Forum Replies Created
I think it depends on the person whether it’s a waste of time or not.
I certainly won’t speak for myself. I left school in Yr 10, and had no intention of going to Uni, but my husband went to Uni and did Business Law. He lasted about 2 years before he dropped out. He got himself a job in a spare parts shop serving at the counter. Not exactly what he had always envisaged himself doing. Well, now 10 years later, he owns that spare parts shop, along with another branch and plans are in the pipline to open a third. He is also a Director of a Community Bank. That’s his first step towards being on the board of Directors of a large public company. That is his long term goal.
He doesn’t believe that his time at Uni was wasted (he loved the water-ski club), but he realises now that, for what he wanted, (which was to run his own business), nothing teaches more than actually going out and getting the practical experience.
Anyway, that’s just his experience.
Cheers,
Karen[
]We fixed for 5 years at 5.89% with St George in July last year.
Cheers,
Karen[]We’ll definately be buying at least one more this year, however this will be a very busy year for us, as we’ve now got an 8 week old baby[:p], and we will be concentrating on running and developing our businesses.
But one more for sure. Don’t know where yet. Depends how much we decide to spend.
Cheers,
Karen[]We have a 7 week old daughter. We have opened a bank account for her which we are placing money in every week. When she is old enought we will be educating her on how manage this money i.e. some to invest, some to spend, give to charities etc.
I really want my child to have a better understanding of money than I had, and I believe the earlier I can start teaching her the better. Perhaps I can help her invest in her first dolls house!!!
Cheers,
Karen[]If you really want something, you can generally find a way to do it.
I bought a house with my then husband when I was 22 (got married when young and stupid). got divorced 4 years later, and sold the house for exactly the same price we paid for it. I didn’t have the money (or motivation to find it) at the time to buy him out. I had wasted so much time, and was back to square one.
Moved in with new husband-to-be a year later. We rented a modest house and worked hard so that we could try and buy a house of our own in a few years. Sacrified a lot of social outings etc. We also made the effort to secure better paying jobs. Unfortunately, I shouldn’t look at the real estate section of papers, because I happened to comment about an area and how some houses seemed to be a lot cheaper than I expected.
So, we went and had a look. Of course, fell in love with this house, but didn’t think we had had the money to pay for it. We eventually found a lender who would lend us the money. We actually exchanged contracts without finance approved (something I definately wouldn’t recommend!!). We were left with a grand total of $113.00 in our bank account.
This was 2 and a bit years ago, and I am now 30. We now have our own house, 4 IP’s and we own our own business. I have been able to stop working to have a baby, and don’t need to go back if I don’t want to.
It just takes will power and a focus on want you want to achieve. I think that is more the issue for some young people. A lack of a goal or purpose. We have goals for the next 5, 10, 20 years etc. Yes, they will probably change slightly in time, but at least we know the general direction we want to take.
Cheers,
Karen[]Our 5% is all inclusive, no hidden charges. We found the best way to get a property manager was to select a handful of agents, and make appointments for them to come and view the property, 15mins apart from each other. They basically had to sell themselves to us, and they quite often meet each other as they are coming and going. They really do feel like it’s a competition to get our business, and will generally offer more competitive rates/services to get our business.
Cheers,
Karen[]I definately wouldn’t be paying over 7%. We pay 7% for one of ours in north west Sydney and 5% for 2 (managed by different agents) in the Eastern Suburbs. Negotiate as much as you can.
Sorry, can’t help out with a PM on the North Shore.
Cheers,
Karen[]We found a property on realestate.com.au that fits the 11 second rule less than 4 months ago. They are out there.
Cheers,
Karen[]Actually while we are on the topic of rockhampton… I will need to find a real estate agent to go through for rent in about 5 months time. The best deals I have found so far are around 9% fees, probabley cause I only have 1 property and can’t cut any deals. Has anybody done better that this?
We use Raine and Horne and they charge us 7%.
Cheers,
Karen[]Hi David,
Sorry, getting back to your original question. I attended an Ed Burton seminar (free) a couple of years ago. To be honest, I wasn’t that impressed. Nice guy, but didn’t seem very professional. Doesn’t tell you anything you can’t find in books anyway.
I certainly wouldn’t spend any money to see him.
Cheers,
Karen[]There’s a software package that you can buy. You put in all of your bank statements for the last 4 years, and it picks up all the mistakes in them. e.g. charged too much in interest payments etc. Then you can go and claim it back from your bank. If you don’t find mistakes which add up to more than the software costs, then they give you your money back.
Cheers,
Karen[]SIS, I’m surprised that you even need to list these deductions or explain how you minimise tax. This is simply how it works. Why on earth would anyone invest in property and not claim everything they are entitled to?
Yes, if I have a property in another state, I am entitled to visit that property to inspect it, and therefore claim this with the ATO. If I choose to take a holiday while I’m there, that’s my business. There are rules to what I can claim and what I can’t.
Perhaps some people out there have accountants who are not completely familiar with all the tax deductions available to people with IPs.
I had an interesting debate with my accountant regarding our self managed super fund. He did not want to allow me to claim for my attendance at an options trading seminar held on Hamilton Island. I insisted this was a legitimate educational expense. If this seminar was held, say at the Travelodge at Parramatta, I doubt he would have had any problem claiming it, however since it was at Hamilton Island, he just couldn’t accept it. I requested he get a private ruling from the ATO, and, surprise, surprise, it was accepted.
I just can’t believe that some investors don’t seem to want to claim what they’re entitled to.
Anyway, SIS, keep up the good work.
Cheers,
Karen[]A church which had been converted into residential sold in Sydney recently for $800K. Quite nice, kept lots of original features (stained glass windows etc.) and had been converted warehouse style. Most other houses in that part of the street tend to sell for around $600K, so there definately must be some “originality” appeal for people.
Cheers,
Karen[]Hey there,
I scored 36 – aggressive investor.
Karen[
]I wouldn’t be selling anything. Every time we think we can’t borrow any more money, there’s always some sucker out there who’s willing to lend it to us. And if the properties are all performing well, I definately wouldn’t consider selling.
Just my 2c.
Karen[]Hey Luke,
You’ve gotta have your fun. We’re in the same situation, though a few years older than you. We’d probably have 100 properties if it weren’t for that damn rally car we’ve got! But I can’t imagine not competing in motor sport. Sure – high cost but high fun.
By the way, my 2c would be to buy the beachside property. We bought negatively geared properties when we could afford the extra, and it certainly paid off in the long run.
Best of luck
Karen[]Hi Nailwog,
We had an IP in the city which we renovated to create “instant equity”. The market was quite slow at the time. We then leapfrogged into 2 other IP’s in the city. It was very successful.
Due to our circumstances changing (we now have a 4 week old baby, therefore I am no longer working), we have recently bought an IP in a regional town which is cashflow positive. We will just let that one sit there and pay for itself.
We will probably continue along this line for the time being, however I love buying and renovating, so I really want to get back to that soon.
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