It relates to the number of dwellings that can go on the block. I think different shires are differnt so you may need to check with the individual shire as to what the specific codes mean.

When zones change investors will often look for blocks where the change will allow an extra dwelling or two and snap it up so they can then subdivide and put an additional house on the block.

Note that a zone type doens’t mean automatic approval for additoanl dwellings though as other factors also come into play ie: the size of the block may meet the zoning but a council may still decline an application if the frontage isn’t considered big enough ie: one shore I know of in WA state that a block must be 26m across the front before an application will be approved.

So if your looking at subdivinding then find out what zoning number you need, then also find out what else is required such as frontage, whether each block when subdivided must be a certain size (this may means some blocks where the house is dead in the middle may be no good as the rear block would then be two small.

Hope this helps a bit.
PK

I agree with housemender, it depends on the tenants you are trying to attract. If it’s a family type home, then they’ll want schools, shops and possibly transport.

If it’s a unit for singles they’ll not want schools but often want cafe strips or nightlife in walking distance or public transport, unless it’s student accomodation then it’ll need to be as near a possible to the uni or school.

With fuel prices rising again, it’s likely that public transport will become wanted by more people.

Regards
Judy

I’ve not had experience with either option that you have listed.

Is the house livable to move straight in? If so, then perhpas move in and if the house is actually valued higher than the price you purcahsed at, then perhaps you can then apply for a line of credit for the amount needed for the reno.

Or alternatively, do you already have the deposit, if that’s the case then can’t you use the FHOG towards your reno, I don’t htink it has to be used for the purcashe unless you need it as your deposit.

I’m sure some the brokers on here will have some ideas, these were jsut a coupel that crossed my mind.

Regards
PK

Hi there GAzman1976,

Ring the council and ask them questions ie: what has building approvals been like (gives an indication of whether population is increasing). Ask them what infrastructure is planned or any zoning changes in the pipeline etc.

Also for population, remember that the ABS stats are now a few years out of date. Another option is to look at the Dept of Eduation and Training site – they have school census stat’s that are done at least yearly. If you see student numbers increasing in the area, that’s a good incation that population (or at least families with kids) have increased and if it’s a family type home you intend to buy then this is a good thing. It may not be a good thing if you want to purchase a one bedroom flat. Basically the figures might help you decide if you’re buying the right type of housing required for the area you are looking.

Also do a Google search on the area, it’s amazing what info that sometimes brings up.

Often the local newsagent has an idea of whats going on too, ie: he knows if he now orders more papers or less papers than he did 12 months ago. If he now orders less, ask him why he thinks that is, if he says everyone’s moving out of town, well, be cautious, investigate further before investing.

If you’re investing in a town rather than a suburb then arrange with the newsagent for them to post the local paper out to you each week or month or however often it comes out. You can then watch the number of houses for rent each week, the type of housing being advertised both for rent and sale and the prices that both are attracting. You can also read the editors page where locals have their grumble about things they don’t like (often they don’t like progress, so don’t be concerned about all grumbles, but follow up on things that may affect an investment, find out if it could be postiive for you ie: the new gravel mine that was approved that the locals grumble about becasue they are concerned about dust, may actually provide employment for many people which may bring people into town whether for the employment or whether they are passing through doing business with the mine, but then need to buy lunch etc, boosting the local trade which in turn boosts the towns ecomony). The local paper also tends to have info on events coming or other things occurring wihc you can assess whether you then need to obtain further info or not.

In my experience newsagents have been more than willing to post the local paper for a fee and in genenral I’ve found the fee well spent.

Hope this helps on where to look for info.

Regards
PK

Time to get a computer guru out, it’ll save you lots of time and heartache!

Secondly, wyou should be able to download Adobe for free and not sign up for a specific time.

Get the guru to load it while he’s at your house.

Good Luck
PK

Some policies don’t cover loss of rent if you manage it yourself but others do. Be aware though that if you manage it yourself and it goes to court then you have to face the tenant in court, or even harder, you will most likely be sitting in the same waiting room as the tenant. Are you able to handle this situation?

I recently took a tenant to court and at the first hearing she was talking to me prior with she promises of how she was going to pay back the debt etc, in otherwords she wanted me to cancel the hearing and give them a chance. Can you stay firm and say no. Then when we got to the hearing the magistrate was pushing for a payment plan based on what the tenant was saying about how she could pay. Can you stay firm in the face of a magistrate that this is not what you want. Then when they were given notice to move and didn’t, then we had to get an order to move them out etc etc. Once out and damaged assessed, then had to book another hearing to get an order for the damage to be paid. Do you have the time to go through all the hearings or could you be doing better things?

I ask this, because I’ve done it and it wasn’t hard although it was awkward at times especially when the tenant is begging for another chance outside the courtroom with other peple all watching saying how I was going to make her kids homeless etc, the guilt trip is not nice. Anyone can do it though, the paperwork and things weren’t hard, dealing with the people is a bit harder but even so, still not too diffiucult. But what I discovered was that I had better things I could have been doing with that time. It was time that you either have to leave work for, or time that your not searching for other investments or time not spent with the family.

So I’ve done it and I daresay you could, the question is, do you really want to? I’ve learnt that I don’t.

PK

Well, the longer they are there the more damage they can do, if you can get them out quickly and eaily then do it.

I’d also request a copy of the lease so I could read it for myself to see what stipualtions were in it.

Good Luck
PK

Hi Samantha,

The shower may need to stay over the bath otherwsie it may make it even more cramped by trying to fit both in separately. What we did in one house though was had Roman Bath built and have the shower over that, that way it had a flat floor for standing in (unlike normal baths) and it still allowed families to be able to bath children somewhere. We only went about three bricks high so it wasn’t really deep and therefore easy to step into, plus you can then fit a glass screen to it too rather than a curtain.

If you do a screen then check standard screen sizes before building the Roman bath, it’s cheaper to buy the standard size screens then have to have one specially made. We ended up putting a screen on one side only and then a curtain on the other as we didn’t check the size first, if we had off we would have made one side of the Roman bath smaller than we did to fit a standard screen with door.

Good Luck

The date on the contract is the date that is effective for capital gains tax. So the first contract was signed on the 20th April 2005, so as long as the next contract was signed and dated after the 20th April 2006 then you have met the 12 month criteria.

When properties settle is actually irrelevant.

Regards
PK

Have you read Steve’s second book? If not give it whirl, it answer more questions on +ve cashflow.

Regards
PK