Marshes,Prop 1 is obviously better. It is not just the free $14K you are getting but remember you also get stamp duty relief of about $10K for your own home. So we are talking $24K free money really.Prop 2 will reduce your tax for sure but this is also available to you after you move out of your PPOR and make 2 x IPs out of it in 6 months time. 6…[Read more]

I hope it goes well for you too Nit, because you have paid over all the money on settlement and hold no bond – so it appears there will be no financial penalty to the vendor if there is damage or missing stuff. ??

Shannon, I don't think the market is going to slow down for the following reasons: 1. FHBs are back to their 'normal' levels of approx 20% of the market and yet prices continue to rise 2. We have seen a steady increase of upgraders back in the market. Some months ago there were very few upgraders & some investors were dumping stock onto the…[Read more]

Keep them if they provide the cash flow you need for servicing more loans for proper property investments. If you are looking for CG then get out of them as soon as you can – its not going to happen.

Will you be holding a bond type amount to be released to them on satisfactory condition after move out?

Buy a copy of Australian Property Investor Magazine.Buy some books advertised in the back in the Business Mall section (or borrow them from the library)Go to some free property seminars but don't sign up for the $5K week-end ones that followJoin a local investor group in your areaRead this and other property forumsThen buy 1 house and repeat at…[Read more]

Another vote for CGU and I have claimed a few times – all good and looked after me well.

I'm a big fan of buy & never sell. Selling triggers CGT and REA commissions. Buying costs stamp duty etc also. Very often you can suck cash out of a good IP which has had CG.But I understand the sentiment of you are paying down PPOR non-deductible debt.

Macnatt wrote:
Is it worth getting a private valuation from a valuer  who is on the banks panel before approaching the bank.

  Yes in my view BUT as others have said you may get a different val amount when it is for mortgage purposes – so tell the valuer that that is what it is for when you commission him/her.

Macnatt wrote:
Has anyone ever d…[Read more]

No – they do not make good investments.Yes, there are trps. Low Capital Growth, high fees. Low LVR loans to buy them. No easy to sell if you want to get out.There are better ways in my view to get good CG & high yield than this.

There are cf+ deals to be had in Sydney & major regionals like Newcastle. (which I mention only because I am familiar with it. I am sure there are others like it).  I don't believe you have to go out into the counrty to buy sub-optimal property with low CG prospects to get good yield. You need to think a bit laterally. You can rent by the room to…[Read more]

You can find the best rates on the day @ http://www.canstar.com.au/interest-rate-comparison/compare-100k-term-deposit-rates.html

Jaffasoft wrote:
I lied. I lied to a property management agency.

They already know. They have a saying: "The buyers are liars" – the sales department told 'em so.

hgwells wrote:
Has anyone come across a website where you can punch in a suburb and get the rental vacancy rate for the area?  thanks HG

Yes, there is a very good website that does this. Just put the postcode in here:http://www.sqmresearch.com.au/graphs/graph_vacancy.php?t=1

KyleT wrote:
Does anyone know the best way for us to start looking at Sydney/Melbourne properties? Like is domain.com.au and realestate.com.au good places to look, or is there other places to look at?

  Those two websites are the biggest in the country. In reality nothing much else amounts to anything much by comparison. Kyle, most people find…[Read more]

KyleT wrote:
I guess what I am after is some advice from past experience or future opinions or pros/cons, etc. I would ask some family friends, however, the only ones that seriously invest through property use Moneychoice!

Kyle, you need to choose your family more carefully I would not be buying in Perth right now – IMO it still has a way to…[Read more]

Good work buying the PPOR. Try the pool fencing panels for front fence. You can get them cheap at Bunnings. They last and come pre-painted / powder-coated – so maintenance free.And finally, what sounds like a silly idea but it isn't. Buy it in black. The black fence simply disappears whereas a lighter colour comes to the forefront and becomes the…[Read more]

Lisa J wrote:
I would really appreciate some advice…We are a couple in our early 40s with kidlets.. have been investing in real estate for 20 years now. We have generally done really well with our PPORs – buying worst house in best street and renovating and getting good CG.

  Congratulations on all counts.

Lisa J wrote:
does anyone know of…[Read more]

tom89 wrote:
tell me what you think of this one the rental yield is what attracted me most

I can see why you are attracted – the yield is good. But there is, as they say, "no free lunch". At <50m2 there are difficulties getting finance or getting finance at decent LVR's. There are very few lenders that will do it.Shared laundry is not a big…[Read more]

leok31 wrote:
you are very specific….

Well my apologies for being so direct but if you don't give specifics I will not be able to give you specific information to assist you.Here you go (click around here):http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin/rsearch?a=ncs&cy=24&t=nc