I've never bought land alone, but in this market it can't hurt to make an offer, they can only say No

Most bank websites have calculators online where you can enter the amount of the loan, term and interest rate and calculate repayments.

I think you'd be better off using a more traditional deposit.

Depends on two things – the numbers, and whether you care about the numbers or are focussing on lifestyle.

You need to add up the additional costs (purchase and ongoing) in buying 3 versus one, and the rents incoming, and deduct your rent. Then you need to estimate growth from the three versus the one (tricky of course, but history may guide) over the two years. And if the numbers matter to you, go with the best deal.

However as it's your PPOR, you also need to consider the lifestyle aspects. You may choose the more expensive option for the security and comfort of having a nice PPOR.

Whichever way you go, with your income you should be able to make a dent in the loan/s pretty quickly.

I would go with your solicitor on this one.

It appears the buyer is trying to get a bigger loan with minimal security  – ie to mislead his bank – and also will be an incorrect value for stamp duty and valuations – I'm no expert in this area but I think your solicitor is likely to be and has advised correctly.

We have our PPOR and one IP in Perth. The IP is an older style unit in Daglish which we've had since 1996.

I think Perth is still priced pretty high and returns are not great atm.

Not much of a msn user but you can PM questions if you like.

Give consumer affairs Victoria a ring on Monday. Details here http://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/CA256EB5000644CE/page/Renting?OpenDocument&1=910-Renting~&2=~&3=~ .

A member of my family has a house which she lets for holiday accomodation (furnished) with the assistance of the local tourist information centre and a local cleaner. Would it be possible to get an agent for this type of letting? Get some prices for mgt and cleaning and see if they add up.

The other thing you could do is sell it and buy a "traditional" investment property with good yield; you could pay for your holidays with the savings in your outgoings and also holiday in more places.

How much was the deposit?

Where are you? You want a growth market to do the "simple flips" I reckon, or costs and risks outweight gains.

Also you will need to be extremely selective in your properties to be able to "draw income" from them without a large deposit. You may have difficulty finding such properties in capital cities.

Do plenty of research on vacancy rates and population growth rates in your target area, and do your sums very carefully. It's very easy to buy a moneypit that sucks up your spare cash and prevents you buying anything else.

Negativity aside your concept may work if you put enough time aside to do the research on your purchases and the improvements.

Your link didn't work for me but why would they need to promise a return? If it was a good investment it shouldn't need guarantees. Do your sums, look at what similar properties in the area rent for and the vacancy rate for the area, population growth rate etc. Also make sure you compare rents/vacancy rates for properties of similar floor area and facilities.

There are some higher risks in off the plan – ie buying sight unseen, and not knowing if the price in the area would rise or fall over the two year period, and some contracts allow the seller to raise the price before settlement. But if you can afford some risk etc and the figures work, worth thinking about.