hi ,i have just moved to emerald and got a job in the mining industry
obviously with my real estate antenna out
(scamp will have a ball with that but i was a freelancer anyway so i didnt have a job to loose or give up ! )
really enjoying the time off between shifts
stayed in a camp for over a month and it was no fun

my notes for those who are interested
all the miners have kids, dogs (two  at least) two cars and a boat or motorcycles
so while any old shack with a roof may rent out,what your customers are looking for  needs a lot of storage and some decent fencing
my company looks for 3 bedroom houses unless a suitable number of children justify bigger
in emerald the" cap" is $450,my company is un willing to pay more
i went to the agent and asked for the rentals list ,they said "we just write the address on the back of a business card"
i took our house un seen as the previous one had gone by the time i got back

my company and several others have a really generous scheme should you choose to buy a house,and get off their rent list………

people who dont work for a company such as mine put a lot of time into the gardens etc as it is the only way they can keep the rent down

i am still constantly amazed by how few people it takes to run a coal mine,any job that can be mechanized or outsourced is one less safety concern and they are way concerned about safety
so far no one out here is "talking it down"
in fact the vibe here is like sydney back in the tech stocks bubble days !
lots of people rushing around,making money and having a good time
lots of rumours about the next mine opening up etc

buying cheap in a smaller town and waiting for a mine to open is a huge punt but hey if it worked every other time….

cheers !

im off for my medical tomorrow ! 
the work i can do  isnt advertised ….
so i have been asking every one i meet " do you know any one who works in mining ?  "
most people are surprisingly helpfull ,took a few months but
a mate rang  with a phone no i sent a cv ,then flew up at my expense for an interview and did a days trial which i loved….
result !
warning tho i was making more money than my dad as a 22 year old working in the wa desert, and had a bunch of gold shares,several motorcycles etc
on my week off i saw  the black tuesday crash on tv and laughed at the silly unfit stock brokers all winging and crying

a few days later i realised i was directly affected  !
six months later i was able to find my next job digging holes for the swimming pool co (for $250 a week ! )
its a boom and like the tech stock bubble it will stop
be  ready

good luck have fun and be safe !

it pays to have your ' team ' in place.so you can jump on a bargain
i also have learned it is best if they are located fairly close so you can move documents ,sign stuff ( cheques usually.. )at the last second etc
 there is always a last minute panic over some scrap of paper (so get a fax machine )
and …while getting the finance right isnt as sexy and exciting as screwing some poor real estate agent
one badly financed place will stuff your next purchase and you will end up doing it over  and paying break costs etc

there was a sign above a collegues desk that we can all learn from
" lack of planning on your part ……does not constitute an emergency on my part "
while you may feel you are getting a bargain ,you are doing a lot of pushing and shoving to get things done and putting your ass on the line if it falls over …to make some complete strangers happy
so be sure it is you who is doing the manipulating

thinking out of the box …could you make an offer plus  $xxx as an allowance for bridging finance( for one month ),or if you are really certain you will get finance make a large unconditional deposit
last house we sold still hasnt settled but as the deposit was unconditional it was released to me and the replacement house  has already been purchased ( using said funds )

before you chime in scamp we made a profit and should  do so on this next one ,so your nation wide blanket statement/opinion/ argument is
a, getting boring and b , not an accurate depiction in my experience

cheers and good luck

i was told (a while ago )that real estate agents are putting the rental applications in a hat and pulling out the lucky new tennant as there are so many applicants for each property 
check with agents when you are there but it was one of the fastest growing regions
scamp bring your push bike from holland when you come over and ride up from sydney to check it out !

i go for  value adding  every time ,but i enjoy fixing stuff
in the past i have bought in state housing areas which they redeveloped and sold to trendy young couples and it worked well
what sells best is what is "normal" in that patch ,i live in a fibro area and for some reason the few modern low maint brick and tile places take ages to sell…….
i assume the one fibro shack in a brick suburb would be a  slow mover too
real estate is a pretty conservative sport
do your sums
an extra hundred grand for $50 a week more rent seems a bit like a dud investment
in fact i will give you $75 a week for a hundred grand !
if you start with the cheapie you may be able to buy both !
good luck and have fun

not sure if it still applies but my dad told me about the standing fences act when i was a kid, as this sort of thing would cause major head aches for the banks and financiers there is a solution,
if it has been standing ten years  and no one complained it is the new boundary
this may be the "great wall of china is to keep the rabbits out son" so i would check it out
but the old man worked in real estate finance
and from what we have heard "carried a big stick "on st georges tce at one time
cheers

my first thoughts were  "land goes up in value ,houses depreciate "
but after doing the maths it a hundred a month  or so in your pocket ( tick )
most people dont understand easments , and tend to fear what they dont understand ( x)
id be standing on each block and thinking about aspect ,views, elevation  and drainage
and letting that influence my decision

we discovered  our council allows two dogs on larger blocks of land
as a rental that probably wont be a consideration,unless like me you have a little old lady with two jack russels as a tennant !
( d oh)

depends how handy you are ,we just bought an assembled flat pack kitchen for  $ 3400. new . e bay !
and the appliances were on "managers special" at harvey norman $ 2000
beware there are some ( eastern ) european appliances that photograph well but are really scruffy up close.
we have to get a stone cutter to do the holes in the benches as we were hot and sweaty for granite… not sure how much that will be yet
but  timber or pretend granite laminex one could do , and for a rental might be better
i have access to a truck and the kitchen pick up address is an hour away
in kal you are up for a bit more travel time….

love the en suite idea ,that is value adding !

try not to spend too much time agonising over colours
any thing you can describe as "eggshell" is good for the walls , buy a really big tin and do them all the same  so touch ups in a couple of years are quick and easy, cheap paint takes at least three coats…….
and sadly carpet in rentals should be …brown like a milky coffee
i change all the power points for doubles and,since the fire. fit smoke detectors
 ( away from the oven and toaster or they get disabled )

shade sails , you can get them at bunnings grab a couple and some pavers and you have a barbeque area
good luck and thanks for the tips on kal , i thought it would be heaps more expensive

get fast internet ,a garage and allow pets  ?