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For comp sales in the US try Zip Realty and they usually give a comparison of 3 – Zillow, Eppraisal and one other I cant remember. Also maps give comps for the last 3,6,9 mths.
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Yes hundreds of thousands of homes have been affected. The problem is the plasterboard that contains the sulphur elements could be anywhere and all throughout the house, not a particular wall or room. This makes it a real procedure to figure out where it is. Basically every board needs to be drilled and sampled and then plugged up, re-plastered and painted if not affected. If the price of the house is low enough for you to re-plaster the lot and still be way in front, then it is probably ok.
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Hope that helps
Ian
http:theblockblog.comI agree that the 3 books mentioned in one of the first few posts are a great place to start and the idea of educating yourself as much as possible in the next few months is a must. That way you can work out a strategy you are comfortable with and what works best for you. It may also crystalise the purpose and goals you have. For a bunch of free resources and tools for property investing, try a site I have set up especially for people starting out ( and for others ).
Best of luck
Ian
http://theblockblog.comWhen you say cheap ($100k) what is it worth today? Have you had it valued? Can you add value to it? Then why do you think it is a good investment and that future equity will provide you with the buffer to buy the $300k unit. What is the future? 1 yr, 2 yrs, 10 yrs? Crunch your numbers. Work out what you are investing, to what your return may be ( will be). Then what you 'may' get in the next 12 mths, then 24 mths. After all you are the one paying off the loan on an investment that isn't giving you an income return.
When you know what you are paying out, compared to your return and then are willing to work with that figure, then all is good.
Ian
http://theblockblog.com
Free Property Tools & Resources for Investors (with a Sense of Humour)So many markets in the US. For every one that someone says is the best, others will tell you it is not. As an investor you have to make a decision somewhere down the line, but where and how long is that blimmin line? A website that may help to give you a place to start is http://www.housingpredictor.com but apart from going to the states and deciding, for whatever set of reasons, this is the area I am going to concentrate on, you are really throwing darts at map and guessing. Good luck.
Ian
http://www.theblockblog.com
Free Property Tools & Resources for Investors with a Sense of Humour.Hello Lizzy
Place to start is the town planning dept of the council that administers the area you wish to buy into. Find out minimum development requirements etc and speak to the town planner about what the council want to see developed in the area. You could also read up a bit more on the whole dev. subject. Try Michael Yardney resource for that. Also google Rookie Developer.
For other free info try http://theblockblog.com
Hope that helps.
Start a company (LLC) and get an EIN and you are good to go. ( have tax deed props in US bought at county offices)
There will be some info on tax liens at this site soon, but already are a lot of US resources if interested.
http://www.theblockblog.comThe US is difficult to invest in only because there are a gazillion different markets and it's so hard to know where to begin. You could start with a resource like http://www.housingpredictor.com or a list of USA resources at http://theblockblog.com/2011/01/thats-r-sum/
My understanding is you can negotiate the 10% deposit date as long as a fee of intention is paid. The full deposit is really due to ensure the offer goes unconditional, so that could be anytime within the 14 days it takes to get finance approved or building inspections etc.
Many agents expect it when you sign the contract but thats a bit of spin to make sure they have their commissions in the trust account. Looks good for them back at the office maybe at the Monday morning sales meeting.
Re the settlement date, a protection to the buyer can include a clause that protects your financial commitment if settlement is delayed. eg: 7% interest payable on funds in the deal to be deducted from the sellers payout. A bit late now but worth looking into for future purchases.
For a mth to mth lease, 28 days notice in Victoria – in writing – from her or you. 60 days with a fixed term lease.
If she doesnt pay rent in 14 days from due date, then a notice to evict thereafter.
Avoid police they will tell you it is a civil matter – stupid advise.
Look up landlords rights on govt website for your state.Good luck
Just ask her. You'll find out soon enough. Maybe tell her your plan briefly and then ask so she understands your reasons for wanting the property. Sit down over a cup of tea perhaps, when the conversation can be brought up and discussed in more detail than when chatting over the fence.
"Hi ______, do you mind if I ask you something? In the future I would like to ………… and I was wondering if you ever think of selling your house, could you let me know first, because I will buy it off you and save you all the hassle and costs of organising an agent to do it. Plus I could settle very quickly and save a lot of worry. If you do sell, would that be of help to you? "She probably has relatives she is leaving the place to if she intends on staying till the end but even so, your offer to purchase no matter what is a way to make the sale process for her or relatives as easy as possible.
You will save her $10-$20k in real estate agent fees at the least + advertising costs of a few thousand.
You will save her the emotional drain of organising the whole process.
You will save her the indignity and hassle of having to vacate the house everytime there is an open house.
You will save her the worry of time for a sale to occur.There are many benefits to the owner so make sure they are aware of each one. And if you agree to a fair and reasonable price, say based on a current valuation then she has that surety as well.
If you are serious about buying the neighbourhood, offer $500 for first right of purchase to your neighbours left, right and behind and have a small agreement written up, with receipt of the cash transaction. $1500 is a small price to pay to ensure you own everything around you, eventually.
As a starting reference to development go to Michael Yardney's website and look up the 19 part series on property development.
http://www.propertyupdate.com.au/Also you can google 'Rookie Developer' and discuss things with Troy Harris who also holds a Melb property investor meeting pretty regularly.
Contact the town planner in the rural town and a good surveyor to discuss your plans and get costs and a timeline.
I've found in regional Vic that the end sale price, often being quite low and the build costs being high, restrict the bottomline quite severely so do your figures accurately. Also discuss with your local REAs what the locals are looking for and whether there is a glut of similar properties at present. It doesn't take many in these small towns to have an over supply. Consider also that 2km from the CBD is considered the same as 40km in Melbourne. Often its older people selling up the farm of large family house and scaling down. They can only get $200k for the house if they live in the town and have special needs. Need to be near shops, hospital, doctor etc.
Do your homework, talk to the right people, calculate your figures conservatively and see what your return will be. Then decide which direction to take. Develop for the market, not for yourself.
Best of luck.
For a good NZ contact try MHVentures. – Mark Honeybone. He is based in Blenheim but has a fantastic knowledge of the Sth Island and investment properties for investors. Did a block of flats deal with Mark this time last year and he is the genuine deal. Nice chap. Try this link http://cashflow.vpweb.com/default.html
To nIgel and Jason – <moderator: delete flame> Why don't you both write constructive comments that help people and have your little tiff via your emails or something. If you are promoting your individual businesses then do it in an objective fashion – add your biz tag line make a decent comment and be done with it or just go away.
Here's an interesting take on the US market from a guy who has been there and done that for years. Note, he is trying to get you to invest in his strategy in Australia, but that being said, what he has to say about the US and the 'mindset' is right on the money from my experiences in the US since 2008. You won't hear this from the Nigels, Jasons, Michaels and Vinces to name a few etc on this forum. Every newbie investor should know this information before they start their O/S investing journey. It is information that you need to be aware of and to plan for should you wish to invest in the US
Hope it helps.
http://www.rickotton.com/the-truth-about-buying-property-in-the-united-states/
Forget Amway – Network 21 – whatever…..
Try this
http://www.myshoppinggenie.com/goodchoiceIt's FREE. I use it to find the cheapest price for items for my renos and other things.
Are you asking about renting a house by the room or renting a room in your house? If the first, then I can recommend it for cashflow, but you have to put in more effort. I have a 5 bedder that when full realises $710pw less costs – $500. Normal rent would be $290 less costs.
I self manage, but in Melbourne I know there are prop. managers that specialize in student accom. I pay elect with a cap of $500 per mth, gas, water and internet usage + phone line. Also garden maintenance, lawn mowing and cleaning once a month.
Downside is short term of tenancies so if you can, sign people up for as long as possible ( min 6mths). 5 people or more it is difficult to get a mix where everyone gets on and pulls their weight. The more the turnover, the less people want to stay – less stability. Upside is a huge cash injection for what may have been a neutral cashflow or negative cashflow property and a good source of income to balance other properties in your portfolio.
A good tip is to get a group at once who are related or know each other well. Fills up the house and they all get on (hopefully)
Good luck with it.
Hi FF
Best to go and speak to a town planner at Frankston council to see what backlog they have and to give you a clearer idea of timeframes. A friend of mine got held up at council because one of their main employees in town planning died and council did not replace him. The normal 3 -4 months ended up being over 1 year, actually could have been longer. The result was he ended up paying huge holding costs on a project that had a limited potential profit. Everything else went to plan and the finished result was perfect and sold well, but it took him 2 years to do a 12-18mth development.
Hopefully this backlog of work has ended now but best to go to the coalface and find out for yourself.
I use http://www.buillionvault.com/#sapphire101 . They are the cheapest I have found and storage is organised in London & Zurich. Physical storage of silver bullion at home I wouldn't recommend although if you buy pre 1965 American silver coins then they are easier to store ( hide) and easier to trade, being smaller and transferable. The other thing to consider is that once bullion ( gold or silver) leaves the original source then it loses some value as it cannot be verfied to be 100% or 99.9 pure. To get this re-verified you have to send it back and get this done at your cost. Not really worth it.
Bullion Vault allow you to trade your bullion at real time prices at any time.
Also the Perth Mint have finally brought themselves up to speed with online purchase facilities and have always offered vault storage, but if not having the stuff in the same country doesn't bother you, then BVault is the go.
I agree with the previous post suggestions of using silver or gold investment as part of a diversifed portfolio with your property. Good luck with whatever you decide.
Anyone read this from March 2009
about Dymopha and partner…. reference starts at point 7
I have some people you can trust to deal with if you are interested. Depends on your strategy, but if interested contact me at [email protected]
Ian
