Hi,
An architect is a specific and highly educated professional, they may be more than is needed. Building designers are another profession more usually associated with small development works. They work with builders, serveyors (they may be surveyors themselves) and councils to get approvals.

In order to call yourself an “architect” you need…[Read more]

Hi,
The posts above contain lots of good stuff. I’ll add:

1. H&L packs have a much lower stamp duty as you only pay for the land component.
eg: I bought a H&L for a combined $260k and saved about $13k in stamp duty because the land was only $87k
2. On the otherhand, while maintenance costs are basically nill there are a whole slew of extra…[Read more]

The whole CGT vs development income is a shady affair. The definition from the ATO says you pay CGT when an asset you own that is not held as trading stock or production input is sold (a CGT event) NOTE: an abridged summary. So the question comes down to whether your block of land is considered “trading stock/production input” or considered a…[Read more]

Hi,
If the engineer says it is load bearing the BC needs to know about what you are planning as it may affect the structural integrity of all the other units and may void certain insurances. Also there may be work needed on common property so again the BC needs to know for appropriate work cover and so on.

The best way to deal with the body…[Read more]

Of course the easy answer is:
There is no such thing as “passive” income. (blah)

In my way of seeing things there are three comodities you can use in varying and interchangable quantites to live: time, money and knowledge. If you have the time you don’t need much money or knowledge, if you have money you don’t need much time or knowledge and if…[Read more]

The house and drive were built by Devine and they don’t deal with council land if they can avoid it. The crossover is in the wrong spot because the council required the developer to put one in, but didn’t specify when or where. So the dev pu a single crossover in right at the boundary of the block. Of course the dev then requires each property…[Read more]

Hi,
Further to this issue:
I’ve spoken with the council and they say that when a subdivision is made that has a median strip between it and the road the person doing the subdivision is responsible for providing at least a single plain concrete crossover. Except for the basic engineering aspects (eg weight bearing ability, material, min and max…[Read more]

I’m in Melbourne and have to pay for water usage. When I was in ACT I had to pay water as well.

I think you’re being shafted.

Hi,
1. The deposit can be held by a real estate agent if one is working for you in the sale. Otherwise you can employ a solicitor to act as agent to hold the deposit in trust or you open a joint account with both yourself and the purchaser as signatories .
2.Vacant land can be considered primary residence for up to 4 years prior to building,…[Read more]

I think the more fundamental question is why is it difficult to get someone to lend against a <50sqm property?

I think the answer lies in the old saying: “location, location, location”
Little dogbox accomodation fails to afford any unique qualities. They depreciate over time and at the same time new doxboxes are built that are exactly the same…[Read more]

The most time effective method is (for me):
1. Know your limit for the property.
2. Have a low end and a high end price (high end being your limit).
3. Start by going straight to the low end price.
4. If someone bids against you, go to your half way price then your limit.

If anyone out bids, they just paid too much.

This only works if you choose…[Read more]

“Allow” ourselves to be judged by others?

[biggrin]

How will you stop me from judging you by your rather naive outlook and probably foolish behaviour? Now I’ll treat you differently and all because of what I’ve observed externally. Try to not “allow” that if you will…

We are judged by our appearance and demeanor whether we like it or not (I…[Read more]

Interest is only deductible for money used to generate income. You can’t deduct interest for money used to pay off your PPR no matter what secures that loan.

Just pay out the PPR loan to reduce the interest paid.

Or you could move out and rent while leasing your PPR to someone else thus making it an IP. This may work out if the rent you pay is…[Read more]

Oh, and no I don’t really know what my point is either.

[confused2]

Economic downturn affects the perceived value, not the intrinsic value. Intrinsic value remains relativley constant in that it is the value one places on having a home. Perceived value is all the other stuff like prestige, convenience, luxury etc… That’s the stuff people…[Read more]

A young couple can afford a $350k house because their combined income allows them to?

Seems the obvious answer. Prices are only as high as people will pay. If the prices say the most common price paid for a house in suburban Melbourne is $350k then the most common amount people can afford must be $350k.

A young couple on a combined income of…[Read more]

My 5 cents,
High traffic areas can benefit from tiles/floor boards. I chose timber veneer laminate (a couple of mm of timber over a high density fibre composite) because it looks good but lasts forever and is cheap (natural timber does look better, but more expensive and gets dints etc…). I put the laminate in the hall way which connects to…[Read more]

Hi,
I have to agree that if you are concerned about making it difficult for the bank to sell your property you should re-assess your position. I’d like to mention some benefits from sticking with one lender:
1. You can get a single loan manager with whom you can develop a relationship with. this makes it easier to ask questions and stay in the…[Read more]

Hi,
I would treat this as a “what goes around comes around” situation. Play nice with the owners trying to sell. If you make things difficult so you can put in a low offer you may find the difficulty could be thrown back at you later down the track.

I’d say use your knoweldge of the house to make a good judgement about whether to buy or not.…[Read more]

Hi,
Have you looked at non-direct property investment? With that level of equity you could pick up a diversified portfolio of income bearing investments that return about 9% with risk not too dissimilar to what you’ve got currently. You should be able to pick up a loan for less than 9% right? So the excess can be used to offset the small loss.…[Read more]

Hi,
I’ve been watching the apartments in Docklands and SouthBank (Melbourne CBD in general) and I think the prices are about as low as they will reasonably go. The reason I say this is because, just like you said, there really is a minimum at which people will sell their apartments, that being more or less the same amount as their mortgage over…[Read more]