I still think your agent is not working for his/her commission.   Of course now that you are out of the "exclusive" agreement they will won't to know even less of you I expect.  Of course not everyone works like this but it would appear the majority do.  I can understand you don't want to drive 8 hours to meet someone only to find "they have changed their mind".  If you know a neighbour well enough leave them with the key but make sure they are the kind of people who could talk a potential purchaser out of the deal – this can happen even when owners get involved!  Maybe find out what the house could rent for – there are not that many on realestate.com.au. and include a projected, realistic rent and then maybe advertise it in the Courier Mail and the Gold Coast Bulletin if it works well on expected figures. 

Keep at them though and if they still don't get their act together either do your own thing – at least give it a try – or find a new agent.  One of the very first properties I ever bought I never even saw an agent!  It was with an agent but he was too far away and wouldn't drive anywhere on a weekend – can you believe that!  I bought the place and made a fortune on it after 5 years of hard work getting it into some sort of shape.

I do love property when it works well.

May you solve your problems soon.

All the best

Debbie

Hi TIA,

I hate to hear how badly some realestate salespeople treat their clients – you are the perfect example and I would be giving them the shove if I was you.  However, if your property sells whilst you have a contract to sell with these agencies you will be liable for the  commission.  Have a read through your agreement with them and see if you can cancel at any stage with written notice and what subject to's they include when you do this.  I have done this very thing with an agent that was very nice but kept trying to tell me I was expecting too much money for my property – she had no idea I had been working as a REA for close to 10 years at the time.  I gave her written notice that I was withdrawing my property for sale after a mini-cyclone had decimated our neighbourhood ( my house and yard were untouched but it worked as a great excuse!) and then put it into the hands of another agent who sold it within a week for close to $50,000 more than she was trying to convince me was its true worth.  Hmmm – perhaps she wanted a friend to buy my house?

So, as the agents you have are not working your property well it can't hurt to try www. owner.com.au or the like – as you have already done – but the distance you need to travel could be a problem.  May I ask what area of Queensland your property is in?  Perhaps you could take the time to get to it once a fortnight and have it as an open house and advertise in the local paper?  If it is an investment property you should be able to use your travel as a deduction from any profit you might make on it – check this one out with your accountant though.  Have you thought of phoning another agent (all agents) in the area to see what their thoughts are on the saleability of your property?  Have you actually considered speaking to the person in the office that you have your house listed with to voice your complaints?  Sometimes this can do wonders to get some action moving on having your property sold.

I hope you achieve your goal shortly.

All the best
Debbie

If you are still looking to find owner/vendors try this site: http://www.owner.com.au – make sure you get this correct or you end up on the following –  RESE is a Real Estate Search Engine – which may still be fine for you.  There are also the following:

http://www.smartvendor.com.au/

http://www.anreps.com.au/

http://www.australiarealty.com/

However, don't be fooled into thinking you might get a property cheaper by working directly with the owner, they often have an over-inflated idea of what their property is really worth and many vendors need educating by a good agent to make them see sense when a good deal is put to them.  Also bear in mind that every agent is (should be) motivated in getting a property sold – that's how they make their living.

On your other question on land or buying a current building, I'd go for the easily-tenanted property over land as it will bring you in money straight away and this makes life a little easier when you apply for a loan.

Happy house hunting.

Debbie

Cata,

Thanks for the updated details on Adrian.  I have updated my address book now.
Have yourself a great week.

Debbie

Hi Daryl,

You could consider letting people park their boats, caravans, horse floats on your land but this can get a bit messy particularly if the neighbours don't like it or if one of the boarding vehicles goes on the missing list.  You would (should) also get planning permission from your local council to do this and of course this too cost money.  If you were considering taking the path of placing self storage sheds in situ, this too is ideal for a township area but again there is council approval required and the cost of building the storage sheds.

As for the gathering of information as to the cost of billboard advertising, why not just phone one of the big companies to see what they charge?

Is there a reason as to why you are considering holding onto the land until some later date?

I wish you well.

Debbie

Grim it gives one good heart to know that not every property investor has no heart when it comes to caring for their tenants – whatever their age and situation.

May good karma be coming right back at you.

Debbie

If you have enough money hanging around why not put some of it into gold?  It is just not everyone's cup of tea as it doesn't pay dividends or interest but even though it is quite high now my husband assures me it is going to go up even further.  Otherwise, if that is a little too foreign for you ING has a great savings account on-line with no banking fees. 

Oh but I just thought Martin,

If you buy an acreage property you only get CGT free on the land component that is 5 acres or less.

Property investment is full of twisty-turny things so keep a good accountant by your side at all times.

I've made great money at this fun game so I am sure the average person can too.

Debbie

Why are you looking at buying a property to hold?  You should be looking at a property that will ultimately bring you in money.  Now if you are looking at holding onto a property because the Local Area Plan (LAP) shows it as being a potential property for subdivision you should still have something that you can either rent out or live in as, I can tell you now, that most Councils will take around 2 years to give subdivision approval now that there are so many reports that have to be submitted along with your application.  However, if you are looking at holding onto a property with the though of a straight forward capital gain,  stop and think again.  With the current changing tide of the property market I would tread very carefully.  Perhaps you could give us all a little more idea of what it is you have in mind, that way we can probably give you some value insight into what questions to ask.

Have a good one.

Debbie

I think you should just get married but beside that, why even bother to tempt the stamp duty demon?  Leave things as they are unless there is some tax advantage in the deal.  In the eyes of the law a de facto relationship is as good as any other contract and you are both in on these properties at the end of the day.  However, if you do wish to tie everything up into both your names to make it all a little neater, when it comes to paying the stamp duty it will be levied at whatever the current market value is.  This I know from my own past experience when I purchased my mother's property when she could no longer afford the mortgage repayments I hunted around to get the lowest valuation I could and that is what the stamp duty was levied at.

I wish you well.

Debbie