Forum Replies Created
Although I don't agree with scamp's approach to his posting, I do agree with the content.
I would be *very* wary of financing repayments through capitalising interest in the current economic enviornment. I personally don't think house prices will *crash*, but I think that they will coast along for a long,long time without really doing anything – until the market catches up to where it would have been. To all the people saying that you should take a long view to investing -eg. 20 years, I think 20 year may not be long enough. If you purchased a house in Australia around 1900, it would have lost value after a few years, then taken until 1950 until it was worth the same as it was in 1900 in real terms. Thats 50 years, just to break even.
In that sort of environment, capitalising interest is a very dangerous strategy. The only way out with no cap gains is to pray your rental income rises faster than your equity falls, otherwise you're forced to sell and face a massive cap. gains tax bill. If this happens, it would fall like a house of cards.
darktrooper7 wrote:Thanks for the tips…i havent yet taken up any of the tiles so i dont know if there is sheeting underneath, but i do know that much of the work around the house was done by the previous owner (in the 1970's i might add) so who knows what lies beneath?If it was done in the 70's, the tiles are probably laid on a screed which makes it (IMO) easier. Just smash the tiles & concrete base to reveal the boards. Don't get me wrong, It's still pretty hard yakka – but it has less potential to damage the floor when removing it.
Tools wrote:Isn't it ironic that you are so brainy but you had to call a dumb arse plumber with an IQ of only 5, who had the knowledge and the equipment to do what you needed done !Perhaps Phorsha had the knowledge and equipment but it was a task that the gubbermint says you need a plumbing license to perform? If they allowed owners to work on their own property without a license, plubmers hourly rates would halve overnight (and emergency callout rates would probably double..)
dreaming wrote:and for my technical advise I'll read books by well educated people like Ed Chan, Micheal Yardney and Steve for foresight into the future.Well if you want to talk about foresight, didn't Steve sell all his property a short time ago?
Guys, that 8-10%pa cap growth you are quoting is for desirable surburbs close to the city and to buy into a suburb like that at the moment you would need a million dollars. Plus that growth has only been relevant for the past 25 years or so – when the baby boomers started to buy investment properties. Once the boomers start to move into nursing homes, sell their properties to access cash and just plain die off (and thus have their kids sell their properties to access cash) starting in 3-4 years in my opinion you will see the market flatten if not fall.
I think 5% average growth is a good figure to use… But to answer the original question – Because of the mining boom at the moment, I think shares would be a better invstment choice if you had cash. But keep in mind that a bank will lend you more money for a house (sometimes up to 100%, where shares are usually 75% max for blue chip)
Yes, you can roll it forward – I effectively rolled 3 years worth of losses into one year for exactly the same reason. But you should time it better than I did – I came back to Australia in November and didn't start work until early Feb, plus I worked on a 1 month in arrears basis for pay (so didn't get paid until early March). So in effect I was only paid for around 4 months of the financial year.. so although I had some great deductions, I don't think I even broke into the 40% tax bracket for that financial year.
While I was away (5 years), I also didn't submit a tax return. I just had my account submit them all at once when I returned. I don't know if that makes a difference or not..
blogs wrote:Im still finding it funny how after I did some 'research' and found that Toorak has a higher crime rate all the knockers have gone quiet??It wasn't the results of your "research", or even that you had bothered to do any. I just don't care enough to argue with you. You win, you're the big swinging d*ck.
blogs wrote:You kiddin me? A house somewhere actually got broken into? Twice? Oh my god heaven forbid this ever happens in the east lol Just wait for the day you actually have crime in the eastern subburbs lol
Jokes asside of course there will be some crime-you have a lot of nice house with nice goodies-just like there is a lot of break ins in Glen Waverley etc due to people making the trip up from Mulgrave and Springvale…now go stick your head back in the sand sunshine:)
Nice try sport, but I don't live in the east.
They have only lived there 6 months and their house has been broken into twice. Does it mean anything? I dunno. That why I suggested to DO YOUR RESEARCH FIRST about the area, but you seem to take it a bit personally.
As suggested, I would do my research on the area first.. I have friends who rent there (near Highpoint) and have had their house broken into twice in the last 6 months…
crashy wrote:owner builder is someone who does STRUCTURAL work. This means altering existing structural walls or adding new ones via an extension. Things like gyprocking / tiling etc are not structural work. would have to be a big job to get $12k in structural work. Of course, if the bill is $11,999, you're in the clear!Sorry, but I'm pretty sure that you're incorrect. It doesn't matter what you're doing – painting, plastering, tiling, etc. It's all included in the $12k limit. Furthermore, you must calculate the cost as if you were paying a fully qualified trade to do it. This means that just because you can plaster and paint a room for $250 in materials doesn't mean that you only add $250 to the predicted total – you are supposed to calculate it at $2,000 because that's how much you would pay a plasterer, painter and possibly electrician to do the job.
If you want to be fully legal, once you start doing more than just a single room or a bathroom, kitchen, etc. You technically need a permit as an owner builder (once every 3 years) or employ the services of a qualified builder. For a little more info, have a look at this thread: http://www.somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?p=340253
To answer the original question, unless you are paying licensed contractors/builders to do you reno work or unless you are doing less than 1 every 3 years, there is no legal way of doing reno work and making money. The people that are doing it now are doing it illegally.
dollarman wrote:you have no idea on what your talking about if u think theres not much to learn in plumbing and electrical..ive worked on site for 4 years now with all trades, and theres heaps that you dont know about.
first up minus 30% of the bill, because its 10% super 10% workcover 10% gst..so that $250 bill just turned into $175 that actually goes to the tradesmen..now rock up and change sum1's toilet for that crap wage.. expect to pay $50 an hour for either on the books if u can find one… then provide the work car, all the tools and a license to back it all up.. most plumbers are lucky to clear $25 an hour after tax.. and thats pushing it in the early years..
Hi Dollarman.
With respect, none of those expenses are specific to being a tradie. I own a company and have to pay gst, workcover and super (and super *is* money going to the tradie, just not straight away). I have to pay for transport to work (train ticket), buy a laptop and upgrade it periodically (tools). The tradie probably pays more for transport, but he gets to write it all off on tax.
The university push has created a huge shortage in trades. My dad is a tiler… booked 4 months ahead, I am a bathroom renovator / plumber booked up 3 months ahead. If you want the prompt service of a professional tradesman, be prepared to pay the cost, or learn to do a few things yourself, and fix it.
I agree you should be able to do it yourself. Legally, you can't change a tap washer in this country unless you're a licensed plumber. If I need a small amount of work done, I *have* to call a plumber/electrician – to do something simple like change a washer or install a new GPO. And because it's a small job, most trades overquote because of the size of the job.
I think the law should be changed to allow small plumbing & electrical work to be carried out by the owner on their own house. This could be defined as simply replacing existing plumbing or electrical work. You can 'do it yourself' in almost any other country in the world.. In the UK they have wiring diagrams included with all electrical sockets sold. I've changed my fair share of sockets while living overseas, but suddenly when I set foot in Australia I have to call an electrician to do that because it's too dangerous.
And if the UK is anything to go by, allowing people to do it yourself won't affect the tradie's workload.. the professional still gets to do the big jobs which he prefers and the home hadyman doesn't have to pay $250 to get a new GPO installed (yes, that's what I paid).
Hi, I haven't ever bought a display home but I know that there were two selling in point cook a few months ago and had been on the market for around 6 months. They were asking $720k, but the agent told me that the builder would most probably accept high 500's and "may even accept 550k – you never know your luck". Also, don't look at the asking price of the neighbouring properties, look at the actual selling price.
Originally posted by wealth4life.com:Houses are very expensive to maintain. If you live in a unit the both of you could work an extra job on Saturday and that equates to 2 extra income days per week or 8 per month or 96 extra income days per year or 19.2 extra income weeks per year = $xxxxxx = very smart.
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Poor people work hard – smart people work smarter …
I like the idea of working smarter, however I think that working saturdays for money is the very definition of working harder!
I like my evenings and weekends. I only want to work a 40 hour week and I earn a (relatively) high hourly rate. I don’t think a weekend job exists that would pay enough to make me sacrifice 8-10 hours (inc. travel time) from my lesiure time each week.
Great concept, but wrong application I think.
