Forum Replies Created
I too had the same problem but if you COPY and then PASTE SPECIAL as Formatted Text (RTF), it works!
Give it a try.
Shirley
S.I.S – please tell us your secret on avoiding HECS fees legally through property? Would love to hear on behalf of two of my kids. The third is paying hers upfront through a scholarship.
Thanks
ShirleyI feel it all depends on the particular child. Our three went to state schools in Queensland. Two achieved the top score of OP1 at the end of high school and the third an OP2 (she’s on a 3-year $10k per annum scholarship at uni). I don’t believe private schools would have made any difference. All have gone on to achieve well at tertiary level and the two now employed have good positions. My belief is that school achievement depends on parental support and expectations.
Two have turned out to be little capitalists but the oldest is what you’d call a minimalist – she doesn’t believe belongings are important and spends all her money on travel. Where did we go wrong! Just kidding – very proud of all three.
Shirley
Sorry – how stupid can I get. I’ve put an incorrect email address – duh!
My email for any replies is
Shirley.Jones at jcu.edu.au
He’s finished studying – working in Kingston.
ShirleyWe locked in fixed rates on different properties earlier this year with the National as under:
5 yrs at 6.56%
3 yrs at 6%
2 yrs at 5.9%Thanks, Kavita. Maybe what she had heard referred to selling after retirement so less tax to pay.
ShirleyHi Josh
Re your post on Townsville – yes we do have a big army base but also airforce, about 12,000 uni students and staff and also industry (Qld Nickel, Korea Zinc etc). Population is about 150,000 – it’s the 2nd biggest city in Qld.It’s as dry as a bone at present but not a bad place to work, live…and invest!
Cheers
ShirleyANUBIS – your point isn’t valid in relation to Townsville – it’s a university town. Maybe all the oldies moving into town will become students which is good for the local economy! I did – completed my MBA at 51.
ShirleyGeoff – thanks for the info. Most of our investments are in Townsville. It’s good to know we’ve made some good decisions.
Any comments on the list from Cairns forumites? There’s a fair bit of rivalry between the two towns in lots of ways and Townsville usually comes off second best.
Cheers
ShirleyCan someone advise me on RE agent fees? We’ve always assumed that it was 5% on the first $18K and then 2.5% on the balance of the sale. Is this not standard?
Thanks
ShirleySorry if this is a dumb question but is the interest charged on a LOC account used for investment purposes tax deductible?
Thanks
ShirleyWe don’t have landlord insurance but perhaps we should. We do have cover on building & contents and public liability.
We have a good RE manager who keeps a very close eye on our properties (we’ve privately nicknamed her ‘the Rotweiler’).
At around $300, it would be quite expensive on all properties. I know it’s tax deductible though.
What do others think? Do you agree that a good manager somewhat negates the need to have landlord insurance?
Shirley
Philip and I only became serious about property early this year after reading Jan Somers. We’ve bought and sold houses over years without any real ‘investment’ knowledge or plans. Wish we knew then what we know now.
We feel we’ve bought our current properties just at the right time and right price but don’t plan to buy anymore for a while. I do wish I’d found this site earlier though as we could have done things better e.g. setting up a trust instead of buying in joint names. Might have found better interest rates as well – all our business has been with the National and all loans are fixed over 2, 3 or 5 years but we’re happy with that. Didn’t know about the 11 sec rule then but we used a similar principle – divide the weekly rent by the purchase price and if it was close to 2, we bought!
Keep posting, everyone – it’s great to hear different opinions on so many topics.
Shirley
Thanks, Shaun. I’ll check the website and will keep on eye on things for the future. We couldn’t do anything at the moment in any case as we’ve reached our limit for a while. Wish we’d started investing many moons ago!
ShirleyWe fit into that category. 12 months ago we purchased a 2-bedroom unit $86K for our 18 year old daughter in her name so she could take advantage of the FHOG. We put in $18,000 to avoid LMI. She’s on a yearly $10k uni scholarship so could prove to the bank she had an income. She rents out the other bedroom and the arrangement is working out well.
We’d like to assist our son the same way but Sydney is so difficult. He’s moving to Canberra soon and from what I’ve read, it’s very expensive there too.
I’m sure most parents would assist their kids if they could financially.
Shirley
Acronyms are fine i.e. using the first letters of a saying e.g. FHOG for First Home Owner’s Grant.
What really annoys me on the forum is spelling errors e.g.
Please remember what you learned in school:
“I before E except after C” so
yield not YEILD
receive not RECIEVEI feel like an old school marm – sorry can’t help it, Bill! Yes, I know this should be in Soapbox!
Shirley
Mackay was also my home town for my first 20 years and we also spent another stint there in the early 80s. Parents still live there at Bucasia. The Northern Beaches has grown a great deal recently – traffic is a bit of a problem now.
The area around Fitzgerald School used to be very good, particularly Mt Pleasant where we lived. We made our best profit ever when selling there.
We recently looked at a unit in the area on the lower side of the school. Looked OK. I’d say any problems would be typical of any residential area in regional towns. Sometimes it depends on luck and who is living in the area at the time. Make sure you have a good Rental Manager would be my advice.
Regards
ShirleyThanks for everybody’s contribution on this topic. Philip and I weren’t even aware that there was such a thing as land tax until recently. I think it is something new investors should know about as it could have a big impact on profitability once several properties are accumulated.
ShirleyFrom George W Bush:
“The problem with the French is they have no entrepreneurs”
(and the origin of that last word?….George W doesn’t seem too bright at times)
