Forum Replies Created
We only have bought old houses. This one sounds like a good one, so maintenance would only be repaint every so often. If you are careful and don’t let it go too long the repainting should only be a quick coat and not require too much preparation.
Apart from that, in the inner 5km we buy, that is what people want.
Wylie
Please don’t act on these suggestions. It is not the cats that are to blame, it is their owners. I don’t know what to suggest but feel sure there must be something that cats don’t like that you can spread around your yard to deter them, but that will not harm them.
Why not do a google search, or give your local vet a call. I’m sure they will have a safe answer.
Wylie
We have “dressed” houses for sale. We use appropriate furniture and accessories from our own house and my mother’s house. It really makes a big difference to the look and a huge improvement on an empty room.
We have a good eye for design and have enough “spare” leather couches, prints, coffee tables between us to make the house look great. People often have trouble picturing how to use a room if it is empty. I know that sounds silly, but it is true, and most rooms actually look bigger with some furniture.
Biggest nuisance is carting it all in, and then carting it all home again.
Wylie
We actually try to stay in the same inner 5km area because we are too lazy to do any research and we know this area like the back of our hands. There are streets I would not buy into and streets I’d rush to buy into.
Wylie.
Where we have bought, inner 5km ring Brisbane, property has doubled around 7-10 years for the past 27 years I have been investing and for years before that when I was too young to invest, but my parents house purchase prices from 1959 bear it out. Actually, their first home bought for about $3K in 1959 happens to be worth about $1.5M now. Don’t know about other places, but surely my houses aren’t the only ones!!
I think everyone will have to agree to disagree about the 7-10 thing. Each to their own belief.
Wylie.
I’d try to get the opinion about the soil being the reason for his garage cracking in writing. Maybe the tree removalist who said it will be prepared to put in on paper for you. There have been so many reports about the drought causing cracking and problems with buildings and slabs, that it probably is not your tree.
I’d agree also that you need to talk to the council about whether you are allowed to cut it down, but don’t be bullied by your neighbour, especially if you can get an arborist to give your tree the thumbs up and say it is not causing your neighbour’s problems.
I have had bullies for neighbours, and it is not a good situation, so tread carefully, but don’t be bullied.
Try to keep things calm, although your neighbour sounds like he might have issues already and possibly will be difficult to deal with.
Wylie
Curious about what suburbs you looked at the properties you mentioned. Last house we bought cost $460K in Coorparoo nearly a year ago . Would have rented for $240 per week according to agent. Would probably not have bought it except it adjoins another IP and gives us a development opportunity down the track. Paid market value (in my opinion).
Nearby house, similar condition and same land size sold last month for $469K so I feel we bought well enough.
Was clean and wasn’t as bad as “wouldn’t put my dog in it” but very tired and old lady style decorating – urghhh. We painted through, pulled out a wall to make the living area more open, painted the original kitchen and put new benthtops on, new bathroom, polished the floors, sheeted the enclosed verandah with VJ sheets. Spent about $17K – worked like dogs.
Now looks much more appealing and fresh (still ugly from the outside until the verandahs are opened at some stage) and easily rented for $310. We have a fantastic tenant on a twelve month lease, but rents are rising and we will get more when we renew the lease.
I like Coorparoo but know that for the same money we could have bought a much better house further out, brick, 4 bedroom, two bathroom, all mod cons etc etc etc. It always amazes me the prices paid for inner city, but I do understand some people don’t want to live further out.
Wylie
Hi Cata. Don’t know you from a bar of soap, but am always sad to hear news like this. Hope all goes well for you and your wife. Don’t know if you have children, but if so, try to stay civil for their sake.
I cannot even begin to imagine the stress involved in what you may go through, but if you have tried to make things work, and cannot, then at least you will both have a chance at a fresh start. Probably better than sticking around for the kids’ sake, which I have seen often enough to know that it is not always the best course either.
Good luck, and remember, there will be a light at the end of the tunnel.
Wylie.
Save the $5490 and increase your repayments. What a massive rip off.
If you are not disciplined enough to do this on your own, best to just increase your repayments each month and get the same result without spending $5,490 in the process.
Wylie
Couple of questions spring to mind. What is the home worth? If you sold it what would you be left with after paying out the loan? Have your circumstances changed that you now can’t afford that loan?
I am not sure what duplexing it actually means, but I assume it means you somehow split the house in two and rent half, or both sides. If that is right, could you rent out to two lots of tenants and maybe rent somewhere much, much cheaper for a while to catch up or at least hope the market picks up.
You say you want to keep it and cannot meet the payments so before making any decision you need to investigate all angles.
If you just cannot meet the repayments whether you duplex it or rent it, I suppose selling has to be investigated, but don’t forget the costs involved in paying agent fees will be high on that value of house and buying again incurs even more costs.
I am sorry to hear your predicament, but think you should seek some advice from a broker, or financial adviser. I cannot even get my head around having a PPOR debt of $1M but only you know your particular circumstances, so don’t rush into anything.
Good luck, Wylie.
I think the suburbs surrounding the top schools in any city hold their value very well. It is certainly the case in Brisbane.
Wylie
Louise Griffin (look up Griffin in the phone book – agency is in her name) at Stones Corner is a managing agent who I have met and have been impressed by. We manage our own properties so cannot say I have used her.
Wylie.
Personally, I wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole given that it is a one bedroom student place, and I know nothing about them. Add to that the fact that in eight years you have been told no capital growth.
I’d move on to something better, but that is just my opinion.
Wylie
I think you have answered your own question[biggrin]. On your figures regarding both sale and rental, I think the extra bathroom sounds the way to go.
Wylie.
I don’t know anything about Audrey’s situation, but in our situation with heavy negative gearing and one income, because the loans are in the hubby’s name, it makes a big difference to the tax he pays.. Maybe we owe a lot more than Audrey. Our houses are inner ring Brisbane and capital gain has been very good. I realise the new tax brackets make it less attractive to be geared, but it is still money back to us. Mind you, we need the refund to keep us in food and clothing.
It makes a big difference to our tax position.
Wylie.
Don’t know if I am allowed to name it, but this can be deleted if it is outside the rules – I have just loaded the free version of Spamfighter – which has worked well for the couple of days I have had it on.
I hope nobody tells me I have loaded on a baddie but it certainly has stopped the pen*s enlargement and Viagra emails I get every day along with the various other spam that hit my inbox daily.
Wylie
What a scary story.
Could you counter sue him for selling the house so far under value?
I have changed my original post after re-reading your story and reading gross’s post (below) which is really comprehensive and impressive.
I really hope things turn out.. As far as the stress is concerned, is it too late to transfer your assets to your wife, just a thought, or would that be disallowed because of the circumstances.
Good luck, and make sure your lawyer is on the ball.
Wylie.
Lovely job. Isn’t it nice to see the finished photos and compare them to the before ones.
When we look at our renovation photos we have trouble believing we have just turned a sow’s ear into a silk purse, even though we may have just spent weeks and weeks painting, cleaning, tiling and all the other things that we do.
You should be very proud of the job.
Wylie.
I know that we have back claimed when we have had similar situations with receipts for IP expenses that have been left out, but our accountant looks after the nuts and bolts, so I don’t know just how he does it.
If you do your own tax, give the ATO a call to ask them how to go about it. If you use an accountant, give them to him with the next lot of paperwork and he’ll look after it.
Wylie.
I don’t know of any service, but would certainly use it if it was set up. The problem would be getting self-managers to hear about it. The newspapers are not going to let you run an advert that will take their customers away, so you can give that idea away.
I know that a couple of years ago I listed our houses with a web-based group but was not allowed to put their website details in my newspaper ad to direct potential tenants to a photo and more details because of the potential for the newspaper to lose business.
Don’t know how else you could quickly let self-managers know about your site except this site and Somersoft. Maybe a current affairs show would take up the challenge to get it out there.
You could contact accountants to see if they would pass the new site to their investment property clients, but they would not want to spend time or money doing so without something in return, I’d guess.
Wylie.
