I’m a big fan of the gas instant HWS. There are a few different types available all with different features (or selling points [biggrin]).

Just be sure that it heats enough litres p/min to accomodate your needs – eg dishwasher takes 17L/p/m to run so don’t go getting a smaller system and wanting to have a shower while the dishwasher is running.

Also, as brahms said, you will have a very small gas bill cf a regular gas HWS. As for electric HWS they are not even in the competition as far as running costs go.

Sonja

Sampson,

Don’t forget that even if you sell all 4 to one person there is nothing stopping them from then selling to others. Eventually this is quite likely and is why I said earlier that if possible I’d either sell all or none. Then again I’m not in your position so I don’t really know your situation or have even half the info on it that you do!

Sonja

Hi kp,

I can’t recall the numbers but IMHO it doesn’t matter too much because what is an acceptable deal for one person may not be acceptable for another. In my experience, we all invest for different reasons and with different strategies.

For me, deciding what is an acceptable return is based more than one factor. As an obvious eg, if you are confident of huge growth then a lower return may be OK.

To calculate the % return you multiply the weekly rent by 52 and then divide this number by the price of the property. The 11 second solution gives a 10.4% return.

Hope this is more helpful than confusing[blink]

Sonja

If Voigtstr’s memory is correct then:
145 x 52 = 7540
7540 / 115000 = 0.0655652 (ie approx 6.56% return)

Hi Alowe,

Just my opinoin, but it reads as an add that is hidden behind a “question”. If you want it to look more like a question and less like an add, drop all the specific details about the property. Just my suggestion and your post may escape being deleted by a moderator.

Sonja

Wow! Don’t know if it’s just a coincidence but using Dr Thomas’ formula I’m nearly 2k over average… That’s pretty accurate considering how simple the formula appears, especially if it works that well for everyone. Reassuring to know I’m not having to use the 0.056 factor too [smiling]

Sonja

Hi Celivia,

Seems that you’re locked in [ohno]

Sorry I couldn’t help laughing!

Also sorry I can’t help.

I can tell you that the “Mentor Program Seems to be Full” add left my screen sometime before lunch today but while it was there it had the same paralysing effect for me.

Just keep posting and someone who can help you is sure to notice?[sleepy2]

Sonja

Hi Milly,

Just thought I’d let you know that you are not the only one with this problem. We have an IP also with 11ft ceilings and the smoke detector is hanging from the ceiling by its wire now.

It has been bashed to death previously for beeping and being out of reach – unfortunately the tenant was not particularly good at aiming with the broom and there are a few broom-handle size holes in the ceiling around the smoke detector.

As bad as it looks hanging down by the wire it now has its battery changed, doesn’t beep, doesn’t get bashed and hopefully will work if it needs to.

The tenant was responsible for pulling it down from the ceiling to a more reachable height so I guess an electrician should check it out (so long as there is a “leave it dangling from the ceiling” understanding… if this is even a legal way to operate a smoke detector).

I guess the other option is for us to take responsibility for changing the battery on a regular basis so the tenant does not have to worry about it.

Kind Regards,
Sonja

Hi Dr X,

Not sure which guru/s you are talking about (no need to say) but I’d assume that to remain in business for the long term you would want your clients to be able to buy the property. To constantly set them up for failure would eventually end up seeing your business fail I’d imagine. Not to mention the possibility of appearing on one of the current affairs TV shows for all the wrong reasons!

I’m guessing that your question about the ethics of it is because you want to be fair to your clients – you strike me as this sort of person.

I don’t think you need to take responsibility for their success or failure to ultimatly buy the property as long as it was a fair and ethical deal to begin with. In my opinion it is the investor’s responsibility to take into account each clients individual circumstances and then structure the deal so that the client has as a fair chance of buying the property (this potential for flexibility is one of the things that I find so attractive about lease options).

Setting up deals where there is a win-win outcome is not only fair and ethical but will protect both the reputation and business of the individual investor as well as the reputation of the vendor finance industry as a whole.

It seems to me that any guru who reccomends structuring deals that set clients/tenants up for failure is very unfair and unethical, both the investors they are advising and also to the clients who are subsequently set up for failure.

To answer your final question, I think YOU care if your tenants end up being able to buy and this will be the idea behind the way you structure your deals. All the best with your lease options and I’m sure that your clients will appreciate that you are giving them a genuine opportunity and not just ripping them off to make money from them.

Kind Regards,
Sonja

I think it is outstanding value if it includes the existing building insurance cover of the current AAMI landlords policy (which is basically building insurance for a property you rent out rather than live in). This upgrade would eliminate the need for seperate policies on building and landlords insurance if it is as you understand it Ray. Interesting…

Kind Regards,
Sonja

All situations are unique. The main point in the personal story I shared above was that my poor hubby was busting his guts thinking that he was creating an easy, stress-free existance for his family. It was not until he stood on the other side of the fence that he realised what it was like for me. Our roles were too different to compare really so I don’t think it is fair to make a judgement on who had it harder.

Kay Henry, you have hit one of the nails on the head when you say that social isolation is not healthy for anyone. At the time I was talking about we had no support network of friends or family. Nobody to just have over for a chat and nobody to mind our daughter (ever) if we wanted some time alone. (At the time I also had a hang-up about using child-care… Praise God I got over that!). Developing a strong social network is one of the many things we are still working to improve. Family will most likely never be available for us (one story for hubby’s side and another for mine, both too long for now) and a network of true friends doesn’t just happen overnight. Life sure is a bed of roses now compared to then though.

Another thing I didn’t mention that made things difficult was that money was stretched so thin it often didn’t go the distance. I can remember having to choose whether to pay the electricity bill that was due or buy fresh fruit & veg for the week. No chance of take away if it had been a rough day! Hubby didn’t pay the bills or do shopping and when we did cross paths during his insane work schedule he was tired and stressed over work so I chose not to mention every hard financial decision I had to make. Again, life is a bed of roses now when I look back.

All told I have to agree with Celivia in that if you can cope it isn’t hard but if you can’t cope then it can be impossible. A lot of factors are always involved but I hope people can realise that when you are under a lot of stress from different areas of your life (as Hubby and I were at the time), coping with what may otherwise be a minor task can feel overwhelming.

What I am proud of is that we worked together to change the status quo. It feels like it was another life when things were so hard. Better yet, we are nowhere close to finishing the “renovation” of our lives so there is still huge scope for improvement. It would have been so easy to just get stuck in a rut and let things continue to deteriorate.

Sorry if this is a bit deep but I truly meant no offence and think that perhaps I may have been misunderstood. I didn’t take the original post by Brisbane04 literally, I took it as a joke. I agree with Dr X that people who truly feel so hard done by and trapped for whatever reason (and I’m sure that there are many out there) need some serious help. Here’s to praying that they get it.

Kind Regards,
Sonja