Hi ALSK
There is provision in the Residential Tenancies Act for a person who has been living in premises for some period of time to ask a Tribunal for an order that his tenancy be recognised.Since you have been living there with the landlord's / REA's knowledge, they have been dealing with you already and accepting your rent money.
In simple terms, the Landlord just wants the rent paid on time and the house looked after, so why not put it to the landlord (REA) in those terms, ensure the house is spotless and ready for the inevitable instant inspection, and attach a bunch of rent to the request, along with an application form and bond – money talks.

Good luck
Cheers
thecrest

How are you supposed to make money out of it ?
cheers
thecrest

Hi Kate
Suggestions 
 for your first property and considering the high return, you deal with an agent.
Shop around Orange, cut the best deal you can find and over $500 pw rent  suggest you try to restrict commission to 6%  and 50% of first week's rent since they're making enough for very little effort since you already have a tenant  for them and a good one at that.
If there are lawns, cut them yourself or use a local mowing service to cut them as required, no more than 15 cuts a year coz the winter is harsh. Engineering co should pay not less than monthly in advance and a bond. (don't let the agent kid you into paying the first week or month's rent as commission.  Agent should pay you monthly less commission.
Ask around a few of the motels for a cleaner, they're all too busy mondays so Tuesday rate is $25/hr min 2 hrs.
You only need a lease with 3 months fixed, then on continuation.
Use hardy leather furniture and make the house comfy, the mining guys are highly paid and come from very comfortable homes. If they're gone every weekend, plan key pickup & return facilities.
If you PM me I can give you a contact in Orange.
I made a lot of assumptions here for expediency, and may have put in too much unnecessary info.
Good luck
Cheers
thecrest

Suggestion.
If I was renting to the mining market, it'd be like this :
Fully furnished
3-4 brms
2-3 bathrooms
huge gas HWS system(s)
Gas ducted heating
R/C split system air con to every bedroom & common rooms like lounge
BBQ & deck
Turn lawn into parking
Hi Speed wi-fi
Big flat screen
Beer fridge in the garage
The mining guests are mostly guys, want comfort and have a big budget
and rent long term.
At the moment, my friends with motels in Orange, Bathurst and Lithgow are under pressure to rent out every room to mining Monday – Friday, some starting Sunday night ready for the early starts. M-F occupancy is 100% most places. Weekends are slower and reduce the weekly occ rate to 80%.
No motel will rent out all their rooms  every M-F to a mining company for fear they will lose all their existing client base and have nothing if the mining co moves the men. So a well furnished comfy big house or units would do well. Send in a cleaner weekly, and leave a blank page for repairs & maintenance. Mind you, a lot of them are tradies anyway.
Rent it by the week or month as a package, charge for utilities as well.
Advertise in local papers. Price , charge for whole house only at the rate of $200 per room per week + utilities.
Their option is to pay for a motel room at about $80 per night.
Cheers
thecrest

High praise to some people here from me :
Nathan for starting and fuelling this excellent post
Angel for explaining her journey and success, inspirational, (I'm going to chisel SWIM into stone and give it to my kids)
Richard for his journey and insight
Jake for the absolute gem about eagles & turkeys – just being here amongst this esteemed lot is flying with eagles.
lordopg to be congratulated for trying to change the average mindset into one of great success, and to achieve it you have placed yourself in the right place and surrounded yourself with successful like-minded people and said "I will succeed", and by doing so, you will.
You're all legends because you're here and doing it.
And I guess all this is ironic being done on the Forum of Steve McKnight who has written 2 books on the subject of acquiring a property portfolio in a short space of time  –  0-100 properties…. and 0-130 properties …. , .

We managed to get ahead by using a small deposit and borrowing against  family real estate equity to buy and operate a motel leasehold, then bought the freehold, now sold that and expanding into buying several leaseholds to be run under management. Didn't own a home to start with and motels provide one free onsite so it seemed like a good idea and it worked just fine.

Just to repeat my earlier question – what's the average appreciation rate on NSW property since 1960 ?
Can anyone tell me or where I'd find it ?  The reason for the question is that any strategy  relying on natural increase in property value over time should at least know the long term average.

Cheers
thecrest

Does anyone have the figures on this  ?  :

What is the state average annual appreciation rate for houses and units 
in NSW over the last 50 year period ?

The purpose is to have some average to use to crunch an investment scenario I'm working on.

Any assistance appreciated.

Cheers
thecrest

Hi Jake
I worked out $300 p.w. rent x 50 weeks = $15,000 rent income p.a. ,  allowing 2 weeks for costs of tenant in/out.
$15,000p.a.  return on the property cost of $200,000 = 7.5% gross rent return on investment.
It's 7.8% if you use a 52 week year.

Is that what you mean ?

Cheers
thecrest

The reverse cycle splits sound good, covering all seasons.
Tenants won't line up to pay a good rent in a cold area for a poorly heated house.
You might consider what a month or two of IP vacancy is worth plus tenant turnover plus your own comfort in the meantime.
Cheers
thecrest

Hi Zaul
Preserve that energy drive n enthusiasm, and use it to build a plan and some capital.
You have opportunity, need to build on that.
Good luck, go for it.
Cheers
thecrest

After Bunnings bought out the main local hardware concern in a central west NSW country town last year, the application form for credit required the applicant to agree to using their real estate as security for default.

Read the application form very carefully.
Cheers
thecrest