Their home page seems to be loading from my end.

Cheers
Andrew

I wouldn’t get too caught up in all those investment strategies proposed in books and by property gurus etc. I would use them more as an educational concept of how it works theoretically. There are many assumptions behind those strategies.

As we all know everything changes all the time. So investing in property using a +10 year strategy that makes multiple assumptions seems a bit off. In 5 to 10 years things will be different from today and your strategy will change and so will the strategies proposed in the property books.

Following certain rules that help you maximise your:

• options
• your investment’s value
• and income generation ability

now and in the future seems more realistic.

Some obvious rules are:

• Buy under market value – Negotiate hard.This helps you create equity straight from day one
• Buy properties with development potential for now or in the future – High future value potential when rezoning
• Over time add value by renovating, subdividing, etc

There are plenty more.

I agree with D.T. I wouldn’t go into #4.

Cheers
Andrew

This can be quite useful:

http://www.bmtqs.com.au/construction-cost-calculator

or the table to compare:

http://www.bmtqs.com.au/construction-cost-table

Cheers
Andrew

DeanCollins wrote:

Online Property Management Software
◾123Landlord
◾Acturent
◾AppFolio
◾Buildium
◾DIY Real Estate Solutions
◾EVA Property
◾iRealtyManager
◾PropertyBoss
◾PropertyGate
◾PropertyWare
◾Rentec Direct
◾RentMonitor
◾RentPost
◾SimplifyEm
◾UnitConnect

I would probably look at Australian websites if you want to take into account legal aspects.

crucialx wrote:

Is there any software that manages the relationship between the tenant, landlord, and real estate agent?

Not many manage the relationship between all three parties.

DeanCollins wrote:

.lots of developers don’t look before they leap…

Just because a website already exists, it doesn’t mean that no new better ones should be developed. If that was the case then we’d only have one property investing forum ;). It reminds me of the myspace-facebook situation. Facebook was nothing new, very easy to develop, but differently executed.

DeanCollins wrote:

you wont be able to get landlords to push their agents into using a specific app that you’ve developed.

That is true. I agree with you. Unless the app is better and saves the agent money and time. Then you won’t really have to push it.

Hi Suri007

PM me your email and I can send you a spreadsheet. Unless there is a way to upload it on here, which I haven’t figured out yet.

Cheers
Andrew

As Terry pointed out, if you want someone else to find you the properties, you have to pay for it.

A buyer agent “should” act on your interest since you are paying them. Anyone else paid by a seller won’t act in your interest.

However if you are planning to be involved in property investing in the long term, then I would advise to do it yourself.

Cheers
Andrew

So, many believe that investing in funds that track the index along with a good portion invested in bonds is the most efficient way to financial freedom.

I doubt that. You can check it. Get the past 20 years performance of an index (say ASX 200 or 500 or whatever index you wish) and a government bond and draw an excel sheet. Then ask yourself if that is financial freedom.

In my opinion Australian property can be purchased which has this asymmetric profile. To me, this means that investing in property is superior than the above strategy.

Don’t confuse yourself. Stick with property. If you don’t have experience in investing and are not financial savvy stay away from shares. Even experienced investors get it wrong most of the time.

Property is a direct investment. You have more control over it compared to shares. You can renovate, rent out rooms individually, move into it, etc. Plus I’ve never heard of property prices go down to 0..

Cheers
Andrew

Hi simpanteli

Is it a must to travel and see the area?
Has anyone ever developed in another state whilst not being able to liase with everyone in person or inspect?

If you are using a buyer agent you might get away with not inspecting the property/area and the rely on the photos/videos the BA might supply to you. I wouldn’t fully rely on the BA word without seeing photos/videos.

However if you don’t use a BA then I would recommend to inspect the property and area in person or at least pay someone to take photos/videos of the property/area for you.

Cheers
Andrew

Hey Killara

Thanks for letting me know. I just tested it and it seems to be working.

Are you still experiencing the problem?

Cheers

Andrew

There is nothing wrong with new properties.

These benefits include more tax deductions, depreciation, reduced stamp duty, less fees, less maintenance, increases chances of finding tenants

Those benefits are all true.

The problem with these companies is that they charge very high commissions on top of the real value of the property.

Isabel wrote:

we paid 410k but is worth 388!

This most likely reflects their commission: $22k.

Cheers

Andrew