Do you mean a cash flow calculator? Like to calculate whether a property is going to be positively or negatively geared?Or do you want a calculator that analyses risk based on area, price, vacancy rates, crime and all those sorts of risks?Ryan McLeanA Free Cash Flow Calculator For Property Investorshttp://CashFlowInvestor.com.au/quicktest

I have used it and it is pretty ridiculously good. I would recommend it for people who are looking to buy. Not just people searching but not actually in a position to buy.My favourite thing is the fact that you can analyse individual properties. See what they sold for in the past and what the software guesses they are worth. It isn't always…[Read more]

Of course it's going to be value for money. I have gone through a lot of steve's material and it is all really good.Just one piece of advice. It helps to be in a position to take action.Spending $3,400 on a course but not being in a position to buy a property (eg. No deposit, no stable income etc) often leads to a waste of time. When it comes time…[Read more]

My favourite is"The kitchen and bathroom are in original condition"aka. They look like crap and haven't had any work done since the house was built.Other good ones"Handyman's delight""Homely""Outhouse"…thats when you know you have a bargain…lolRyan McLeanFree Ebook "How To Find Positive Cash Flow…[Read more]

Don't stop here with your research. Use Google to find population growth or decline (compare this census to the 2006 census). Population growth usually leads to an increase in prices.Also look at the industries supporting the town. If it is heavily one industry is it stable?Someone on this forum might say "yes this is a good place to invest" but…[Read more]

@grantos – Gumtree is pretty crap. Compared to realestate.com.au anyway. You get way more attention through realestate.com.au and I believe a higher quality of renters.

I think the question is did they ever go away? They were always available, though I know many lenders preferred not to do them. You could always find a lender somewhere that would do them. Especially if you have proven savings.Were they talking about particular lenders on the radio (eg. The four big banks?)If a mortgage broker could chime in here…[Read more]

Why not use Google Docs? It is free online and you can access your documents anywhere.I think its docs.google.comI use it all the time for spreadsheets, word documents etc.It might be worth paying an accountant or finding someone online to build a spreadsheet for you. Tell them all your different types or income, expenses etc and get them to build…[Read more]

Increasing your cash flow is obviously the major priority here. Be careful about selling and renting because it my increase your cash flow short term but rents go up over time so it might have a negative effect long term.It might be an idea to get the property officially valued by your lender. You may think it is worth $750k but the lender may be…[Read more]

I have heard of this also. Sometimes people group together and classify themselves as 'agents' or regular agents charge a fee for listing it yourself.Why not try domain.com.au? I believe you can list you rental on there even if you aren't an agent. It may not get as much traffic as realestate.com.au but it is still a huge site and you should find…[Read more]

If it were me I would buy my first property in my own name. It can get complicated learning about trusts and investing in trusts and you are probably having enough trouble just getting into the market in the first place.You want to protect yourself…yes. But buying with a trust might complicate things so much that there is nothing to protect.I…[Read more]

May I ask who have you used before in the past? I have had excellent experiences with LJ Hooker in multiple areas, but I can't vouch for Perth. Their application process is stringent (to weed out the dodgy applicants) and they follow up rent that isn't paid on time and some even take photos of the property each time before they rent it out to…[Read more]

The cheapest commodity in the world is advice. It is freely available from everyone. But the most expensive advice is the advice you get for free from your friends and family.Firstly, ask yourself if they are extremely successful investors. If their not then you can quickly disregard what they are saying. They are advising you out of fear of the…[Read more]

Most people build this team as they begin investing. Obviously when you are starting out and aren't earning much money this team is expensive and it isn't commercially viable. As you begin owning more properties and getting more money from them it actually becomes expensive NOT to have a team because you pay more in tax and other…[Read more]

Yes Michael is right. The terms of the First Home Owners Grant clearly states that you must live in the property as your primary place of residence for at least 6 months during the first 12 months of owning the property.Why would you want to do this anyway?Ryan McLeanCashFlow InvestorRead my blog post: finding positive geared property for sale

Most people only draw the equity out to 80%. If you go higher than 80% (say 90%) then you often have to pay lenders mortgage insurance. Most investors try to avoid this.Currently your LVR (loan to value ratio) is only 80.7%.Basically how it works is you increase the loan with the bank. Because the value of the property is higher the bank lets you…[Read more]

In a perfect world the bank would only sell the property for the amount left owing on the loan. Then you could buy it under market value. But this perfect world doesn't exist.I believe you will find it very difficult to haggle. It is easier to haggle with actual owners in a slow moving market. With owners who have a vacant property early access…[Read more]

Owning 10 properties that are neutrally geared in almost all circumstances can only be a good thing.Over time rents go up, so they move to positively geared. Over time prices go up, which gives you even more profit in your pocket. Eventually you could use the increased rental income to pay off the mortgages without effecting your cash flow a great…[Read more]

You need to consider this as a standalone investment. Yes selling 2 houses together can attract developers and you can get more money. But is the property going to go up in value anyway?Is it going to support itself while you own it?What happens if your mum doesn't decide to move on?I would always look at this as an investment by itself because…[Read more]

Which area of Mebourne are you in? Obviously I wouldn't want to recommend someone on the other side of the city. It needs to be in your local area.I have always found LJ Hooker to be good. They have a strong team and the application process is difficult (weeds out dodgy tenants). They take before and after photos of the property for reference…[Read more]