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Thank you Raymond for your response.
The company title apartment is still untenanted. We’ve had a buyer on the hook for some time who can’t seem to make up his mind, and have been waiting for his definitive answer before renting it out. So yes, you’re right.. the actual figure we’re paying at the moment with us paying the full mortgage is much higher. The good news though is that the apartment building is one of those places where there’s always people looking, so there’ll be no problems renting it out, and it’s available for rent from this week.
The other apartment is in Maroubra in a new growing complex. Our plan was definitely to hold on to that for as long as is feasible… probably until the next tide of prosperity. Of course, we’re examining our whole situation right now, so it’s no point holding on to something that will increase in value in 5 years if you go broke in 2! So your point is well made, and certainly something we’re also considering.
As for approaching the other company title owners about going strata, when we’ve mentioned it they’ve bawked.. mainly because of the costs involved in getting the building up to scratch for strata. I think it’s crazy.. spending money to make the apartments more saleable seems like a good idea to me. And i think our dramas in trying to sell the place have highlighted that company title is still a hard sell. I NEVER thought the place would be impossible to sell though.
IN terms of working on our apartment to make it attract a higher rent… the guy upstairs has just totally renovated his apartment, and it’s resulted in him being able to charge only $10 a week more than ours. There seems to be a ceiling on what people will pay for this sort of rental in this area. So it doesn’t seem to be worth doing too much.
As for exit strategies.. we thought we had a sound one. But who would have thought we’d have a place on the market for 14 months without selling it?
Anyway.. all feedback is certainly appreciated. Thank, you for taking the time, and we’ll certainly examine all aspects of what we’re doing.
Michael
We refinanced at the top of the market a few years ago, borrowing up to the maximum amount of equity against value available at the time. Now the property would i expect be valued significantly less, and as most lenders will only lend up to 80% on company title, there’s no equity left to draw on unfortunately.
So yes, like many others i expect we’ve over extended ourselves. Hence being ‘stuck’. If we could have sold, even for a little over our mortgage we would have been happy to have been rid of it. One less commitment.
Thanks for replying
MC
