Hi steve,

With such high repayments and low rent you should be able to receive fairly high tax rebates for the cost of the house. See your accountant and make sure that this is all in place. Make sure they know what a quantity surveyor is and how they can be used. You can also apply to receive your tax refund weekly not anually. Again talk to your accountant. Unfortunately with houses with very low rental yeild it takes a long time for it not to cost a lot to hold the place. Also check the resale value of the home it may surprise you when you come to sell it.
Check with your real estate agent to see how the market for rent is and if raising it is an option. This seems very low for the value of the home.  This will be a small help.

Hi,
My husband and I moved to a qld mining town in 1995 to get ahead. We were about 2.5 hrs from mackay and therefore did not feel so isolated. It took us 8 years and 4 kids to set ourselves up with 13 ips. in the end it was really worth it.
We found it hard at first as my husband was doing masses of overtime and the kids were small, we also found it hard without likeminded people around us and every one interested in parties, boats great furniture, great clothes and holidays while we stayed at home  and saved.
Fortunately we are now reaping the benifits of our hard work, we were able to move into mky and start up a business while continuing to invest while many of the people we knew in the mines are still there.
What I am saying is that it is hard at times to stay focused and also to see the light at the end of the tunnel but keep it up and surround yourself with people who are also there to get ahead. You will be glad you did in the end.
theresa

Hi Veronica,
I have 3 properties in a small sapphire mining town which I gather may be similar to Coober Pedy. Very little capital outlay ( less than 75000) and recieve 200 pw rent) I also have 5 rental properties in a central qld coal mining town. With yeild of 20%. WLith the coal mining town I went there and spent time choosing the houses I bought and a lived 4 hours drive away and needed to rely on the local realestate agent and a small band of tradesmen to do any repairs which needed to be done. We ensured that all properties had.1. Good kitchens, 2. Fences, 3. Sheds and 4. were clean and neat and in good repair. We also impressed on the agent we needed regular inspections and reports. We made the last 5 purchases about 2 years ago and are very happy with them we are considering buying more homes in the same town. Investments in these areas can be very rewarding but you must do your homework and continue to be informed of what goes on with your investments. We have agents who we trust and this also makes it easier. PS do not hesitate to change agents if you are not satisfied, remember they work for you.
Best of luck
theresa[biggrin]

Hi Fatboy,
We live in the Mackay area and I agree that the market here has gone up in value heaps in the last 12mths.In the previous 6-8 years there was very little growth in value of residential properties. In some years the growth was -ve. There has been lot of growth here recently with new mines opening which brings a great deal of money to the area, and due to the rosters in some of these mines many families live in Mackay and the men commute weekly to work.(My husband is about to do this again. We did it previously for 2 years.)There is also agreat deal of other industry which support the mining industry and Mackay is the main area which services this. There are still great deals to be had and as the rental market is so strong here the returns are good. (we rent out our IP, which we bought for 125k last year, for $190 a week. Had the place revalued last month to buy our next IP and was valued at 140k) Keep looking, good units and townhouses are easy to rent and if you stay away from the northern beaches areas the prices are not too bad.

Hi all,
I just finished a conversation with my RE agent about insurance. Her opinion was that Barclays was mainly a debt collector and would cover the cost of getting rent from tennants who default. We chose to go with CGU who we insure all our IPs with. The cost is $80 ayear for loss of rent in case of fire etc and then the cost of default, damage,theft by tennants etc. was covered by a different amount depending oon rental income. Hope this helps.
Theresa

Hi all,
Very interested to read everyones opinion about b/bs. My husband is a b/b and I am not far behind. We have 11 ips and are intending to fund our own retirement. I agree that many bbs are not prepared for the future and therefore a thought is that there may be a market for duplexes etc. in which they can retire to after selling there own home.(Less maintenance etc.)
PS new to the forum and have learnt so much already, thanks.
Theresa[]