I'm with you. Not a fan of units because strata strips any cash flow you might get. Houses are better because you can control the finances better (I think).Before choosing a strategy you need to clearly identify your goals. There are hundreds of different strategies for investing in property and they are all good. But not all of them will be right…[Read more]

Are you talking about getting a tax deduction on your income?You only get a tax deduction on your regular income if the property makes a loss. That is if your expenses are higher than your income.Generally this happens when you have a mortgage and your mortgage payments (and other expenses) are higher than the rent coming in. Say mortgage+expenses…[Read more]

Few guidelines I have when selecting a successful investment propertyA) Structurally sound – Structural problems tend to cost a lot to fix and as they are often unseen can fail to add much value to the home Something you can increase the value of – I don't want to just rely on the market to make money, if I can renovate to add value or turn it…[Read more]

I think that a lot of the things you mentioned are stock standard and to not have them would be an insult to modern day living. So you are right, you need to pay attention to that detail.I must say I have only seen a couple of bathrooms without towel rails and I was not impressed.

Shivers, this thread turned into something massive. Never in a million years did I think this thread would have the quality of conversation that it has had. Good on you propertyinvesting.com.Just a question. Did you ever sell the DVDs?

Yeh you can get lino that looks like wood…technically not floating floorboards but people call them that anyway. It's pretty cheap to do that.The floating floorboards you are after slot together and will just sit on top of your chipboard.Personally I think carpet is better for bedrooms (and rentals), and carpet is generally cheaper. Best idea…[Read more]

I have heard both really good things and really bad things about Mark Rolton. I question whether his methods are able to be implemented by the non-savvy everyday investor.

I have this situation. My wife doesn't care about investing or business or anything to do with money really (except maybe spending it).Luckily she is supportive of me and lets me invest our money.It's much harder doing it by yourself, but maybe with the support of your partner (but maybe you the help of your partner) you could achieve great…[Read more]

The only problem with jumping into a property so negatively geared is that you may be limiting the potential to buy other properties.A) You can't save money because you are outlaying all your money into the property Even if you get awesome capital gains it may be hard to buy another property (if it were negatively geared) because you are outlaying…[Read more]

What kind of advice are you after? What suburbs to look in? What houses to look for?What investment strategy to use?

Western Union do money transfers. Don't know about their feesYou can do straight bank transfers from different countries. You need a few bank codes and stuff but it is very do-able, there is a fee but it isn't crazy I don't think.

5% is a massive rate if you are selling your home. Generally commissions range between 1.1%-3%. The lower commissions are generally smaller agencies, but you should be able to easily get around 2% just by asking for a discount and saying you will go with someone else if they don't lower it (and be willing to go with someone else).My parents and…[Read more]

What about Hire A Hubby? There are heaps on them in Sydney and I presume there would be lots in Melbourne also.They have the advantage of being a big company, so if one builder is unavailable when you want him you could get another one from the same company. Haven't used them before but I see their vans around all the time.

I don't have any builders for you, but just some experience to give you some ideas.If there is already a house on the block you might just be able to build up a story and turn that into dual occupancy. Generally this is pretty cheap as all the plumbing/sewerage/electricity is already there all the have to do is mimic it upstairs. Just make…[Read more]

Glad to hear you are getting your head around it. Hard to put a figure on 'risk' though.The more you know about investing the more you can be aware of and the lower the risk it. Some of that comes from reading books etc. some of it comes from life experience.I don't know anyone who got rich by sticking their money in a term deposit though.

My friends have this same problem. The wife's parents gave them a deposit but wanted it so that if they divorced their daughter would keep all the money and the husband wouldn't get any of it. I can see where they are coming from (divorce is so ripe these days).What they did is put a caveat on the property that they bought. Don't think they have…[Read more]

Just a note. Discretionary trusts are great but they don't allow you to negatively gear. So positive gearing is a (near) must if you are wanting to invest using a trust. Using a trust gives you much better asset protection and if you are looking to buy a lot of properties then this will become important down the track.Good work buying your second…[Read more]

@ Daniel – Ahhhh yes, now I remember. Now I can put a face to that email I also vote for Richard to be elevated to MOD status (that is if he wants to be)

Hey Eric,Discretionary Family Trusts do tend to offer the best asset protection, especially when they have a non-trading company as the trustee. But like Richard said you can't negatively gear them.You can always restructure the title of the home later down the track, when you are becoming successful as an investor, but it can cost a lot of money.…[Read more]

As far as "general contracts" are concerned there is rarely a clause that will say if there is structural damage you get a discount. Because how can you evaluate the effective worth of particular structural damage.You should get your inspections done before paying your 10% deposit, or create a clause saying 'contract subject to inspection" (get a…[Read more]