When house prices as a multiple of income is quoted, I often wonder whether the figures are a bit rubbery.

I mean, a first time buyer is not going to be buying the medium priced house generally. I am talking the Brisbane market here and if a first home buyer wanted to get into the market, I think they could still buy a unit or outer suburb house…[Read more]

Hey Picklesam.

I think you are making lots of sweeping generalisations. I have three children, oldest 18. He will not be having a car bought for him. I know of only one similar age child who is having a car bought for him, on the condition he doesn’t touch drugs or alcohol, and the car will be a cheap one. Of all my son’s friends, no-one is…[Read more]

If he is a reasonable chap to deal with and will co-operate with you in minimising the time the house is empty, why not cut him some slack and advertise NOW for a new tenant, house available from say, next Saturday, if he can get his gear out by then. If he is in advance with his rent and paid up until the weekend, you may well find a new tenant…[Read more]

Like Duckster said, each agent has their own idea of how much over the base figure it will go.

One local agent is so out of wack, that when we see his price guide of $400+ we assume it will go for at least $450. A friend was very keen on a house he had for sale – offers $300K+. She put in an offer of $345K based on the fact that a previous offer…[Read more]

I would suggest a trusted local real estate agent to give you an idea of what this house is worth now, and what it would be worth once the work is done.

Also get that same agent, or one who knows about rentals, to give you the same figures for what it is worth per week now and once renovations are completed.

These valuations will help you make…[Read more]

I know not everyone agrees but I am of the school of thought that property will double about every 7 to 10 years. I bought my first IP nearly 30 years ago (I am 46) and have watched three cycles. I don’t think things will be any different from now on, and if it were me, I would hold onto them if you can afford to.

Even if they never go up in…[Read more]

Would be interested to know where your properties are to give everyone reading an idea of why they have not increased in value since you bought them.

Could you post the suburbs to give us some more info?

The other factor about the cost to hold them wouldn’t worry me at all if they have a chance of making good capital gains. We are in exactly…[Read more]

I saw on a renovation show (Australian show) the other day that reeded side faces down. It allows air to circulate between the boards and the joist (or whatever it is called) and allows the water to get away from that joint. I had heard this before, but now I have seen it on tv, well it must be true[biggrin]

We also have a small entrance deck on…[Read more]

In answer to dare to dream’s question about paying a family member to manage properties – yes you can.

Our IPs are in hubby’s name for tax purposes and he pays me the fees he would pay a manager. It is not a dodge though, because I actually do manage things for him.

Our accountant does both our taxes.

Wylie

Dazzling, I have send a private email, but was wondering if you and other forum members think it is a problem that men tend not to “vent” their feelings like women are prone to.

You know, have a good whinge and a really good sook, and feel better after.

I have a good life, happy marriage but just before Christmas I just felt blah! Like someone…[Read more]

Couple of thoughts popped into my head when I read this.

1. Find out what it is worth by getting a proper valuation done. If the neighbour who obviously wants to buy it to make his development more substantial is prepared to give them a good price, why not consider selling it. Each family group then does what they want with their share. This is…[Read more]

You have the same protection of a bond. It must be lodged with the RTA (in Queensland anyway) within ten days of receiving it.

You need to do all the things that agents do, like an entry condition report, hand over a booklet about “renting in Queensland” etc. It is all available on the RTA website. I don’t know about other states, but they must…[Read more]

I find it a bit slow at times, and sometimes I just give up when a page just will not load at all. We have cable broadband.

I have assumed when a page won’t load (even though it is telling me it is loading) that there is some problem with the site.

Wylie

I cannot help you with conditions because we like to live life on the edge and usually go in with a cash offer and no conditions.

I will leave it to others to advise on conditions.

All I would say is to be careful about how they are worded as you can get caught if the wording is out. If you have a solicitor, I’d have them advise of the wording…[Read more]

I would insist on a written contract, signed by you.

The vendor can then countersign whatever he thinks fit. If you are happy with his counter offer, once you sign off, it is done.

No way would I do a verbal offer. How do you know what the agent will say to him? How do you know the agent will even tell him?

Wylie.

I think your plan sounds good. If you are single and not needing a big house then why not look at doing this. Short term pain for long term gain.

If I was single with no kids, I would do the same to set myself up for later. But make sure that if the living with friends thing doesn’t work out, you have an exit strategy that will not leave you…[Read more]

My husband was the same when we met. His parents advised us to get married, pay off our house and put some money in the bank. His father even did a timeline showing that in ten years, we would actually own our home and have a little nest egg.

Of course, his timeline did not include the magic of a property boom, of which we have had a couple in my…[Read more]

I have self-managed IPs for over 25 years. When I was 15 my parents bought their first IP and managed it so I kind of grew up watching it.

When I bought my first iP at around 19 I didn’t even consider having it managed. In all that time I have had a handful of tenants who had me worried. Only one of those damaged the house and luckily the…[Read more]

Don’t let her get away with giving you part payment or anything. With our tenants, we kept issuing notices to remedy the breach, and on the last day they would hand over a week’s rent, which meant they were not in advance and from that day on were living rent free until they again went into breach.

Once they made some payment, we had to wait for…[Read more]

In may 2006 we evicted two tenants, named in the lease document. They were actually lovely young men, but they had invited a third young chap in. He was not added to the lease. He caused lots of noise and the neighbours were pretty annoyed.

In Queensland the RTA says that having that third person living there but not on the lease is a breach of…[Read more]