Forum Replies Created
NO in Feb, YES in March
Bruce
Mooloolaba, QldSorry that last post got scrambled…..
Thanks Graeme, that fits exactly with what I thought.
Not trying to sound partonising, but I understand the local elites can be incredibly naive re health. Like you say, ignore problems until the last minute, then expect a miracle cure, without changing lifestyle. Hence the demand for rhino horn and tiger’s blood etc.I got turned off with S11. Is it reasonably safe up there on a long term basis these days? I understand Australians don’t have as much trouble as in Indonesia, but things can change quickly.
Bruce
Mooloolaba, QldThanks Graeme, that fits and then there is the language barrier. I know lots of Chinese Malays in Sydney, but have only visited KL briefly, so am unclear about the language thing.
exactly with what I thought.
Not trying to sound partonising, but I understand the local elites can be incredibly naive re health. Like you say, ignore problems until the last minute, then expect a miracle cure, without changing lifestyle.Hence the demand for rhino horn and tiger’s blood etc.
I got turned off with S11. Is it reasonably safe up there on a long term basis these days? I understand Australians don’t have as much trouble as in Indonesia, but things can change quickly.
Bruce
Mooloolaba, QldTim, if you can get from Brisbane CBD to Byron in an hour, you are setting all sorts of records.
I spent a lot of time down there at New Years with local friends. You might find more growth opportunity in Bangalow, Mullum, Brunswick Heads, Pottsville, Bogangar, Kingsliff, Ballina, and Yamba.
But all these prices have boomed too. And you’ll get stuff all yield. These are mainly sea change destinations with little employment opportunity for renters.
Bruce
Mooloolaba, Qldscarecrow and graemeh, can you give me an idea of what medical services are like in KL for the elites? I looked into setting up a physiotherapy practice there a few years ago. Some KL friends living in Sydney told me when their wealthy KL based father got sick, there was a lack of quality health care, especially in allied health field.
Bruce
Mooloolaba, QldInteresting that Steve is getting into franchise businesses. BTW, is this thread the first time Steve has mentioned he cashed up significantly last year???
I have struggled on what to do with cash over the last 10 months. I put a bit into property last year. Anyone with a brain I spoke to couldn’t see the share market moving until June 2004. And I thought the only other thing to do with it apart from bonds, was to throw it into a business.
After talking with mates, I decided to finance a mate who wanted to get back into building residential and commercial rock walls. He was saying everyone is busy and demand is still rising. So I bought a bobcat and truck, and it worked out really well. This is SE Qld though. And there is heaps of dev’t going on. My mate focuses on the domestic market. A lot of bobcat operators won’t bother with rockwalls cos they don’t have the experience. This leaves us ripe to charge what we like.
The other business I have looked at is buying a few acres with PPOR on the fast growing northside of Bris, and starting a landscape supplies business.
We have also looked at starting our own quarry.
Other opportunities in Brisbane at the moment are:
– anyone with a building trade has raised their rates by 50% in the last 6 months. you can’t build for under $1200 a sq.m. Renos are up around $1600.
– building supplies have also gone up considerably.
– I am lookig at building guest house/hostel type accomodation in the outer burbs. There are a lot of people unable to afford rising rents. They are getting kicked out of areas that have skyrocketed in price. If I can get council approval for a hostel, I expect to net a return over 18%.It would be good to have a brain storming session here about other investment opportuities. There must be some diverse experience amongst posters.
I am all ears.
Bruce
Mooloolaba, QldAussie, I take on board what you say about Vic.
Roads to me are a essentially a one off capital expense, with some minimal ongoing maintenance.
Hospitals and other aspects of a public health system are ongoing costs. And I’ll let you in on my twisted little bit of insider knowledge.
Hospitals only exist if you can get specialists to work in them. If there are no specialists, the hospitals are just too costly to keep open, as they are just way stations for minor day surgery and A&E.
If you visit Aussie country hospitals, at least in NSW and Qld, you’ll find the specialists have an African or indian accent. And these guys can be great. But the Aussie colleges make it really difficult for them to get a full qualification. So they work along with temporary licences, and have to suffer ridiculous exams that Aussie specialists wouldn’t pass. It puts a lot of good men off.
But I digress.
I understand the Vic regional towns are growing. But I wonder how much of it is via public spending (colleges, unis).
As for baby boomers being cashed up, that is my point. They spend a lot on PPOR and then are cash poor. Further, I tend to agree with RBA chief Ian McFarlane that we risk serious social unrest in the future as the baby boomers lock up capital in their lifestyles, while their children and grandchildren have no real security. This is an unsustainable situation, and it concerns me deeply.
Bruce
Mooloolaba, Qldaussie, I gotta come down on Rugby’s side a bit. I worked at Hervey Bay and Nambour Hospitals and I can say that Qld Health doesn’t place a lot of priority on improving services to people who intentionally choose to go and live in an area where the services are compromised already. Certain government depts take note of the ratio between government support dollars going into a region versus tax revenue from that region. Regions where the former figure exceeds the latter are not priority spending areas. This includes many areas of prime retirement.
In the future, governments will prioritize servicing the employment centres with dwindling tax revenue.
It is a big mistake for anyone to believe that governments will have enough revenue in the future to keep expanding government services in regional Australia.
Further, Byron Bay is a classic example of property prices going so high that the service industry cannot be sustained. Service workers cannot live in the town permanently, and commercial leases tend to be taken up by naive urban refugees.
Bruce
Mooloolaba, QldI agree with most of the above.
However, as someone who has spent a lot of time in nice retirement areas, I believe many baby boomers wanting the sea change will get burnt.Many of them retire to areas where services are a long way away. i.e. hospitals, GPs, social outlets, family.
THen, all it takes is for them to have a heart attack or develop a sore knee, hip, or back, and their remote beachside life becomes untenable.
They soon hightail it back to Melbourne Sydney Brisbane to be closer to their kids and decent medical services.
Further, they live asset rich cash poor lives. And end up on long public hospital waiting lists, unable to afford private health insurance and that total knee replacement.
However, I am sure there will be a steady stream of self centred baby boomers seeking Nirvana on some beach miles from the city for another 20 years.
My view is that if you are going to buy beach front, get it close to where your kids live or within an hour of a big city with all the services. And if you are going to move away from family, make a lot of friends very quickly after arriving.
Bruce
Mooloolaba, QldP.S. Suncorp currently have no loan application fees as a special.
Bruce
Mooloolaba, QldCorrine, you might try Suncorp Metway, a Qld bank. They told me today they look seriously at 12 months profit and loss status if self employed for conventional loans (not lo doc). They also consider lending 95% (mort insurance required). This is different to what they told me 6 months ago. I know they are still hot on property whereas the southern based banks are going cold. But it might only be for Qld property. Check it out.
Bruce
Mooloolaba, QldMichael, I have had an architect and a builder (both friends) inspect the property, and am eyes open re undersized bearers, and repair costs.
The only issue that remains contentious is my interest in disposing of the property down the track. Most buyers would be thrown by something like undesized bearers, asking for the problem to be fixed, the price to be discounted, or would pull out of the contract.
I have considered risk/reward carefully here, offsetting the bearer problem with the price I am paying and the future of this ‘hot’ suburb.
Bruce
Mooloolaba, QldI saw Barb Page today. She seemed to live up to her reputation. Re trusts, there is a multiple trust arrangement where an operating business exists under a corporate trust, other investments such as individual IP renovations are placed under unit trusts, and income from all trusts are channeled into a discretionary trust.
As for the earthmoving idea, I have since reverted to property, in this instance, I am looking at + CF commercial IPs, and a new industrial lot that I will attempt to flip before settlement in 7 months.
Bruce
Mooloolaba, Qldthanks guys. I am seeing another accountant next week recommended by DaleGG (somersoft forum) in Melbourne. He spoke highly of Dymphna Boholt and Barbara Page at Active Financial Answers on the Sunshine Coast.
Bruce
Mooloolaba, Qldthat would be a cool trick to pay mortgage rpts with a credit card.
I have a $30k limit on one card and have used it to throw money into short term high return investments.
The return has to be pretty good cos they hit you with a 2.5% over the counter cash advance fee.I got a gold mastercard specifically when spending a lot of time in the USA. THe card came with a bona fide worldwide travel insurance policy (with comprehensive medical). The policy is for 12 months a year. THe price of independent insurance for 12 months in the US would be astronomical.
My smart ass brother boasts about not using cash. He uses an Amex charge card instead. Helps with book keeping.
I still carry cash. Its bargaining power is significant (went into a white goods discount store the other day and said I’d pay $700 cash for an $830 ticketed fridge, and got it. I also encourage my clients to pay in cash, due to obvious advantages.
Bruce
Mooloolaba, Qldthat would be a cool trick to pay mortgage rpts with a credit card.
I have a $30k limit on one card and have used it to throw money into short term high return investments.
The return has to be pretty good cos they hit you with a 2.5% over the counter cash advance fee.I got a gold mastercard specifically when spending a lot of time in the USA. THe card came with a bona fide worldwide travel insurance policy (with comprehensive medical). The policy is for 12 months a year. THe price of independent insurance for 12 months in the US would be astronomical.
My smart ass brother boasts about not using cash. He uses an Amex charge card instead. Helps with book keeping.
I still carry cash. Its bargaining power is significant (went into a white goods discount store the other day and said I’d pay $700 cash for an $830 ticketed fridge, and got it. I also encourage my clients to pay in cash, due to obvious advantages.
Bruce
Mooloolaba, QldPoint taken Mel. Will drop the unit trust idea and buy it in joint names.
Bruce
Mooloolaba, QldI wonder what the situation is for marraige separations, i.e. what criteria do you have to satisfy to claim a separate PPOR each during trial or intended permanent separations.
Bruce
Mooloolaba, QldI like to think about what drove the last property boom. I tend to think it was a combination of:
– poor share market performance
– ergo, poor super fund performance
– S11 and Iraqi tension made investment closer to home more attractive, and share markets potentially more volatile.
– low interest rates.
– comparative value of IPs to poor share market.
– growing disgruntlement with bank cash rates and service.
– confidence in Aussie economy.
– around 10-15 years of poor growth in property, at least around SE Qld.
– growing pent up first home buyer demand in selected areas.
– net population increase, some areas more than others.
– relaxed home lending practices and more competition.Against all this, I think Syd/Mel might average 5-10% for the next 2 years, SE Qld and other metros 15-20%.
Factors limiting growth are:
-wages have not gone up to allow the market to afford higher RPTs.
-IP returns and growth are not attractive now.
– interest rates are historically around 10%, and I expect they will climb slowly to 8-9% in the next 2-3 yrs.Personally, I’d like to see more capital invested in smart business, especially of an export nature. (Smart business however could include building dwellings more cheaply and efficiently, to free capital for other stuff.) Maybe the media will cotton onto that soon. THe US media does a much better job than the socialist leaning ABC and the token efforts of the commercial stations.
Bruce
Mooloolaba, QldThanks for that too picja1.
I chose Adelaide Bank for one of my loans because of the high exit fee of RAMS.
Are you a broker?
The ones I spoke to were in Brisbane.
Is there much interstate variability in what is made available through brokers?Bruce
Mooloolaba, Qld
