Murphy's  Law#7  Your landlords insurance doesn't cover you for asbestos related claims.  Your tenant develops a lung disorder and sues you.  This is when you find out the building contained asbestos.

Why did you have to ask this question?  You have opened the doors……

I'll add another question.  What if there is a nuclear war and in 150 years time, everyone will have a third eye…. 

Sorry.

OK, interesting.  I wonder how this overlaps domestic policy.  Does Australia have such an agreement with the World Bank? 

I think make it possible for someone to bring their own boat, or hire one from somewhere, if they want to.  Someone bringing their own boat might want somewhere to park a trailer.  You can advertise that they can tie their boat up to their own private jetty….  People don't have to go on the river.  They like to be just near it.  I wouldn't supply a boat, too risky, too headachey.  No guarantee that your guest has the brains to avoid crashing into an oyster bed, or the forsight to make sure there is fuel for the outboard.  You'd be surprised how dumb people can be.

Personally, I've never struck a holiday home that didn't supply linen, and especially if yours is a nice property attracting a fair price, and well off clientele, I think you are better off to offer good quality linen service, as this is what is expected.  It's not much fun to get to the holiday destination and have to make the bed.  Of course, if yours is a bargain basement type accomodation, then cheapest options are best.
S

Perhaps the flaws and failures of the large company structure is being exposed, once and for all, and investment will drift away from this structure.  Too much distance between control and ownership of the asset.  What about what has happened with Pacific Brands.  We study this in university, distance between control and ownership and the problems that it creates, and what can be done about it.  Pehaps shareholders need a committee of shareholders to counter the power and self interest of the board.

Seperately, I'm interested in the "farming will make money" claim a few posts back.  I've long considered buying viable farming country, in a good rainfall area, with enough altitude to escape rising seas (who knows whose right about that one), and located in an area expected to not get drier with global warming.  I have a district in mind.  The land is already very dear there, despite being a long way from a capital city.  The world is not growing enough food.  The population is expanding.  Economic collapse does not mean that people will stop eating.  The decision by government to permit the turning over of food producing land to the production of ethanol crops is shrinking our ability to grow food (but I realise the strong reasons behind their decision).  Such blocks of land can be "rented out" in the form of sharefarming. 

Perhaps we're to see the return of small business, and smaller markets as the problems of large multinational companies become evident.  As we strive to reduce our carbon footprint, shall we see a reversal of the centralisation of the economy that has taken place, and a return to smaller communities, where food is produced closer to the people that consume it? Will the strongest organisations be the ones where the organisations owner is in control of the business, able to adapt it quickly to changing market conditions, and not inclined to draw salary to the point of destabilising the business. 

And silver.  I keep hearing the push on silver.  Have done for over 12 months now.  I have a client who trades silver.  It seems that a holder of silver long term wouldn't be making that much money.  Good money in trading it as it goes up and down quite regularly, but no steady long term increase in value that you would expect to see given all the solid sounding reasons put forth for investing in silver.  Why? 

who knows, who knows.  Interesting times.  No property boom around the corner, I don't think.  Sure, it might recover a bit and rise steadily, but it is still too dear for another boom.  Gotta find another boom.  Silver?  Agriculture?  Agricultural land?  Small business? 
S

Seddar,
There is alot of research to do.  For me though, it is enjoyable.  I really look forward to the Saturday morning property section with a good coffee and maybe some cake.  It's my weekend treat.  I find property alot of fun.  I love playing with the numbers.  I love business too.  I don't read many of those books.  Not that I'm dismissing them, just that just because someone has been successful and published a book, doesn't make them a good teacher, or necessarily the stand out expert about wealth.  One of the things that a tertiary education has given me is the tools to seriously question the quality of the information that I use.  Where did it come from and who prepared it, what was their motivation and how qualified were they to do it?  An excellent example is how often we see on this site, an investor saying "but the Real Estate agent said it was worth this much…".  Personally, I'm unlikely to listen to anything much that a RE agent says, unless it is one of the few agents that I have come to know are worth listening to.  Read some books, by all means, in your own time, at your own pace.  Kiyosaki (sp?) is a great place to start.  But, most of all, learn to enjoy real estate.  It's a wonderful game.  Sometimes it is as predictable as an old fashioned dance.  You are going to do your move, A, the RE agent will do their move, B, the vendor will do their move, C, then you'll counter with your move, D.   It's wonderful fun.  Observe the human nature, the greed, the attempts to push you or bully you mildly (which you might get a bit of, being so young).  Expect it all, enjoy it and laugh it off – it is all a part of the dance.  Negotiating can be a great thrill.  I just thought that i'd mention how fun it can all be, because you sounded a little disheartened at all the work infront of you. 
S

Congratulations, Seddar.  You might even take the prize for the youngest switched on person on the forum (at least for a while).  Richard has pointed out above the obvious constraints to investing for you right now.  However, there is alot that you CAN do now.  After all, it won't be that long before you are 18, and legally able to own property and have a mortgage.  RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH.  You need to have a geographic area that you are researching, and you need to get to know it really well.   You need to know where are the good areas to live, and the bad areas, what is the public transport, shops, schools and other services like.  You need to become familiar with what different classes of real estate are worth in your area, and what their rental return will be, and you probably need to make a decision about what class of real estate you would like to invest in.  You need a plan, including a measurable and achievable goal and a date to achieve your goal by, and some steps to take to get there.  You need to learn about finance, how much you can borrow, how much your repayments will be and how it can change when interest rates change.  You need to have a contingency plan which takes into account problems like losing your job, working less and studying more, and losing your tenant.  If you have the ability, attend some auctions.  All these things are the things we all do before investing in property.  Property can be a terrific investment, if you get it right.  But, you are spending an awful lot of money, and you really need to be sure of your stuff before you go to contract.  Keep reading here and get to know your property market.  If you make a savvy property investment now, it could potentially change your whole life.  Congratulations.
S

I know of a grazier in NW QLD who painted the shearing shed roof with one of these sort of products, and made some big claims about how great it was.  Someone else in the same district painted their homestead roof, and found that they hardly needed their airconditioner anymore.  Also consider ventilation (maybe whirly birds) at the top of the A frame.  You will need air intake somewhere at the bottom for it to work well.  Apparantly the combination of that paint and whirlybirds can be very effective at reducing radiant heat.