Your values laid out here step back to a period of a village mentality.A tenant wants the ability to rent .. the ability to pickup and vacate if and when he chooses. The landlord wants the ability to have his property let out to anyone who stakes up the right amount of money per month to justify his letting.They dont want to know each other. They…[Read more]

naisy, as a regular investor and multiple property owner .. what if i told you there was no correct answer?Except there is.As an inheritance .. it'll be your money. That means you can spend it all on golfing equipment .. pornstar escorts and fancy sportscars if you wanted to. You realise .. as far as you are concerned .. that you want it to being…[Read more]

Istvan051 wrote:
Hi CatalystI understand your point of view how if you own property in the current world its always going to be much better to use agents to handle the tenants and the problems they may face. They are better at doing this as they are professionals and have a lot of experience and are trained to handle people. Based on your reply…[Read more]

First of all donkey .. we'd all love to live off the rentals. Thats the goal in the end.You have to think outside the box. Build Assets and Income so the bank can talk to you in a better light.I have a friend who came to me with an issue. She had received an inheritance and needed to invest it. About 100k. The main issue there was that she had no…[Read more]

You start from where you start.There will always be opportunities ripe for the taking in any market. And you dont end up making assumptions that just because a certain area of the market is hot (or not) that its a given to remain this way.The opportunities that Steve took dont exist anymore. FIrstly .. they were taken by Steve, and second  .. the…[Read more]

Samualbc,its a well covered topic on here. If you do a search you'll come up with lots of reasons why not to.If you are looking for an investment you are looking for a property that will increase in value .. is easily exchangable for cash  .. is lettable to just about anyone and you remain largely in control of. On all these fronts the student…[Read more]

fWord wrote:
OK, comics aside for a moment, entertain me, I implore you. What should we do?!

I suggest you treat the market with a degree of caution. And look whats ACTUALLY happening in it. Because that way you can be the best judge of whats happening and whether you can be moving your investments in the right direction.

Ventilation is a major issue in a lot of bathrooms.I just did up a bathroom that really was shot to pieces. The landloard was a genius (previous landlord). He painted the bathroom EVERY new tenancy. GENIUS. Thing is .. being a bathroom .. there was mould that sat under the paintwork. Result? Frequent and consistant mould. Peeling paintwork from…[Read more]

I dont have to read those articles.Because consistantly … and regularly the 'experts' in the paper have been proven wrong.I am not going to mention names .. but there is a certain person in the investors section of the paper that gives me a regular giggle with her insights. She's been SO wrong … i read her for the laughs now.The market HAS…[Read more]

fWord wrote:
Oh, for those still reading, I read an article in yesterday's newspaper just today (go figure). Anyway, for those who have this Saturday's Domain, look at page 16 for the article by Chris Tolhurst titled 'Know whether the market is turning'. Also, read the article on page 15 by Kate Roberton, titled 'The fringe of a revival'.Are…[Read more]

Rent to Own remains largely a vendor run strategy.Therefore .. even despite the strict codes regarding finance lending … you'll find yourself at the mercy of the vendors rules.95% of them will be ok … and there will be the couple that just arent. But thats life .. there are the shonkys.Rent to own fills the gap where the person CANT go to the…[Read more]

There is always a good time to buy property. Its a market .. not a singular format strategy.That means there are always people going up and down in the property market. Trying to sell to cover debts .. trying to sell because grandma has died … trying to sell because 2 new twins wont fit nicely in a closet. Trying to sell at a loss because the…[Read more]

If i was writing a book or thesis as of now .. that would be really interesting .. i would look at the differing property climates across the globe.Some of the ways that property is recognised or transacted .. some of the compliance rules .. can be really interesting. Some of the rules and structures can be racist .. inferior and downright…[Read more]

Shales,you mentioned this property in a separate thread. And i gave my opinion on it in that thread. But my overall recommendation is .. if you like it .. go for it.When i'm an investor i look at a property and do the figures and work out what its worth to me .. what its REALLY worth on the market .. whether the rents are sustainable or…[Read more]

Michael,Being an investor in both overseas and local markets i will tell you the first bit is to do your groundwork. Even for me .. the first time i crossed borders .. the conditions of occupancy .. the statements of management and the expenses varied terribly from state to state.Each area … each investment must be first assessed on merits ……[Read more]

Your risk level is low with a 15k house. However .. both the chances of an ongoing tenancy or demand for ownership are low.There are places where you can purchase land for 15k-20k. The long term prospects for these properties and even these regions is usually highly questionable for all sorts of reasons. So it may sound cheap .. but it remains a…[Read more]

Regardless of what it will cost you .. overbudget rather than exact to budget.Misery happens when your cup runneth over. And after doing it on so many development sites, no matter how well you budget you'll have a cost blowout of some sort. Leave yourself some room or you'll end up finding yourself with your back up against the wall financially…[Read more]

Within a period of the first five years of a buildings creation .. there is a reasonable exchange of units.  There is usually a brief exchange of up to 30% of the building within the first two years as people who got in for certain reasons realise they cannot manage or support the loan they thought they could handle. Or they find that the…[Read more]

Just as in the up times … people flock to property and property forums …In the down times .. or percieved down times .. people stay away from what they see as a liability.Does it make sense? no? … I didnt write the book on human behavioral science.

Lucigoosey,House and Contents insurance should be what you are looking for. Make sure you go through the property and take into consideration what the place could lose and what it would realisticly cost to replace it. I had my H&C Insurance pegged at 8k replacement for a couple of years on one property until i realised i had about 20k worth of…[Read more]