Be careful, you don't want to throw your $300k into one investment deal and then lose it all. Then you will be left with next to nothing.

Take your time, research your area and your properties and buy right. You aren't going to be able to gear (and if you can only a little bit) so find the right property with minimal potential risks.

Hope you can find some good (but not too expensive properties) that you can rent out and that have a high rental return. That way you will have more money to 'eat'.

Wow! Lucky you!

This has put you in such a great position.

Be careful because I have seen people receive huge large sums of money that they said they were going to save and they have dwindled it away. If you don't want to buy an investment property then it might be an idea to just pay off your loan with the bank. Having it in the offset account could be a huge temptation to spend it when you want a new gadget or new clothes or a new car. If it is paid off the loan it is harder to withdraw it. Plus how awesome would it be to have your home fully paid off???

If you have survived without the money until now you there is a good chance could survive without it in the future.

If you think of it like that then it may be an idea to look at investing in property. Investing in property that generates a good cash flow could end up giving you extra 'spendable' money in your pocket each week and could set you up for life. If you have to get a small loan on the investment property then let the rent pay back to mortgage so you never have to pay it. Then when it is paid off you might even want to think about buying another investment property.

Be very careful and very wise. This heritage gift could set you up for life, so be smart with it and get good advice.

I don’t understand what suggestions you are asking for???

You probably still need to save a deposit. Even vendor finance loans require some sort of deposit….not to sure about rent to buy options though.

Note: Vendor finance interest rates are usually much higher than the banks. Just be aware of that.

In do wish you luck, but you look like your in a tough spot. If you had some sort of deposit then you would probably be fine. Maybe save a bit of a deposit and then look at vendor financing

Firstly, let me say welcome to the forum and congrats on making your first post!

In regards to the financing of the property I can't give you financial advise, because I am not a financial advisor, but I can offer you my knowledge of the subject.

Borrowing the full amount to pay out your first mortage – I doubt this is going to happen as the banks need the property for collateral. So if you fail to make payments on the loan they can take the home, sell it and fully pay off the loan. To do this they generally request an 80% loan to value ratio (otherwise you pay lender's mortgage insurance).

Borrowing 80% of the new investment property will allow you to borrow around $160,000, with you putting in a $40,000 deposit and paying for expenses (such as stamp duty). This will be nowhere near enough to pay off your first property.

Generally speaking many people finance investment using an interest only loan. You only pay back the interest on the property (not the principle too), but this lowers your costs and thus increases your available monthly cash flow. If cash is tight, then it can be hard to pay principle and interest. You can always change it to principle and interest once the rents increase and cover the extra cost.

Steps to follow:
1. See a bank, get your current home revalued and find out your borrowing capacity
2. Get preapproval for a loan (any loan up to the amount you want to spend). See either a bank or a mortage broker. A mortgage broker may help you refinance both properties so it works best for you
3. Do your numbers and see if you can afford this property and if it is a good investment for you
4. See a financial advisor to get correct financial advise
5. Make an offer
6. Go from there, solicitors are pretty easy to find

Rick Otton does a lot of vendor financing all around Australia. I think his company is called “we buy houses”.

Just note that they will often add 2-3% on the banks interest rates and you will still have to put a deposit down. Plus they add a good deal onto the purchase price so you have to be in it for the long term.

When it comes to refinancing with the banks you can show them your regular payments over time and you can show them how much equity you have in the property. Because you will have a contract based on a certain price they will do a valuation on the property and then whatever it is worth minus whatever you owe will be your equity. Most lenders should take your equity into account so you don’t require a deposit.

Good luck! If you do successfully buy your own home with a vendor finance deal then maybe you could look at selling a home on a vendor finance deal???

The best teacher is experience. Use your time off to search for great property deals at you can afford and that will generate you a passive income. Make offers on hundreds of properties and see where that takes you. Gain experience by talking to real estate agents and meeting up with other investors. Learn from your mistakes on smaller deals (where you won't lose as much money) before you money on to bigger deals.

Otherwise people to think about learning from would be Steve McKnight, Dymnphna Boholt, Rick Otton, Margaret Lomas. These people all preach positive cash flow in one way or another

Do you have a lot of assets that you need to protect? Are you vulnerable to a law suit? Is the property going to be positively cash flowed.

Firstly you should know you can't negatively gear a trust. So if you are after the tax write offs from a negatively geared property then you won't get them.

Secondly, if there is another offer on the property and you have to move quickly then do you really think bringing a trust structure into the deal will make it move along quickly?

Ultimately trust structures are great for protection yourself, but I shot myself in the foot early on when I tried to purchase a smaller property in a trust structure. It takes time to set up the trust (and the holding company) and then it takes even more time to get loan approval because with some lenders getting a home loan in your own name is a completely different department to getting a home loan in the name of a trust.

See what your accountant says for your specific situation as every situation is different.

I agree with some of the things that you said, but not all of them.

I prefer houses over units as the expenses are often less (you don't have to pay strata) but that is only if you are limiting in buying one property. If you have enough money you could buy a block of units or a commercial property.

I don't agree with buying new and maximising tax. It doesn't make sense only to buy for tax reasons. I buy property that makes money first, then if it has a tax benefit that is a plus, but never a sole reason for buying.

Refinancing as a matter of course can save you thousands! Not only can it save you money it can drastically increase your cash flow or it can allow you to extend yourself and buy another property and increase your income.

Choosing a good solicitor and getting your property properly inspected before purchasing is a must! So you are right on the money there. And having a good accountant who knows what they are talking about when it comes to property is a godsend!

All in all I wouldn't classify these as 'rules' to live by. There is some merit to some of the points, but I definately don't agree with all of them

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 case it might be a good idea to have a real estate agent managing the tenants in case anything goes wrong. The real estate agent's application form often scares away the dodgier people.

If you rent it out yourself it might be an idea to have a solid application process so you can find out what the people are like before you let them live in your property.