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Not much.
Generally speaking, most units are of such a size that 'adding' a bedroom means you will have two sub-standard sized rooms and Body Corporate, acting in the interests of all other owners in the complex, do not want to devalue their assets by having a less than optimal solution in the building.
You are not adding any additional GLA however town planning regs would have dictated the mix of 1. 2 & 3 bedroom units, parking requirements, sewer/water, power etc. So even if you overcome the first hurdle, you probably will not get it past council easily and you may have to pay S94 Contributions for the additional dwelling/room. An additional bedroom may impose an additional parking space or visitor space requirement on the complex and would not be permissible or warranted.
Event Horizon wrote:i am probably missing something but if you own a 200k property for 10yrs say and there is no growth but all your interest and expenses are paid by rent dont you still have the same 2ook property and a loan for the amount you started 10 yrs ago. Then add buy sell /costs etc and that eats a big hole in your say 50 bucks a week you have left over with your PCF property.You missed part of D's script EH, tenant is paying her debt ie P&I not just I (or so I assume from reading the post)
It may also look like a direct offset ie $350 in vs $350 out but unless you take your tax situation into account you would probably be looking at a much cheaper rental to move into as you would be paying rent out of your after tax income and your unit gives you pre-tax income.
What you haven't factored in would also be removalist costs and lost weekends fighting for a new rental
Chris,
it really depends upon your circumstances, you have many options available.
a) buy PPOR in the gong & put your investment plans on hold whilst building up equity
b) as above, live in it for a while, move out and use it as your rental
c) buy an IP in Brissy & rent in the gong or whatever other option you'd like.Your decision would ultimately consider such factors as which property would have the best capital growth.
Buying a house to live in would allow you to get into the Sydney/Wollongong market and you may be able to take advantage of the FHBG as well as the stamp duty concessions currently available.
Cal, comms of 2.2% are very common esp in Sydney, more expensive properties pay even less %. I personally would be looking for an agency which had a better commission split when you have gained the experience. As you are just entering the field, look towards the training that an organisation can give you as you still have a lot to learn – prospecting (ie finding people who are interested in listing), marketing (how to raise the profile of your agency), negotiation skills (both for closing deals but firstly getting the listing), market research (analysis of sales data to assist in listing), creating proposals (to get the listing) etc. There are many skills to be learned before you even speak to the first buyer. Don't necessarily set your aspirations in the clouds until you have a good understanding of the skill-set required to make a good selling agent. Many agents start off in property management however if you don't go down that path then follow the other.
Now that really Sphynx!
Has the managing agent deducted repair costs from the tenant's bond?
The height and spacing of ballustrades is governed by the Building Code of Aust/Aust Stnds. It specifies the minimum height required to prevent falls. There is no need to exceed the minimum height unless there are peculiar circumstances eg person is able to climb on some structure eg steps or fixed chair/table near the balustrade.
If it is a multi-storey building ie flats then it could be up to body corporate to either replace the railing (to match the existing standard) or put it back on you as it was your tenant.
You could try some of these contractors: http://newerabalustrading.com.au/balust.htm or Elite
Sounds like 'hot property' to me.
The product you mention is a vinyl floor – will this be an issue also with noise? (although you do mention that there was vinyl in the unit previously). This product would transmit about the same amount of noise as would an insulated floating floor. You may need to get the specs from the flooring supplier as to the noise transmission of the insulation of both materials and submit that to the body corporate if need be – it may pay to ask your council building inspector what the requirements are for the transmission of noise between units are (this will be an STC or dB rating). If the insulated flooring meets that standard then there should not be an issue as the product you install meets the requirements of the Building Code.
If not, carpet may be your main solution.
ajaydee73 wrote:The property bubble in Australia needs to be popped asap.
Not yet, I need to find a buyer to offload a few things first, cash-up big and then get started on a new round of investments when there's the correction we needed to have corrected.
There is a composite timber/plastic product available but I can't remember its name, often used for decking.
It varies from city to city/state to state. What timber – treated pine or hardwood?, concrete to posts or just in contact with ground? Ease of access ie are you going to remove vegetation/trees etc? Who is taking out the old fence?
Are you getting the neighbours to go halves?
Have you looked in your local paper for fencing contractors?
Install security cameras & get a good insurance policy covering malicious damage.
Good luck
I may be a little bit too old school not having been near any of the 'intensive' courses. However, I would not look at a site unless I can get 25-30% on the project as a gross return, ie at least 15% IRR. This applies to new projects not necessarily refurbishments as you cannot make that sort of % on a minor refurb (unless you have bought a dog with fleas and negotiated out the fleas).
If that's the case, can you split your super into a new fund SMSF to buy the place?
Event Horizon wrote:Its not just about what the house will look like that you should be considering or be concerned about. There are many issues that an architect is trained to address that a project home builder will not such as;
1. A design that is designed for the site
2. Considers enviromental issues such as views, heating, energy efficency, protection from summer sun and winter weather.
3. Functionality of sapce, simple uncluttered planning, efficient use of space, well considered use of the latest materials and finishes etc and a coherant well considered design down to every detail.
4. An architect can provide you with a better quality of life, a much improved lifestyle and add value far beyond a generic project home that is always almost the same as the next one.Grant, I'd conceded easily with points 1 and possibly 4 however when you are looking at non-volume project home builders such as Krslovic (they limit themselves to less than 20 houses per year albeit over $10M t/o), they do employ an in-house architect or are aligned with an architect, others such as Binet are designed (& built) to a high specification. Purchasers at this end of the market are often seeking a designed solution without having to separately engage an architect/engineer etc.
Generally, I have found that many 'project homes' at this end of the market are well designed (meeting/exceeding basix), they are not aimed at the FHB market, considerable effort has been expended in achieving a consistent result (ie QA or 'high end building for dummies') and consequently are aimed at a more informed buyer not someone just looking to get 'bang for their buck'.
D, did you see the articles in SMH over the weekend with regards to rentals v sales prices in the area? (I'm sure you didn't need a journo to tell you though).
What is driving the population growth? What industries
ATM sub $500k is FHB territory, shouldn't be too hard to achieve however stock is extremely tight (well at least our way). Spring usually sees a rise in the number of listings so supply should pick up then. It would be worth asking how many properties that they would be expecting you to sell ie what are your KPI's. How effective is this agency in converting queries into listings? What is their conversion rate for sales? Days on market etc?
