Property could definately provide you with $30-$40k per year. If you invest your money wisely then you could achieve that.The only problem you have is that your borrowing power is completely limited by the fact that you don't have a job. If you had $200k and a good job you could buy a few house in rural centres, but with 200k and no job that means…[Read more]

The local newspaper is a great idea, you can also list your property for rent online. I believe RealEstate.com.au requires you to be a real estate agent but other sites like domain.com.au and homehound don't require you to be an agent.If it is near housing commission don't you think that the cheaper rents might attact some dodgier tenants? In that…[Read more]

Real estate agents have an obligation to present all offers to the buyers, but often they will reject an offer without even submitting it to the buyer.Make sure your offer gets submitted to the buyer by informing the real estate agent of their obligation (if they are tough) and I have found that it helps to ask for a counter offer from the seller…[Read more]

Looks like you are on the right track. Having saved $5,000 is already a step in the right direction. If the banks will only lend you $144k then you have to start looking for something that you can buy for $144k. You almost have your 5% deposit saved so you could start looking at buying a property this year if you really wanted to.$144k isn't a lot…[Read more]

Positively cash flow properties definately exist, and yes I have seen many properties that fit into Steve's 11 second rule. Though I haven't seen any of these properties in capital cities, only in rural areas. But not so rural that you could never get anyone to rent it.It Australia it seems that most of the positive cash flow properties have to be…[Read more]

Definitely ask your business accountant. But yes, in most cases you should be able to claim tax on the interest on your investment property…that is if you are earning less in rent than you are paying in outgoings.

I have heard that when it come to home offices you can only claim a portion of your rent. It depends on what percentage of room you…[Read more]

@ Crusty – Give the kid a break…he is only 24.
Yes having a long term plan for your life would definitely make you someone with great vision. But for a 24 year old to even think about saving and investing in property is bizarre. He has more vision than 99% of people even though he is only looking towards the next 6 years.

This is a great story about how you turned a negatively geared property that was eating you alive into a positively geared property. Even though you didn’t make a lot of money it is still a great achievement.

I was wondering, would you mind if I used your story on my blog? My readers have been asking for stories of people who turned bad deals…[Read more]

You have to think about what you want and what you can afford.

Firstly, if the company is paying all your fees that is a huge blessing!!! How often does an offer like that come around?

From what you have said it looks like you have about $40k in equity and $25 in savings. That is a total of $65k

If you can only borrow $450k then you might not…[Read more]

The previous commenters are right. In Australia if you earn less than $30K most banks won’t even give you a credit card…let alone a home loan. Maybe it is different in Canada but I am guessing if you say that you can’t afford to pay your bills already then how are the banks going to see that you can afford a loan?

The banks want to know that…[Read more]

Just because someone is a mortgage broker doesn’t mean they are right for you. There are good and bad brokers just like there are good and bad teachers in school.

Make sure your broker understands what you are trying to achieve, because if you are trying to invest and they only deal with PPORs then they may want to structure things like you own a…[Read more]

Obviously there are ways to declare things inaccurately to the government in order to lower your tax, but that is called tax evasion and it is illegal. You should talk to your account about some LEGAL ways you can lower the tax you have to pay on your investment property.For example, you can often claim depreciation on the house and the items…[Read more]

It all depends where you build. If you are building in an area that has higher demand for housing than current supply then it could be a very good idea. If you build in an area that currently has too much housing for its population (eg. A declining rural town) then it may not be a good idea.The general consensus that I have been hearing is that…[Read more]

Often your 5 day cooling off period will turn into a 10 day cooling off period, this is normal so if it happens don't worry. Then the 10% will be paid but you will not have access to it until the settlement date. Unless you have included a specific clause in your contract. If they reneg on the settlement then you should be able to keep their 10%

Yes you will need to claim this money at the end of year tax return. As you are receiving income from the property you need to include that in your tax return. Your accountant will know the income you have to report and also ask you accountant about the deductions you can claim so hopefully you don't have to pay a lot of extra tax.

Yes I am also confused. Have you bought a property with your parents and you want to redraw equity to buy an investment property but they don't want to redraw equity?

Just make sure you define the spaces/rooms so they appeal to the most people. Most people when buying a house lack imagination so you need to show them the best way a house can be set up.I noticed one of the rooms had a desk and computer in it. If it is a tiny room then that is fine, but if it is big enough to be a bedroom then it might be better…[Read more]

Good luck! I am glad you have come to a decision. I am sure you guys will be extremely happy.

@ Anne – Do you manage the property yourself or do you have someone manage it for you?How do you select people for the rooms? Do you have to take into account group dynamics?

I agree with JacM, it changes everything when you have kids. Before we had kids we moved a lot and we loved it. Now that I have kids I am less inclined to move.What do you think you want to do? Do you want the security of your own home? Or do you want to go hard on the investing side of things?