There are a number of agents who frequent this forum who look after Brisbane so they should reply to you. I went with someone from here, I met them in person to see if they had the same expectations as me. Then I went back and read their posts and comments / reviews from people who had used them to see if anything worried me.

Hi Jacqui,

The majority of my super is in a defined benefit fund that I can’t touch without withdrawing it… which I don’t want to do. In my other super, for me and my wife it’s about $150k. The other issue with using our super is that I believe if my wife goes to a self managed super fund then her work’s contribution drops back to 9.25%, which…[Read more]

Hi Jacqui

– There is no immediate requirement to increase cashflow. I’m still working for the majority of the cash I generate, but I’m still young’ish and in a very stable job – which I enjoy. Plus, my wife is only PT at the moment (in a FT role), so she can always go back to work to generate more. I’ve also picked up a ‘2nd job / scholarship’…[Read more]

Hi Jacqui

– There is no immediate requirement to increase cashflow. I’m still working for the majority of the cash I generate, but I’m still young’ish and in a very stable job – which I enjoy. Plus, my wife is only PT at the moment (in a FT role), so she can always go back to work to generate more. I’ve also picked up a ‘2nd job / scholarship’…[Read more]

FYI. I’ve used Jacqui and Richard as well and second what Gizzy said.

I have an IP in Alfredton – bought about 15 months ago. It was empty for a couple of weeks between tenants and it certainly felt like a ‘tenants market’. So much different than a few years ago with my other IP where I had 20+ applications in a 15min showing. Having said that, it rented fine, but I can imagine that a poorer positioned IP would…[Read more]

I would:

Buy a PPOR and use the whole $150k as a deposit. Possibly a FHOG if you want to go that way, however, I would buy a PPOR that I was happy to live in and the best investment possible. Ideally with good capital gains to use for further purchases. Maybe a house you could raise a family in if you’re at that place in life.

I would then…[Read more]

Is your current place ‘a good investment property’? What will it rent for? What maintenance costs are involved? Do you expect any capital growth? Is it new, have a lot of depreciable assets?

Basically, I see 2 options depending on your specific situation. The ideas below are very light on the detail, but hopefully gives you an idea.

OPTION…[Read more]

A bit of a late reply, and after your long post replying to everyone it seems like someone should get back to you!

It sounds like you’re looking at sourcing the IP yourself, which is common, however I would at least consider using a buyers agent. It’s a big purchase, and it’s amazing how many people just do a bit of research, haggle with a RE…[Read more]

You seem to be in a pretty good situation. Since this happened to me, I seem to be repeating myself in a few threads, but be aware how quickly things can change when you ‘settle down’ – assuming that you don’t have any kids / wifes (yea, the plural wife is a part-joke / part-serious comment). But my priorities changed pretty quick when I got…[Read more]

Hi James,

I’ve never heard of them, but they sound dodgy as hell. If you’re looking for a property, there are plenty of people here who could help you out. I’d also be curious to know how they got your number…

Personally, if the rental manage is doing an alright job then I would keep them. I think people under estimate the amount of work required and the savings you can make off jobs such as maintenance etc (I probably saved $2000+ on replacing the hot water, oven etc). I also tend to consider my time to be of greater value than what I pay to my rental…[Read more]

Figure out a goal and work towards that. Having a goal will help you make your decisions.

Also, it depends on how much you earn from other sources, like your job since serviceability is important as well.

Without much other information, and if I wanted to stay in my current house. I would probably pay it down, then redraw an investment loan. How…[Read more]

Corey and Benny are correct, and I’ll add another benefit of leaving as IO. A common method is to buy a portfolio, have them all as IO. The portfolio as a whole should go up faster than CPI (this is what most people would want), when you start to look at retiring you can sell off property within the portfolio and pay down the loans, which will…[Read more]

What ratios or calculations are you talking about? There are a bunch of websites etc that broadly outlines how to calculate costs of IPs, and with that you can use the rent to work out expected income / loss per year.

I’ve never done a sub-division, but my father is currently doing one and I’ve helped him out a bit… not in Melbourne though.

Basically, in the area I looked at, the local council had all their fees outlined on their website. From there you could even call the council and get a better idea of their cost and whether your broad plan would be…[Read more]

Right, so my question is, why do you think ‘this property’ will go up more than the rest of Brisbane? If you have $400k to spend in Brisbane, you’d want to spend it in the right place. Some places might go up 15%, while others might go up 5%… that’s a big difference on $400k. It’s more of a rhetorical question than anything, but it doesn’t sound…[Read more]

I don’t like the rental return, so i would pass unless you know there will be a very good capital return (via subdivision etc). On a very (and I mean very) basic calculation, if you’re paying $435k then you would want at least $435/wk in rent. So, I guess if I was going to buy it, it wouldn’t be based on the return.

Why do you think that you will get ‘good’ capital gains on the house? Are you working on the assumption that if there are a lot of people building then demand must be high and therefore prices will go up? If that is the case, then I would say ‘no’ that’s not a good enough reason to buy a property. I can’t imagine 50% of the complex being NRAS…[Read more]