Forum Replies Created
Hey techna, it depends of the wife/girlfriend etc. If you get a good one, then she’s the one out there organising the IP’s, arranging the finance etc. Too busy to be spending the money elsewhere mate!
How do I know this? Becasue I’m one of those wives who does do all this side of it and there’s plenty of others on here to.
Well, I guess you just laid the bait and I just took it hook, line and sinker! But hey, it’s all in good fun.
PK
Selena,
Have my paperwork back from the accountant, Colin Dymond works for Geraldton Property Valuations and his phone number is 08 9964 3637.
How’d your trip go?
Regards
PKHi Steve,
While it’s fair to say that doing the reno yourself is replacing one job with another, it’s also a way for those getting starting to get a bit of capital behind them for future deposits (well, so long as they don’t overcapitalise and actually make money from doing the reno).
You gave up a lot in the begginning to get yourself on the road to success ie: you rented on a main road, lived off one wage etc. For others it might mean giving up their free time to renovate, “a bit of pain for future gain”.
For me, renovating one house meant I knew what to expect when asking tradesmen to renovate future houses. It’s easier to have the wool pulled over your eyes if you have no idea of what really needs to be done.
I’m glad you mentioned the pitfalls ie: it’s easy to overcapitalise, people do need to do their homework first and know the true cost of what they plan to do.
PK
I think Colin Dymond is with a company called Geraldtion Valuers or Geraldton Valutation Specialists.
All my paperwork is with the accountatn at present so don’t have a number handy, but hope that helps.
Regards
PKI agree wiht Celivia.
One of our porperties was advertised to let just a week and half weeks before Christmas and I had a choice of tenants, it didn’t affect letting it out at all.
PK
Not all agents want +ve cashflow, many to them, like many of us, were taught -ve gearing is the only way to go. I know the agent I purchased one of my IP’s through thought I was crazy to be buying it, he couldn’t see outside of the -ve gearing box.
We’re all differnt and have different goals that can be achieved in different ways. Search for what is right for you and do that.
For +ve cashflow you may have to look outside of the city.
Regards
PKYes, I have an IP up there. Crime rate is still high compared to other WA areas, but if you install alarm or security grills then it’s quite easy to rent your place out.
Work has commenced on the tunnel that will take the railway underground. Once this has happened then the railway that is along the coast between Geraldton City and the beach will be pulled up. I’m guessing this will increase values for some.
You might like to look at where it’s going underground as it may decrease values in that area? Hard to tell.
Yes, prices are under $150,000, but rents aren’t as high as Perth suburbs. Mine is slightly +ve cashflow, but I believe many are now neutral as prices in the area have in general risen but the rents haven’t yet. If rents do increase then this area may go back to +ve cashflow.
Perhaps if you can get price down a bit then it may still be +ve. You can only investigate and then make up your mind. I would suggest you go up and go for a drive through the suburbs, there is quite a variance in appearance, not that that should be a deciding factor but it gives you an idea of the areas.
Regards
PKHi Derek,
Ah yes, the SES scores, fun aren’t they.
Having looked at the RPData site though, it appears they are using the same years when they talk about population ie: 1996 and 2001, so I had assumed that they must have been gettign theri data from the ABS initially, but it doesn’t appear to be the case or if it is there is definetley different boundaries. Well, I’m still following this up and will post the answer if I ever it.
Regards
PKHi Matt,
I havne’t rang the council, but an online search found a submission the council had put to parliment and in it they were using the ABS figures and stated that this was the locality (not just the town).
As the ABS figures are lower than RPData, I’m not sure what RPData are counting.
I will ring the oucncil but it appears they use the ABS stat’s.
Regards
PKHi and thanks for your replies. The towns I’m looking at are all WA so suspect boundaries may have effect. But can’t see on either what the boundaries are.
However, the difference in population is staggering, one showing the town decreasing and the other showing it increasing. Makes a big difference.
Not sure where to go next to verify the population of the town.
Regards
PKChefspop,
$50,000 is a hard lesson but the experience will most likely make your future investments so much better that you may come out ahead in the long run. Don’t lose heart, but do learn from it.
I bought my first property at 19, supposedly doing the right thing, but experience is definitley lacking at that age. Unforutanatley my finance was a Keystart loan that the governement promote as “getting low income earners into their own home”. Sounded good so I signed up, the catch was that the keystart loans at that stage, set the reapyment at 27% of your wage, when interest rates rose in the late 80’s, it meant I wasn’t paying all the interest when I made a repayment so the extra was added to the principle and I was charged interest on it all over again. I watched my loan rise from $54,000 to $61,000 and being on a low income at that stage, there wasn’t a thing I could do about it. To add insult to injury the property market then went down and the unit value dropped from $57,000 to $43,000. The loan was desgined that way as it expected properties to appreciate and therefore the value of the porperty would be more than the loan in time. Sounded good in theory, but it was my first lesson in not relying totally on capital gains!
Good Luck for the future, I’m sure you’ll find a porperty niche that suits you and then you’ll do well.
PKWell, Madcats’s ideas fit the area which you are looking. Beckenham and Kenwick may fit too.
I guess he’s happy to have a negatively geared house then?
Rockingham is taking off, perhpas already taken off. But it’s got the ocean, the railway coming etc.
Perhaps Clarkson. Railway is extending north to Clarkson, maning easier access to the city.
There’s heaps of choices really. Where’s his mum live now, does she have friends close by, she may prefer to stay in that area.
Retning to family can be tricky too. How will he feel about increasing the rents in future years etc?
Happy hunting.
PKHi Bonnie,
That’s a hard one. Perhaps it really depends upon what your first option would be ie: if you are considering renting then look at the vacancy rates in each area and see whihc has the lowest vacancy rates.
If you’d prefer to sell, then look at what similar houses on similar blocks are selling for, take away your costs of building and the land, whihc would give the most profit?
Sorry, not a lot of help, but it’s the best I can think of.
Regards
PKLOL. adorable.
I take it they are serviced apartements? If so check out who is managing them as this could affect your return. It said “Medina or Leasee”. So if Medina aren’t managing them, then who is the leasee and what are their management skills like? Or even if it is Medina, what are their management skills like, what other properties have they managed, have they been able to meet the yield on their other properties that they advertised prior to managing them? I believe the average rental rate for serviced apartments is around 65%, so perhaps ask them what their yield is based on. If they say an 80% rental rate, then they may be being unrealisistc and the yield then won’t stack up to what they have advertised. If they have based it on this type of rental rate then they are at least being realistic.
These are the sorts of questions I’d be asking. If you’re happy with the answers then go ahead, if you’re not happy with the answers then don’t proceed.
Good Luck
PKLOL, thanks.
Now how do I answer this question…. How come you wanted to make my sister before you wanted to make me?
Hi Helen,
When I ring the council I usually ask for the planning divison (although this is called different things in differnet councils). Once I have that area, I ask if they have any information they can send me regarding the area and future palnning for the area. Most councils have 5 or 10 year plans for their area. Trying to find the right person to get this info is the hardest bit. But give it a go.
OK, when I go to the Free info on the ABS, I look at things like the population (remember it is 2001 data), and whether that has increased or decreased compared to the 1996 data. I also look at the % of people renting ie: if the town has 50% renting and the population is 10,000, then I know there are 5000 renters who may change houses at some point in time ie: their situation changes and where they currently reside no longer suits. If only 1% we’re tenants then I might be concerned as the possible number of tenants who may ever look for a house is very small. On the other hand is something major is happening in the twon that will attract tenants then the number of renters doesn’t matter, then it’s the number of reantal homes available that matters. So it pays to ring agents int he area and pretend you’re a tenant and see if they have a long lis of vacant houses or hardly anything available.
When I get the info from the council I see if it rings true with the ABS and if not, whether there’s reason ie: perhaps a major development is happening and so population growth is expected. Need to then assess the likelyhood of that happening etc.
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/Census_BCP_Free_ASGC_ViewTemplate?ReadForm&Expand=1
I also do searches on the net as some councils have quite a lot of inforamtion on line.
Hope it helps a bit, really it’s just my starting point, got to start somewhere.
Good luck
PKYep, by doing a lot of driving and looking. Sorry, but its the same way for the rest of us.
You can start by searching sites like Domain.com but I’ve often you see more by going to the area you are interested in.
Good Luck
PKWell, I guess the rules probably change from state to state, but it might pay to check with the local council as renovations over a certain $ amount ususally have to approved by council. Doesn’t hurt to ask the question anyway.
Regards
PK
