Get two or three written rental appraisals. the bank will generally factor this in at 80% to allow for vacancies, some costs such as management fees and rates. ie. rental appraisal of $300 per week = $1200/month (approx) bank allows $960. This is a rough working out. Ohers such as Richard would be able to give you more info regarding the criteria of individual lenders.

Sonya

HI all. i have been lookming at getting a  new car for a year now, but i keep buying more property!! having said that i am leaning towards a diesel vehicle, most likely a hyundai santa fe. A diesel gets better fuel economy and soon unleaded petrol will be phased out. (already begun here in my neck of the woods) meaning you either have to buy premium or E10. Most cars over aboout five years of age can't run on E10 without causing mechanical damage.And before anyone asks why i need a car of this size, i ahve three children, we go camping and I have a penchant for transporting furniture in my car, such as the antique dresser i bought on ebay and picked up yesterday LOL.

cheers

Sonya

Hi Richard,

As i am looking at starting my first trust, would this info benefit me as well, or is it going to be too technical for me at this stage? If it will make things clearer for me could you shoot me thru a copy?
You have my email address

Cheers

Sonya

Why does the rent have to be 'locked in' for three years, You can have a longer lease and have the lease worded so that the rent will be reviewed and maybe increased every six  months in line with the rental market. Or say rent will increase by $X every six months. If the tenant is happy with this then you will have the rental increases and the stability of the same tenant for three years.

To protect yourself you could even put clauses in such as if the tenant fails to pay rent on time, or mow lawns every two weeks or maintains property in suitable condition etc then the lease will be terminated. there are a number of ways to ensure that you and the tenant aare both happy with the arrangements.

Do you still own these properties or have you onsold them?

Why not get your own RP Data account?

Hey, come to regional areas, my block is 975sqm, and don't i know it when i have to mow the lawn!!! I live 7 minutes from work 3 minutes for two shopping malls, cinema, bowling alley, numerous restaurants and free parking!

I laugh at people who are always trying to 'keep up with the jones' and have nothing to fall back on when times get tough. I own three iPS and a small three bedroom home all in larger regional towns.My car is eleven years old. But aside from my mortgages, i have no debts.

When we go on holidays we go camping and stay at some fantastic caravan parks with a powered site, so I can still have my TV hit when the chidlren go to sleep. The place we stayed at in Echuca had fantastic games room, shower block full kitchn facilities, BBQs and two pools, basketball, voleyball, putt putt golf, river walks etc. My self, my three children and my niece stayed for four days and it cost less than $250.00 and this was in January 'Peak Holiday time!! We had an absolute ball yet some friends turn there nose up at staying in a caravan park and would rather have no holiday, or worse, go into debt to pay for one!

Matt, my mum used to make the same comment that you have regarding 'younger people of today' They do wnat what their parent's have, but don't appreciate that it may have taken twenty or thirty years to get to that particular property and the features it has.

Sonya

My three children play the cashflow for kids game with me and my youngest, aged 5 when we started playing, now aged 7 always beats me.

I have taught my chidlren to compare the prices of things when we go shopping, whether its bread or milk or yoghurt. They also ahve learnt about ebay!! If they are given money for their birthdays or bgift cards, they know to look for items that are on special and to compare prices on ebay to see where they can get the best value for money.

They also know the difference between a house and a home, as they often find me looking at property on RE.com and ask whether it is a new home for us or a house for someone else to live in.

I agree with not giving everything to chidlren. My siblings and I all bought our own first cars and appreciated them more than the people who had cars given to them by their parents. My niece is aged 17 and has just left for a school excursion to China that cost over $3.5k and she has paid for the trip herself. her parents told her that they were happy for her tog o, but she had to pay for it herself, which she has done by working part time.

Lead by example, educate children about the value of money and investing

cheers

Sonya

One thing to keep in mind, is that if you have a house that is already built there can be no 'cost blow outs' or time frame for completion blowouts whereas when building there can be 'unexpected' costs. You may also need to pay for landscaping, fences etc if these are not included in the building quote. Also with an existing house you can see the quality of the finishes, how many powerpoints there are etc. YOu may also be buying in an area where the building work is finished as opposed to a new subdivision where houses are stil being built around you, noise, may end up with a two story hosue looking into your backyard etc.

The pros of having a hosue built is that you may have more input into the location and number of power points, aerials etc, (although there will be added costs for each change or addition) you can choose the design that most suits you and if an IP can claim depreciation costs from the date of occupation, good for tax returns.

I guess it comes down to your own needs or wants.

Sonya