Forum Replies Created
I have two houses in Gunnedah – my best properties, one house in Forbes and flats in Leeton
All of my properties ( 3 house, 2 flats) are in rural/regional areas, towns with populations above 10,000 people. only one property has been vacant for an extended period of time and that was due to really poor property management. The property manager didn't even know that the tenants had moved out as well as the damage they caused.
My two first properties which I have owned for nearly three years have never been vacant. my property manager has new tenants lined up as soon as she recieves notice that the tenant is vacating.
My two flats – i have only had one vacant for two weeks in the eighteen months that i have owned them
As mentioned, make sure that you do your research. Speak with property managers rather than saes people. As he property managers are the ones who you will ahve ongoing dealings with. in my experience most of them will be completely honest regarding if the area is a 'problematic area'. the last thing they want to do is deal with angry owners on an ongoing basis.
Good luck
Sonya
If you go to Bunnings they have a display with all different configurations of shelving, drawers, hanging space etc. They are all priced so you can get an idea how much it will cost for the layout that you want. Again I have no idea how much it would cost to have it installed. But if you are relatively handy I think it may be fairly easy, siimilar to installing a flat pack kitchen
Emma, you may have more luck getting feedbakc form people who have 'been there, done that' by starting your own new thread. As you have noted the original author of this thread hasn't commented for a while. But there may be other people on the forum who have also completed or avoided similar renos.
Cheers
Sonya
I would be ringing the agents as a potential tenant to see whether they return your calls, what advice they give you etc. Because how they do these things is a pretty good indicator of how well they will first of all veto unsuitable tenants, how they will promote your property to potential tenants as well as what info they give to potential tenants.
i have heard of Pms telling tenants that the owner doesn't want pets 'but what they don't know won't hurt them' etc.
good luck
Sonya
I agree with Richard, i have had dealings with a mortgage broker who had no idea regarding cross collatorilising ( not sure if i spelt that right) he kept pushing me towards loan products that were completely unsuitable for what i wanted to achieve with my investing. YOu really need to find out what investing experience they have before you entrust your decision making to them.
I had a property where the tenants bolted and left the property in a terrible state. my new property managers insisted that the previous property managers had to organise and pay for the repairs to the property as they were negligent in their 'property managment' a term i use very loosely!!!! Although it did take some time. The previous PM did organise and pay for repairs. i was out of pocket for lost rent but not the repair costs.
Stick to your guns and show the PM that you mean what you say. i threatened to go to the office of fair trading, i don't know whether that played a role or not.
I did feel bad for the previous real estate as they were completely unaware of the poor job that their PM was doing until she left the firm and then they became aware of the numerous properties that were in rental arrears etc. As an aside they no longer manage property.
Sare,
You definitely need to get some sort of legal advice, look into whether you can get legal aid. or talk hypothetically to both a mortgage broker and some real estate agents to get a better idea of current value of the property etc.
The other thing that I would be putting in place is the need for him to be paying 'rent' to you if he is living in the property and you are not. this should be half the market value to rent the property. Or you should get in writing a 'contract' of some sort showing that you are reducing your loan payments to reflect the half share of the market rental. you should not have to pay the mortgage and pay rent for your own adccommodation.
Good luck
Sonya
what loan structure do you have?are you paying principal and interest or interest only? Are you claiming depreciation?
Sara, i would agree that you need to get as much advice as you can from legal aid and make sure that you are not giving away your hard earned cash. i made the stupid decision to let my ex basically 'run the show' when we divorced and i have regretted it ever since. My understanding is that you don't have children, but you still have a financial stake in this property. If you do sell to your ex partner then there will not be real estate agent's fees to pay. So if you can come to an agreement you will in effect be coming out with more money that if you sold through an agent and split the proceeds 50/50.
Good luck
I would be trying to determine whether your offers have been given to the owner. If possible write a brief letter to the owner and address it directly to them at their address. If these offers have not been submitted, both you and the vendor can lodge a complaint to the real estate board in your state.
good luck
Sonya
Lambchop,
Whenever i a m looking to buy an investment property I call a number of real estate agents and ask to speak to their property managers. You can find out what areas of town they would not put tenants into., what areas have the highest demand, what type of property are most sought after as well as any other 'tricks of the trade' to attract quality tenants.
When you buy an investment property you have an ongoing relationship with the property manager, so they are going to be more 'truthful' for want of a better word, regarding the suitability of the property as an investment. Salesman just wnat their commission and then they move onto the next property. The last thing a property manager wants is to be dealing with troublesome tenants, problematic properties (repairs etc) and unhappy landlords.
I have even had my property manager go and inspect prospective properties for me to give me her feedback on which property would be the best buy. ( I don't live in the town where i have two of my best properties)
cheers
Sonya
I think one of the best ways to address the 'affordable housing shortage' is by encouraging people to realise that you don't have to live in an expensive city. There are some great, large and even smaller regional towns that have fantastic homes for much cheaper prices than those in the city. When i divorced four years ago i couldn't afford to buy a home in the blue mountains where i had been living for thirteen years ( and had owned two homes), so i moved to my 'home' town – a regional city of approx 30,000. Since moving here i have been the sole supporter of my three young children- bought our PPOR as well as three investment houses and two flats. I have done this on a beginning teacher's wage as i only finsihed my degree in 2007. So it can be done when you are an 'average' or below average wage earner.
I don't understand people who bemoan not being able to afford a home when they only look in the cities, especially people who don't 'have to' live in a city. We all make choices people – maybe some people need to reconsider the choices they have made or wish to make. They may be pleasantly surprised by what regional areas have to offer in the way of services, lifestyle and social opportunities- especially for families with young children.
I'll get off my soapbox now… LOL
I have just had solar panels installed, i only have six panels on my roof, but they are producing more electricity than i use. i also recently replaced an electric hot water system with a natural gas system, i am currently waiting for my rebate from the nsw government for the installation of the gas hot water system, from memory about $500.
I went with a local man who has started his own solar installation company as i wanted to support a local business. I initially had a quote done and was thinking about getting a system but was not in a financial position to do so at the time. He contacted me when the state government announced the reduction in the kw payments from 60c to 20c and told me that if i signed a contract before midnight and paid a deposit then i would lock in the 60c per kw payments. fortunately for me, i was by that time in a financial position to get the system.
He telephoned on a Wednesday to ask if Saturday morning at 7.30 would suit to have it installed, he was here at 7.34, finished and all connected up by 9.30. This is the sort of professionalism and communication that i appreciate in a tradesman, as opposed to tradesmen who do not turn up when booked and expect you to wait around all day for them.
I am very pleased with my solar panels, fortunatley my roofline faces north and has no trees or other buildings that throw any shadows onto the panels, so i have maximum exposure to the sun.
HI, i have been looking at buying an old nursing home that has a large kitchen 16 rooms and a number of bathrooms and setting this up as student accommodation. Any thoughts? My niece is off to uni this month and her accommodation costs are $200/week with 4 other people in a five bedroom townhouse, this includes utility costs.She is responsible for her own cleaning of the house along with her housemates. She pays rent for the whole year, rather than not paying for two or three months as mentioned above. So the figures outlined above look pretty good to me. $1,000/week rental income on a five bedroom house. If i was charging the same amount for a 16 room set up then that would be $3,200/week.
Let me know what you think, i would really appreciate any comments from someone who has invested in a similar set up.
Make sure that everything is done 'above board' don't try to rip her or her family off. If you have known her for a while and have actually been 'neighbourly' she may be more receptive, than if you are just 'business oriented' and have had no previous contact or conversations with her.
May also be good to speak with her when her family are present so that they can be advocates for her and for them to be reassured that their mother is not being taken advantage of. As mentioned above be a 'genuine' neighbour so that she doesn't feel used, especially if this has been her home for a long time. Her decision will probably be more sentimental than practical/financial. if you approach this in the wrong way you may be frozen out of any future sale of the property.
BTW, has she vacated yet?
be careful with regards to recording phone conversations. When i was going through a nasty divorce i recorded conversations that I had with my ex when he was abusing and threatening me as 'evidence' of his behaviour and attitude to me, his children and the court orders. i was told by my solicitor that unless I had his permission to record the conversations I was breaking the law!
Bought another Ip, this time two flats cashflow positive. Bought in a trust structure this time, all new experience.
Downside, bad PM ( i use the term very lightly) allowed one of my properties to get into a disgusting state of disrepair and filth, did not even know that the tenants had done a runner until i complained for the umpteenth time about unpaid water rates. Still dealing with its three months later. No tenants in place for all that time.
I am planning on 2011 being a better year.
Thank goodness all my other properties are managed by competent and efficient property managers.
Clappy,
you can still find cashflow positive properties in large regional areas that only require a relavtively small deposit. This can then allow you to earn an income to put towards purchases in larger towns or cities.
