Well, this is the interesting thing, working out your strategy! are you youngish? (not a mature student?)

Part of the problem for me, and others, I suspect, is there are too many choices and options!

Personally, I would buy own home first, pay off ASAP, then invest, purely cos CGT exemption on PPoR is use it or lose it. Also if given choice, I…[Read more]

Hi,

Have you checked with lenders whether you can get the $50k loan with just Austudy as income? How are you paying for stamp duty?
or are you getting the $50k from a non bank source?
Just askin’, cos without finance the other questions don’t matter.

Cheers

swampy

Well your investment path will start where your budget, goals and the current market intersect.

Why are you investing? Long term capital gain? Short term cash flow? The answers to these questions will determine the type of property you invest in.

You don’t have to invest where you live. Where does a home of your own fit in – principal place of…[Read more]

No, the other property fell thru. $40k difference between my best offer and what the vendor would sell for.

The cracks are at least 5mm wide. Oh well, scratch potential property number 2. I wonder what the average number of houses people reject before buying?

The answer to this (how painful), is about $ 150k and 2 months, including plans!

Absolutely you will need body Corp approval – which state is the property in? Is it strata or torrens title?

Below from NSW (strata schemes)

http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/Tenants_and_home_owners/Strata_schemes/Common_property_and_the_lot.html

“Other responsibilities under Section 116 and 117
You must not interfere with any support or…[Read more]

Hi Mick,

As an investor (in any asset), you are taking a risk. Yes, there is a risk that in the short term, some property prices might slide.
So if you’re sure property is the way to go, you pick the right property, you make sure you can ride out all the bumps along the way – like renovation costs, interest rate rises, vacancies, tax, even…[Read more]

@ Anthony K

What’s the current annual limit to contribute to super?

Swampy

Hi John,

It’s a nice “problem” for your parents to have!

What would they be trying to achieve, apart from tax minimisation? As you seem to be aware, transferring properties into a trust would trigger CGT, so that would be a big price to pay.

Do they want to develop their land? How many years until they want to retire?

I’m sure someone more…[Read more]

Considered opinion is…maybe.

Although “crash” is an emotive word. 5 to 10% declines, worst case scenario, possible.

Hi Aussieguy2000,

Each state looks only at the land owned by you with it’s own borders e.g. Qld does not care that I pay land tax in
NSW, only that I own land less than the threshold for Qld

Re q3, do not confuse capital gains tax exemption with land tax exemption, they are 2 different taxes with their own separate rules
If you are not living in…[Read more]

Hi aussieguy2000

In answer to your questions;

1) thresholds are per individual
2) tax free thresholds vary per state – and the Northern Territory has NO land tax
3) you can check with the relevant state revenue office; and you prove your PPoR status by proving utility bills in your name at the relevant address

Check out http://www.land tax.com.au…[Read more]

I think first port of call is to contact the local council to see if you can get planning approval; because without approval, the whole process won’t get off the ground, and you won’t need to worry about insurance etc

Hi El,

Well, if one uses the lower price of your current estimated price, the property has increased in value from $32K to $460K, roughly 40% in about 5 years. At about 8% per year, I’d say that wasn’t too shabby.

Gross rental of $375 per week is 4% – again, not too bad.

Be very careful about selling and re buying. If you sell, you’ll be up…[Read more]

Ben,

I think dual key apartments are meant to appeal to owners who want convenient city living, with control over additional income. If I was a dual apartment owner living in Sydney CBD, I would have no problem letting out a studio to a student or executive. (Did you see that story about a foreign student who paid $140 per week to live on…[Read more]

Hi Ben,

A dual key apartment is one which (usually) has a self contained studio accessed by a door, inside the main apartment. There is a common hallway, but separate lockable doors to each section. So the title belongs to one owner, but they can let the each portion separately, or live in one and let the other.

The advantage is higher yield…[Read more]

Hi Ben,

A dual key apartment is one which (usually) has a self contained studio accessed by a door, inside the main apartment. There is a common hallway, but separate lockable doors to each section. So the title belongs to one owner, but they can let the each portion separately, or live in one and let the other.

The advantage is higher yield…[Read more]

Hi Denny Crane,

“Is it better to use cash as a deposit or save it for reno costs?”

Save it for reno costs, in my opinion. And also, speaking as an experienced property investor, I’d highly recommend that you have a decent additional, cash buffer for contingencies – minimum 3 months mortgage/expenses.

“Can you include the reno budget in the…[Read more]

Jamie M wrote:
It is quite a broad question but if it's high yielding type stock you're after – I'm thinking you'll have to start your search way out west. Pick up a copy of API or YIP mag and scan the back pages that contain suburb specific data such as growth rates, rental yields, vacancy rates, etc. This should help you narrow down your…[Read more]

Wow, that is a bit of an open ended question.  There are over 600 suburbs in Sydney, NSW.And past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results – which means just because someone has made a gain in the past, doesn't mean they'll make the same gain in the future.Me thinks you are really asking, "please someone tell me (for free…[Read more]