you.

Much better actually to have a plan drawn up to your requirement as a project home may not necessarily fit or suit your block.

Pisces133