Hi,

I think that it is important to read widely on the topic of real estate.

In respect to OS forums, there are often hints of strategies being used that may (or may not!) be applicable to the Aussie market.

For example, it was at a direct marketing conference in Vancouver that one of the fellow participants pulled me aside to discuss property investing. He was using a basic form of wrap strategy (although he didn’t call it that).

I came back to Australia and discussed the strategy with my lawyer… he said it was just vendor finance and the only difference was that we were writing 25 year terms rather than the normal 3-5 years.

And thus was born our wrap empire.

It wasn’t until I attended a seminar run by John Burley that I discivered what I was already doing successfully was called a wrap in the United States (short for Wrap around mortgage)… I just thought it was vendor finance.

So, the strategy works around the world but has a different name.

If you are confused with the terminology, just post the words / phrases that you don’t know and we’ll build a glossary as part of the site.

Regards,

Steve McKnight

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Hi Wes,

OK, you’ve gone step one with the due diligence and collected some very useful information.

Now it’s time to leverage the data to your benefit.

The first thing I think you need to do is determine what are immediate essential repairs to make the place liveable for the average tenant looking for a neat and tidy home.

Clearly major structural repairs would fall into this category… but some of the monir stuff, like fencing, minor wood rot, wonky toilet etc. can all be fixed later.

What I’m trying to say is that you need to work out how much it will cost you to fix the major problems.

Then once I knew the cost I’d go back to the vendor and renogotiate based on the problems identified.

Alternatively, renegotiate the price so that the repairs are done before you buy (ie. built into the sales price) in which case you can end up borrowing say 80% of the renovation cost rather than funding it from your own pocket.

You have done well to isolate problems, it’s now time to work on solutions.

Building reports are essential, but they can also be alarmist if you are unsure of what it all means.

From what I read, all problems should be totally recified for well less that $5,000 (but be sure to get your own estimate!).

Bearing this in mind, do the numbers in the deal still stack up?

Regards,

Steve McKnight
–holidaying in Mackay–

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Hi,

I think that Paul makes a good point about r/e agents.

Most r/e agents business bread and butter is their rent-roll. However, it generally seems that they take their clients (landlords) for granted.

Personally I would not leave my assets in the hands of just anyone. I would certainly do my due diligence about quality of staff, cost etc.

Also, take the perspective of your tenant too. If you are OS and something urgent needs doing, then your tenant will not want to wait days while the agent contacts you.

I’d recommend that when you find an agent you like / trust… empower them to make decisions up to a maximum amount… say $500 for any single matter and then deduct it from the rent.

Finally, if the properties are +ve cashflow, I’d also consider paying 100% of the debt so that when you come back in 2 years, you come back to increased cashflow and less money owing.

Regards,

Steve McKnight

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Hi Adam,

I agree that the shipping component is expensive compared to the price of the product, but the reality is that it costs that much to send out the tape given out original production run.

I will investigate the possibility of an mp3 format in the new year.

Regards,

Steve McKnight

P.S. Even with the extra charge for P & H – $30 for a ninety minute tape is still a steal.

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Hi Dan,

I agree, things look grim.

But this is where the chase gets fun. I doubt that what was said to you is hard and fast policy… you just need to look for an angle to negotiate on.

Keep asking questions looking for the right angle that will get the answer you desire.

Otherwise, what I would do is redraw some equity from your other deals, or maybe a temporary overdraft… heck I’d even use my credit card to bring the LVR below the mortgage insurance threshold to save the $7,500.

Which lender are you using, because most of the big banks ‘self-insure’ meaning that you can avoid the monopoly problems.

Cheers,

Steve McKnight

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Hi Theo45 & Anthony J,

I just want to bring to your attention a few interesting co-incidences with your post.

1. Theo45 and Anthony J signed up as members sequentially, one after the other right before posting.

2. The IP address (which is recorded on each post) is the same, leading to the conclusion that both posts were made from the same server, perhaps even the same computer.

3. Bearing this in mind, on the information given when signing up, Theo claims to be from Victoria, AnthonyJ from NSW.

Theo45 says:

quote:

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I think that reputation is very important when investing one’s hard earned $$s

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I agree… which is why i thought I bring this to the forum’s attention and leave it to you to make up your own mind whether or not enough evidence exists for you to smell something fishy.

Regards

Steve McKnight

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Hi Rachel,

Thanks for your post.

Re: buying contracts… I’d be very careful doing this as IMHO a contract is important, but in reality it’s only used in the worst case scenario (ie. a lose-lose outcome).

Personally I’d be plugging into a system rather than a contract. Using a system will allow you to mitigate risks before they become problems.

There are two such Australian based systems on the market. One produced by me, the other produced by Rick Otton. Both cover the wrap concept in detail, including ideas for properly qualifying leads and limit your investing risk.

I’d just be cautious about buying a contract and then reinventing the wheel and making unnecessary mistakes.

Leveraging your time and money is important if you plan to do multiple deals.

Regards,

Steve McKnight

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Hi,

Agreed that the LVR is 90% and as such mortgage insurance should be included. I will arrange for the example to reflect an 80% LVR. Check it back tomorrow and it should have changed.

Re: comment about FHOG, again, correct. However it is up to the investor to find / use / qualify a client who can qualify for the grant.

If no grant can be claimed then a larger deposit should be sought.

If there is no grant and no deposit then I’d be using the lease-option technique.

It’s all about applying the right strategy to the right investing problem.

However, this example is common for the many wraps that I have done.

Good pick up.

Regards,

Steve McKnight

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Hi Insider,

You raise a couple of interesting points here.

First, most LVRs are based on the bank valuation, which in my experience is generally the lower of independent valuation or cost.

This being the case, even if you negotiate a discount, the LVR will still be based on cost. The few times this has not been the case is outlined in:

https://www.propertyinvesting.com/strategies/creativefinancing

The second point I’d like to make is that it is possible to get 95%+ financing on property, but this will involve mortgage insurance and also, in some cases, other security given the loan is so high.

Remember too that the more you borrow the higher the interest cost. High interest (caused by over-gearing) will make it next to impossible to earn a +ve cashflow on deals that only marginally meet the 11 sec. solution.

Thanks for your post and I hope this has cleared things up.

Regards,

Steve McKnight

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Hi Mike,

That’s not a “na, na, na-na-na” post is it? []

Seriously, thanks for the timely reminder (once again) that +ve cashflow properties can be found if you go and look.

I wonder how many people are wondering where Mike lives?

Well, it doesn’t really matter because +ve cashflow properties exist everywhere when you match the right solution to the right property.

But Mike… what’s your plan for immediately increasing the rents in a win-win way?

Don’t be satisfied with was is… but challenge what could be!

I’m feeling (and maybe starting to look) a bit like Yoda… too many hours staring at the screen.

Thanks for your post.

Bye

Steve McKnight

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