think about this:

if you buy a home for yourself, get something you can stick a 2 bedroomed granny flat under or out the back of, and rent that out to a couple of quiet people (only works if you are in an area where renters want to live). pros-
-someone to help with gardening, mowing lawn.
-added security if the tenants are decent.
-added value…[Read more]

I rediscovered the joy of not touching a computer for 4 days, and getting back into the bush. Walked morn and afternoon through native scrub, spotted over 20 different types of bird, one echidna, and only one snake, which was under the wheelie bin when I moved it when leaving the bush house this morning. Also learnt that bush pigs are ok to eat…[Read more]

OK I’ll play a silly game.
Has anyone looked beyond self interest to consider why the Carr govt did this?

The extra tax will pay the salary increase of nurses and teachers, fund public transport infrastructure upgrades, and prevent the govt from growing a larger deficit.

Secondly, the tax changes will take investor speculative heat out of the…[Read more]

I had mixed feelings about Brad Sugars.
I know the power of group behaviour as he outlined…getting like mindeds with intent together can be really powerful.

However, I wonder how Brad derives the $8000 value of the week.

At the end of the day, making money is a simple concept. You find a way to supply demands at a price that allows you to make…[Read more]

what state do you live in?

Bruce
Mooloolaba, Qld

Prechter’s book was one I picked up in Mary Ryan’s last week, and couldn’t put down for 15 mins. I recall he recommends gold and bonds or treasury notes within stable democracies if things go awry. Swiss cantonal bonds were one of the favs.

Bruce
Mooloolaba, Qld

I have been reading macro economic lit recently. The concern many analysts have is that large Capitalist nations have been relying on growing household debt for much economic growth in recent years.

They argue that this consumer debt is fast approaching a ceiling because the domestic market cannot afford further debt. i.e. to buy more non income…[Read more]

http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,8828859%255E3122,00.html

Bruce
Mooloolaba, Qld

some students are good some are bad.

I’d budget for ripping up the carpet eventually.

I’d also screw the vendor down 20%, and not move up past 13% discount. In a softening market, it is a psychological wake up call to make an offer 20% lower than the list price. The market is softening right across Brisbane in my experience….I have seen drops…[Read more]

Here’s two RBA publications that make interesting reading re interest rate changes.

http://www.rba.gov.au/Speeches/sp_ag_270204.html
http://www.rba.gov.au/PublicationsAndResearch/Bulletin/bu_feb04/bu_0204_1.pdf

I still think the rate could go either way. Pressure not to go up comes from trying to keep the AUD from rising further, and hurting…[Read more]

re the Bris-GOld Coast Corridor, I am a little cool on it. Back in the 80s when it first took off, lots of people moved up from down south for cheaper housing. There were a lot of social and economic problems due to poor job opportunities. The same can be said for the Caboolture Shire in the north.

I accept things have changed a bit since the…[Read more]

My gold standard is to look for where the jobs are going in the future. In Brisbane, that means near the airport, as it is the last vacant land in Brisbane City and the council has earmarked it for future commercial dev’t. Suburbs nearby will benefit from increased demand. Am not saying which as I am looking there at the moment.

My other view is…[Read more]

As a baby boomer myself, I am sad to say that our generation is far more self centred then any before. They have much of the wealth of society tied up in assets and high paying jobs, however they are voracious consumers. Their one saving grace is that they are not afraid to break conventions.

I expect that nursing homes and hostels will be…[Read more]

Ah Westan, Invercargill was your secret spot huh?
Mini, suppose you are in there too…
Mini and U10,220,506A, I had reservations about Invercargill cg when I first heard about it last year. In the US, university towns don’t have the same cg as industrial towns. Maybe it is a combination of demand from one sector, one that leaves town for 2 months…[Read more]

Saw the C-M suburban median price listing over the w/e. The older I get the less I trust median prices. If a suburb is historically 600m2 lots, and then the council changes zoning laws to allow apartment blocks and 400m2 lots, or a major antiquated industrial allotment has a new res estate put on it, it makes nonsense of median price comparisions…[Read more]

Pisces,

“Therefore the best tax vehicle really is one’s own house.”

I would argue that because PPOR mortgage rpts are made with after tax dollars, outside of RE booms, an IP is a better tax vehicle.

Bruce
Mooloolaba, Qld

The reason Invercargill yields are up is because the local university adopted a fee free policy. This led to around 2000 extra students moving to the town. Before this, the town was declining rapidly. The locals came up with the idea of subsidizing the fees in a desperate measure to turn the local economy around. It has worked brilliantly and is…[Read more]

David, 2004 isn’t 2003. Steve put that book out when it was pretty easy to find +CF (positive cash flow) property in big cities. You’ll find it more difficult to get +CF IPs these days.

I would suggest you look into improving the value of what you already have first. You may find council won’t let you put a second dwelling on your 50 acres unless…[Read more]

Julian, using adsl and fax on the current fax line should be fine. Get a techie to do it, and ask before he comes out whether he can set it up like that.

Basically, he’ll create a new wall jack using the current fax line which you will plug the adsl modem into. The modem will be connected to a router, and all the computers will plug into the…[Read more]

julian, products like cyberpatrol

http://www.cyberpatrol.com/product/quick_start_guide2.aspx

and

netnanny

http://store.netnanny.com/dr/v2/ec_MAIN.Entry10?V1=466106&PN=1&SP=10023&xid=53&DSP=&CUR=840&PGRP=0&CACHE_ID=0

allow you to block access to specific users between hours chosen by you.

Bruce
Mooloolaba, Qld